Oregon Archives | Northwest Public Broadcasting

Drones, Phones, Clothes: New Technology Helps Search Teams In Northwest Woods And Mountains

By Courtney Flatt January 22, 2020

Search and rescue team members search for victims Tuesday, Jan. 7 at Silver Mountain Resort in Kellogg, Idaho. Courtesy of Hank Lunsford via Spokane Public Radio

When you get lost in the woods or are hurt and can’t make your way back to your car, the search and rescue teams who come looking for you may have to hike in, repel down steep cliffs, or fly through the air in helicopters. Recently, drone technology is also helping. Read More

What’s In Your Wallet? It’s Time For Travelers To Get Real About Getting Real ID

By Tom Banse January 20, 2020

You will need Real ID-compliant identification to go through TSA screening beginning Oct. 1, 2020.

Effective this October, a standard Washington, Oregon or Idaho driver's license won't pass muster with the Transportation Security Administration to board a domestic flight. Continue Reading What’s In Your Wallet? It’s Read More

Bundyville, Cattle Deaths, Salmon Return: Looking Back On Uniquely Northwest News In 2019

By Scott Leadingham December 31, 2019

The crumpled carcass of a once vibrant bull lays on Forest Service ground. It was killed along with several others in a strange way at Silvies Valley Ranch in eastern Oregon, and detectives have few leads. CREDIT: ANNA KING/N3

As 2019 comes to a close, and 2020 is upon us, we look back on a few Northwest stories we’ve discussed this year. Indeed, there are many, and many worth highlighting again. Here are three we’d like to revisit as we say goodbye to 2019. Read More

West Coast Scores Rare Conservation ‘Home Run’ As Fishery Rebounds From The Brink

By NWPB News December 28, 2019

Kevin Dunn, who fishes off the coasts of Oregon and Washington, holds a rockfish at a processing facility in Warrenton, Oregon. A rare environmental success story is unfolding in waters off the U.S. West Coast as regulators in January 2020 are scheduled to reopen a large area off the coasts of Oregon and California to groundfish bottom trawling fishing less than two decades after authorities closed huge stretches of the Pacific Ocean due to the species' depletion. CREDIT: Gillian Flaccus/AP

After years of fear and uncertainty, bottom trawler fishermen — those who use nets to scoop up rockfish, bocaccio, sole, Pacific Ocean perch and other deep-dwelling fish — are making a comeback here, reinventing themselves as a sustainable industry less than two decades after authorities closed huge stretches of the Pacific Ocean because of the species’ depletion. Read More

Hiking Wheelchair With Northwest Roots Opens Up Outdoor Lifestyle To People With Disabilities

By Emily Cureton December 11, 2019

Geoff Babb (seated) hasn't walked since he suffered two brainstem strokes 14 years ago. That prompted him to focus on helping people with serious disabilities access trails, and an outdoor lifestyle. CREDIT: Emily Cureton/OPB

AdvenChair resembles a mountain bike. It has handlebars, disc brakes, and a bright orange frame. Its purpose is to help people with serious disabilities access trail systems, because as developer and user Geoff Babb put it, "we need to celebrate that we're alive." Read More

Turning Pollution Into Art With A Purpose On The Oregon Coast

By NPR News December 5, 2019

Angela Haseltine Pozzi founded Washed Ashore in 2010. The nonprofit turns plastics taken from Oregon's beaches into eye-opening sculptures of threatened marine life. CREDIT: Kirk Siegler/NPR

This particular stretch of the Oregon coastline is famous for being pristine and wild. But train your eyes down a little closer to the beach and sand as Angela Haseltine Pozzi so often does, and even here you'll find bits of plastic. Continue Read More

‘That ID Won’t Fly’: Deadline Looms For Washington And Oregon Travelers To Get Enhanced Licence

By Tom Banse November 21, 2019

The optional Enhanced Driver License issued by Washington state meets federal Real ID standards. CREDIT: WA DOL

The problem with regular driver licenses from Oregon and Washington is that both states have chosen not to verify the immigration status of applicants. Continue Reading ‘That ID Won’t Fly’: Deadline Read More

Washington And Oregon Governors Revive Talks To Replace I-5 Bridge

By Lauren Dake November 18, 2019

The Interstate 5 bridge is seen here from the Washington side on Monday, Nov. 18, 2019. The governors of Washington and Oregon are meeting to announce their joint plan to revive the Columbia River Crossing project. The project seeks to replace the aging Interstate 5 bridge over the Columbia River. CREDIT: Nathan Howard/The Columbian via AP

