The House narrowly passed the 10-year transportation package; with a key Democratic senator recovering from surgery, the Oregon Senate will delay their planned vote on the transportation tax package for two weeks. The vote is scheduled Sept. 17 when Sen. Chris Gorsek will be available.
Oregon will see a two-year budget with a positive $472 million balance evaporate and turn into a $373 million deficit under the Trump administration’s tax and spending policies, economists told state lawmakers. This comes after the Republican tax and spending cut law called the “One Big Beautiful Bill” was signed into law.
For years, top Oregon officials have publicly defended the state’s investments in private equity within its $100 billion pension fund, but internal emails obtained by the Oregon Journalism Project reveal that then-State Treasurer Tobias Read was quietly sounding alarms about the mounting risks and lackluster returns.
A bill to stave off hundreds of layoffs at the Oregon Department of Transportation, pay for road infrastructure projects and temporarily boost funding to public transit agencies moved forward Sunday after a rocky start. The House was expected to vote on the package Monday, with what would be a final Senate vote anticipated Wednesday.
Speakers shared testimony during a public hearing on Gov. Tina Kotek’s transportation funding proposal meant to prevent layoffs, preserve highway funds with counties and cities and modernize transportation funding.
The Rogue Valley Transportation District will begin major service reductions starting Tuesday, Sept. 2, due to financial strain caused by delayed federal funding. The cuts to service include the Medford-Ashland Express (Route 1X), shortened weekday hours and a complete suspension of Saturday service.
Jim Flint: A decade after Rick Robinson and his wife, director Valerie (Val) Rachelle, stepped into ownership of Ashland’s Oregon Cabaret Theatre, the pair has transformed the intimate playhouse into one of Southern Oregon’s most vibrant cultural hubs.
Comments from students, faculty and staff poured out Wednesday during a virtual meeting of the Southern Oregon University Board of Trustees in response to an amended provisional plan to cut nearly $10 million over the course of the next few years from the school’s $66 million budget.
Ashland will face another shift in its local pharmacy landscape as Rite Aid closes its doors on Sept. 22. Ashland Drug will remain the town’s only locally-owned pharmacy as ongoing pressures from insurance companies and rising costs threaten the profitability of small pharmacies.
The Southern Oregon University Board of Trustees is expected to vote Tuesday, Sept. 2, on an amended provisional plan to cut nearly $10 million from the university’s budget as presented Wednesday by SOU President Rick Bailey during a special virtual session of the board.
As of Nov. 3, Ashland Community Food Bank has a new director at the reins. Catie Mahoney will serve in the role with guidance from outgoing director Amey Broeker, who will officially retire on Dec. 31 after serving in the food bank role since 2022.
The Ashland City Council will review a proposal from a potential provider to oversee its extreme weather shelter during its regular business meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 18.
The Ashland Independent Film Festival has added a second screening showcasing Indigenous filmmakers on Sunday, Nov. 23.
Three and a half years into the war with Russia, Ashland violinist and longtime music teacher Faina Podolnaya is still finding ways to help Ukrainian refugees.
Herbert Rothschild: As the number of ads in The New Yorker has shrunk, it seems as if the wealth of its readership has concentrated, just as one might concentrate the flavor of a sauce by reducing it on the stovetop.
Local artist MaryAnn Shank will share the thoughts behind her newest novel “Sor Juana, My Beloved” at Bloomsbury Books Jan. 26. Shank is a finalist of The Isabel Allende Most Inspirational Book of the Year 2025 award, awarded by the International Latino Book Association.
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