Wildfires Busting State Budgets Across West
While all eyes have been on hurricanes Harvey and Irma, the West has been burning – with many states having their worst fire seasons in decades.
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Late-Season Wildfires Choke US West With Smoke
Heavy winter snow and a very wet spring in the Western U.S. generated predictions the 2017 wildfire season would be tame. But it’s shaping up to be one of the worst in U.S. history in land burned.
Read moreAsh Blankets Portland, Oregon, as Wildfire Explodes to 31,000 Acres
Residents of Portland, Oregon, awoke Tuesday to a blanket of ash and the news that a forest fire in the Columbia River Gorge had somehow leapt the mighty river overnight.
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North American Total Eclipse: ‘A Magnificent Twilight’
The moon’s shadow hit North America at 10:15 a.m. on Monday, bathing the Oregon coast in daytime darkness before gliding east across the nation and disappearing over the Atlantic Ocean.
Read moreOregon Governor Signs Law Protecting Right to Abortion
Oregon Governor Kate Brown on Tuesday signed a law protecting the right to legal abortion in Oregon, even if Roe v. Wade or the Affordable Care Act were to be overturned.
Read moreExtinction Possible as Salmon Runs Hit Near-Record Lows
The population of spring-run Chinook salmon has ebbed to the point where fish advocates, Native Americans and environmentalists are warning near-term extinction is a real possibility.
Read moreOregon Weighs Privatization to Cure $5 Billion Pension Shortfall
Ideas to address an estimated $5 billion shortfall in funding for the retirement plans promised to Oregon public employees focused heavily on privatizing public assets at a task force meeting on Monday, including privatizing state universities and liquor sales and selling off public water rights.
Read moreOregon Attack Suspect: ‘No Heroes in This Case’
Anyone looking for signs of remorse from the man witnesses say brutally slashed the throats of three men after spewing racist slurs at two girls on a commuter train would have been disappointed at a hearing on Tuesday.
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Homeless Man Might Get Second Chance to Tackle City Ordinance
A homeless man who represented himself in a lawsuit claiming a city camping ban criminalized homelessness could get a second chance at his case after garnering sympathy from a panel of Ninth Circuit judges.
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Environmentalists Win on Appeal of Anti-Logging Ad
The Port of Portland violated the First Amendment when it barred an environmental group’s ad at the Portland airport: “Welcome to Oregon – Home of the Clearcut,” the Oregon Court of Appeals ruled this week.
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FBI Agent Charged in Oregon Standoff Shooting
A federal grand jury charged an FBI agent with obstructing justice, claiming he lied to cover up the shots he fired at a truck driven by a spokesman for the Malheur Wildlife Refuge occupiers, just before Robert “LaVoy” Finicum was gunned down by Oregon state police.
Read moreFBI Agent Indicted in Oregon Refuge Standoff Shooting
An FBI agent has been indicted on accusations that he lied about firing at a rancher in 2016 when officers arrested leaders of an armed occupation of a federal wildlife refuge in rural Oregon.
Read moreOregon Joins States Where Roadkill Can Be Harvested for Food
Under a roadkill bill passed overwhelmingly by the Legislature and signed by the governor, motorists who crash into the animals can now harvest the meat to eat.
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Ninth Circuit Sides With DEA Over Oregon and ACLU
The Ninth Circuit ruled Monday that the ACLU did not have standing to intervene in Oregon’s challenge to DEA subpoenas of the Oregon Prescription Drug Monitoring Program.
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Oregon to Offer Third Gender on State IDs
In a decision praised by transgender rights activists, Oregon will be the first state to allow residents to mark a third, “not specified” gender option on state identification cards.
Read moreOregon Lottery Rigged Poker Machine Class Action Folds
A man who claimed the Oregon Lottery’s video poker machines were rigged didn’t produce a viable class action, the state appeals court held.
Read moreBattle for Climate-Change Records Stumbles in Court
A federal judge grilled challengers Wednesday about their demand for emails written under a pseudonym by Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who they believe has guided government energy policy toward fossil fuels and away from renewable resources.
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Feds Kill One Owl Species to Try to Save Another
Habitat of the Northern spotted owl continues to be imperiled by logging in Oregon because of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s inaction, an environmental group claims in Federal Court.
Read moreWhistleblower Sues Beleaguered Ex-Sheriff for $1 Million
Former Multnomah County Sheriff Dan Staton demoted his assistant for commissioning an audit that showed sheriff’s officers were more violent toward black inmates in city jails, the officer claims in a $1 million lawsuit.
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Feds Accused of Weakening Oregon Trout Species
Two environmental groups challenged the federal government’s practice of releasing summer-run steelhead trout in Oregon’s Upper Willamette Basin, claiming it prevents endangered winter-run steelhead trout from recovering.
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