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Tax the Rich? Oregon Voters Could Weigh In on First-of-its-Kind Wealth Tax

The Oregon effort, which focuses on those with $30 million or more in assets, comes amid a growing interest nationwide in taxing those in the highest income brackets.
Avatar photo Taylor Griggs

What could Oregon do with an additional $2.7 billion in revenue each year? That’s about how much Portlander Jonathan Tasini says would be generated with a 2 percent wealth tax imposed on Oregon taxpayers with assets at or above $30 million. Now, as the state faces a fiscal crisis affecting everything from public schools to […]

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Inside the Race for County Chair: Financial Woes, Homeless Services, and Capitulating to Trump

Two current commissioners are vying to lead Multnomah County in 2027, each promising a new governing style.
Avatar photo Abe Asher

The race for chair of the Multnomah County Board of Commissioners has begun in earnest. Last month, Commissioner Shannon Singleton became the first major contender to declare her candidacy for the position being vacated by Jessica Vega Pederson. She was quickly joined by her fellow commissioner, Julia Brim-Edwards. Voters will decide in a ranked choice […]

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Oregon Democrats Want to Nix Trump’s Tax Cuts From State Code

A bill gaining traction in the Legislature would disconnect the state from key provisions of the federal tax code, netting more than $300 million in additional revenue.
Avatar photo Abe Asher

When Donald Trump signed H.R. 1, coined “The One Big Beautiful Bill Act” on July 4 of last year, Oregon’s revenue forecast took a substantial hit.  That’s because Oregon is one of the few states in the country that has a rolling reconnection to the federal tax code, meaning the state automatically replicates any changes […]

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What Can the Multnomah County District Attorney Do to Stand Up to Trump?

Prosecutors across the country are vowing to hold federal officials responsible for breaking the law. Portlanders are asking the Multnomah County DA to do the same. 
Avatar photo Taylor Griggs

What can local government leaders do to protect their residents in a time of federal authoritarianism? Many Portlanders have asked that question since federal officials and agents have become increasingly hostile to immigrants or those they perceive to be immigrants, as well as people protesting President Trump’s draconian immigration crackdown.  Recent actions by federal officers […]

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Portland Officials Condemn ICE After Federal Agents Tear Gas Peaceful Protesters and Children

Saturday’s rally and march led by local labor unions against ICE drew thousands of participants. The disproportionate federal response to a peaceful protest has rattled the city.
Avatar photo Taylor Griggs

Thousands of local union members and supporters gathered in Portland’s South Waterfront Saturday afternoon for an anti-ICE demonstration hosted by Oregon labor leaders. The family-friendly event turned chaotic after federal agents met the peaceful crowd with repeated rounds of tear gas as they marched outside Portland’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility. The disproportionate federal […]

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Update: Still No Council President After Full Day of Deliberation and Votes

Public awaits zephyr of white smoke from council chambers announcing who holds the gavel in 2026
Avatar photoAvatar photo Jeremiah Hayden and Courtney Vaughn

Update: 9:10 pm January 8 After the second day of a scheduled two-hour vote for a new council president, the City Council still has not made a decision. That’s because the election abruptly recessed, then adjourned without a vote Thursday as some city councilors learned that federal agents had shot two people in East Portland. The […]

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Federal Judge Grants Restraining Order Blocking Trump From Deploying Troops to Portland

Judge says Trump administration violated Constitution and failed to provide proof that National Guard activation was necessary.
Avatar photo Taylor Griggs

A federal judge has granted the state of Oregon a temporary restraining order, legally prohibiting the Trump administration from deploying National Guard troops to Portland through at least October 18. The decision comes a week after Trump announced in a Truth Social post he would be sending troops to the “war torn” city of Portland, […]

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Sen. Merkley: US Aid Fuels Israel’s Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine

Following a recent trip to Israel and the West Bank, Oregon senator says US and its allies have a moral obligation to stop providing military support for the war in Gaza
Avatar photo Abe Asher

Sen. Jeff Merkley isn’t mincing words on the complicity of the United States in the ongoing decimation of Gaza.  “This is horrific, and we are complicit in it,” Merkley said in an interview last week with the Mercury. “We are complicit because we provide the bombs, we provide the rifles, we provide the shells, we provide […]

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Elected Officials, Advocates Urge Oregon’s Congressional Delegation to “Block the Bombs” to Israel

Local lawmakers want Oregon’s US representatives to support a legislative effort to curtail spending in Israel amid its ongoing siege on Gaza.
Avatar photo Taylor Griggs

Mohanad, a Palestinian who currently lives in Oregon, says he is proud of his adopted home in the United States. But during the last two years, Mohanad has spent most days worrying about his family in Gaza, including his mother, who lives with multiple chronic health conditions, and mourning those who have been killed by […]

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Update: Oregon Lawmakers Make Another Go at a Transportation Funding Package

The bill, expected to raise roughly $4.5 billion over the next 10 years, was approved by the Oregon House and will now move onto the Senate—after a hiatus. 
Avatar photo Taylor Griggs

Update 9/3, 8 am: With one Democratic member of the Oregon Senate, Chris Gorsek, out for health reasons, the special session is effectively on hold. Democrats can’t afford to lose a vote, so they’ll need to wait until Gorsek is healthy enough to return to Salem and vote “aye” on the bill. The current plan is […]

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Despite State Transportation Funding Crisis, Construction Begins on I-5 Rose Quarter Project

As legislators prepare to duke it out over transportation funding in a special session this week, ODOT has quietly broken ground on the first phase of the $2.1 billion freeway project.
Avatar photo Taylor Griggs

The Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) broke ground on the first phase of the I-5 Rose Quarter project this week—an event nearly a decade in the making. But the occasion commenced without fanfare. Even after years of buildup for the project, ODOT didn’t hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony to mark its official start, nor did the […]

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