Southern Oregon University will have three new trustees at the table at their upcoming Oct. 16 and 17 board meetings, following new appointments by Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek this week.
The Oregon Department of Transportation is rushing to fill vacant positions as it recovers from resignations and a hiring freeze.The department will hire slowly at first and likely leave many positions vacant until it has enough revenue to cover the positions over the course of the 2025-27 two-year budget cycle.
For the first time in years, Oregon landlords governed by the state’s rent stabilization law can’t hand out double-digit rent increases. The Department of Administrative Services announced Tuesday that the maximum allowed rent increase in 2026 will be 9.5%.
The Oregon Senate on Monday passed the long-awaited transportation bill to update the state’s funding sources for road maintenance and operations. The bill would raise taxes and fees, including a gas tax increase from $0.40 to $0.46, effective Jan. 1, 2026.
A former civil rights attorney said that the Trump administration’s lawsuit demanding that Oregon turn over voter information to investigate unsubstantiated claims of widespread voter fraud is unprecedented.
Oregon and the city of Portland are suing President Donald Trump to block the federal government from deploying hundreds of Oregon National Guard members in an unprecedented crackdown in Oregon’s largest city.
More than 111,000 Oregonians who buy health insurance through the state’s Affordable Care Act marketplace will pay significantly more for their plans next year unless Congress intervenes, and nearly 35,000 will lose all financial help paying for monthly premiums and out-of-pocket costs.
Oregon leaders say President Donald Trump did not consult with state and local officials or law enforcement agencies before announcing Saturday that he would deploy troops to what he described as the “war-ravaged” city of Portland.
U.S. Rep. Cliff Bentz said he is willing to return to in-person town halls if decorum and safety can be guaranteed. He specifically called out the group ORD2 Invisible, which Bentz said has orchestrated disruptions at meetings. The group pushed back, and said Bentz is scapegoating the organization to avoid accountability.
Looming federal cuts related to over and underpayment errors in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program are estimated to drain roughly $500 million every two years from the human services department, part of the largest chunk of cuts expected to impact the state agency.
People in Ashland can now take difficult-to-recycle items, including packaging materials, plastics, and shredded paper, to the Ashland Recycling Center on Water Street as part of the state’s recycling mandate.
The Ashland City Council and Parks & Recreation Commission will hold a joint business meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 21, to discuss the city’s parks and open spaces plan, staffing changes and financial outlook.
Thousands in Portland and across the Pacific Northwest are expected to take part in the national “No Kings 2.0” protests Saturday. This is the third national protest against President Donald Trump this year.
Editor’s note: We regret to report that Ashland.news city reporter Morgan Rothborne has resigned from the staff after a bit more than two years with us, as she continues to work on recovery from a head injury in June, as detailed in this first-person report.
Frances Oyung: Because Bear Creek is the most urbanized watershed in the Rogue basin, many people are unaware that running through their towns and along the interstate we still have important habitat for native fish.
Herbert Rothschild: In 2024, Democrats had the same problem with Hispanic voters that they did with other moderate-to-low income voters. There’s a general perception out there that the Democratic Party abandoned its traditional championing of the working class.
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