Govs. Kate Brown, of Oregon, and Jay Inslee, of Washington, met in Vancouver today to announce the first formal steps to develop a finance plan and reevaluate previous studies of replacing the bridge. They are allocating $44 million to the initial effort of what could eventually be a multibillion dollar bridge replacement project. Read More

Scientists Discover Microplastics In Northwest Oysters And Clams

By Erin Ross November 13, 2019

Microplastic fibers, like this one from an Oregon river, are less than 5mm and often show up in vivid color under the microscope. CREDIT: TODD SONFLIETH / OPB

Several studies have shown that microplastics, which are tiny pieces of plastic that make up other larger plastic items, can make their way into fish, crustaceans, clams, oysters and ultimately into us, the people that eat them. Continue Read More

Greg Walden, Oregon’s Sole Republican In Congress, Won’t Run For Reelection

By Dirk VanderHart October 28, 2019

House Subcommittee on Health of the Committee on Energy and Commerce ranking member Rep. Greg Walden, R-Ore., speaks during a legislative hearing on “making prescription drugs more affordable” on Capitol Hill in Washington, Sept. 25, 2019. CREDIT: Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP

U.S. Rep. Greg Walden announced Monday morning that he won’t run for reelection in 2020, possibly putting a close to more than two decades in the U.S. Capitol Building. Continue Reading Greg Walden, Oregon’s Sole Republican In Read More

Amazon To Expand Data Centers In Northeastern Oregon, Reaping More Tax Breaks

By Tom Banse October 23, 2019

This Amazon data center site outside Boardman is one of seven operating or planned complexes in northeastern Oregon.

Amazon’s ever-expanding footprint in Seattle — and the polarizing growing pains that accompany it — contrasts what’s currently happening in northeastern Oregon. Continue Reading Amazon To Expand Data Centers In Northeastern Oregon, Read More

All Aboard! Northwest Rail Buffs Get Steamed Up To Return Oregon Trail Amtrak Route To Boise

By Tom Banse October 22, 2019

Union Station in Portland could see lapsed train service to Boise revive if rail buffs can drum up enough support. CREDIT: Tom Banse/N3

The old Amtrak route started in Seattle, went south to Portland, then east through the Columbia River Gorge to Boise, and then to Salt Lake City, with an onward connection to Chicago. A volunteer-led nonprofit called the Association of Oregon Rail and Transit Advocates (AORTA) proposes to revive at least the Portland to Boise segment. Read More

Prepping For ‘The Big One’: Coastal Hospitals Get Creative With Disaster Planning

By Tom Banse October 17, 2019

Samaritan North Lincoln Hospital facilities director Chris Lemar shows flexible piping designed to withstand earthquake shaking in the new hospital. CREDIT: Tom Banse/N3

The state of Oregon is pushing the community hospitals along the Oregon Coast to improve their earthquake resilience. This comes after a state report predicted none of them would be able to sustain operations after the feared Big One -- a magnitude 9 offshore Cascadia earthquake and tsunami. Read More

Pumping Oxygen In A Lake To Try To Save Fish Facing Climate Change

By Jes Burns October 15, 2019

Mohammed Bawazeer and Ian Riley carry a battery that will power the aeration system on Upper Klamath Lake for 32 hours, even if the sun isn't shining.

As the climate warms, many U.S. lakes are seeing more algal blooms, low oxygen levels and stressed out fish species. One team in Oregon hopes that pumping oxygen into the water can help. Continue Reading Pumping Oxygen In A Lake To Try To Read More

‘It’s Cool And It’s Real’: More Than 100 Successful Test Flights Of Robo Air Taxi Over Eastern Oregon

By Tom Banse October 8, 2019

Vahana Project head of flight test Matt Deal. CREDIT: TOM BANSE/N3

Airbus, along with its rival Boeing and many others, is striving to make flying cars an option for your urban commute. The enthusiasm around the test flight hangar in Pendleton, Oregon, has to be leavened, though. Industry insiders said the technology is running years ahead of regulators and public acceptance. Read More

U.S. Supreme Court Hears Case That Could End Non-Unanimous Juries In Oregon

By Conrad Wilson October 6, 2019

U.S. Supreme Court has ended a long legal fight by ruling that a Texas death row inmate is intellectually disabled and thus may not be executed.

