HOUSE REPUBLICAN OFFICE
STATE GOVERNMENT & POLITICS
Register-Guard
“The Kleins seek an exemption based on their sincere religious opposition to same-sex marriage,” Judge Chris Garrett wrote in the opinion. “But those with sincere religious objections to marriage between people of different races, ethnicities, or faiths could just as readily demand the same exemption.”
Court says Sweet Cakes must pay fine for refusing to bake wedding cake
Portland Tribune
Oregon’s Court of Appeals has upheld a decision to require the owners of a Gresham bakery to pay a lesbian couple $135,000 in damages for refusing to make them a wedding cake.
Oregon voters now have 6 languages available for registration
The Associated Press
Reflecting increasing diversity in Oregon, voter registration forms have been expanded to six languages, including Somali, a language from one of the nations targeted by the Trump administration’s travel ban. The Elections Division made the announcement on Twitter, using letters and characters from the six languages: English, Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese, Somali and Russian.
Bottle bill expanding to include kombucha, tea, sports drinks and more
Portland Business Journal
The expansion is the result of a 2011 amendment to the first-in-the-nation bottle bill that Oregon passed in 1971. It puts the law “in line with the kinds of products that are out there today,” Jules Bailey, chief stewardship officer for the Oregon Beverage Recycling Cooperative, which manages logistics for the bottle bill, said in a news release.
HOUSING
Despite new programs and money, county homeless tide still growing
Portland Tribune
But as winter approached, officials called attention to the lack of emergency shelter space and pushed to open new shelters, sometimes in the face of public opposition. The drive for more shelters reflects what Oregon Gov. Kate Brown described as an “unprecedented increase” in demand for such services in a Dec. 4 letter to the Oregon Legislature seeking more than $2.5 million for additional homeless family assistance in Multnomah County. “Due to these unprecedented numbers, the family shelter system is at a breaking point,” Brown wrote to the co-chairs of the Legislature’s Interim Ways & Means Committee.
HEALTH CARE
Register-Guard
With Voters’ Pamphlets arriving in homes this week before the Jan. 23 special election, backers of the taxes are scrambling to convince voters they’re necessary to keep vulnerable Oregonians insured.
Oregon ABLE Program Enrolls More than 1,000 People with Disabilities
The Lund Report
Modeled on the popular 529 college savings accounts, the program allows people with disabilities and their families to save money and receive a debit card without losing their benefits.
ELECTIONS
Richardson, county lawyers disagree on campaign filings
Portland Tribune
Oregon Secretary of State Dennis Richardson has contradicted an opinion by the Multnomah County counsel, which commissioners Jules Bailey and Loretta Smith relied on to run for another office without resigning from their county seats.
Bend Democrat eyeing Greg Walden challenge
Portland Tribune
Jennifer ‘Jenni’ Neahring, a Bend resident who works as a physician in Salem and Portland, would be one of two women in the pool of several Democrats lining up to try to unseat the 10-term U.S. representative.
OPINION
Editorial: Sex harassment dialogue overdue
Portland Tribune
It’s now clear that for men who work in the public eye, a credible allegation of sexual harassment, backed up by solid reporting, is now enough to derail a career.
Editorial: A more crowded state
Register-Guard
But unless growth is managed and prepared for, it degrades all that draws new residents to Oregon in the first place, including functioning public services, an accessible and clean natural environment and a strong sense of community. Oregonians have long been divided on the question of whether growth is desirable, with one faction preferring to keep things as they are and another seeing growth as an essential alternative to economic and social stagnation. Both groups’ interests are best served by public policies that seek to accommodate new residents without sacrificing the attributes that make Oregon a desirable place to live.