A packed open house on Saturday at Jackson County Fire District 5 Station 4 outside of Ashland offered a detailed financial update on the embattled district and a chance to discuss everything from staffing struggles to an investigation that remains under review by the Oregon Department of Justice.
Jackson County Fire District 5 officials and union members reached an agreement Tuesday for reduced staffing minimums on fire engines and other apparatus to better distribute service coverage during an ongoing staffing struggle.
Forest restoration and wildfire mitigation projects have been halted and employees laid off as freezes of federal funds impact Lomakatsi Restoration Project, an Ashland-based nonprofit organization. Nearly two of every three dollars — 65% — of the nonprofit’s budget for 2025 came from the Inflation Reduction Act or the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law — two pots of money affected by broad freezes of federal funds by the Trump administration.
An effort to create a safer, cleaner, more fire-resistant Bear Creek Greenway is gathering momentum as Medford and other cities explore ways to improve the 22.4-mile bike and pedestrian path from Ashland to Central Point.
Jackson County District Attorney Beth Heckert marked the final day of her third and last term in office on Monday. Former Chief Deputy DA Patrick Green was sworn in as the county’s new top prosecutor Monday.
A U.S. district judge has denied a motion by regional tribes that would block federal officials from greenlighting a Coquille Indian Tribe casino in Medford.
Jackson County needs a new animal shelter, one for both dogs and cats and run by a nonprofit organization, not the county, says Denise Krause, an Ashland resident who serves on the Rogue Valley Transit District board and is known to many as a candidate for county commissioner.
Republican Randy Sparacino notched an apparent landslide victory Tuesday night in the race for Jackson County commissioner against Democrat Denise Krause of Ashland. The unofficial results posted on the Oregon Secretary of State’s website on Thursday show Sparacino received 56.84%, or 62,603 votes, against Krause’s 43.04%, or 47,403 votes in the race for the position 2 commissioner seat.
Three Ashlanders – all Democrats – were represented in county, state, and congressional elections on Tuesday, Nov. 5, with state Rep. Pam Marsh the sole winner among them. She was handily re-elected to her fifth term serving the district.
One day before the Nov. 5 general election, more than half of Jackson County’s 164,463 eligible voters had returned their ballots — and counting. The Ashland ballot boxes in the alley behind the library at 410 Siskiyou Blvd. will be open until 8 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 5. Under Oregon law, mailed ballots with a Nov. 5 or earlier postmarked will be accepted until Nov. 12.
A Mt. Ashland Ski Area season that started early and has seen above average snowfall has brought strong attendance, but the nonprofit resort also had its challenging moments. Abundant snowfall will allow the area to extend the season with two additional weekends to include April 19-20 and April 26-27.
An artificial intelligence summit at Southern Oregon University Friday and Saturday sparked much debate about the rapidly evolving technology’s promise and pitfalls. The second annual Approaching AI Summit at Meese Auditorium and Stevenson Union on the SOU campus drew a larger crowd this year, with 250 in attendance.
Rep. Pam Marsh: The legislation “would give Oregonians buying tickets for concerts, sporting events and other entertainment events protections in an industry that has seen increasing unfair and unscrupulous activities that drive up the cost of tickets and/or falsely sell tickets that are unavailable.”
Four artists were asked if they could define at what line artificial intelligence could compromise human creativity. As they passed a microphone between each other, their conversation challenged the concept of a soul. The deep existential dive came on the first night of the Approaching AI Summit, the second year of an artificial intelligence (AI) summit in Ashland.
Picture This: Hannon family members joined with Southern Oregon University officials, faculty, staff, students and member of the public Thursday, March 13, to mark the 20th anniversary of Hannon Libary.
The top-ranked SOU Raiders softball team (25-1 overall, 9-0 Cascade Conference) matched the best start in team history with Saturday’s 8-0 and 9-1 victories, finishing off both in five innings. Ari Williams, a junior right fielder, went 6-for-6 with seven RBIs, a double, a triple and an inside-the-park home run during the doubleheader.
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