The U.S. Supreme Court kicks off its new term Monday with a case that has potentially sweeping implications for Oregon, and could end the state’s non-unanimous jury system. Continue Reading U.S. Supreme Court Hears Case That Could End Read More

Washington, Oregon Among 17 States Suing Feds Over Changes To Endangered Species Protections

By NWPB News September 26, 2019

a monarch butterfly rests on a plant at Abbott's Mill Nature Center in Milford, Del. Seventeen states sued the Trump administration Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2019, to block rules weakening the Endangered Species Act, saying the changes would make it tougher to protect wildlife even in the midst of a global extinction crisis. CREDIT: CAROLYN KASTER/AP

Seventeen states sued the Trump administration Wednesday to block rules weakening the Endangered Species Act, saying the changes would make it tougher to protect wildlife even in the midst of a global extinction crisis. Read More

U.S. House Passes Landmark Bill On Marijuana Business Banking, Fate Uncertain In Senate

By Jeff Mapes September 26, 2019

Thirty states have legalized some form of medical marijuana. Nine of those states and Washington, D.C., allow recreational sale of the drug.CREDIT: TED S. WARREN

The U.S. House on Wednesday passed a landmark bill aimed at helping the fast-growing legal cannabis industry. Backers of fully legalizing marijuana said the 321-103 vote in favor of the so-called “SAFE Banking Act” is a key victory in their drive to bring the drug out of the legal shadows. Read More

Study: Drinking Water Violations Are Higher For Communities Of Color, Including In Northwest

By Monica Samayoa September 25, 2019

Volunteer Emergency Manager Dorothea Thurby of Warm Springs takes inventory of bottled water Aug. 2, 2019. CREDIT: Emily Cureton/OPB

A new study on the nation’s Safe Drinking Water Act has found that low-income residents and communities of color are especially vulnerable to health-related problems because of unresolved drinking water violations. In the Northwest, 16 counties in Oregon and Washington were identified with the highest rate of drinking water violations Read More

A Push To Protect Spring Chinook Salmon Gets A Boost From Genetic Science

By Jes Burns September 25, 2019

USFS biologist Casey Baldwin stands just downstream of a restoration project that creates gravel for spawning spring chinook on the South Umpqua. Jes Burns/OPB

Recently, there’s been a significant shift in our understanding of salmon genetics. Researchers have found a distinct area in salmon DNA where the spring and fall chinook differ. Continue Reading A Push To Protect Spring Chinook Salmon Read More

‘Not One Drop Of Blood’: Cattle Are Being Mysteriously Mutilated And Killed In Eastern Oregon

By Anna King September 13, 2019

A fog of dust is kicked up from hooves as cowboys quietly push cattle into a corral from a big draw on Silvies Valley Ranch near Burns, Oregon. CREDIT: ANNA KING/N3

Right now in remote eastern Oregon, a serial crime spree is unfolding. Young purebred bulls are mysteriously showing up dead. Cowboys recently found several animals with body parts precisely removed -- and it’s happened just like this before in the West. Read More

Numbers Of Imperiled Sage Grouse Tumble Even Lower Across The West

By NWPB News September 12, 2019

Idaho, Oregon, Montana, Wyoming and other states are reporting population declines for the birds in 2019. CREDIT: Jerret Raffety/The Rawlins Daily Times via AP

Grouse numbers also continued to drop in 2019 in Oregon, Idaho and Wyoming. Weather can affect populations from year to year, and wildlife officials say those short-term cycles are most directly responsible for the recent declines. Continue Read More

Research Suggests Climate Change Is Reducing Snowfall In The Northwest

By NWPB News September 11, 2019

A snow-machine rider takes a snowpack reading as part of Community Snow Observations, a NASA-sponsored citizen science project. CREDIT: OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY

New research says climate change is decreasing the amount of snow in the Pacific Northwest. And that has implications for water resources in the region. Continue Reading Research Suggests Climate Change Is Reducing Snowfall In The Read More

Push For Permanent Daylight Saving Time Gets Nudge From British Columbia Residents

By Tom Banse September 11, 2019

File photo. A loosely coordinated effort is gaining steam to get all West Coast states to synchronize their clocks to year-round daylight saving time. CREDIT: HENRIQUE SIMPLICIO / FLICKR PHOTO HTTPS://FLIC.KR/P/F1JXBL

The movement to “ditch the switch” — the twice-yearly ritual of changing our clocks between daylight and standard time — just got a push from British Columbia, where residents signaled they are keen to join Washington state and Oregon on permanent daylight saving time. Read More

Could Relocating Sage Grouse Save The Birds In Washington?

