Regional/National
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New Bill Would Allow Grocery Stores to Sell Cocktails in a Can

Oregon grocers have long wanted to sell the fast-growing product but the state has first dibs
by Nigel Jaquiss, Oregon Journalism Project

A bill that would allow Oregon grocery stores to sell cocktails in a can, made from distilled spirits and containing up to 14% alcohol by volume, dropped in Salem on Feb. 24. House Bill 3730, sponsored by state Rep. Rob Nosse (D-Portland) at the request of the Northwest Grocery Retail Association, comes with a sweetener. […]

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Rural Oregonians Already Face High Utility Bills, Trump’s Executive Orders Could Make Matters Worse

The president is messing with the Bonneville Power Administration — Oregon’s cheapest source of electricity and an agency that pays its own way
by Nigel Jaquiss, Oregon Journalism Project

As President Donald Trump issues executive orders with effects across the nation, Oregonians, and particularly those in rural areas, could feel the impact on their already steep electric bills. Presidential executive orders are creating panic at the Portland-based Bonneville Power Administration (BPA), which is part of the federal Department of Energy. BPA provides electricity to […]

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Oregon Lawmakers and Gov. Tina Kotek Try to Control Damage from Fire Maps

An effort to deploy resources efficiently went off the rails
by Nigel Jaquiss, Oregon Journalism Project

Oregon lawmakers from both parties are scrambling to respond to a sagebrush rebellion against a state-issued wildfire hazard map. On Feb. 17, Republican lawmakers convened en masse in Salem to savage the map, the final version of which was published in January. The lawmakers took turns addressing the press from a dais bearing a sign […]

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Crossing a Line

Federal regulators have found fault with PacifiCorp’s practices
by Jeff Manning, Oregon Journalism Project

The fires in Oregon in 2020 were not the first or only time PacifiCorp’s corporate behavior has been called into question. On June 26, 2012, James Martin was found dead at the wheel of his vehicle. A rapidly moving wildfire near Indianola, Utah, had overtaken him as he was attempting to flee the flames. The […]

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Dodging Death

To understand the damage in the Santiam Canyon, hear from those who narrowly escaped
by Jeff Manning, Oregon Journalism Project

During more than five months of reporting, the Oregon Journalism Project spoke with many survivors of the Santiam Canyon fires of 2020, in addition to Kathleen Becherer. Here are two of their stories: On Sunday, Sept. 6, Diane Turnbull heard what sounded like an explosion. She rushed to the front door of her small home […]

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Rep. Christine Drazan Wants Investigation of FTX Contribution That Helped Defeat Her in 2022

The $500,000 came from one of the top executives at the cryptocurrency firm FTX
by Nigel Jaquiss, Oregon Journalism Project

An attorney representing House Minority Leader Christine Drazan (R-Canby) has asked state officials to revisit a large, controversial 2022 campaign contribution to the Democratic Party of Oregon. The issue is a $500,000 contribution that, as The Oregonian first reported, was initially improperly attributed. Oregon law requires that political contributions accurately identify the donor. The failure […]

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Lawmakers Review Benefits and Risks of Financial Tool for Cash-Strapped Workers

Getting an advance against your own paycheck is convenient but can also be expensive
by Nigel Jaquiss, Oregon Journalism Project

There’s plenty of evidence that many Oregonians live paycheck to paycheck — 45% of households do, according to a 2024 survey. And more than 145,000 Oregon workers, according to industry sources, have taken advantage of a relatively new — and currently, in Oregon, unregulated — tool called “earned wage access,” or in the parlance of […]

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After the Inferno

PacifiCorp was grossly negligent in Oregon’s 2020 wildfires. Now it’s asking lawmakers for protection.
by Jeff Manning, Oregon Journalism Project

Kathleen Becherer, 77, retired in 2014 to the Santiam River Canyon, where she hoped for a life filled with “bees, goats and grandkids.” That dream was incinerated in September 2020. The Santiam Fire, which burned 400,000 acres (almost half the size of Rhode Island), reduced her riverfront home to ash and nearly killed her. Becherer […]

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In Oregon, Trump’s Base Would Suffer Most From Medicaid Cuts

A reduction in federal funds would hammer Oregonians, particularly in rural Oregon
by Nigel Jaquiss, Oregon Journalism Project

On Jan. 28, officials in Oregon and across the country reacted with alarm after being shut out of the reimbursement system for Medicaid, the federal and state health care program for low-income Americans. (The federal government contributes about 70%; states pay the other 30%.) NEW: My staff has confirmed reports that Medicaid portals are down […]

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New Data Shows Oregon Has the Nation’s Second-Tightest Housing Market

And it’s even tighter outside Portland
by Nigel Jaquiss, Oregon Journalism Project

This month, the state began acting on the results of a long-awaited Oregon Housing Needs Analysis, hoping the trove of data will help policymakers solve Oregon’s housing shortage. Lawmakers dug right in, inviting economists from the consulting firm ECOnorthwest to brief both the House Committee on Housing and Homelessness and the Senate Housing and Development […]

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