The 2023 Oregon Legislative session wrapped up Sunday. It included the longest walk out in history, but in the waning days, numerous bills and budgets passed; an always fast-moving process made even more rushed by the 6-week boycott by Republican senators that stalled action on hundreds of bills.
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WASHINGTON (KTVZ) — Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Senate colleagues on Monday urged the Federal Trade Commission to require that auto dealers provide a comprehensive and binding “offer price” for new vehicles, do away with hidden junk fees, retain records to enable enforcement and compliance, and ensure that non-English speakers are treated fairly in the
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SALEM, Ore. (KTVZ) — Gov. Tina Kotek announced Monday that the National Telecommunications and Information Administration will be allocating $688.9 million to Oregon to help improve access to affordable, high-speed, reliable internet in unserved and underserved communities across Oregon. The funding allocation will be used to develop and deploy the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment
Continue ReadingBy REBECCA BOONE Associated Press BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Prosecutors say they are seeking the death penalty against a man accused of stabbing four University of Idaho students to death late last year. Bryan Kohberger, 28, is charged with four counts of murder in connection with the deaths at a rental house near the Moscow,
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Average gasoline prices in Oregon have risen 11.7 cents per gallon in the last week, averaging $4.59/g Monday, according to GasBuddy’s survey of 1,307 stations in Oregon.
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AAA said Monday it expects record-breaking travel for the Independence Day holiday, surpassing the previous record set in 2019. AAA projects 50.7 million Americans (15.1% of the population), including 587,000 Oregonians, will take a trip 50 miles or more from home.
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Oregon State University researchers estimate that gray whales feeding off the Oregon Coast consume up to 21 million microparticles per day, a finding informed in part by poop from the whales.
Continue ReadingBy CARLA K. JOHNSON AP Medical Writer SEATTLE (AP) — The next big advance in cancer treatment could be a vaccine. After decades of limited success, scientists say research has reached a turning point, with many predicting more vaccines will be out in five years. These aren’t traditional vaccines that prevent disease, but shots to
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The Oregon Legislature on Sunday’s final day of the session passed House Bill 2004, which puts a proposal to move to ranked choice voting for federal and statewide races on the statewide ballot in November 2024.
Continue ReadingBy REBECCA BOONE Associated Press BOISE, Idaho (AP) — An Idaho judge has denied a request from roughly two dozen news organizations to lift a gag order in the criminal case of a man accused of stabbing four University of Idaho students to death. The judge did, however, significantly narrow the gag order in response
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PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Oregon’s most populous county is suing more than a dozen large fossil fuel companies to recover costs related to extreme weather events linked to climate change. The lawsuit filed Thursday in Multnomah County Circuit Court alleges the combined carbon pollution the companies emitted was a substantial factor in causing and exacerbating
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Pacific Crest Trail also open for thru hikers OAKRIDGE, Ore. (KTVZ) — The Willamette National Forest announced Friday that it will be reducing the closure order for the Cedar Creek Fire area on the Middle Fork Ranger District. The new closure order will be in effect on June 25 through March 23, 2024, unless rescinded
Continue Reading WASHINGTON (KTVZ) — Sen. Jeff Merkley, a D-Ore., a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, announced Thursday he secured major investments in Oregon agriculture, rural housing, food assistance, and rural business priorities in the FY24 Senate Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies bill, including more than $5 million in funding for
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Knopp, Levy co-chief sponsors of measure SALEM, Ore. – Senate Republican Leader Tim Knopp (R-Bend) carried House Bill 3127 A on the Senate floor Wednesday, a measure banning TikTok on government-owned devices. It passed unanimously. The federal government and 29 states have banned TikTok on government devices. TikTok represents a significant privacy and security concern to state government
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CORVALLIS, Ore. (KTVZ) – Oregon State University Extension Service will use a five-year, $10 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to serve as coordinator of USDA-funded projects that aim to cultivate the next generation of research, education and Extension professionals in food and agricultural sciences. Together for Innovating Youth in Agriculture, housed at
Continue ReadingQUNICY, Wash. (AP) — The man accused of fatally shooting two people and wounding several others at a Washington music festival Saturday told police he was high on psychedelic mushrooms and believed the world was ending, according to court documents. U.S. Army Spc. James Kelly, of Joint Base Lewis-McChord, is facing two counts of first-degree
Continue ReadingBy MARK THIESSEN and AUDREY McAVOY Associated Press ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — A U.S. appeals court on Wednesday halted a lower court ruling that would have shut down southeast Alaska’s chinook salmon troll fishery for the summer to protect endangered orca whales that eat the fish. The ruling by a three-judge 9th Circuit Court panel
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By CLAIRE RUSH Associated Press/Report for America PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Oregon lawmakers on Wednesday officially passed amended versions of the two bills — relating to guns, and abortion and gender-affirming care, respectively — that were at the center of a six-week Republican walkout. Their final passage — coming the week after Republicans stopped their
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The Oregon Senate on Wednesday passed House Bill 2426 with overwhelming bipartisan support. The legislation that now goes to Gov. Tina Kotek’s desk gives Oregon drivers the choice to pump their own gas or receive service from a gas station attendant.
Continue ReadingPORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — An Oregon religious leader convicted multiple times of sexually abusing a former church member when she was a child has been sentenced to more than 13 years in prison. Circuit Judge Andrew Lavin sentenced Michael Sperou Tuesday for two counts of first-degree unlawful sexual penetration, The Oregonian/OregonLive reported. The judge granted
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