For more than a decade, Oregon forecasters have underestimated the strength of the state’s economy — and the amount of money it collects each year. That’s led to tax rebate windfalls for Oregon residents, who receive a portion of excess revenue under the state’s unique “kicker” law. It’s also left state lawmakers with less money to spend on schools…

A new investigation published in The Oregonian/OregonLive focuses on the life of an Oregon girl who was repeatedly trafficked for sex and on how the foster care system had failed to protect her. On the latest Beat Check, investigative reporter Hillary Borrud talked about the story, including how sex trafficking of children can happen in a city like…

We’re a few days out from Election Day 2024, and reporters at The Oregonian/OregonLive have been hard at work trying to decode all the results and what they mean for our region. Portland’s got a new mayor, and the new City Council is coming into focus too. Voters chose two new progressive Multnomah County Commissioner candidates over their more mod…

In one of the most contentious and consequential elections in recent memory, Oregon has become ground zero for one of the most intriguing and potentially important races in the United States. District 5, a wide swath of Oregon that stretches from SE Portland to Albany to Bend, is home to a heated and hotly-contested political showdown between Repub…

The Oregonian/OregonLive's Maxine Bernstein reported on the two-week trial in federal court that brought to light a pattern of crimes by defendant Negasi Zuberi. A final twist as the case was headed to the jury threatened to hold up the final verdict. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…

The senior vice president at DHM Research decodes his firm's recent polling on the Portland mayor's race, voter attitudes about downtown and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesبقلم The Oregonian/OregonLive

At the end of September, when the federal government canceled Oregon’s first-ever offshore wind lease sale, many people were left with questions about why and what’s next. The announcement from the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management came after Gov. Tina Kotek sent a letter to the agency asking it to stop the Oct. 15 auction. Kotek cited tribal …

On the latest Beat Check, Oregonian/OregonLive reporters Shane Dixon Kavanaugh and Julia Silverman discuss the prospects of Portland mayoral hopefuls Rene Gonzalez, Carmen Rubio and Keith Wilson. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesبقلم The Oregonian/OregonLive

The general election is fast approaching and Oregon journalists are working hard to inform voters. The Oregonian/OregonLive’s politics team is tackling everything from congressional races to local measures. A particular focus this fall is Portland’s new ranked-choice voting system. Jamie Goldberg, who with Betsy Hammond leads the newsroom’s politic…

Connie Chung is an icon. It’s been almost 20 years since she was regularly on air, but she’s still a household name and a namesake for a generation of Asian American women. Americans remember her as one of the faces of the news, from the 1970s through the early 2000s. She interviewed Nixon and Oregon’s one-time Olympic darling-turned-national villa…

School is back in session, but September has been warmer than usual. Thousands of students in the Portland area were let out of school early or had classes canceled earlier this month as temperatures reached triple digits and dirty air from wildfires in the region triggered air quality alerts. With extreme weather events on the rise both during sum…

Portland City Hall is on the verge of some truly monumental changes, ranging from the radical transformation of how the city’s government operates to an historic election in November that will usher in a new mayor and expanded 12-member City Council. The work to get here has now been years in the making. Few have followed the twists and turns of th…

new wave energy test site is nearly complete off the Oregon coast. The site, overseen by Oregon State University, will allow private developers to test devices that can harness the power of ocean waves, a technology that’s still in its infancy. The hope is that wave energy can become another major source of clean, renewable electricity akin to sola…

Last month, watchdog reporter Ted Sickinger published an in-depth article examining a loophole in the Oregon Lottery’s rules. In Oregon, it is perfectly legal to re-sell your winning lottery ticket at a discount, allowing the buyer to claim the prize. Why would anyone do this? Well, if they wanted to avoid having the state seize part of their winni…

The 2024 fire season so far hasn’t encroached on as many highly populated areas or forced as many mass evacuations as some recent years. But it’s been historic nonetheless. More acres have burned across the state than in any year since at least 1992, when officials started keeping a reliable tally. Sujena Soumyanath and Fedor Zarkin, public safety …

Portland, like much of Oregon, is still in the throes of a housing crisis. Rents and home prices continue to squeeze some residents and move further out of reach for many more. Developers who could help reverse these troubling tends are skittish. Meanwhile, the dream of converting swaths of empty offices in Portland’s beleaguered downtown to apartm…

This summer marked the debut of The Oregonian/OregonLive’s first long-form serial narrative podcast with Wondery. “Happily Never After” rapidly climbed the charts and left listeners wanting more about the case of Nancy Crampton Brophy, convicted of murdering her husband, a Portland chef. Reporter Zane Sparling, who covers Multnomah County Courts fo…

