By ALEX BAUMHARDT/Oregon Capital Chronicle SALEM — Oregon’s environmental regulatory agency needs more staff and funding to keep up with growing demand for its services as climate change escalates, according to a new state analysis. Auditors from the Oregon Secretary of State’s Office, who published their findings Wednesday, said Oregon’s Department of Environmental Quality is understaffed and […]
Oregon News
Oregon’s annual wolf report says population steadied at 178 animals due in part to killings
By ALEX BAUMHARDT/Oregon Capital Chronicle Oregon’s gray wolf population did not increase last year due in part to a large number of wolves killed by people, causing concern among conservationists and Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife officials. The latest Annual Wolf Report found the population remained steady at 178 wolves, marking the first time in eight […]
Police arrest 52 pro-Palestine protestors Monday who blocked I-5 in Eugene for two hours
By KLCC News EUGENE — Oregon State Police say they arrested 52 people after a protest shut down Interstate 5 in Eugene for two hours Monday morning. Police say the demonstration began around 10 a.m. and affected the southbound lanes between Beltline and Interstate 105. Traffic was re-opened by noon. The action was part of […]
Oregon agency’s study finds no link between Covid-19 vaccine and cardiac deaths
By BEN BOTKIN/Oregon Capital Chronicle During the pandemic, reports linked the COVID-19 vaccine to cardiac deaths, especially among young people, but a new study by the Oregon Health Authority found no connection between the two. The study, published Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, examined nearly 1,300 deaths among Oregon adolescents and […]
New study on medical pay says nurses in rural Oregon may be doing better than big city counterparts
By JAKE THOMAS/The Lund Report Registered nurses take home smaller paychecks working in rural Oregon, but effectively have higher wages than their Portland area counterparts because of the lower cost of living. That finding is billed as an unexpected one in a new study released by the Oregon Center for Nursing. Based on a survey late last […]
U.S. District Court judge sides with city of Medford in homelessness case
By ROMAN BATTAGLIA/Jefferson Public Radio A U.S. District Court judge recently sided with the City of Medford in a lawsuit over its public camping regulations. Medford was facing a lawsuit filed in 2021 on behalf of six homeless residents, who claimed their rights had been violated by the city’s laws that restrict where and how […]
Lane County patients turned away from Oregon Medical Group in possible corporate pinch
Oregon Medical Group’s Southtowne Clinic closed in March. Optum, the organization’s parent company, says providers and staff have been moved to other locations. By REBECCA HANSEN-WHITE/KLCC News Thousands of patients in the Eugene Springfield area say they’ve been dropped by health care provider Oregon Medical Group, leaving them without primary care. They fear decisions made […]
Federal agency’s proposal to kill a half-million barred owls in Northwest sparks controversy
By CLARE MARIE SCHNEIDER/National Public Radio A proposal by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to kill roughly half a million barred owls to protect the spotted owl has conservationists and animal welfare advocates debating the moral issue of killing one species to protect another. The proposal, published in November, garnered attention recently after dozens […]
Oregon ethics commission says it has to resolve complaints about Kotek’s wife before giving her advice
By JULIA SHUMWAY/Oregon Capital Chronicle SALEM — Gov. Tina Kotek asked the state ethics commission to weigh in Friday on how her wife and the partners of future governors can be involved in policy decisions, about two weeks after three senior officials left the governor’s office and Kotek acknowledged she wants to expand first lady […]
Wandering wolverine from the coast now spotted making the rounds in south Eugene
By KLCC NEWS EUGENE — Experts say a wolverine spotted in south Eugene on Thursday is likely the same animal that’s been sighted in Florence, Newport, and other communities along the coast. Beth Quillian, a spokesperson for the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, said officials suspect the wolverine is from Mount Adams. She said it’s likely young, […]