State Library eClips
* Oregon schools’ financial woes aren’t all because of PERS
* Oregon Legislature jobs agenda: brownfields, taxes and industrial development
* Financially troubled Oregon counties face critical turning point locally, in Legislature and in D.C.
* Dr. Kitzhaber diagnoses an Oregon Medicaid study — Opinion
* Republicans draw Oregon hospital tax into debate over PERS
* Lawmakers consider expanding state leave laws that business leaders say are already too generous, complex
* Wyden says he will ‘lay out strategy’ this month for a successful O&C forestlands bill
* Oregon legislative leaders retreat to negotiate deal on PERS and taxes
* Oregon House bill could stop proposed Stafford-area composting facility
* It’s time for Oregon leaders to take action on gun safety — Guest Opinion
* If done right, Oregon would benefit from a sales tax — Guest Opinion
* Oregon to end one foreclosure avoidance program, expand another
* Agency releases list of recommended adult vaccines
* Federal jobs in Oregon shrinking
* State economist discusses forecasting for Oregon’s budget
* Traffic safety panel will meet, consider reports
* Deadline extended for court positions
* Park manager forever looking on bright side
* Former Ore. legislator returns to discuss new role with USDA — Opinion
* Third bridge remains a sound project — Opinion
* Oregon chancellor worries about affordability
* Esther Jensen, office leader at Stayton DMV
* Agency releases list of recommended adult vaccines
* Coalition backs extension of hospital tax
* Time to address PERS is running out — Opinion
* Do we have the political will to do what works? — Guest Opinion
* Making the most of the mandate
* Oregon residents face confusion, lack of information about insurance requirement
* County under block grant ban
* Legislature wades into vaccination debate
* A tax credit that works
* Keep Oregon unique — Opinion
* OLCC Shelves Liquor Application for Diamonds Gentlemen’s Club
* Rep. Bentz named to Small Business Task Force
* Ore. lawmakers hope to limit tax lawsuit impact
* State Rep. Gomberg Joins Small Business Task Force
* Gun Permit Numbers Shoot Up
* Senators Seek Federal Drought Help
* Political Chat: Oregon Gun Laws Stalled
* FAA Gives Oregon Guard Permission To Train Soldiers To Fly Drones
* Flags Lowered In Oregon For Bend Soldier
* Umpqua River Basin faces dry season
* Oregon lawmakers wade into vaccination debate
* Fruit fly concerns Willamette Valley growers
* Get ready for traffic headaches
* New Report Shows the Continuing Positive Impact of Tourism on Oregon’s Economy
* LifeWise Joins Regence in Backing Away From Small Employer Exchange
* $2,854,885 Available to Oregon Health Centers to Help Uninsured Individuals Gain Affordable Health Insurance Coverage
* Oregon First Lady Visits PCC Cascade on Mission to End Poverty
* Oregon Tribes Gather In Salem For Tribal Nation’s Day
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OREGON SCHOOLS’ FINANCIAL WOES AREN’T ALL BECAUSE OF PERS (Portland Oregonian)
Whether in Hillsboro, The Dalles, Tigard or Seaside, the same scene has played out this spring: disheartening school budget presentations predicting teacher layoffs, shortened school years, school closures and other educational amputations for the coming school year.
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OREGON LEGISLATURE JOBS AGENDA: BROWNFIELDS, TAXES AND INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT (Portland Oregonian)
If you’re wondering why Oregon politicians aren’t talking about jobs much, don’t go away.
Budget talks in the Oregon Legislature begin in earnest this week and the state’s top budget writers will be weighing initiatives to spur industrial development, refund the state’s brownfield program and boost workforce development against funding for other state services.
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FINANCIALLY TROUBLED OREGON COUNTIES FACE CRITICAL TURNING POINT LOCALLY, IN LEGISLATURE AND IN D.C. (Portland Oregonian)
In Grants Pass last month, officials locked down an elementary school while police searched for a burglar with a stolen rifle. Officers found the suspect with the loaded rifle hiding in a nearby shed, but cited and released him because the Josephine County jail didn’t have room.
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DR. KITZHABER DIAGNOSES AN OREGON MEDICAID STUDY — OPINION (Portland Oregonian)
In the New England Journal of Medicine, it seemed as though medicine didn’t get a very good review.
Or maybe Oregon didn’t.
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REPUBLICANS DRAW OREGON HOSPITAL TAX INTO DEBATE OVER PERS (Portland Oregonian)
A tax on big city hospitals became the latest hostage in the fight over public pensions Friday, raising the stakes of ongoing budget negotiations between Democrats and Republicans in the Oregon Legislature.
