BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) — Oregon families who received Summer Electronic Benefits Transfer funds have 122 days from issuance to spend their benefits before they expire. For families who automatically received benefits on June 5th, 2026, those funds will expire on October 4th, 2026. The Summer EBT program is jointly administered by the Oregon Department of
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The Oregon Department of Revenue’s Bend regional office will temporarily close at noon on Oct. 5 for staff training. Located at 951 SW Simpson Avenue, Suite 100, the office will remain closed all day on Oct. 6 before reopening at 1 p.m. on Oct. 7. The closure in Bend aligns with broader statewide administrative scheduling
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(Update: adding Rep. Janelle Bynum lead request) BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) — Rep. Janelle Bynum, D-Oregon, and two other congressional lawmakers led a group of 24 members of Congress today in requesting a formal review of the Environmental Protection Agency’s efforts to study and regulate microplastics in drinking water and ecosystems. Rep. Janelle Bynum, D-Oregon, Rep.
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BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) — Today, The Oregon Department of Administrative Services published the maximum allowable rent increase percentages for calendar year 2027. The maximum allowable rent increase percentage for tenancies subject to ORS 90.324(b) is set at 10%. The annual announcement complies with state law under ORS 90.324. According to the Oregon Department of Administrative
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SALEM, Ore. (KTVZ) — Gov. Tina Kotek issued Executive Order 26-26 today to establish new artificial intelligence procurement and safety standards for Oregon’s executive branch. The order aims to create safeguards and oversight for frontier AI models used by state government amid a lack of action at the federal level. The executive order directs Oregon’s
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Update: The Oregon Attorney General’s Office has provided this statement concerning Rep. Yunker’s letter: “For the past year and a half, the Oregon Department of Justice has successfully protected nearly $7 billion in federal funding for critical services that Oregon families and communities depend on, including funding for education, disaster preparedness, emergency infrastructure, and—notably—millions of dollars
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(KTVZ) — U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, along with 16 other senators, have demanded an independent investigation into allegations that Department of Homeland Security officials directed staff to illegally access state voter data. A total of 18 senators signed a letter to the DHS Office of Inspector General requesting the probe. The request
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SALEM, Ore. (KTVZ) — Right now, Oregon Senator Jeff Merkley is calling for more federal oversight of artificial intelligence. Senator Merkley says experts heard during a recent briefing recommended creating a regulatory agency similar to the FDA. “You need the equivalent of FDA controlling new drugs,” Senator Merkley said Wednesday. “In this case, you’re really
Continue Reading BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) — Members of Congress are considering federal legislation to establish regulations for college student-athlete compensation and transfer rules. The proposed measure, known as the Protect College Sports Act, comes amid growing debate over how money and transfers are handled across college athletics. Since 2021, college athletes have been permitted to earn compensation
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SALEM, Ore. (KTVZ) — U.S. Senators Ron Wyden, Jeff Merkley and Elizabeth Warren, alongside U.S. Reps. Val Hoyle, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Suhas Subramanyam, introduced legislation today aimed at banning corporate and private equity ownership of medical practices. The proposal, titled the Stop Corporate Takeovers of Physicians Act, seeks to eliminate legal loopholes that allow private
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BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) — The Oregon Department of Justice has launched an online resource called “Open Door to Government” to help residents navigate state government operations, in hopes of making government more transparent and accessible for all Oregonians. The new portal offers guidance on public records requests, public meeting laws, official legal opinions, board appointments
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CROOK COUNTY, Ore. (KTVZ) — Crook County residents are being sought to serve on two regional public lands advisory committees in central and eastern Oregon. The citizen-based councils offer community members an opportunity to bring their experience and perspectives to federal land management discussions. The open positions involve the Deschutes/Ochoco Resource Advisory Committee and the
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(KTVZ) — U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden and four other Democratic senators sent a letter to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins questioning federal preparation and resource allocation during the 2026 wildfire season. The outreach comes as record-breaking wildfires burn across Western states. In Oregon alone, more than 2.5 million acres have burned
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SALEM, Ore. (KTVZ) — Oregon lawmakers approved millions of dollars in emergency funding during the September meeting of the Joint Legislative Emergency Board, with much of the money going toward wildfire suppression. The board approved 42 items totaling $139.6 million in General Fund support. Of that, $122.8 million was allocated to the Oregon Department of
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SALEM, Ore. — Oregon’s public defense crisis is showing signs of improvement, with the number of defendants waiting for an attorney dropping 66% over the past year, according to Governor Tina Kotek. When Kotek appointed Ken Sanchagrin to lead the Oregon Public Defense Commission in April 2025, more than 4,000 defendants statewide were without legal
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SALEM, Ore. (KTVZ) — Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield is leading a bipartisan coalition of 49 attorneys general calling on the Federal Communications Commission to close regulatory loopholes and enforce stricter oversight of phone companies that route illegal robocalls. The coalition is pushing the FCC to require telecommunications providers to thoroughly vet business partners and
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(Update: adding video, comments from intern, fire chief) CROOKED RIVER RANCH, Ore. (KTVZ) — A grant is helping Crooked River Ranch Fire & Rescue complete work that Chief Sean Hartley says can be difficult for a small district to fit between emergency calls: maintaining a consistent connection with the community. The district received a $3,000
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SALEM, Ore. (KTVZ) — Gov. Tina Kotek today directed all state agencies to immediately pause unapproved requests for state-owned property for data center projects. The order halts easements, rights-of-way, leases, rentals, land-use permits and sales or transfers of state property through July 1, 2027, unless directed otherwise by statewide action from the Governor’s Office or
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WASHINGTON, D.C. (CNN) — A former Labor Secretary with ties to Oregon is under fire from the Labor Department’s internal watchdog. A new 40-page report says Lori Chavez-Deremer spent public money on personal travel and tolerated harassment. It also found she had an inappropriate relationship with a member of her security detail. More than three
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BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) — Oregon Secretary of State Tobias Read met with Central Oregon residents during an hourlong event hosted by the League of Women Voters of Deschutes County to discuss election security, voting options and ballot handling. The presentation took place as the upcoming election approaches, approximately 61 days away. The Bend gathering was
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