The Oregon Capitol building in Salem. Photo: Chas Hundley
Oregons legislators will head back to Salem following Governor Kate Browns call to convene a special legislative session to tackle congressional and legislative redistricting. Following the decennial census, held last in 2020, the Oregon Constitution requires the legislature to draw new districts to split the state into local legislative and congressional districts. Oregon gained a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives thanks to a growing population in the state following last years census. In a press release, the governors office said that the special session will begin Monday, September 20 at 8 a.m. In Oregon, we believe your vote is your voice, and every voice matters, Brown said in a statement. This special session is an opportunity for legislators to set aside their differences and ensure Oregon voters have their voices heard at the ballot box. Based on my conversations with legislative leaders, and the ongoing public testimony we are hearing from Oregonians across the state this week, I believe the Legislature is ready to begin the next step of the redistricting process. The press release also noted a recent decision by the Oregon Supreme Court in
State ex rel Kotek v. Fagan
that sets the deadline to draw new maps by September 27, 2021. If legislators cannot come to an agreement by the deadlineor if Brown vetoes the results of the special sessiondrawing maps for legislative districts will fall to Oregon Secretary of State Shemia Fagan, a Democrat, while a judicial panel will draw maps for congressional districts.
A recent rulemaking process from the Department of Land and Conservation Development could have limited what can be sold at farm stands, but an outsized public response to the potential rules put the process on an indefinite pause.
State Representative Susan McLain, representing Forest Grove and other western Washington County locales, will host her first town hall of the post-2025 legislative session Tuesday, July 22 from 4 to 5:30 p.m. at the Cornelius Public Library.
During Wednesday's Forest Grove Rural Fire Protection District meeting, Forest Grove Fire & Rescue Chief Jim Geering said he would be encouraging the board to take additional ownership of their own agenda.
A proposed toll road linking Forest Grove and Tillamook faced opposition, but Gales Creek residents would take any road they could get, according to a 1925 newspaper article.
"County Jail Filled to Overflow With Arrests Made" including Ernest Narver, Frank Kearns, Thomas Young, and Roy Kearns, all arrested at Balm Grove on liquor possession charges in Prohibition-era Gales Creek.
People are shooting exploding targets and firing hot lead into dry vegetation in the Tillamook Forest with predictable results: Five wildfires since May. These fires are all preventable, said Acting Forest Grove District Forester Stephanie Beall.
