News WW reported in February that Oregon State University had applied with the Federal Aviation Administration for a license to use unmanned drones.Today, the university announced it will start using two drones this month—to look at potato fields.OSU officials said today that two small unmanned aircraft will fly three times a week over potato fields at the 300-acre Hermiston Agricultural Research and ...   More

News The Oregon Legislature is poised to strictly limit the use of unmanned drones in Oregon airspace this week, as the threat of machines monitoring American citizens from the skies has gripped imaginations on the right and left. The legislature will consider its drone regulations on Wednesday, even as the issue gains national traction. Sen. Rand Paul (R-Kentucky) made domestic drones a centerpiece of ...   More

News The unmanned flying vehicles called drones get lots of bad press because of their use in killing people in Afghanistan and other global hotspots. As WW has reported, drones also provide a lot of good jobs in parts of this region that don't have great employment opportunities.In the current legislative session, the Senate Judiciary Committee, chaired by Sen. Floyd Prozanski (D-Eugene), has introduced ...   More

News Updated 1 pm: Clackamas County Sheriff's Office spokesman Lt. James Rhodes says there is no money and no immediate plans for a drone to join the department. He says they applied so that the department could use one, "should we choose to look into them."Original story: As concerns over the use of unmanned drone planes in the United States reach a feverish buzz, two more Oregon institutions are quietly ...   More

News Military surveillance drones of the kind used to spy on Taliban targets for U.S. forces in Afghanistan are now based in Portland, but U.S. government officials are unclear how or when they might   More