HOUSE REPUBLICAN OFFICE
STATE GOVERNMENT & POLITICS
A New Bi-State Columbia River Crossing Legislative Task Force May Be on Horizon
Willamette Week
“It is our understanding that Washington legislators will convene this group this month, with the expectation of inviting Oregon legislators to participate next year,” Kotek told WW in a statement. “We will be watching their early discussions closely and welcome their leadership in restarting a bi-state discussion to replace the I-5 bridge across the Columbia River.”
HOUSING
Portland Leader: If Rich People Gave Up Their Trump Tax Breaks, Oregon Could End Homelessness
Willamette Week
Multnomah County Chairwoman Deborah Kafoury tells WW that the two problems have the same solution: If Congress just redistributed the tax breaks it’s handing out to the richest Oregonians, she says, this state could effectively end homelessness. “Congress wants to cut a $375 million check to the top 1 percent in Oregon and add it to our national debt,” Kafoury tells WW. “That kind of money could effectively end homelessness—statewide—by paying for 46,000 housing choice vouchers.”
Rural renters struggle with steep price hikes
The Associated Press
Rent hikes up to 40 percent at Mariposa Townhomes in Medford are just the tip of the iceberg as renters across the county find themselves priced out of their homes. “We get calls from several people a week who are losing their homes or will lose their homes,” said Jesse Sharpe, statewide organizer for Community Alliance of Tenants.
EDUCATION
Register-Guard
The Bethel School District was one of 31 districts across the state to receive grant funding for the CTE program. A total of 205 middle and high schools will benefit from the funding, which will “serve diverse communities around the state with programs focused on advanced manufacturing, engineering, agricultural science, aviation, robotics, forestry, home construction/renovation and biomedical/health science,” according to ODE.
PUBLIC SAFETY
My Columbia Basin
Rowan said with new laws designed to cut down on the state’s prison population, the trickle-down effect means more offenders are being housed in county jails. “A lot of the reasons are not just Umatilla County issues, but they’re state issues,” Rowan said. “We need to come together and try to develop a program where we can meet the needs of that population.
OPINION
Editorial: Governor has a shot at leadership
Democrat-herald
Showing even a bit of leadership on the issue could help to defuse Republican claims on what is shaping up as a potentially potent campaign issue, that Brown has been ineffective in the governor’s office. And it comes with an added benefit: It could help prevent the eventual fiscal disaster that Oregon could be facing somewhere (sorry again) down the road.
Editorial: Stuck in the cellar
Register-Guard
In February 2018’s short session, the Legislature has a chance to do the will of the people and give full funding to Measure 98. It should do so. Not simply because Oregon’s graduation ranking is embarrassingly low, but because students who might otherwise drop out may well find new purpose to be in school. And that’s a win for the state, which will have had a hand in producing students who want to contribute to Oregon instead of standing on a street corner.
Guest: The region’s growth boundary amplifies our housing crisis
Lori Chavez-DeRemer, mayor of Happy Valley
We must expand the urban growth boundary to account for this new population boom. Since I want to talk supply and demand, I also recognize that growth boundary expansions rely on changing other factors to work.These factors include compensating labor industry workers better, decreasing property taxes and funding infrastructure improvement. These are seemingly unmanageable issues, but they sit at the forefront of every mayor’s discussions across the country. We must be pragmatic. Our citizens and businesses are counting on us to be real in our solutions and alleviate the current affordable housing and homelessness crisis.
Guest: Addressing Portland’s livability without ‘harassing the homeless’
Ted Wheeler, mayor of Portland
We have a comprehensive strategy to address housing, homelessness and livability. The strength of our strategy is bringing many threads together. Alone, any one thread can break. But woven together we are creating something effective, something durable. The majority of our work lies ahead and I expect us to continue to make significant progress. I am dedicated to ensuring that the prosperity our city is experiencing extends to everyone who lives, works and visits Portland.
NATIONAL NEWS
Suspect In Manhattan Subway Blast Was Wearing ‘Low-Tech’ Device
National Public Radio
“This was an attempted terrorist attack,” New York Mayor Bill de Blasio said. “Thank God the perpetrator did not achieve his ultimate goals. Thank God our first responders were there so quickly, to address the situation.”
“Preliminary investigation at the scene indicates this individual was wearing an improvised low-tech explosive device attached to his body,” O’Neill said. “He intentionally detonated that device.”