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Measles cases are increasing in Oregon. Here’s what to know • Oregon Capital Chronicle As of April 3, a total of 13 measles cases have been reported in Oregon since the start of 2026, according to the Oregon Health Authority.

Oregon is on track to surpass the number of measles cases it had during its peak outbreak year in 2024, according to the Oregon Health Authority. oregoncapitalchronicle.com/2026/04/03/m...

Wyden urges federal officials protect Social Security info despite Trump order • Oregon Capital Chronicle U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden on Friday urged federal officials to uphold their duty to protect Social Security data despite a recent executive order.

Oregon’s senior U.S. senator on Friday urged federal officials to uphold their duty to protect Social Security data despite demands from President Donald Trump to use that information to create a national voter database.

That's so cute

Washington charges drivers for buying studded tires. Why doesn’t Oregon? • Oregon Capital Chronicle Oregon drivers have until April 1 to remove studded tires on their vehicle if they want to avoid a $165 fee.

Washington charges drivers for buying studded tires. Why doesn’t Oregon?

oregoncapitalchronicle.com/2026/03/30/w...

Southern Oregon dam operators face intensifying legal battles after 2023 lamprey killing • Oregon Capital Chronicle Legal fights over the future of a small southern Oregon dam are intensifying in the wake of botched repairs that led to the killing of half a million juvenile Pacific lamprey and record fines from…

Legal fights over the future of a small southern Oregon dam are intensifying in the wake of botched repairs that led to the killing of half a million juvenile Pacific lamprey and record fines from state agencies.

Oregon finds invasive quagga mussel on boat at Ashland inspection station • Oregon Capital Chronicle Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife staff found quagga mussels on a motorboat coming from Arizona, during a boat inspection in Ashland.

Invasive quagga mussels have never been detected in Oregon waterways, but officials have intercepted them several times at inspection stations, including Saturday in Ashland. oregoncapitalchronicle.com/briefs/orego...

Oregon voters have rejected most laws in referendums, with many decided outside November • Oregon Capital Chronicle Oregon voters have shot down several attempts to increase the gas tax through a mix of initiatives and referendums.

I wrote a fun piece digging into the history of referendums in Oregon, given that voters in May will decide whether to approve to reject a 2025 law that raised the gas tax, payroll tax and car registration and title fees.
oregoncapitalchronicle.com/2026/03/20/o...

Contraception services dropped after ‘defunding’ provision hit clinics Visits for contraception and cancer screenings at Planned Parenthood clinics have dropped by double-digits after Congress passed a bill cutting off Medicaid funding to certain reproductive health care...

New from me: Visits for contraception and cancer screenings at Planned Parenthood clinics have dropped by double-digits after Congress passed a bill cutting off Medicaid funding to certain providers last year, according to a new Democratic congressional report.

Oregon gas tax opponents file another lawsuit in federal court • Oregon Capital Chronicle Opponents of gas tax hikes are once again suing the state over a law that rescheduled the date of a gas tax referendum from November to May.

Opponents of gas tax hikes are once again suing the state of Oregon over a law that rescheduled the date of a gas tax referendum from November to May. oregoncapitalchronicle.com/2026/03/18/o...

At a vigil here in Salem honoring the people federal immigration agents have detained or killed. The event was organized by PCUN, the state’s largest Latino advocacy organization.

Seeing masked agents on Oregon streets? Legislature would let residents respond • Oregon Capital Chronicle Legislative Democrats stressed that they took great pains to ensure the legal viability of a bill to regulate law enforcement using masks.

Oregon is empowering residents to sue law enforcement agencies which fail to adopt policies prohibiting masking. While Gov. Tina Kotek is expected to sign the legislation, the feds are already vowing to ignore it.

oregoncapitalchronicle.com/2026/03/11/s...

Diehl said he and other plaintiffs were “especially concerned” that reporters viewed Leith’s decision before his attorneys received it and that he was calling for an investigation. The decision was posted Wednesday afternoon to Oregon’s online court records database, which lawyers, journalists and anyone else with an account can access.

In which a state representative running for governor calls for an investigation because reporters… stayed by their computers and refreshed the state’s court records website anticipating a decision.

oregoncapitalchronicle.com/2026/03/11/j...

Judge rules gas tax question can go on May ballot, lawmakers did not violate Oregon constitution • Oregon Capital Chronicle Marion County Circuit Court Senior Judge David Leith said a recently passed law moving the referendum date from November to May would survive other legal challenges.

BREAKING: A recently passed law that moves a citizen vote on new taxes and fees to pay for transportation to the May primary instead of the November general election does not violate the Oregon Constitution, a judge ruled Wednesday. oregoncapitalchronicle.com/2026/03/11/j...

