
Gov. Kotek appoints three new trustees to SOU governance board
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.
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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.
Barbara Shor: I first met Jane Goodall in 1987 at a lecture she gave at the Sacramento Zoo, where I was working as veterinarian as part of my residency program in non-domestic animal medicine at UC Davis.
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.

(It’s free)