State Library eClips
* Oregon casino proposal would give Canadian firms a juicy market, favorable terms
* Don McIntire, activist who led property tax revolt, dies at 74
* Oregon Supreme Court race: Campaign heats up between Judge Richard Baldwin and attorney Nena Cook
* Measure 84 could cost state more than first thought, report says
* Our Oregon files formal complaint, demands investigation into robocalls
* Hunt for water in eastern Oregon has farmers scrambling to tap Columbia River
* Springwater Corridor creates tension over its use: recreation or transportation?
* Oregon farm pollution act goes under the spotlight
* Did Julie Parrish vote to send $160 million to private, for-profit schools? PolitiFact Oregon
* Hungry Hill, the lost site of historic Indian battle in southern Oregon, is found
* Oswego Lake access suit plaintiffs plan to file in state court after dismissed by federal court
* Clear Channel takes down anti-marijuana billboards after complaints
* Oregon AG won’t answer sheriff’s question about marijuana measure
* Jack Ohman cartoon: A running mate for OR-7 — Opinion
* Rising prison costs hit taxpayers
* Secretary of state candidates at City Club
* Rep. Cameron to speak at luncheon
* Forestry panels set meetings
* Comment sought on grant uses
* Oregon property tax system needs to change — Guest Opinion
* Oregon wellness program differs from other states
* Complaint filed against official’s robocalls
* Measure 5 sponsor Don McIntire dies
* ‘Keep Kids Safe’ specialty plate available
* Three tax measures face voters
* Oregons $300 million roadway to frustration
* Roads deadly past drove reconstruction campaign
* GUEST VIEWPOINT: Trains can move coal without clouds of dust — Guest Opinion
* Governor appoints panel on timber counties funding
* Kitzhaber set for 11-day Asia trade mission
* Oregon’s Battleground House Districts Draw Big Bucks
* Prominent Oregon Property Tax Activist Passes Away
* Hall of Fame: Prospect No. 1 Honored for 100 Years of Operation
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OREGON CASINO PROPOSAL WOULD GIVE CANADIAN FIRMS A JUICY MARKET, FAVORABLE TERMS (Portland Oregonian)
To listen to Rod Baker and Jeff Parr talk, the two Canadian companies they run would be doing Oregon a big favor by building a casino in Portland’s backyard.
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DON MCINTIRE, ACTIVIST WHO LED PROPERTY TAX REVOLT, DIES AT 74 (Portland Oregonian)
Don McIntire, who led a 1990 property-taxpayers revolt that profoundly changed Oregon, was found dead in his Gresham home Friday morning, apparently of natural causes. He was 74.
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OREGON SUPREME COURT RACE: CAMPAIGN HEATS UP BETWEEN JUDGE RICHARD BALDWIN AND ATTORNEY NENA COOK (Portland Oregonian)
The race for Oregon Supreme Court justice is bucking the usual low-key judicial campaign tradition– with one of the candidates criticizing the other for “exaggerating” her credentials and the target of the claim standing by her experience.
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MEASURE 84 COULD COST STATE MORE THAN FIRST THOUGHT, REPORT SAYS (Portland Oregonian)
A ballot measure aimed at repealing Oregon’s estate tax could have twice the drain on state revenues than officials first thought, the Legislature’s tax experts say.
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OUR OREGON FILES FORMAL COMPLAINT, DEMANDS INVESTIGATION INTO ROBOCALLS (Portland Oregonian)
Our Oregon filed a formal complaint Friday with the Secretary of State and Attorney General against a Republican House member, a Republican senator and others in connection with robocalls made last week to voters.
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HUNT FOR WATER IN EASTERN OREGON HAS FARMERS SCRAMBLING TO TAP COLUMBIA RIVER (Portland Oregonian)
The crick, as it’s called, tumbles out of the Blue Mountains, carrying snowmelt and spring rain to the Umatilla River. Water is scarce here, eight to 12 inches of precipitation annually on the flats, but Butter Creek grows enough in its 57 mile run to become a rushing stream for a couple months a year. By high summer it is bone dry, a channeled low spot amid the sage.
