Gov. Tina Kotek announced Tuesday that she called lawmakers back to the Capital to for a special session at the end of August to address the $350 million shortfall in the Department of Transportation budget.
Expect steep declines in bus service in the Rogue Valley come Sept. 2. That’s what the city of Ashland’s Transportation Advisory Committee was told at its monthly meeting Thursday where they received updates from Rogue Valley Transportation District Associate Planner Edem Gomez about the funding situation at RVTD and what it will mean for changes to bus routes in Ashland and the Rogue Valley.
When a wildfire hits the city of Ashland and surrounding areas, what’s your evacuation plan? An estimated 400 attendees packed the Historic Ashland Armory for a two-hour workshop Wednesday, July 16, to learn more about what to do to prepare should such a natural disaster occur in or near Ashland.
Weary hikers traveling the Pacific Crest Trail can now hitch a ride into Ashland thanks to a new shuttle service from the trailhead.
As layoffs were ordered July 7 for nearly 500 Oregon Department of Transportation workers, effective July 31 with a second round likely by early 2026, local government officials were taking stock of the impacts the loss of state transportation dollars would mean for Southern Oregon.
The crew responsible for picking up litter off Oregon highways lost their jobs after state lawmakers failed to pass a transportation spending package.
Kris Strickler, director of the Oregon Department of Transportation, provided details of layoffs looming at the agency in an all-staff email he sent Monday morning. “Today, 483 current ODOT employees will be notified that they will be laid off as of July 31,” Strickler wrote in the email. Twelve are in Jackson County.
Hundreds who work for the Oregon Department of Transportation got notice that they’re being laid off in what Gov. Tina Kotek called a preventable emergency and the largest round of layoffs in the state government’s history. The 483 Oregon Department of Transportation employees who received layoff notices on Monday will be employed until July 31, according to a news release and FAQ from Kotek’s office.
In the end, Oregon lawmakers did grapple with the biggest questions before them this year. All it took was six months of grinding work weeks. The 2025 legislative session ended Friday evening at 11:15 p.m. after a marathon day packed with more drama and uncertainty than any session in recent memory. With the final gavels, lawmakers bid farewell to a session that included some notable accomplishments — and one dizzying failure.
Oregon Democrats have pulled the plug on a transportation package more than a year in the making, pivoting to a 3-cent increase to the state gas tax that supporters and opponents alike said was nothing more than a Band-Aid.
Ashland, long celebrated for its Shakespearean drama, is about to trade soliloquies for sarcasm. From Dec. 5 to 7, the city will host the inaugural Ashland Sarcasm Festival (ASF!), a comedy takeover designed to fill theaters, bars and restaurants with sharp wit, satire and laughter.
Tickets are selling fast for “Mass for the Endangered,” described as a multi-sensory film experience of music and animated artwork being presented Sunday at the ScienceWorks Hands-On Museum in Ashland.
Ashland Scout Troop 112 will honor local veterans with a free Veterans Day breakfast on Tuesday, Nov. 11, from 7 to 11:30 a.m., or until food runs out, at Elks Lodge No. 944. Scouts will take orders, serve meals and visit with veterans as part of the local troop’s tradition of showing gratitude to those who served.
A proposal to improve safety along Lithia Park’s received a tepid response from the Ashland Parks & Recreation Commission on Wednesday, Nov. 5. Although commissioners supported adding disability parking near the Japanese Garden and created a designated pedestrian walkway, many questioned whether the cost would lead to meaningful safety improvements.
Medford voters appear to have approved a 2% increase to the city’s transient lodging tax, which will help partially pay for the construction of a downtown conference center and minor-league ballpark.
Gov. Tina Kotek confirmed that SNAP food assistance benefits will be fully funded for November with access to benefits today, Friday, Nov. 7. Kotek’s announcement follows a federal ruling that ordered the federal government to release SNAP funds.
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