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LAWMAKERS CONSIDER EXPANDING STATE LEAVE LAWS THAT BUSINESS LEADERS SAY ARE ALREADY TOO GENEROUS, COMPLEX (Portland Oregonian)
Jenna Passalacqua said “there was no way” she could have gone to work the day after her mother, Cindy Yuille, was fatally shot at Clackamas Town Center in December.
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WYDEN SAYS HE WILL ‘LAY OUT STRATEGY’ THIS MONTH FOR A SUCCESSFUL O&C FORESTLANDS BILL (Portland Oregonian)
Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden says he’s preparing to assemble a bill on the state’s Oregon and California railroad lands that “can pass the Senate and the House and actually get signed by the president.”
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OREGON LEGISLATIVE LEADERS RETREAT TO NEGOTIATE DEAL ON PERS AND TAXES (Portland Oregonian)
Forget the grand floor speeches and the public hearings. The real action of the 2013 Oregon Legislature has moved behind closed doors.
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OREGON HOUSE BILL COULD STOP PROPOSED STAFFORD-AREA COMPOSTING FACILITY (Portland Oregonian)
A bill introduced this week in the Legislature, if passed, could prevent a controversial composting facility from being built in the Stafford area.
Rep. Julie Parrish, R-West Linn, and other area lawmakers have introduced House Bill 3527, which would prohibit putting a composting facility within 1,500 feet of a school.
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IT’S TIME FOR OREGON LEADERS TO TAKE ACTION ON GUN SAFETY — GUEST OPINION (Portland Oregonian)
This is the first Mother’s Day without Cindy in our lives, as Saturday marks five months since she was murdered at the Clackamas Town Center. Like thousands of other families across Oregon, we are now faced with the loss of a loved one to gun violence.
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IF DONE RIGHT, OREGON WOULD BENEFIT FROM A SALES TAX — GUEST OPINION (Portland Oregonian)
In his guest column of April 3, “A sales tax is the wrong place to start,” a rebuttal to an Oregonian editorial arguing for a sales tax, Chuck Sheketoff of the Oregon Center for Public Policy offers the standard liberal-left case against the tax: “A sales tax is inherently regressive.
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OREGON TO END ONE FORECLOSURE AVOIDANCE PROGRAM, EXPAND ANOTHER (Portland Oregonian)
Oregon homeowners who are behind on their mortgage, but who could afford their monthly payments if made current, have one last chance to apply for a federally funded program to help them avoid foreclosure.
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AGENCY RELEASES LIST OF RECOMMENDED ADULT VACCINES (Salem Statesman Journal)
Tdap, zoster, MMR any of those sound familiar?
If not, and youre an adult, you might want to check on your vaccination history with your doctor. The Oregon Health Authority recommends that adults of various ages have those and several other immunizations.
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FEDERAL JOBS IN OREGON SHRINKING (Salem Statesman Journal)
The concentration of federal employees in Oregon has always been small, but shrinking numbers mean its smaller than ever, according to data from the state Employment Department.
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STATE ECONOMIST DISCUSSES FORECASTING FOR OREGON’S BUDGET (Salem Statesman Journal)
Mark McMullen knew his path would take him back to Oregon, where he has been the state economist for about two years.
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TRAFFIC SAFETY PANEL WILL MEET, CONSIDER REPORTS (Salem Statesman Journal)
Approval of the 2014 transportation safety performance plan will be considered by the Transportation Safety Committee, which advises the Oregon Department of Transportation.
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DEADLINE EXTENDED FOR COURT POSITIONS (Salem Statesman Journal)
Gov. John Kitzhaber has extended to July 1 the deadline for applications for three new judgeships on the Oregon Court of Appeals.
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PARK MANAGER FOREVER LOOKING ON BRIGHT SIDE (Salem Statesman Journal)
If you searched every inch of the globe, scoured the continents and traveled to every country, it might be possible to find a person more upbeat than Ryan Sparks.
But it wouldnt be easy.
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FORMER ORE. LEGISLATOR RETURNS TO DISCUSS NEW ROLE WITH USDA — OPINION (Salem Statesman Journal)
During her decade in the Oregon Legislature, Vicki Walker knew how to draw attention to her causes.
Now, as Oregons director of rural development for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Walker is largely out of the headlines.
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THIRD BRIDGE REMAINS A SOUND PROJECT — OPINION (Salem Statesman Journal)
-Some decisions can be put off, but it’s time to move ahead-
Salem is years away from having a third traffic bridge across the Willamette River, but it is making progress.
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OREGON CHANCELLOR WORRIES ABOUT AFFORDABILITY (Salem Statesman Journal)
The interim chancellor of the Oregon University system says she’s worried that continuous tuition increases are going to stop enrollment growth at Oregon’s public universities.
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ESTHER JENSEN, OFFICE LEADER AT STAYTON DMV (Salem Statesman Journal)
Name: Esther Jensen
Agency: Oregon Department of Transportation
Title: Office leader at Stayton DMV
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AGENCY RELEASES LIST OF RECOMMENDED ADULT VACCINES (Salem Statesman Journal)
Tdap, zoster, MMR any of those sound familiar?