After walkouts, budget woes and tensions over Trump, Oregon lawmakers wrap for 2026 session • Oregon Capital Chronicle The 2026 short session began in early February and ended on Friday in a flurry of votes that will impact Oregonians across the state.

For the first time in years, Oregon lawmakers in Salem’s newly-reopened Capitol streamed out of the chamber floors into the rotunda to cap the end of a short legislative session that had both Republicans and Democrats claiming victories. oregoncapitalchronicle.com/2026/03/06/a...

BREAKING: U.S. District Judge Amy Baggio on Friday granted a preliminary injunction sought by residents of Gray's Landing by the Portland ICE facility. This bars federal agents from using tear gas and other chemical munitions at a level that is "likely to reach" the affordable housing complex.

Several bills in Oregon lawmakers' Democratic immigration justice package did not advance. That includes bills to let the state withhold money from the federal government and a bill to prohibit state contractors from helping transport people for deportation.

Oregon lawmakers want to build on immigration protections. Here’s where those bills stand • Oregon Capital Chronicle Oregon lawmakers are trying to do more in response to concerns that federal immigration officers are overstepping their authority.

At least 8 bills meant to strengthen Oregon's sanctuary law and immigrant protections are headed to Gov. Tina Kotek's desk for a signature.
oregoncapitalchronicle.com/2026/02/17/o...

Oregon bill to limit how much THC goes into each edible fails • Oregon Capital Chronicle An attempt to limit how much THC can be in an individual edible isn’t advancing this year in the Oregon Legislature.

Senate Bill 1548 was an unsuccessful attempt to prevent the production of individual edibles with more than 10 milligrams of THC, targeting edibles that are meant to be divided into several servings. oregoncapitalchronicle.com/2026/03/06/o...

BREAKING: Kristi Noem out as DHS secretary; Trump to tap Oklahoma Sen. Mullin • Oregon Capital Chronicle WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump Thursday said Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem will be leaving the post for a job as a special envoy, following an appearance before a U.S. Senate panel…

BREAKING from our DC bureau: Kristi Noem out as DHS secretary; Trump to tap Oklahoma Sen. Markwayne Mullin oregoncapitalchronicle.com/2026/03/05/r...

WASHINGTON (AP) — Trump says he's replacing Homeland Security Secretary Noem with GOP Sen. Markwayne Mullin.

Oregon lawmakers propose deal to acquire Abiqua Falls in Santiam State Forest • Oregon Capital Chronicle A popular waterfall located an hour east of Salem could soon become public property under a bill up in the Oregon Legislature.

“This is one of the nicest things I’ve ever had to work on,” Girod told lawmakers on the state’s budget-writing Joint Ways and Means committee Tuesday afternoon.
oregoncapitalchronicle.com/2026/03/05/o...

Idaho secretary of state won’t give US Justice Department sensitive voter information • Idaho Capital Sun Idaho’s secretary of state said he will not give the Trump administration access to sensitive personal information about registered voters.

"Ultimately, my concern is for the privacy rights of Idahoans who have registered to vote, as secured under Idaho law,” Idaho Secretary of State Phil McGrane wrote to the Justice Department in a Feb. 26 letter. #idpol

Oregon bill to move gas tax referendum heads to governor’s desk • Oregon Capital Chronicle The Oregon House passed a bill that would move the date Oregonians can vote on a controversial 2025 transportation law from November to May.

Update: Gov. Tina Kotek late Monday signed Senate Bill 1599 into law, clearing the way for the gas tax referendum to take place on the May primary. oregoncapitalchronicle.com/2026/03/02/o...

This dance, the Payaso de Rodeo, is like the Mexican cha-cha slide, btw, in the sense that it's a dance most people in the community know. 🤠

Oregon Senate moves to penalize landlords divulging citizenship status, private information • Oregon Capital Chronicle Oregon law already ensures that landlords may not discriminate against tenants due to their immigration status.

Oregon tenants whose landlords leak confidential information such as their immigration status or medical records could soon have a pathway to collect up to twice their monthly rent as a form of recourse.

Oregon bill to move gas tax referendum heads to governor’s desk • Oregon Capital Chronicle The Oregon House passed a bill that would move the date Oregonians can vote on a controversial 2025 transportation law from November to May.

The bill’s passage marks one of the largest trials for Oregon’s mostly Democratic legislature as they try to balance ODOT's massive budget shortfall while contending with criticism from Oregonians urging them to prioritize affordability.

oregoncapitalchronicle.com/2026/03/02/o...

To square Oregon’s budget, lawmakers say many state agency jobs must go unfilled • Oregon Capital Chronicle Oregon’s budget writers warned that the state’s current $128 million deficit will worsen in the years ahead due to federal changes.

Legislative budget writers propose leaving more than 130 transportation jobs vacant, spending less on services and supplies and moving around not-yet-promised money to rebalance Oregon’s budget and close a large funding gap at the transportation department.
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