News In the history of Oregon politics, there are few things voters have hated more than a sales tax. But when voters...   More

News Oregon State Rep. Peter Buckley (D-Ashland), co-chair of the House Ways and Means Committee, has today become the highest-level state elected official to endorse Measure 80, the marijuana legalization initiative.In a statement, Buckley wrote:It makes absolutely no sense to me that we continue to waste millions of dollars every year to prohibit adults from making the choice of whether to consume marijuana, ...   More

News  Heads up, Little Beirut: Paul Ryan is coming.The Bend Bulletin reports from the Republican National Convention in Tampa that Ryan, the GOP Vice Presidential candidate, will be stopping in Portland for lunch on Monday, Sept. 10. Bulletin reporter Andrew Clevenger cites U.S. Rep. Greg Walden (R-The Dalles) as saying he'll get lunch with Ryan in Portland. The stop is presumably a fundraising luncheon, ...   More

News On Saturday, The New York Times published a fascinating look at the nationwide problems created by the tiny corporate kingdom that is Delaware. Buried in the piece is a passing mention that Oregon shares many of the factors that make Delaware so attractive to tax avoiders, evaders and all manner of fraudsters. The state [of Delaware] is seen as an onshore alternative with regulations more lax ...   More

News A long debate has finally and decisively been settled.Matt Groening, "The Simpsons" creator and Portland native, tells Smithsonian magazine that he named the famous fictional city after the Oregon city.The relevant section of the interview: [Groening:] Springfield was named after Springfield, Oregon. The only reason is that when I was a kid, the TV show “Father Knows Best” took place in the town ...   More

News The continuing saga of the Oregon Department of Justice's aborted investigation into whether state Department of Energy staffers wrongfully steered a contract to a company run by Gov. John Kitzhaber's companion, Cylvia Hayes, has taken another turn.Sean Riddell, the former top DOJ criminal lawyer who led the investigation, was demoted in June. The official reasons given by Attorney General John Kroger ...   More

News Visitors to the North Park Blocks and South Park Blocks in downtown Portland will soon have a new place to relieve themselves. City officials have selected those sites for two new Portland loos.Commissioner Randy Leonard, who heads the  Water Bureau, says the sites were chosen after consulting with the Downtown Neighborhood Association. But he acknowledges controversy could still erupt after other ...   More

News U.S. Attorney Dwight Holton tells WW his office received a string of critical calls and one death threat last week after he put out a strongly worded warning to Oregon medical-marijuana dispensaries.Immediately following Holton's June 3 warning that businesses selling marijuana "will not be tolerated," he says his office in Portland received calls in support of his stand. The letters sent out to dozens ...   More

News Two days after WW published a story exposing rifts between law enforcement and some medical-marijuana operations, U.S. Attorney Dwight Holton and many Oregon district attorneys have issued a stern warning to this booming local industry."The sale of marijuana for any purpose—including as medicine—violates both federal and Oregon law and will not be tolerated," says the warning from the U.S. Attorney's ...   More

News Following up on this week's story about law enforcement concerns over Oregon medical marijuana clubs, we note this breaking news: A high-level panel today issued a report calling the US-led war on drugs a total failure.The Global Commission on Drug Policy says the war on drugs has fueled organized crime, cost billions of dollars and had "devastating consequences for individuals and societies around ...   More