Inmate release program criticized
SALEM - Anti-crime activists and some prosecutors are taking aim at the Oregon Legislature s move to reduce many state prison inmate sentences as a way to save money. Oregon Anti-Crime Alliance spokeswoman Tara Lawrence said Friday that courts and di...
 3.1K - Nov. 7, 2009; scored 249.0 Sheriffs' group opposes guns for pot smokers
SALEM The right of Oregonians to use marijuana for medical reasons and also to obtain concealed handgun permits is being challenged by local sheriffs who say federal law prevents those people from packing heat. Advocates for the state s medical mar...
3.6K - Nov. 5, 2009; scored 249.0 10,000 children benefit from health plan
SALEM More than 10,000 children have been added to the state health plan under a new law aimed at expanding health insurance coverage to nearly every child in Oregon, officials said Tuesday. Cathy Kaufmann, manager of the program, said the sign-ups...
2.1K - Nov. 4, 2009; scored 249.0 Activists rally to OK gay nuptials
SALEM Gay rights backers kicked off a voter education campaign Monday aimed at eventually overturning Oregon s ban on same-sex marriage. Evan Wolfson of the national gay rights group Freedom to Marry said Monday he thinks hearts and minds are chan...
3.4K - Nov. 3, 2009; scored 249.0 Hang up and drive law comes Jan. 1
SALEM As of Jan. 1, you can get slapped with a $90 fine if you use a hand-held cell phone while driving in Oregon. Will that be enough to encourage motorists to keep their full attention on the road? And how well can the law be enforced? Orego...
6.2K - Nov. 2, 2009; scored 249.0 Ballot titles draw fire
SALEM A business-backed group that opposes the Legislature s $733 million tax increase is pursuing legal action to block what it says are biased ballot titles for two referendum measures. Oregonians will vote Jan. 26 on whether to uphold the t...
2.7K - Oct. 25, 2009; scored 249.0 Ballot titles draw fire
SALEM A business-backed group that opposes the Legislature s $733 million tax increase is pursuing legal action to block what it says are biased ballot titles for two referendum measures. Oregonians will vote Jan. 26 on whether to uphold the t...
2.7K - Oct. 24, 2009; scored 249.0 Lawmaker suspends campaign for governor
SALEM Citing family health concerns, Republican state Sen. Jason Atkinson on Wednesday suspended his campaign for Oregon governor. The southern Oregon lawmaker said that both he and his wife, Stephanie, have been confronted with some serious healt...
2.1K - Oct. 22, 2009; scored 249.0 Oregon's jobless rate dips in September
SALEM Oregon s unemployment rate dropped in September, but so did the number of people who have jobs as Oregon s economy continued to sag under the weight of the recession. In its monthly jobs report, the state Employment Department said the jobles...
1.9K - Oct. 13, 2009; scored 249.0 Oregon's jobless rate dips in September
SALEM (AP) Oregon s unemployment rate dropped in September, but so did the number of people who have jobs. The state Employment Department says the jobless rate fell to 11.5 percent last month from the revised August figure of 12 percent. David Coo...
0.8K - Oct. 12, 2009; scored 249.0 State cougar hunting plan draws protests
SALEM Wildlife advocates are protesting the state s move to expand hunting of cougars to reduce conflicts with livestock, big game, people and pets. Opponents say it will only lead to more unnecessary hunting and killing of the big cats. This kind ...
2.5K - Oct. 10, 2009; scored 249.0 Two old chums vie in race for governor
SALEM John Kitzhaber and Bill Bradbury go back quite a ways. When Kitzhaber was governor, he appointed Bradbury as Oregon secretary of state when the office became vacant in 1999. They are close friends, so close that Kitzhaber jokingly dubbed the ...
5.7K - Oct. 5, 2009; scored 249.0 State competes for federal retrofit dollars
SALEM ” Gov. Ted Kulongoski is optimistic about Oregon s chances of being chosen to receive up to $100 million in federal dollars to do energy retrofits of homes, businesses and public buildings around the state. As part of the fe...
2.2K - Sep. 30, 2009; scored 249.0 Anti-tax group turns in signatures
SALEM Opponents of the Oregon Legislature s $733 million tax hike said Friday they turned in more than twice as many signatures as needed to force a Jan. 26 referendum on a plan to raise taxes on corporations and upper-income individuals....
3.2K - Sep. 26, 2009; scored 249.0 NL: Rockies win despite bad pitching
DENVER The Colorado Rockies survived a wretched start and a wild finish to increase their NL wild-card lead. The Rockies beat the San Diego Padres 11-10 Tuesday night despite Jorge De La Rosa s stunningly bad start and a bullpen meltdown in the nin...
4.3K - Sep. 23, 2009; scored 322.0 Anti-tax measures struggle for signatures
SALEM While business groups look like they will be successful in sending to the voters a measure that could overturn the Oregon Legislature s $733 million tax hike on corporations and high-income earners, two other anti-tax referendum camp...
4.9K - Sep. 21, 2009; scored 249.0 Kitzhaber backs tax increases
SALEM - Democratic gubernatorial hopeful John Kitzhaber says he supports the Oregon Legislature s $733 million tax increase. But Kitzhaber said he also would be open to a discussion of modifying those taxes in a future legislative session. I...
3.3K - Sep. 16, 2009; scored 1000.0 Ore. jobless rate climbs to 12.2 percent
SALEM (AP) Oregon s unemployment rate ticked upward to 12.2 percent in August, with state economists sticking by their prediction of a slow, jobless recovery likely to begin this fall. The seasonally adjusted rate has been hovering around 12 percen...
1.7K - Sep. 14, 2009; scored 249.0 DeFazio weighs run for governor
SALEM Congressman Peter DeFazio and former Gov. John Kitzhaber met privately Friday to discuss the 2010 gubernatorial race, but DeFazio wouldn t say whether he will take on Kitzhaber for the Democratic nomination. Last week Kitzhaber announced he w...
2.5K - Sep. 12, 2009; scored 249.0 Pitchers improve with trade from AL to NL
A few weeks ago, they were cast off and washed up. Brad Penny, Jose Contreras, John Smoltz and Vicente Padilla, totally available to any team that wanted them. All they really needed was a place to pitch in the National League, that is. Bounced out...
4.2K - Sep. 9, 2009; scored 249.0 | 
