News More than 100 people gathered in Pioneer Courthouse Square this afternoon to show solidarity with thousands of Wisconsin students who participated in a walk-out today to protest Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker's "budget repair" bill.The bill, which the Republican governor signed into law today, limits collective bargaining rights for most unionized public employee workers in Wisconsin. In Portland, students ...   More

News  As we wait for any possible tsunami fallout on the Oregon Coast from the distant and devastating earthquake that has rocked Japan, we're reminded of a cover story WW's Aaron Mesh did last year called "Quake Up Call."That January 2010 piece was about the prospect of the ocean floor splitting 75 miles off the Oregon Coast and sending shock waves that would rumble in to Portland. The last such destructive ...   More

News Prepaid mobile phones could threaten your safety. No, not because prepaid phones are often the communications tool   More

Rogue of the Week On his website, state Rep. Tim Freeman (R-Roseburg) says “reducing state spending and improving government efficiency and accountability” are top priorities. Noble goals as the 2011 Legislature h   More

News Longtime Portland marijuana activist Paul Stanford has been arrested for tax fraud, according to a news release from the Oregon Department of Justice.Stanford, who heads a nationwide chain of medical-marijuana clinics, has a reputation as a controversial figure in pot activist circles, and his financial woes were first detailed in a 2007 profile of Stanford we titled "King Bong." The IRS last year ...   More

News This Friday, March 11, a group trying to establish universal health care in Oregon is holding a legislative action day to spread the word about a bill that would do just that—the Affordable Health Care for All Act. Despite a tough legislative climate for the proposal, the Oregon Single Payer Coalition and other supporters of the idea are pitching the measure as like Medicare for everyone, providing ...   More

News Here's a little bit of a man-bites-dog story. Last week, the Oregon House considered a couple of bills (House Bills 2894 and 2239) that would limit political campaign contributions. Oregon is currently one of only five states that allow unlimited contributions. One of those who offered forceful testimony in favor of limits was Paul Romain, a lobbyist for the Oregon Beer & Wine Distributors Association, ...   More

News The Nature Conservancy finds itself in an unusual position in Salem. Last year, the group funded the campaign that resulted in the landslide victory of Measure 76, which enshrined in the Oregon Constitution the current practice of setting aside 15 percent of Oregon Lottery proceeds for the reclamation and acquisition of wildlife habitat and parks. But rather than enjoying that victory, The Nature Conservancy ...   More

News Gov. John Kitzhaber brought a message of change to an enthusiastic standing-room-only crowd at Portland's City Club today. "Putting people back to work – as important at that is – will not, by itself, reduce our prison population or the escalating cost of health care; it will not ensure that all our children are ready to learn when the reach kindergarten; or increase the number of Oregonians ...   More

News In the ongoing flap over whether the Oregon Legislature will refer certain "fixes" to Measure 76, it's worth noting that the group most concerned about referring those questions to voters—the Nature Conservancy—has a strong interest in preserving the status quo.As WW previously reported, there was strong disagreement last summer about Measure 76 before voters approved that state constitutional ...   More