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Oregon-Northwest

Oregon gains 4,900 jobs in April as unemployment rate holds steady for third month, at 4.2%

10:29 am

SALEM, Ore. (KTVZ) — Oregon’s seasonally adjusted nonfarm payroll employment rose by 4,900 jobs in April, following a revised gain of 2,600 jobs in March, the Oregon Employment Department reported Wednesday. April’s gains were largest in health care and social assistance (+1,700 jobs); construction (+1,500); and manufacturing (+900). Monthly declines were largest in professional and business services (-1,100 jobs). Over the past two

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Wyden, Merkley praise Senate passage of bill honoring Army ‘Operation Dustoff’ crews for their Vietnam War heroism

10:47 pm

WASHINGTON (KTVZ) – Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley on Monday welcomed the Senate passage of legislation they cosponsored to award a collective Congressional Gold Medal to U.S. Army Dustoff crews in recognition of their extraordinary heroism and life-saving actions during the Vietnam War. Among the Oregonians now earning this well-deserved Congressional Gold Medal under the Dustoff

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OSU researchers identify fastest rate of natural carbon dioxide rise in the last 50,000 years

10:33 pm

CORVALLIS, Ore. (KTVZ) – Today’s rate of atmospheric carbon dioxide increase is 10 times faster than at any other point in the past 50,000 years, researchers have found through a detailed chemical analysis of ancient Antarctic ice. The findings, just published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, provide important new understanding of

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Boeing may be prosecuted after breaking safety agreement that prevented criminal charges for 737 crashes, US DOJ says

4:17 pm

By Evan Perez, CNN (CNN) — The US Justice Department on Tuesday notified Boeing that it breached terms of its 2021 agreement in which the company avoided criminal charges for two fatal 737 Max crashes. After a series of safety missteps earlier this year, including a door plug that blew off an Alaska Airlines flight shortly after

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Gov. Kotek orders flags to half-staff in observance of Peace Officers Memorial Day

4:19 pm

SALEM, Ore. (KTVZ) — Governor Tina Kotek ordered flags at Oregon public institutions to be flown at half-staff immediately on Tuesday pursuant to a Presidential Proclamation in honor of Peace Officers Memorial Day. The flag should be flown at half-staff from midnight until sunset on May 15. “Our law enforcement public safety professionals are confronted head on

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Opioid Settlement Board OKs $13.7 million to boost Oregon’s prevention workforce

3:23 pm

PORTLAND, Ore. (KTVZ) – The Opioid Settlement Prevention, Treatment & Recovery Board has approved a proposal to direct $13.7 million toward increasing and strengthening the state’s substance use prevention workforce. Last week, the Board approved an Alcohol and Drug Policy Commission proposal to build Oregon’s workforce capacity for primary substance use disorder prevention by providing:

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Oregon Golf Association marks 100 years by taking a swing at a ‘Golf Oregon’ license plate, to help young golfers

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(WOODBURN, Ore. (KTVZ) — The Oregon Golf Association has announced that a new “Golf Oregon” license plate could be coming to the state, in celebration of the organization’s 100th anniversary. Golf lovers are now able to purchase a voucher for the state’s first golf-themed license plate, proceeds from which will benefit the Oregon Junior Golf

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Oregon House, Senate Republicans call on Gov. Kotek for action plan to fix Employment Dept. jobless benefit delays

2:26 pm

SALEM, Ore. (KTVZ) – The Oregon Employment Department’s failure to implement Frances Online has meant Oregonians are without critical jobless benefits for weeks and sometimes months. On Tuesday, a group of House and Senate Republicans sent a letter to Governor Kotek urging her administration, in coordination with the Oregon Employment Department, to lay out a

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Forest Service announces $50 million in grants to Oregon, Washington communities for efforts to reduce wildfire risk