If not, and youre an adult, you might want to check on your vaccination history with your doctor.
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COALITION BACKS EXTENSION OF HOSPITAL TAX (Salem Statesman Journal)
A coalition of business and health-care groups backs a two-year extension of an assessment on Oregons hospitals intended to recoup more than $1 billion in federal funds for health care.
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TIME TO ADDRESS PERS IS RUNNING OUT — OPINION (Salem Statesman Journal)
The governor is back in town after an overseas trip to Bhutan to study that kingdoms concept of gross national happiness. The state Legislature is halfway through its general session in Salem having tackled pressing issues such as raccoon feeding, community poker rooms, Internet dating and the state microbe.
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DO WE HAVE THE POLITICAL WILL TO DO WHAT WORKS? — GUEST OPINION (Salem Statesman Journal)
Oregons record of leading the nation in health achievements is proven, and our latest undertaking in the form of health care transformation finds us once again at the front of the pack. Where we are not leading, however, is in how we protect our children from the dangers of tobacco.
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MAKING THE MOST OF THE MANDATE (Eugene Register-Guard)
-Oregon breaks new ground in response to federal reforms-
The Affordable Care Act is the biggest overhaul of the U.S. health care system since Medicare and Medicaid were created in 1965.
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OREGON RESIDENTS FACE CONFUSION, LACK OF INFORMATION ABOUT INSURANCE REQUIREMENT (Eugene Register-Guard)
Springfield couple Donna Delaney and Darryl Fink moved to Oregon from central New York three years ago, when Finks employer, a chemical manufacturer, agreed to transfer him to increase West Coast sales.
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COUNTY UNDER BLOCK GRANT BAN (Eugene Register-Guard)
-The state has barred applications for three years because of mistakes over a Row River water treatment plant-
In an unusually severe penalty, the state has barred Lane County from applying for federal community development block grants for three years because of numerous mistakes county government made in overseeing a $1 million federal grant to upgrade a water treatment plant for residents along the Row River in the rural southeastern part of the county.
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LEGISLATURE WADES INTO VACCINATION DEBATE (Eugene Register-Guard)
-A Senate proposal would require proof of parental study on the issue-
With the nations highest rate of parents refusing vaccinations for their kindergartners, Oregon has become ground zero for the contentious debate over whether children should be vaccinated.
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A TAX CREDIT THAT WORKS (Medford Mail Tribune)
-Film production fund has been well worth the investment for Oregon-
If you’ve watched “Portlandia” or “Grimm” in the past couple of years, you’ve seen the value of the Oregon Production Investment Fund, which reimburses filmmakers, television productions and others in those industries for some of the cost of doing business here. The fund is largely filled with money from donors who receive tax credits for their generosity.
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KEEP OREGON UNIQUE — OPINION (Medford Mail Tribune)
-Cultural Trust Tax Credit will sunset this year; lawmakers should renew it-
Oregon’s one-of-a-kind support system for arts and culture is in danger of disappearing if the Legislature does not act this year.
At risk is the Oregon Cultural Trust Tax Credit, which allows state residents to increase the money they already give to their nonprofit organizations supporting the arts, culture and humanities at no cost to themselves.
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OLCC SHELVES LIQUOR APPLICATION FOR DIAMONDS GENTLEMEN’S CLUB (Willamette Week)
The Oregon Liquor Control Commission has inactivated the liquor-license application for Diamonds Gentlemen’s Club because the Laurelhurst strip club’s operators won’t provide information about who owns it.
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REP. BENTZ NAMED TO SMALL BUSINESS TASK FORCE (Argus Observer)
Oregon Rep. Cliff Bentz, R-Ontario, was appointed this week by House Speaker Tina Kotek, D-Portland, to the Oregon House Small Business Task Force.
The Task Force will be co-chaired by Rep. Brent Barton, D-Oregon City, and Rep. Tim Freeman, R-Roseburg. Other members on the committee are: Rep. Caddy McKeown, D-Coos Bay, Rep. Kim Thatcher, R-Keizer, and Rep. David Gomberg, D-Central Coast.
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ORE. LAWMAKERS HOPE TO LIMIT TAX LAWSUIT IMPACT (Argus Observer)
The Oregon Senate voted Thursday to back a maneuver aimed at limiting the potential loss from a high-stakes lawsuit that could cost the state as much as $100 million a year in corporate tax revenue.
A case in the state tax court is challenging Oregons method of taxing companies that do business in more than one state.
