News After a series of run-ins with his own party, it looks like Rep. Mike Schaufler (D-Happy Valley), will generate a primary opponent for himself.In today's print edition, former Labor Commissioner Mary Wendy Roberts says she's considering a challenge and so, WW has learned, is Jeff Reardon, a teacher at David Douglas High School. Schaufler has been a controversial figure since entering the Legislature ...   More

Politics In the past few weeks, Peter Geiger has played host in his backyard to two people who want to win a seat in the Oregon Legislature.   More

News The House Judiciary Committee yesterday killed a bill that would grant local police the authority to shut down troubled bars and nightclubs immediately after an incident and keep them closed for 72 hours. Rep. Tina Kotek (D-Portland) has been pushing this concept for a couple sessions. After a high-profile January killing at Club 915 gave fresh impetus to the concept, Kotek and co-sponsors re-introduced ...   More

News After years of debate about the proposed Columbia River Crossing project, backers of the bridge, lightrail and highway project have failed to convince some pretty key stakeholders that the project will reduce congestion, can be completed anywhere close to its $3.2 billion-$3.6 billion tentative budget—or is even necessary.That, at least, is the takeaway from a straightforward letter [PDF] submitted ...   More

News  Oregon legislative leaders have decided to remove the portrait of former. Gov. Neil Goldschmidt from the Capitol. The decision comes in response to a request last month from two ex-lawmakers, former state Sen. Vicki Walker (D-Eugene) and ex-Rep. Tim Knopp (R-Bend). The ex-lawmakers made their request after the January death of Elizabeth Dunham, the woman whom Goldschmidt sexually abused starting ...   More

News The most interesting aspect of this week's legislative hearing on Senate Bill 742, the so-called "tuition equity" bill, was not that hundreds of people showed up or that passions ran high on both sides. The underlying issue—whether Oregon's public universities and community colleges should charge undocumented immigrants out-of-state tuition, as they do now, or the much lower in-state figure—gets ...   More

News  The Oregon Senate Judiciary Committee has introduced two bills that would, under certain circumstances, lessen the punishment of teenagers younger than 18 who "sext." This December cover story describes how Oregon law says teens who exchange sexually explicit images through cellphones or other electronic means can be prosecuted for "use of a child in the display of sexually explicit conduct." ...   More

News Back during the 2009 legislative session, we made state Rep. Kim Thatcher (R-Keizer) a Rogue of the Week for attempting to undermine Oregon's public-records law—specifically, by pushing a bill that would have kept secret the identities of people licensed to carry a concealed handgun.Thatcher's bill never made it out of committee in 2009. Now, with the House evenly divided in 2011 between Democrats ...   More

News The Oregonians for a State Bank group is holding a forum Tuesday, Feb. 1 on a proposal circulating in the state Legislature to establish a publicly owned bank in Oregon.The state bank proposal—which opponents have said is barred by the state Constitution and deals with a subject the state lacks expertise in—aims to benefit Oregon's small businesses, family farmers and local communities by funding ...   More

News Portland Trail Blazers fans at last night's game against Denver not only had the chance to root against the Nuggets, but also to protest Comcast's monopoly on TV broadcasts of Blazers games. Ten years ago, Comcast signed a deal promising Oregon sports fans they would be able to watch Blazers games regardless of which company provided their cable TV. Now in its fourth season, the deal appears ...   More