By Courtney Flatt September 3, 2019

A male greater sage grouse struts its stuff on Bureau of Land Management land in this April 21, 2012, photo. CREDIT: BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT/FLICKR

Moving imperiled sage grouse from one spot to another can be hard on the birds. But research from Washington State University suggests that after a restless adjustment period, the birds eventually get used to their new homes. Continue Reading Could Read More

Public Can Comment On Killing Of Sea Lions In Columbia River Until October 29

By NWPB News September 2, 2019

Sea lions have been eating steelhead and other fish at Willamette Falls in ever greater numbers.Photo courtesy of ODFW

Three Northwest states’ request to lethally remove sea lions from the Columbia River is now open for public comment. Continue Reading Public Can Comment On Killing Of Sea Lions In Columbia River Until October 29Read More

Oregon Democrats Say Republican State Senators Won’t Be Fined For Legislative Walkout

By Dirk VanderHart August 23, 2019

Democratic members of the Oregon Senate stand in the mostly empty Senate chambers at the Oregon Capitol in Salem, Ore., on Thursday, June 27, 2019. On the eighth day of a walkout by Republican senators, Oregon Senate President Peter Courtney adjourned the session shortly after it began due lacking the required number of senators to meet a quorum.

Oregon Senate Democrats announced Friday that they were abandoning a plan to fine Republicans $500 a day for the walkout, amid concerns over a protracted lawsuit and questions about how such unprecedented fines would work. Read More

Recently Get A Random $91.94 Check In The Mail? It’s Legitimate (Because Of Where You Got Gas)

By Tom Banse August 22, 2019

A mass mailing of settlement checks meant it was Christmas in midsummer for drivers who filled their tanks at Oregon ARCO stations in 2011-13. CREDIT: TOM BANSE/N3

If you were among the 1.7 million people who got a mysterious, unbidden $91.94 check in the mail recently, you may wonder if it is legitimate. It is! And the best news may be that recipients will get a similar check next summer. Read More

Scientists Warn Oregon Lags Behind Other West Coast States In Disaster Preparedness

By NWPB News July 29, 2019

The Eagle Creek Fire as seen from the Cascade Locks Hatchery. To keep hatchery fall chinook from dying because of the fire, Oregon officials released them early. CREDIT: OREGON DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND WILDLIFE

Oregon Gov. Kate Brown, who included the $12 million in funding for the projects in her proposed budget last year, has told reporters the decision not to expand the early detection systems was one of the "biggest disappointments" of this year's legislative session. Read More

Oregon Republicans Are Trying To Recall Democratic Governor Kate Brown

By Dirk VanderHart July 16, 2019

Oregon Governor Kate Brown - AP PHOTO DON RYAN

The head of the Oregon Republican Party on Monday took a first step toward forcing a recall election of Gov. Kate Brown, whose term expires at the end of 2022. Continue Reading Oregon Republicans Are Trying To Recall Democratic Governor Read More

‘Hyena-Pig’? ‘Murder-Cow’? Scientists Identify Pre-Historic Animal Roaming Northwest

By Erin Ross July 15, 2019

The John Day mesonychid would have shared its range with large herbivores like Protitanops, a relative of modern rhinos. CREDIT: National Park Service

Hyena-pig. Murder-cow. With no modern analog, scientists have resorted to combinations of common animals to describe it. Dug up decades ago in the Hancock Mammal Quarry near John Day, Oregon, the bone from this prehistoric creature languished, misidentified in museum storage, until Selina Robson pulled it from its drawer. Read More

BLM Says They Won’t Kill Wild Horses In Western States To Control Growing Population

By NWPB News July 12, 2019

This July 25, 2007 file photo, shows wild horses being herded by the Bureau of Land Management in a field, at the Black Mountain and Hardtrigger Herd Management Areas in the Owyhee Mountains southeast of Marsing, Idaho. CREDIT: Darin Oswald/Idaho Statesman via AP

The federal Bureau of Land Management will not pursue lethal measures such as euthanasia or selling horses for slaughter to deal with what officials say is an ecological and fiscal crisis caused by too many wild horses on rangelands in the U.S. West, an official said Thursday. Read More

Mind The Gap: Efforts Aim To Stitch Together Gaps In Northwest Trail Networks To Keep Hikers Safe

By Tom Banse July 12, 2019

Oregon Coast Trail thru-hikers have to walk along busy, narrow Highway 101 for various stretches, including near Manzanita. CREDIT: TOM BANSE/N3