A new state-wide coalition wants to add an environmental rights amendment to the Oregon Constitution. It would enshrine the right to a healthy environment in the Bill of Rights. Proponents say making the right to a healthy environment a fundamental right is key in the era of human-made climate change. Right now, such a right is not explicitly spell…

Few helped define the Portland food scene that would fuel the city’s glowing reputation for innovation and creativity the last two decades than Naomi Pomeroy, the celebrated chef, cookbook author and James Beard Award winner. Pomeroy died July 13 in a tragic accident while floating on the Willamette River near her hometown of Corvallis. She was jus…

Many consumers want to do their part to slow down global warming and they’re flocking to companies that try to do less harm to the planet. Companies, in turn, love to claim they’re environmentally friendly, sustainable or carbon neutral. Because in a world battered by climate change, it’s not just morally right to fight climate change, it also pays…

Forecasts for this past weekend called for another lengthy heatwave, with temperatures exceeding 100 degrees for four days in a row — maybe longer. This won’t be the Portland area’s hottest stretch. That was a 2021 heat wave when temperatures hit 116 degrees. About 100 people died in Oregon. But this 2024 heat wave might end up among the longest, w…

Longtime reporter Tom Hallman Jr. retired last week after nearly 44 years at The Oregonian. His byline is a favorite for readers who know he will deliver a feature story well worth their time. Hallman joins Editor Therese Bottomly on “Beat Check with The Oregonian” to talk about his career and what goes into his style of writing and reporting. Hall…

Authorities in Oregon have known for over three decades that groundwater in the eastern part of the state, a rural region where many people rely on domestic wells for drinking water, is contaminated with high levels of nitrates and unsafe to drink – yet, until recently, have done little to address the problem. Until 2022, many people in the region …

Across Oregon, county and city leaders say they don’t have the money to maintain their streets and sidewalks. In the Portland area, a pair of mega transportation projects years in the making remain unfinished and drastically underfunded. All the while, the Oregon Department of Transportation says will require an annual $1.8 billion boost to meet a …

Way back in 2011, policymakers in Oregon set an ambitious goal. By 2025, 80 percent of the state’s 25- to 34-year-old residents would have some kind of college credentials. The deadline is next year, and the state won’t come close. Instead, college-going rates have been on the decline in Oregon for the last decade, particularly among certain groups…

Laura Hill was about 30 years old when she helped create one of Portland’s most-iconic designs. When the Port of Portland was redesigning Portland International Airport in 1986, architecture and design firm SRG Partnership led the project. Hill retired from the firm in 2008, but at the time she was a principal interior designer for SRG. In this bon…

True crime is popular in the podcast world, and romance novels are seeing a surge in popularity. The Oregonian/OregonLive’s new podcast, in partnership with Wondery, marries the two topics for a six-part exclusive look at the case of Nancy Crampton Brophy, who was convicted of murdering her husband, Dan. Reporters Zane Sparling, who covered the tri…

In recent years, people have killed increasingly larger numbers of wolves in Oregon as the animals have rebounded in the state. And poisoning has emerged as one of the most common tools used to target wolves. Roblyn Brown, wolf program coordinator with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, talked on Beat Check about the poisonings, what they …

Portland and Multnomah County voters are casting ballots this week in a number of local contested races. Candidates in each of them have offered competing visions for how to best address some of the most pressing issues facing Oregon’s most populous county — be it crime, livability concerns or the deadly fentanyl crisis. In particular, the outcome …

The Oregonian/OregonLive last week published the results of a series of polls that shed light on the sentiments of Portland-area residents heading into a May election. John Horvick, senior vice president of polling partner DHM Research, joined the podcast Beat Check with The Oregonian to review the results and discuss some of the most interesting f…

Any newspaper editor will tell you readers love animal stories. The Oregonian/OregonLive’s Samantha Swindler took that axiom to the next level this spring with a 12-part video series on the mysterious disappearance of Cosmo, the talking crow. She joins Editor Therese Bottomly on “Beat Check with The Oregonian” to discuss the narrative, which also w…

Semiconductor manufacturing is critical to Oregon’s economy: it’s the state’s largest manufacturing sector in terms of employment, exports and contributions to its gross domestic product. Intel, the state’s top chipmaker, employs 23,000 people and is Oregon’s largest corporate employer. But the chips – celebrated by state lawmakers, ubiquitous in t…

As many by now know, Oregon ranks miserably when it comes to addressing residents’ mental health needs compared to the rest of the U.S. Especially troubling: Our state is dead last — the absolute worst in the nation — in balancing the prevalence of youth mental illness with access to care. That’s left many families with a teen in crisis or struggli…

The Oregonian/OregonLive is in the midst of its annual update of the Oregon Public Employee Retirement System beneficiary database. Last week, we published an update that showed nearly 6,000 retirees tapped into the pension benefit system in 2023. In a week or so, we’ll have our database fully updated and available so readers can lookup all current…

