News The Oregon Senate voted today to require restaurants run by public entities to undergo routine health inspections.The 29-0 vote eliminates the inspection exception for publicly-run restaurants. The legislation comes on the heels of reporting by WW in December that revealed the Oregon Zoo had not been inspected by Multnomah County since 2006. Earlier that month, 135 people were sickened by norovirus ...   More

News Senator Laurie Monnes Anderson (D-Gresham) has come under fire this week for providing inaccurate information in the state voters pamphlet for primary and general elections this year: Republicans charge she shouldn't be listing her occupation as a registered nurse when her license to practice expired in 2009. “If Laurie Monnes Anderson intentionally misrepresented her status as a licensed Registered ...   More

News State Sen. Frank Morse (R-Corvallis) surprised colleagues and observers today in an interim legislative session by announcing he is resigning from the seat he has held for 10 years.Morse, the Vice-Chair of the Senate Finance Revenue and Senate Education & Workforce Development Committees, has earned a reputation in the Capitol as a thoughtful moderate, who has advocated strongly for tax reform ...   More

News A measure that would allow online voter registration in Oregon has passed the state Senate. The measure, House Bill 2386, was approved Monday by the Senate and has already been approved by the House. But it must now return to the House for approval of several small amendments. Henry Kraemer, political coordinator of the Oregon Bus Project, says HB 2386 is "the logical next step in moving forward ...   More

News We've noted before the remarkable ambition of state Rep. Chip Shields (D-North/Northeast Portland). So it came as little surprise when Shields this morning rushed to claim the seat of departing state Sen. Margaret Carter (D-North/Northeast Portland) before her seat even got cold. Carter, the first African-American woman elected to the Oregon Legislature, announced over the weekend she's leaving ...   More

News Multnomah County Chair Ted Wheeler tells WW he has three qualifications he wants to see in candidates seeking to replace outgoing state Sen. Margaret Carter (D-North/Northeast Portland). And Wheeler is in a key position to lay down those requirements for contenders. The five-member board of commissioners he heads will vote Sept. 24 on who will replace Carter, choosing from up to five candidates ...   More