Tagged: Oregon

SALEM, Ore. – Some of the fiercest debates this year in the Oregon legislature have revolved around something critics call the “nanny state.” These are bills to regulate personal behavior. The issues may change, but it’s a conversation that’s been going on for decades.

Let's start with a recent example. A measure that would ban smoking in cars when there are children present. Republican Oregon state Senator Jeff Kruse is a smoker, but that’s not why he opposes the bill.

A wandering male wolf known as OR-7 has crossed back into Oregon after spending more than a year in the mountains of northern California. It was originally born in Northeastern Oregon. Amelia Templeton of EarthFix reports. 

SALEM, Ore. – Republicans and Democrats at Oregon's capitol want to balance the state budget by taking aim at the pension system for public workers. Both parties as well as Governor John Kitzhaber say changes to the retirement system would help prevent more cuts to schools. But retirees claim the proposals would break a promise.

For the first time, the state of Oregon Thursday recognized that the Klamath tribes hold a senior claim to water in Klamath Lake and several of its tributaries. Amelia Templeton reports, it took the state almost forty years to sort through water rights in the high desert basin and issue an order.

The Oregon Department of Agriculture is taking a more aggressive approach to stop water pollution from farms. Instead of waiting for complaints to come in from the public, the state is going to begin looking for polluters.