Many homeowners in Oregon are feeling the impacts of higher electricity bills and facing the prospect of yet another rate increase next year. As electricity bills have skyrocketed, causing widespread anger and frustration, many people have begun to question how and why utilities recoup money from their customers. Last month, the Oregon Citizens’ Ut…

In February, elected leaders of a small town in Marion County took the extraordinary step of firing its top cop amid a series of troubling allegations. Gervais Police Chief Mark Chase’s removal has since touched off a feud between the chief’s defenders and officials in the quiet community about 15 miles NE of Salem. Chase, it turns out, is no stran…

Oregon’s largest corporate employer has been one of the biggest boosters calling for an infusion of taxpayer dollars into U.S. manufacturing of computer chips. Last week, Intel got its wish: an $8.5 billion check from the federal government. Mike Rogoway, who covers the chip industry for The Oregonian/OregonLive, spoke with business editor Elliot N…

Environmentalists notched what they consider a major win in the 2024 short legislative session. The COAL Act directs the state to drop about $1 billion in coal investments and to cease new investments in companies that mine and burn coal. Proponents say the legislation aligns the state’s public pension investments with Oregon’s existing climate goa…

A lack of funding and the passage of Measure 110 dealt a double whammy to Oregon drug courts. Even as fentanyl became a scourge, one of the best tools to help addicts largely faded away. Programs in Deschutes, Benton, Polk and Multnomah counties shut down in recent months or years and others have been hit with funding problems. But in this short le…

Utility customers in Oregon have seen steep rate increases in the past two years – and more are in the works. What gives? Portland General Electric customers saw their bills go up by 18% in January, in addition to a 14.8% rate increase in 2023. Pacific Power customers saw bills increase by 21% at the start of 2023 and by another 12% in January. Pac…

There is trouble at one of the most beloved natural attractions in Oregon and all of the Pacific Northwest.Busted buildings. Hazardous spills. Injuries and allegations of sexual assault. Years of mismanagement by Crater Lake Hospitality, a subsidiary of Aramark, the corporate behemoth hired by the National Park Service in 2018 to operate concession…

It’s hard to escape the fentanyl problem in Oregon. The use of fentanyl is evident on the streets of Portland and provides added fuel to Oregon’s homelessness crisis. The decriminalization of the drug and others is at the heart of a debate in the Oregon Legislature over Measure 110. The Oregonian/OregonLive recently published two in-depth articles …

The Oregon Legislature’s 2024 session is underway, and even though lawmakers’ work is constitutionally limited to just 35 days, they plan to take on some of the state’s biggest issues. On this week’s episode of Beat Check with The Oregonian, state government reporter Carlos Fuentes runs down lawmakers’ top priorities and how a state Supreme Court r…

In January, the Portland metro area was encased in a week-long ice, snow and wind storm that shut down the region. The storm toppled hundreds of massive trees, which in turn crushed cars, felled power poles and lines and split people’s homes in half. The devastation left many people traumatized and anxious – and reexamining their relationships with…

Oregon has long been awash in cash when it comes to state elections and political races. One big reason? It’s among just a small handful of states that do not limit how much money candidates can accept from individuals, political groups, corporations, unions or any other entity. But that could change this year, as Oregon voters will likely face a p…

This year, 2024, is a big political and election year, and Oregon faces many serious and complex issues. The Oregonian/OregonLive Editorial Board meets regularly to talk about significant issues where the newspaper as a local institution might weigh in. Editorials are written by Opinion Editor Helen Jung and appear on the Opinion pages. The opinion…

A terrifying mid-flight emergency forced an Alaska Airlines plane back to Portland Jan. 5 and launched an investigation that temporarily grounded fleets of Boeing 737 Max 9 passenger jets nationwide. Miraculously, nobody on Alaska Airlines flight 1282 was critically hurt when a “door plug” — a wall panel that’s used as an emergency exit on some pla…

In December, Portland leaders announced that the city’s clean energy fund is expected to raise an unanticipated $540 million over the next five years. This staggering surplus comes at a time when city agencies are facing major budget shortfalls. Commissioner Carmen Rubio, who oversees the fund, has proposed funneling half of the excess money to cas…

During the final weeks of 2023, Oregonian/OregonLive reporter Aimee Green crisscrossed Portland to ask strangers from all walks of life what they wished for themselves — and for their city — in the coming year. One hundred people shared their hopes, both big and small. On the latest Beat Check, Green and I discuss her project, the joys of striking …

Merry Christmas! This time of year, The Oregonian/OregonLive features nonprofits from Oregon and southwest Washington to highlight their good works for our longstanding Season of Sharing campaign. Longtime features editor Grant Butler talks with Editor Therese Bottomly about the annual campaign, which runs roughly from Thanksgiving to the end of th…