UPDATED: Union Groups Co-Host Rally But Disagree on Title, Priorities

News Union groups plan to descend on the Oregon State Capitol on Monday, but they can't seem to agree on what to call the rally—or why they're having it.The SEIU 503, which represents state workers, advertises the Presidents Day event as “A Day of Action for Oregon’s Future.” (Fliers for the rally were handed out at an Occupy Portland event Thursday night.)But the Oregon Education Association�...   More

 

Friday, February 17, 2012 HANNAH HOFFMAN

Lawmakers Punt Litmus Test 911 Bill

News An obscure bill heard Wednesday in an obscure state legislative committee served to underscore a far larger point—it will be extremely difficult to get lawmakers to give up one of their semi-secret weapons: the ability to "sweep" special funds designated for specific funds into the general fund. That is a tool that lawmakers have historically used to balance the state's budget, and a privilege t...   More

 

Thursday, June 2, 2011 NIGEL JAQUISS

Transparency Papers

The Attorney General’s bid to make public records more open meets hostility from cities.

News Last year, Stephanie Stewart, land-use co-chair of the Mount Tabor Neighborhood Association,    More

 

Wednesday, May 4, 2011 NIGEL JAQUISS

Cool Schools On Ice

Gov. Kitzhaber’s top campaign priority loses heat.

News Last fall, gubernatorial candidate John Kitzhaber campaigned on what seemed a novel concept. He proposed renovating hundreds of Oregon schools to make them more energy efficient and create jobs. T   More

 

Wednesday, April 27, 2011 NIGEL JAQUISS

Green Machine

New green-energy tax breaks make critics see red.

News Newly proposed green-energy tax credits in Oregon are prompting watchdog groups to warn that the measure is a warmed-up version of a discredited idea. And the tax watchdogs blasting the proposal f   More

 

Wednesday, April 20, 2011 NIGEL JAQUISS

Killing All Cop Bills

Who’s stopping police reform in the Capitol?

News State Rep. Lew Frederick entered the 2011 Legislature with a package of bills he hoped would respond to the six officer-involved shootings last year in Portland. Halfway through the session, Frede   More

 

Wednesday, April 13, 2011 JAMES PITKIN

Breaking The Cycle

Showdown in the OEA’s corral: Lawmakers want to limit teacher comp to money available.

News School districts across Oregon are preparing to lay off thousands of teachers next fall. Inevitably, those teachers and their supporters    More

 

Wednesday, April 6, 2011 NIGEL JAQUISS

Ta-Ta, Transparency

Elections “clean-up” bill would create a gaping loophole.

Politics Oregon is the Wild West when it comes to campaign contributions, and there’s a bill shooting through the Legislature that would make a bad situation worse.    More

 

Wednesday, April 6, 2011 NIGEL JAQUISS

Jack Shack Attack

The Legislature takes on Oregon’s proliferating lingerie shops.

News You’ve seen them along Northeast 82nd Avenue and lining the suburban strips of Washington County. With names like Hotties, Pussy Cats and Private Rendezvous, they advertise services from    More

 

Wednesday, March 30, 2011 JAMES PITKIN

Your Teacher Is F’d

The Oregon Education Association gave Kitzhaber more than a million bucks, and now he’s giving it pay cuts and pink slips.

Cover Story Someday soon, Gov. John Kitzhaber will sit across a conference table from Richard Sanders, the little-known man    More

 

Wednesday, March 23, 2011 NIGEL JAQUISS