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SPRINGWATER CORRIDOR CREATES TENSION OVER ITS USE: RECREATION OR TRANSPORTATION? (Portland Oregonian)
Last year, a river of parents, strollers, kids, dogs, walkers, runners, in-line skaters, horseback riders and cyclists took 1.2 million trips along the Springwater Corridor, making it Portland’s fourth most popular multiuse trail. But despite its image as a Portland playground, problems exist along the 21 miles of flat, smooth asphalt that runs from downtown to Boring.
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OREGON FARM POLLUTION ACT GOES UNDER THE SPOTLIGHT (Portland Oregonian)
Last year, Marion County’s soil and water conservation district decided to upgrade water quality along Zollner Creek. It wasn’t a hard call.
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DID JULIE PARRISH VOTE TO SEND $160 MILLION TO PRIVATE, FOR-PROFIT SCHOOLS? POLITIFACT OREGON (Portland Oregonian)
One of the fiercest legislative fights in 2011 had to do with a bill that loosened enrollment restrictions at online charter schools.
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HUNGRY HILL, THE LOST SITE OF HISTORIC INDIAN BATTLE IN SOUTHERN OREGON, IS FOUND (Portland Oregonian)
The sun rose, but a chilly fog lingered in the air that morning, deep in the mountains of southern Oregon.
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OSWEGO LAKE ACCESS SUIT PLAINTIFFS PLAN TO FILE IN STATE COURT AFTER DISMISSED BY FEDERAL COURT (Portland Oregonian)
A federal judge in Portland dismissed a lawsuit Thursday that challenged whether the city of Lake Oswego has the right to restrict people from accessing the lake from public property.
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CLEAR CHANNEL TAKES DOWN ANTI-MARIJUANA BILLBOARDS AFTER COMPLAINTS (Portland Oregonian)
Controversial anti-marijuana billboards around the Portland area featuring a haggard looking child have all been taken down, Clear Channel Outdoor confirmed on Friday.
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OREGON AG WON’T ANSWER SHERIFF’S QUESTION ABOUT MARIJUANA MEASURE (Portland Oregonian)
The Oregon Attorney General’s Office declined to answer a local sheriff’s question about a ballot measure that would regulate the sale and cultivation of marijuana.
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JACK OHMAN CARTOON: A RUNNING MATE FOR OR-7 — OPINION (Portland Oregonian)
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RISING PRISON COSTS HIT TAXPAYERS (Salem Statesman Journal)
Oregons inmate population has been steadily increasing, and will continue to grow for the next 10 years, at an escalating cost to taxpayers.
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SECRETARY OF STATE CANDIDATES AT CITY CLUB (Salem Statesman Journal)
Secretary of State Kate Brown and four challengers in the Nov. 6 election will be at the next Salem City Club luncheon.
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REP. CAMERON TO SPEAK AT LUNCHEON (Salem Statesman Journal)
State Rep. Kevin Cameron, R-Salem, will speak at the next luncheon of the Valley Pachyderm Club.
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FORESTRY PANELS SET MEETINGS (Salem Statesman Journal)
Two advisory panels of the Oregon Department of Forestry will meet in Salem.
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COMMENT SOUGHT ON GRANT USES (Salem Statesman Journal)
Public comment is sought and a public hearing is scheduled on proposed plans for and uses of federal housing and public works grants.
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OREGON PROPERTY TAX SYSTEM NEEDS TO CHANGE — GUEST OPINION (Salem Statesman Journal)
The proof is all too apparent. Oregons property tax system is in need of reform.
Numerous counties are on the verge of bankruptcy. Oregons schools are cutting days and weeks off the school year and laying off teachers by the dozen. Meanwhile, cities have cut important and necessary programs, drained rainy day funds and postponed essential infrastructure projects.
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OREGON WELLNESS PROGRAM DIFFERS FROM OTHER STATES (Salem Statesman Journal)
-PEBB’s approach has led to 86 percent participation rate, among nation’s highest-
Oregon state workers might not love paying on their health insurance premiums, which started this year, but it might be of some comfort to realize that the premiums Oregon workers pay are considered a reward in South Dakota.