Long-distance hiking can be the experience of a lifetime. It also can present dicey to mundane hurdles, like having to hike stretches along busy highways or logging roads. Trail crews are working this summer to improve some enticing regional routes -- that you may or may not have tried -- including the Oregon Coast Trail and the east-west Pacific Northwest Trail from Read More

Oregon Legislature Adjourns In Tense Final Day After Senate GOP Walkout

By Dirk VanderHart July 1, 2019

Oregon Senate President Peter Courtney waits as all of the bills for the day are organized on the final day of the 2019 legislative session. CREDIT: KAYLEE DOMZALSKI/OPB

Oregon lawmakers concluded their work for the year Sunday, marking the close of the most remarkable and contentious legislative sessions in modern memory. In a day filled with flaring tempers and frequent confusion, lawmakers in the House and Senate passed a completed state budget and a raft of policy bills just after 5:20 p.m., well before the midnight deadline set forth Read More

Assured Carbon Bill Is Dead, Oregon GOP Senators Return To Work To Finish Session

By Dirk VanderHart June 28, 2019

Senate Republicans will return to work Saturday following a nine-day walkout, setting the stage for a weekend where lawmakers sprint toward adjournment. That comes after Democratic leaders offered assurances a sweeping climate change bill, House Bill 2020, will not pass this session. Read More

Demonstrators Urge Republican Senators To Maintain Walkout For Rural Oregon Interests

By Dirk VanderHart June 27, 2019

A flatbed truck rides by as a crowd rallies at the Capitol in Salem to protest House Bill 2020. CREDIT: David Stuckey/OPB

The so-called “Stay Strong Stay Gone” rally marked the latest backlash over bills seeking to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in Oregon. Loggers, truckers, farmers and their supporters had all come, they said, to urge 11 Senate Republicans who’ve been absent from the statehouse since last week to remain in hiding. Read More

Are There More Cougars In Our Space Or More Of Us In Theirs?

By Erin Ross June 26, 2019

Problem encounters with cougars have increased in Oregon's Willamette Valley. CREDIT: NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

It’s hard not to notice that cougars are making it into the news these days. It’s also hard to miss how they’re getting there: by entering neighborhoods and putting residents on edge. Continue Reading Are There More Cougars In Our Space Or More Of Read More

Oregon Senate President Says Cap-And-Trade Bill Is Dead Amid GOP Walkout

By Dirk VanderHart June 25, 2019

The Oregon State Capitol in Salem on March 18, 2017.

Senate President Peter Courtney, D-Salem, says Oregon’s sweeping plan for addressing climate change this legislative session does not have the votes to pass. But it’s not clear whether that will be enough to bring Senate Republicans back to work. Read More

In A Break From The Past, Oregon Sheriffs Change Their Approach To Gun Laws

By NWPB News June 24, 2019

Coos County Sheriff Craig Zanni, center, speaks with Sheriff Department dispatchers on June 6, 2019, in Coquille, Ore. CREDIT: JONATHAN LEVINSON/OPB

In 2013, eight Oregon sheriffs sent letters to the Obama administration saying they wouldn’t enforce new federal gun laws. Two years later, the state legislature passed a bill requiring background checks for private gun sales. And again, Oregon sheriffs dug in. So it was already a well-worn path when sheriffs in Washington and Colorado started making similar assertions Read More

Oregon Senate Republicans Stage Walkout For 2nd Time This Year To Stop Vote On Climate Bill

By Dirk VanderHart June 20, 2019

The Oregon Capitol. CREDIT:BRADLEY W. PARKS/OPB

For the second time this legislative session, Oregon Senate Republicans prepared Thursday to stage a walkout, denying Democrats the ability to pass legislation. It’s the latest step in a standoff over sweeping climate change legislation. Read More

EPA Begins Removing Herbicide Barrels From Eastern Oregon’s Wallowa Lake

By Erin Ross June 18, 2019

Wallowa Lake in eastern Oregon, supplies drinking water to the city of Joseph. CREDIT: AARON SCOTT/OPB

The Environmental Protection Agency has begun removing potentially contaminated barrels from Wallowa Lake. Despite initial fears, the barrels seem to have been full of lake water, though the EPA is waiting for test results to confirm that the water and barrels are indeed clean. Read More

U.S. Supreme Court Refers Oregon Same-Sex Wedding Cake Case Back To State Courts

By NWPB News June 17, 2019

The U.S. Supreme Court in Washington where the justices ruled that the government can detain certain immigrants without bond hearings. Susan Walsh/AP

The Supreme Court is throwing out an Oregon court ruling against bakers who refused to make a wedding cake for a same-sex couple.Continue Reading U.S. Supreme Court Refers Oregon Same-Sex Wedding Cake Case Back To State Read More

In Astoria, Cormorant Birds Take Over Iconic Bridge, And Salmon Below Are On The Menu

By Tom Banse June 13, 2019

Cormorants returned to the Astoria Bridge to roost at nightfall on June 3, 2019.

