SALEM, Ore. (KTVZ) — Ahead of the short legislative session beginning February 2nd, Representative Mark Owens, Representative Vikki Breese-Iverson, and Senator Mike McLane will host a virtual town hall via Zoom to connect with Oregonians. On Thursday, January 29th, beginning at 6 p.m., you can join in on the town hall to hear from the
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By Shaanth Nanguneri, Oregon Capital Chronicle PORTLAND, Ore. –Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek kicked off her plan Thursday to jump-start Oregon’s economy alongside some of the state’s top business and industry leaders as the state continues to battle unemployment and slow economic growth. The 16 members of Kotek’s “Prosperity Council” represent different Oregon regions and sectors
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BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) — Deschutes County Natural Resources will begin accepting applications for its 2026 Sweat Equity Bin Rental Program on Sunday, Feb. 1. Officials say the program helps local communities remove fire fuels and improve defensible spaces around homes and other structures by covering the cost of trash bin rentals. Funds set aside for
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By Alex Baumhardt, Oregon Capital Chronicle SALEM, Ore. — After a year-long search, Gov. Tina Kotek has chosen Nevada’s state forester to take the helm of the Oregon Department of Forestry. Kacey KC would be the first woman to permanently hold the director’s position in the 115-year-old agency’s history. The Oregon Senate would need to
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SALEM, Ore. (KTVZ) — Oregon’s unemployment rate held at 5.2% in both November and December, the same rate as September, the Oregon Employment Department reported Thursday. The U.S. unemployment rate was 4.5% in November and 4.4% in December. Here’s the detailed Oregon jobs report: In December, Oregon’s seasonally adjusted nonfarm payroll employment dropped by 2,200
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OREGON (KTVZ) — Senator Anthony Broadman, Representative Emerson Levy, and Representative Jason Kropf will be hosting legislative Town Halls this Sunday in Bend and Redmond. On Sunday at 1:00 p.m., a Town Hall will take place at OSU Cascades’ Edward J. Ray Hall Atrium. After that, at 3:30 p.m. another Town Hall will be hosted
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BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) — County Commissioners wrapped up 2 days of public input relating to the much debated Map C Plan to district Deschutes County into 5 districts. They have now delayed the decision by at least 2 weeks. After two days of public input, county commissioners told KTVZ News feedback was mostly Negative. Now
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Crook County School Board and District leaders are asking the community to weigh in as the board considers whether to appoint Dr. Joel Hoff as the district’s permanent superintendent.
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(Update: Adding quotes from Governor Tina Kotek, Christine Drazan) SALEM, Ore. (KTVZ)– House Speaker Julie Fahey and Senate President Rob Wagner announced Wednesday they will introduce legislation to set the date of the referendum on House Bill 3991 for May 19, aligning the vote with Oregon’s statewide primary election. The Democratic leaders said the goal
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(UPDATE: Adding video and quote from Bend Mayor Melanie Kebler) BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) — BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) — A majority of Bend and Deschutes County leaders agreed at a joint meeting Tuesday to extend the Juniper Ridge Temporary Safe Stay Area six more months, to mid-2027. But there was reluctance and some opposition from both elected boards amid an end to federal funding and a desire to fully close
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SALEM, Ore. (KTVZ) – State senators Mike McLane (R-Powell Butte) and Anthony Broadman (D-Bend), working with the Oregon Hunters Association, introduced legislation this week to protect Oregonians’ access to public lands through “corner crossing.” Corner crossing, or stepping from public land to public land where adjoining corners of public and private lands meet, has been a legal uncertainty in
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SALEM, Ore. (KTVZ) — State Representatives Virgle Osborne (R-Roseburg) and Alek Skarlatos (R-Canyonville) and Senator Anthony Broadman (D-Bend) are reintroducing bipartisan legislation for the 2026 legislative session to allow the registration and on-road use of Kei trucks in Oregon. “The bill responds to continued interest from small businesses, farmers, contractors, and community members seeking affordable, practical
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Oregon’s governor is organizing a new committee of advisers to weigh in on issues arising from the rapid growth of data centers in the state.
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Oregon homeowners who take steps to protect their homes from wildfire could pay less for property insurance under a southern Oregon state senator’s proposal to require insurers to consider fire prevention efforts when setting rates.
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SALEM, Ore. (KTVZ) — Governor Tina Kotek announced Wednesday a coordinated effort with the Oregon Health Authority and the Hospital Association of Oregon to stabilize and sustain labor and delivery services across the state. “This partnership reflects a shared commitment to keeping care local, supporting new families, and ensuring hospitals are sustained through higher rates
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By Shaanth Nanguneri, Oregon Capital Chronicle SALEM, Ore. — A powerful Oregon legislative committee chair is calling for increased “safeguards and protections” on the use of data collected by a controversial crime-fighting technology scanning license plates that critics fear the Trump administration will weaponize. Sen. Floyd Prozanski, a Eugene Democrat who chairs the Senate Judiciary
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SISTERS, Ore. (KTVZ) — The city of Sisters has launched an outdoor lighting rebate program for residential property owners, to help defray the costs of replacing outdoor lighting fixtures with ones that comply with the city’s Dark Skies lighting ordinance. The city said the goal of the rebate program that began on Friday is to
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WASHINGTON (KTVZ) – Oregon Senator Jeff Merkley and California Senator Alex Padilla, ranking member of the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration, have raised concerns with recent developments by the U.S. Postal Service affecting postmark practices, and their potential impacts on vote-by-mail elections. Right before the holiday season, USPS clarified its recent practices in a
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By Jerry Cornfield, Washington State Standard PORTLAND, Ore. — Washington and Oregon will not have to build a bridge with a movable span to accommodate tall marine vessels when they replace the aging Interstate 5 bridge across the Columbia River, the U.S. Coast Guard decided Friday. Instead, the states can go with a less expensive
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By Alex Baumhardt, Oregon Capital Chronicle SALEM, Ore. — There’s an ambitious effort underway at the Capitol to overhaul how the state determines funding levels for schools, but lawmakers are torn over the timing and larger questions about the goals of Oregon’s public education system. Sen. Janeen Sollman, D-Hillsboro, and Rep. Ricki Ruiz, D-Gresham, co-chairs
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