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COMPLAINT FILED AGAINST OFFICIAL’S ROBOCALLS (Salem Statesman Journal)
The union-funded group Our Oregon has requested a state investigation of automated calls questioning the registration status of voters, including several received in the Mid-Valley.
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MEASURE 5 SPONSOR DON MCINTIRE DIES (Salem Statesman Journal)
Don McIntire, the chief sponsor of the 1990 measure that placed limits on Oregon property taxes, was found dead in his Gresham home on Friday. He was 74.
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‘KEEP KIDS SAFE’ SPECIALTY PLATE AVAILABLE (Salem Statesman Journal)
A new Oregon specialty license plate, this one promoting Keep Kids Safe, will be available starting Monday.Proceeds will go to the Childrens Trust Fund of Oregon and pay for programs aimed at child abuse in Oregons 36 counties.
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THREE TAX MEASURES FACE VOTERS (Eugene Register-Guard)
-Real estate transfers, the corporate kicker and estate taxes are the focus-
Nearly three years after voting to raise taxes on corporations and the wealthy, Oregon voters will weigh in again this November on a few more tweaks to the states tax code.
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OREGONS $300 MILLION ROADWAY TO FRUSTRATION (Eugene Register-Guard)
-How straightening out a dangerous highway became a fiasco-
Construction that is six years behind schedule. Cost overruns of $170 million. Four bridges, built at a cost of $17.1 million and then blown up.
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ROADS DEADLY PAST DROVE RECONSTRUCTION CAMPAIGN (Eugene Register-Guard)
People have been dying on the 10-mile stretch of Highway 20 between Pioneer Mountain and Eddyville since automobiles began to replace wagons a century ago. By the time it was designated a safety corridor in 1999, the crash rate there was 60 percent higher than the statewide average for similar roadways.
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GUEST VIEWPOINT: TRAINS CAN MOVE COAL WITHOUT CLOUDS OF DUST — GUEST OPINION (Eugene Register-Guard)
On television several evenings ago, I watched a news segment about people protesting the possibility of coal trains moving through Eugene and down the Coos Bay Railroad to the International Port of Coos Bay. The premise seemed to be that the trains would spread coal dust into the atmosphere, causing a health hazard. There appears to be a great deal of misinformation about coal trains and coal dust.
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GOVERNOR APPOINTS PANEL ON TIMBER COUNTIES FUNDING (Medford Mail Tribune)
October 12, 2012
Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber has created a panel to try to end a stalemate over federal forest lands that once belonged to a corrupt railroad.
Almost a hundred years ago Congress seized about 2 and a half million acres of forest from the Oregon & California Railroad. Today the O & C lands are managed by the feds, but Oregon counties get half the profits from timber sales.
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KITZHABER SET FOR 11-DAY ASIA TRADE MISSION (Oregon Business Journal)
October 12, 2012
Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber will stress the state’s bountiful agriculture resources during an 11-day Asian trade mission that begins Sunday.
Kitzhaber and his team will hit Shanghai, China, Hong Kong and Tokyo during the trek. He plans to promote Oregon’s dairy and potato industries.
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OREGON’S BATTLEGROUND HOUSE DISTRICTS DRAW BIG BUCKS (KUOW)
10/12/2012
Democrats and Republicans have raised more than $12 million combined this year to try to break a deadlock in the Oregon House. Each party holds 30 seats, and the outcome of next month’s election will determine who gets to hold the Speakers gavel. Most of the big money is pouring into a handful of battleground districts.
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PROMINENT OREGON PROPERTY TAX ACTIVIST PASSES AWAY (KUOW)
10/12/2012
A prominent outspoken Oregon anti-tax tax activist has died of a suspected heart attack. 74-year-old Don McIntire was found Friday morning in his Gresham home.
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HALL OF FAME: PROSPECT NO. 1 HONORED FOR 100 YEARS OF OPERATION (hydroworld.com)
October 12, 2012
For 100 years, PacifiCorp’s 4.6-MW Prospect No. 1 plant has provided a reliable source of clean, renewable power to the communities of southern Oregon. Prospect No. 1 began operation in 1912, and improvement measures included in the new Federal Energy Regulatory Commission operating license, issued in 2008, will carry the project forward for the next 30 years.
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