We won t back down
WASHINGTON Rainbow flags fluttered above the crowds near the White House as tens of thousands of gay rights supporters rallied to demand that President Barack Obama keep his promises to end discrimination against gays and also let them serve openly...
 4.1K - Oct. 12, 2009; scored 431.0 Total recall
LAKESIDE - The city of Lakeside could be without a council by late December, if two recall efforts successfully push all six councilors and the mayor out of their seats. Although they don t agree across the board, the majority of the councilors on bo...
4.8K - Sep. 15, 2009; scored 431.0 Nine Oregon cities race to OK gas taxes
PORTLAND A handful of Oregon towns and one county have imposed or increased gasoline taxes this year, pushing to beat a state deadline later this month. But many of the taxes could fail, in referendum votes or in the courts. So far, according to ta...
2.9K - Sep. 12, 2009; scored 431.0 Sports Briefs: Top sprinter Bolt wants to give long jump a try
ZURICH Jamaican sprint star Usain Bolt says he wants to try a new event the long jump. The world-record holder in the 100 and 200 meters says he thinks he could be a good long jumper some day. Bolt says he has been messing around with the long ...
6.8K - Aug. 27, 2009; scored 556.0 Bandon voters to consider police levy
BANDON The city of Bandon wants 24-hour police coverage, but to get it the city will need more money. This week the City Council voted unanimously to ask voters for the cash. Come November, they ll be asked to approve a $1.1 million, five-...
2.7K - Aug. 6, 2009; scored 431.0 Do we know what we want?
What Oregonians should do, but won t, is decide what we really want from state government. Do we want good schools, lots of social services, long prison sentences? Or do we want low taxes? We want it all, and our conflicting sentiments will drive ano...
2.1K - Jul. 30, 2009; scored 681.0 Lawmakers pushback in bad times against costly ballot measures
SALEM There may be no state more in love with letting residents vote on ballot measures than Oregon. They have voted hundreds of times over the past century and brought the state a property tax limit and nation's first state assisted-suicide law. I...
3.3K - Jul. 28, 2009; scored 775.0 Bandon group tests water for pool tax district
BANDON Swimming boosters are intensifying efforts to raise money to build and operate a pool. The Bandon Pool Committee wants to create a recreation taxing district that mimics Bandon School District boundaries. The new district would help pay for...
2.4K - Jul. 20, 2009; scored 556.0 Pedro Martinez signs with Philadelphia Phillies
PHILADELPHIA Pedro Martinez has agreed to a $1 million, one-year contract with the Philadelphia Phillies, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press. The three-time Cy Young Award winner was in town for a physical, a...
4.4K - Jul. 15, 2009; scored 431.0 Democrat Franken wins protracted Minn. Senate race
ST. PAUL, Minn. - Al Franken refused his rival's calls for an election night concession last November, choosing instead to begin vote counting and courtroom haggling that stretched almost eight months and ultimately landed him a seat in the U.S. Sen...
4.5K - Jul. 1, 2009; scored 431.0 Pot advocates want California legalization vote
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Californians could legally possess up to one ounce of pot and cities could sell and tax the drug under an initiative marijuana advocates want to place on the state's 2010 ballot. The Control, Regulate and Tax Cannabis Act of 2010...
2.8K - Jun. 13, 2009; scored 712.0 North Bend school officials eye levy plan
NORTH BEND - First a community member suggested a school district levy and now North Bend's Board of Education is researching the possibility to bolster its shrinking budget. There are positive and negative sides to whether the board pursues a five-y...
3.7K - Jun. 9, 2009; scored 712.0 Military must aid in ballot effort
Months prior to last year's November election, the U.S. government said it was working to ensure ballots of Americans living abroad, including those from the military, would be counted. It didn't work out that way. A new congressional report found t...
0.9K - May. 26, 2009; scored 431.0 House OKs changes to Oregon initiative system
SALEM - The Oregon House approved a number of changes to the state's citizen ballot initiative system, all aimed at putting stricter regulations on what is seen as one of the nation's least restrictive. The bill, approved 52-7 Tuesday, came to the Le...
3.0K - May. 20, 2009; scored 643.0 In the heat of the debate
High school quarterbacks may dream of Friday night crowds cheering their plays. Virtuoso sopranos often covet the applause of packed auditoriums. But for Justin Rodriguez it's the sound of his debate partner banging his knuckles on a desk that brings...
8.1K - Apr. 22, 2009; scored 431.0 Franken wins Senate appeal; Coleman fights
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Just as he did in early January, Democrat Al Franken again stood outside his Minneapolis house and pronounced himself ready to fill Minnesota's empty Senate seat. He may have to repeat the exercise one or two more times before his ...
1.7K - Apr. 14, 2009; scored 431.0 Oregon prison population expected to grow fast
SALEM (AP) - A state report issued this week projects that Measure 57, the crime-sentencing measure approved by voters in November, will add 1,600 inmates to Oregon's prison population by 2013. The measure, which took effect Jan. 1, requires sending ...
1.7K - Apr. 2, 2009; scored 556.0 Democratic leader tempers expectations for 2010 elections
WASHINGTON - Liberal groups targeting moderate congressional Democrats should beware of forming a circular firing squad that could hurt the party in 2010 elections, says the head of the Democrats' House campaign efforts. Rep. Chris Van Hollen, who ...
2.3K - Apr. 2, 2009; scored 431.0 Secretary of State pushes for reforms
SALEM (AP) - Oregon has one of least restrictive citizen ballot initiative systems in the nation. Secretary of State Kate Brown said Monday she wants it to also be one of the cleanest. Two years ago, the Oregon Legislature passed a bill to more stric...
3.3K - Mar. 24, 2009; scored 775.0 High court weighs marriage ban
SAN FRANCISCO The mood was somber among gay rights supporters after a bruising, three-hour hearing before the justices of California s highest court, who expressed considerable skepticism at the idea of overturning the state s voter-approved ban on...
6.9K - Mar. 6, 2009; scored 556.0 | 