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STATE REP. GOMBERG JOINS SMALL BUSINESS TASK FORCE (Lincoln County News)
-Rep. David Gomberg, small business owner will bring expertise to Legislatures job creation efforts.-
In ongoing efforts to create jobs and support Oregon small businesses, Rep. David Gomberg D-Newport today was among six legislators appointed to the new bipartisan House Small Business Task Force in the Oregon House of Representatives
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GUN PERMIT NUMBERS SHOOT UP (Oregon Public Broadcasting)
Sterrin Holcomb plugged in 12-hour work days this week to get a grip on Umatilla Countys concealed handgun license applications.
Holcomb, 38, is the sergeant who heads up the sheriffs office civil division, which processes the applications and handles other duties. The division processed 330 new applications from Jan. 1 through March 31, she said, compared to 147 new applications over the same period last year a 124-percent jump.
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SENATORS SEEK FEDERAL DROUGHT HELP (Oregon Public Broadcasting)
With drought conditions worsening in a number of Oregon counties, Sen. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley are seeking federal assistance for Oregon cattle ranchers.
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POLITICAL CHAT: OREGON GUN LAWS STALLED (Oregon Public Broadcasting)
The effort change to gun laws appears to be stalled.
In Salem, a package of proposed gun control bills is apparently in trouble, just like in the U.S. Senate a month ago.
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FAA GIVES OREGON GUARD PERMISSION TO TRAIN SOLDIERS TO FLY DRONES (Oregon Public Broadcasting)
The Federal Aviation Administration has granted special permission to the Oregon Army National Guard to begin training soldiers to fly UAVs — also known as drones — at the East Oregon Regional Airport.
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FLAGS LOWERED IN OREGON FOR BEND SOLDIER (Oregon Public Broadcasting)
Flags at Oregon institutions are flying at half-staff Friday in honor of a Bend soldier who was killed in Afghanistan.
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UMPQUA RIVER BASIN FACES DRY SEASON (Capital Press)
More indications of potential trouble for Oregon farmers and ranchers are coming from the Umpqua River Basin, where snow and rain have been sparse.
Officials say irrigators along the South Umpqua River could face restrictions on water supplies as early as this month.
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OREGON LAWMAKERS WADE INTO VACCINATION DEBATE (KATU)
With the nation’s highest rate of parents refusing vaccinations for their kindergartners, Oregon has become ground zero for the contentious debate over whether children should be vaccinated.
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FRUIT FLY CONCERNS WILLAMETTE VALLEY GROWERS (KGW)
For berry and stone fruit farmers, nature has conspired to create perfect conditions for an explosion of a crop-damaging fruit fly known formally as drosophila suzukii and informally as the spotted wing drosophila.
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GET READY FOR TRAFFIC HEADACHES (Portland Tribune)
-Eastbound I-84 construction will affect night drivers, weekend motorists with detour routes-
To put the brakes on traffic backups on eastbound Interstate 84 from northbound Interstate 205, the Oregon Department of Transportation is adding another lane.
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NEW REPORT SHOWS THE CONTINUING POSITIVE IMPACT OF TOURISM ON OREGON’S ECONOMY (Wall Street Journal)
Just in time for National Travel and Tourism Week–a celebration of the wide-ranging impacts of tourism — an independent report by Dean Runyan Associates estimates that travel spending, employment and earnings within the Oregon travel and tourism industry were all up in 2012 over 2011.
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LIFEWISE JOINS REGENCE IN BACKING AWAY FROM SMALL EMPLOYER EXCHANGE (The Lund Report)
-Providence insists it over-calculated its proposed rates for individuals and is asking the states insurance commissioner for permission to adjust those rates-
Now that the health insurers have shown their hands and announced whether they intend to participate in Oregons insurance exchange, its clear that Regence BlueCross BlueShield isnt alone in backing away from the SHOP small employer exchange.
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$2,854,885 AVAILABLE TO OREGON HEALTH CENTERS TO HELP UNINSURED INDIVIDUALS GAIN AFFORDABLE HEALTH INSURANCE COVERAGE (The Lund Report)
-Health care law provides $150 million for enrollment assistance by health centers nationwide-
Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius today announced new funds to help more uninsured Americans enroll in affordable health insurance coverage made available by the Affordable Care Act
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OREGON FIRST LADY VISITS PCC CASCADE ON MISSION TO END POVERTY (The Skanner)
-Cylvia Hayes spreads the word about the Oregon Prosperity Initiative-
Oregons First Lady, Cylvia Hayes, spoke at Portland Community Colleges Cascade campus May 9, about the states newest anti-poverty efforts
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OREGON TRIBES GATHER IN SALEM FOR TRIBAL NATION’S DAY (Northwest Public Radio)
Leaders and representatives of Oregons nine federally recognized tribes gathered at Oregons State Capitol in Salem this week for tribal nations day.
A dozen years ago Oregon was the first state in the nation to pass a state tribal government to government relations law.
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