Month: June 2019

After a long floor session in the Oregon Senate on Saturday, House bills 3450 and 3452 were the last to pass the Senate floor, both on 27-0 votes. Rep. Cheri Helt (R-Bend), finishing up her first term in Salem, is the chief sponsor of both bills and had been pushing hard for their passage in

SALEM, Ore. (AP) — Oregon voters will decide next year whether the state should increase its tobacco tax. The Senate voted 18-8 Sunday to approve House Bill 2270 and put the question to the voters for next year’s general election. The measure will increase the cigarette tax by $2 a pack and impose the state’s

Damian Lillard wasn’t a top-five pick. Tobias Harris wasn’t a lottery pick. Khris Middleton wasn’t even a first-rounder. Their bank balances won’t know the difference soon. Free agency opened Sunday with nearly $2 billion in deals getting struck in the opening hours — and that’s even without Kyrie Irving officially joining Brooklyn, as has been

ATLANTA (AP) — The Atlanta Hawks have traded Kent Bazemore to the Portland Trail Blazers for Evan Turner is a swap of high-priced players heading into the final year of their contracts. Bazemore was the last holdover from the Hawks’ 60-win team in 2014-15. The 6-foot-5 swingman lost his starting job midway through last season

A driver who failed to stop at a stop sign was arrested in a Prineville traffic stop Friday evening after a drug-sniffing K-9’s alert turned up two guns, methamphetamine and cash in his rental car, Crook County sheriff’s deputies said. Deputy Jordan Friese pulled over the car driven by Theodore Ernest Jokinen, 41, around 5:30

A raid on a dog breeding operation east of Madras on Saturday led to the seizure of 57 dogs living in “unsatisfactory living conditions” and animal neglect charges against the breeder, Jefferson County sheriff’s deputies said late Saturday night. Deputies served a search warrant shortly after 9 a.m. at a property on Northeast Loucks Road,

GRANTS PASS, Ore. (AP) — Oregon State Police say a man was fatally struck by a vehicle on Interstate 5. The driver of the vehicle and his passenger were treated for minor injuries after the crash near Grants Pass late Saturday night. Police said Sunday troopers had received several calls about someone walking on the

SALEM, Ore. (AP) — Oregon will substantially narrow the use of the death penalty by limiting qualifying crimes. The Senate voted 17-10 Saturday to restrict capital punishment to apply to terrorist acts that kill two or more people. Killing police officers and kids younger than 14 also applies. Lawmakers cannot introduce an outright ban on

(Update: More on victim’s recovery of tools) A Redmond woman’s report that her grandson stole her credit card and used it around the area led to a raid Friday at a home that turned up more than $30,000 worth of stolen items, including a utility trailer, and the arrests of three people on theft and

Good evening Central Oregon! A nice day today on the High Desert, with warm temperatures. We are starting to see some clouds roll in across the region now. Those clouds will be with us through the night as we will see overnight lows a bit on the warmer side dipping down into the 40s and

A landmark paid family and medical leave insurance program passed the Oregon House Thursday, supporters said. The proposal, House Bill 2005, provides every Oregon worker 12 weeks of paid leave to welcome a new child, to recover from a serious illness, to care for a loved one recovering from a serious illness or to deal

SALEM, Ore. (AP) — Undocumented immigrants in Oregon will legally be able to obtain driver’s licenses under a measure sent to the governor’s desk. Senators voted 17-10 Saturday to approve House Bill 2015, which expands driving privileges to all Oregon residents regardless of their immigration status. Gov. Kate Brown is expected to sign the measure.

Happy Sunday, Central Oregon! Sunday through Monday, a large, upper-level trough will give us unstable conditions east of the Cascades. Sunday will have mostly sunny skies with highs in the upper 70s to low 80s, putting us right in the range of seasonal highs. On Monday, the upper-level trough will deepen and bring a stronger

A downtown Bend bank and real estate office had windows smashed out and were entered by a burglar late Friday night, but police said they did not find a suspect. Around 11:30 p.m., a security official with Chase Bank at 450 Northwest Franklin Avenue called police to report seeing on bank video someone who was

The Oregon Senate voted Saturday to remove a small but common barrier standing between many Oregonians – particularly younger voters and working voters – and the ballot box. Senate Bill 861 requires the state to pay for ballot return envelopes that can be returned by business reply mail, or other mailing service determined by the

Children with intensive needs who are at risk of out-of-home placement will have new hope for services, with the passage Saturday of Senate Bill 1, supporters said. Senate Bill 1 – which passed on the Senate floor — establishes a System of Care Advisory Council that will coordinate the development of services that can be

Those who work in education and are accused of abuse won’t be able to just move on to other school districts without investigation, under a bill that passed the Oregon Senate on Saturday. Senate Bill 155 requires investigations of all reports involving suspected abuse or sexual conduct by school employees, contractors and agents. It also

OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — Shoppers from Oregon and other states that don’t have a sales tax are losing their automatic tax break at businesses in Washington state, starting Monday. Washington lawmakers amended the sales tax exemption — which was first enacted in 1965 — as part of a tax package passed earlier this year alongside

(Updating throughout; 3 arrests) PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Competing demonstrations spilled into the streets of downtown Portland on Saturday, with fights breaking out in places as marchers clashed. At least three groups had planned rallies or demonstrations at different sites in the city, including members of the so-called Proud Boys and anti-fascist groups that include

SALEM, Ore. (AP) — Oregon will overhaul the way it handles workplace harassment complaints within the Capitol months after allegations of sexual misconduct rocked the statehouse under a pair of measures that won final legislative approval on Saturday. The Senate sent two companion bills to the governor meant to ensure workplace training and more thorough