Cormorants by the thousands have taken up residence under the landmark Astoria-Megler Bridge over the Columbia River. Their poop can corrode the bridge and that is unacceptable to the Oregon and Washington transportation departments. But what actions to take against the protected birds and whose responsibility that is are up in the air. Read More

Oregon Wave Energy Testing Project Moves Forward

By Jes Burns June 12, 2019

Permitting is underway for a new wave energy test facility off Oregon’s coast. CREDIT: U.S. Department of Energy

A renewable energy project planned off the coast of Newport is taking a step forward. Oregon State University has submitted a final license application for a wave energy testing facility with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. If built, it would be the largest of its kind in the U.S. Read More

Legal Marijuana For All Takes A Toll On Medical Users, Analysis Shows

By NWPB News June 11, 2019

Scott Donnelly, assisted by his wife and licensed caregiver, Vicki Poppen, leaves Western Oregon Dispensary in Sherwood, Ore., after buying medical marijuana to treat muscle spasms caused by his multiple sclerosis. Donnelly visits the medical-only dispensary once a week and relies on it for the cannabis that eases his tremors long enough that he can fall asleep. The dispensary is one of two medical-only shops left in Oregon. CREDIT: GILLIAN FLACCUS/AP

When states legalize pot for all adults, long-standing medical marijuana programs take a big hit, in some cases losing more than half their registered patients in just a few years, according to a data analysis by The Associated Press. Continue Read More

Federal Judge To Hear Arguments Over Admission Delays At Oregon State Psychiatric Hospital

By Conrad Wilson June 11, 2019

The Oregon State Hospital in Salem. CREDIT: Josh Partee CC BY-SA 2.5 - creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5

A federal judge is set to hear arguments Portland this week from mental health advocates who say the state is failing dozens of criminal defendants in need of treatment. Continue Reading Federal Judge To Hear Arguments Read More

Oregon Approves New Plan For Managing Gray Wolves

By Tony Schick June 9, 2019

This Feb. 2017, file photo provided by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife shows a gray wolf of the Wenaha Pack captured on a remote camera on U.S. Forest Service land in Oregon's northern Wallowa County. CREDIT: OREGON DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND WILDLIFE/AP

Oregon fish and wildlife commissioners approved a new management plan Friday for gray wolves, a long-awaited document that sets protocols for potential hunts and new thresholds for when the agency may kill wolves after attacks on cattle and sheep. Continue Read More

Oregon Joins Washington In Passing Bill For Permanent Daylight Saving Time

By Lauren Dake June 7, 2019

Oregon lawmakers approved a measure on Thursday that could allow the state to adopt daylight saving time year-round. Washington legislators approved the change this year. In California, voters have approved year-round daylight saving time, but legislators have not signed off yet. Read More

Federal Judge Blocks Grazing Permits To Oregon Family At Heart Of Malheur Occupation

By Rob Manning June 5, 2019

Dwight Hammond Jr. greets protesters outside his home in Burns, Oregon in January 2016. Hammond was convicted of arson on federal charges in 2012. The case sparked the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge Occupation led by Ammon and Ryan Bundy. CREDIT: AMELIA TEMPLETON/OPB

U.S. Judge Michael H. Simon issued a temporary restraining order, blocking the grazing permits issued to Dwight and Steven Hammond by Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke before he left the Trump administration at the beginning of this year. Read More

Oregon Has A Big Oversupply Of Legal Marijuana. Now It’s Curbing Production

By NWPB News May 30, 2019

In this Feb. 7, 2019, file photo, a bud tender shows a top cannabis strain at Serra, a dispensary in Portland, Ore. In an attempt to reduce the marijuana inventory in Oregon, the state is moving toward allowing the Oregon Liquor Control Commission to refuse to issue initial marijuana production licenses, based on supply and demand. CREDIT: RICHARD VOGEL/AP

Oregon is awash in pot, glutted with so much legal weed that if growing were to stop today, it could take more than six years by one estimate to smoke or eat it all. Now, the state is looking to curb production. Continue Reading Oregon Read More