1:33 pm

PORTLAND, Ore. (KTVZ) — Communities that have limited resources and face high risk from wildfire are getting additional support from the USDA Forest Service. In an announcement made Tuesday, Oregon will receive more than $24 million and Washington will receive more than $26.6 million in Community Wildfire Defense grant awards. These grants are part of

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Wyden applauds new Biden tariffs targeting China’s ‘predatory trade practices’ and IP theft

8:56 am

WASHINGTON (KTVZ) — Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden, D-Ore., issued the following statement Tuesday in response to the U.S. Trade Representative’s announcement that the U.S. will substantially raise tariffs on a range of green technology products made in China: “I’m pleased President Biden is taking steps to fight back against China’s predatory trade practices in key

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Public comments taken until June 14 on changes to Oregon groundwater rules; commission meeting set in Bend

8:47 am

SALEM, Ore.  – The Oregon Water Resources Department (OWRD) is updating the rules for new groundwater rights applications and is seeking public input on proposed rules that have been developed with input from a Rules Advisory Committee. OWRD is hosting two in-person public hearings and one virtual hearing in May to allow for the public

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Oregon Dept. of Revenue: Taxpayers hit by TurboTax error can cut bill or boost refund by filing amended return

4:07 pm

SALEM, Ore. (KTVZ) — About 12,000 Oregon taxpayers who used TurboTax to prepare their 2023 federal and state tax returns may be able to reduce their tax owed or increase their refund by amending their state return, the state Department of Revenue said Monday. Intuit, the makers of TurboTax, said the software program might not have

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Oregon DOJ won’t bring criminal charges in OLCC managers’ rare bourbon set-asides, but ethics probe pending

3:42 pm

 In a letter to Governor Tina Kotek Monday, Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum announced that, after thoroughly investigating allegations that employees of the Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission improperly used their positions to obtain in-demand bottles of bourbon, the Oregon Department of Justice has concluded that criminal charges are not warranted. The summary report (linked here)

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No criminal charges in rare liquor probe at Oregon alcohol agency, state report says

3:33 pm

By CLAIRE RUSH Associated Press PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Criminal charges are not warranted in the rare liquor probe that shook Oregon’s alcohol agency last year and forced its executive director to resign, state justice officials said Monday. In February 2023, the Oregon Department of Justice began investigating whether employees of the Oregon Liquor and

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Oregon gas prices fall 4.3 cents a gallon in past week, to $4.38, GasBuddy says; still up about 30 cents from a year ago

10:31 am

CHICAGO (KTVZ) — Average gasoline prices in Oregon have fallen 4.3 cents per gallon in the last week, averaging $4.38/g Monday, according to GasBuddy’s survey of 1,307 stations in Oregon. Prices in Oregon are 2.1 cents per gallon lower than a month ago and stand 29.5 cents per gallon higher than a year ago. According

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Preserving a legacy: OSU researchers use 3D scanning to map historical structures at Silver Falls State Park

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SILVERTON, Ore. (KTVZ) — Oregon State University researchers are helping preserve the legacy of Silver Falls State Park by using three-dimensional scanning to produce digital replicas of the park’s historical structures. The work is especially timely given the increasing frequency of wildfires in Oregon and throughout the West, with fires destroying similar historical structures at

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Oregon joins other states in ordering Sigue Corp. to cease money transmission activities due to declining finances

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SALEM, Ore. (KTVZ) – The Oregon Division of Financial Regulation has ordered Sigue Corp. to cease engaging in money transmission activities in the state, saying the company can no longer responsibly serve customers due to its declining financial position. Oregon joined a number of other states, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia in issuing

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20 years on, the first Oregon Zoo-raised condor is flying high at a national park in Central California

2:58 pm

PORTLAND, Ore. (KTVZ) — Call it one of those local-bird-makes-good stories: The first California condor to hatch at the Oregon Zoo’s conservation center just turned 20 years old in California’s Pinnacles National Park. Kun-Wac-Shun, aka condor No. 340, hatched at the Jonsson Center for Wildlife Conservation on May 9, 2004, and has been flying free

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