Jenny Smith

By Jenny Smith
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Today's Oregon News: February 7, 2012

It's Tuesday! A Federal appeals court has struck down California's Prop 8 (the ban on same-sex marriage) as unconstitutional, declaring that "Proposition 8 served no purpose, and had no effect, other than to lessen the status and human dignity of gays and lesbians in California.”

In Oregon, bills addressing the foreclosure crisis died in the House at the hands of Committee Co-Chair Gene Whisnant (R-Sunriver), while Senate sponsors of foreclosure bills appear to moving forward quickly.

Prop. 8: Gay-marriage ban unconstitutional, court rules
LA Times
"A federal appeals court Tuesday struck down California's ban on same-sex marriage, clearing the way for the U.S. Supreme Court to rule on gay marriage as early as next year. The 2-1 decision by a panel of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals found that Proposition 8, the 2008 ballot measure that limited marriage to one man and one woman, violated the U.S. Constitution. The architects of Prop. 8 have vowed to appeal. The ruling was narrow and likely to be limited to California."

2 Senate bills would regulate foreclosures
Register Guard
"Efforts to place tighter state regulations on lenders during the fore­closure process endured a day of mixed success Monday in the Capitol. After an early morning committee hearing on two foreclosure-related bills, Sen. Chip Shields, a Portland Democrat and committee chairman, signaled his intention to move the proposals to the Senate floor quickly. Conversely, four fore­closure bills in the Oregon House died Monday, after Rep. Gene Whisnant, a Sunriver Republican and a co-chairman of the House General Government and Consumer Protection Committee, refused to schedule them for a public hearing by the end of the day."

By Jenny Smith
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Today's Oregon News: February 6, 2012

It's Monday! The state's Revenue Forecast comes out on Wednesday, setting the next stage in the budget process. Advocates and legislators are anxiously awaiting the new numbers.

Oregon Head Start leaders are voicing opposition to the Governor's proposal to make sweeping changes to early childhood education, and the Oregon Republican Party has decided to open up its primaries for statewide offices to nonaffiliated voters.

Oregon budget will take leap forward this week
Associated Press via KVAL
"The severity of state budget cuts comes into sharper focus this week, when economists tell the Legislature how much tax money they think Oregon will collect. The last two quarterly revenue forecasts have delivered disappointing news, forcing legislative leaders to recommend layoffs of state workers, the closure of a prison and smaller paychecks for workers who provide in-home care to seniors and people with disabilities. Nobody's expecting to see an influx of money when the projections are released Tuesday, and a sharp decline would force legislators back to the negotiating table in search of more service cuts to close a budget gap that's already expected to be at least $200 million. Whatever the new forecast shows, the estimate is needed before the Legislature can press ahead with efforts to get the budget back in balance."

Lawmakers bracing for bad news
Bend Bulletin
"The severity of state budget cuts comes into sharper focus this week, when economists tell the Legislature how much tax money they think Oregon will collect. The last two quarterly revenue forecasts have delivered disappointing news, forcing legislative leaders to recommend layoffs of state workers, the closure of a prison and smaller paychecks for workers who provide in-home care to seniors and people with disabilities. Nobody’s expecting to see an influx of money when the projections are released Tuesday, and a sharp decline would force legislators back to the negotiating table in search of more service cuts to close a budget gap that’s already expected to be at least $200 million."

Sweeping changes to Oregon's early childhood programs would start with small steps
Oregonian
"Gov. John Kitzhaber wants sweeping changes in early childhood programs in Oregon to make them better coordinated, easier for the neediest families to access and more focused on preparing youngsters for kindergarten. But he and his advisers are starting small, with a bill in this month's legislative session that focuses on how Oregon spends $5 million a year -- about 1 percent of the roughly $400 million Oregon devotes each year to early childhood programs. The bill would abolish the Oregon Commission on Children and Families and 36 county-level commissions, concentrating power in the governor's new Early Learning Council."

By Jenny Smith
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Today's Oregon News: February 2, 2012

It's Groundhog Day! On its second day, the Oregon legislature is in full swing working on a variety of bills, including ways to deal with the budget shortfall.

Legislature

Lawmakers consider supervisor ratio
Statesman Journal
"A bill intended to accelerate middle management reductions in Oregon state government got off to a rocky start before skeptical legislators Wednesday. House Bill 4131 calls for state agencies with more than 100 employees to show improvement by July in reducing their worker-to-supervisor ratios. The bill received a hearing Wednesday afternoon in the House General Government and Consumer Protection Committee, but committee members questioned whether the measure would lead to unintended consequences — or is even doable."

Legislator's mass email raises concerns
Statesman Journal
"More than 500 people have asked that their home email addresses be removed from a list compiled by a top Oregon legislator, who got the addresses through public records requests with state agencies. Rep. Dennis Richardson, R-Central Point, said his staff is responding quickly to state workers and others who felt his access to their home email address constitutes an invasion of privacy. 'We are sending out an apology to everyone who complains, and erasing them from our database,' said Richardson, who used the email list to ask people to provide cost-saving ideas for state government. He serves as co-chair of the legislature's budget committee."

Legislative budget-writers target middle managers, prison
NPR
"Oregon legislative budget writers are targeting middle managers in an effort to bring the state's spending plan back into balance. They also announced Wednesday a proposal to close a 440-bed minimum security prison. The budget rebalance plan came on the first day of a scheduled month-long legislative session. Under the proposal, inmates at the Santiam Correctional Institution in Salem would be transferred to other prisons. The closure would save $1.6 million in the current budget cycle and more than $8 million in the next. Also in the cross-hairs: agency managers that aren't the front-line workers and also not the top level executives."

Oregon budget agreement trims hundreds of workers from state payroll
Oregonian
"Roughly 300 middle management and public affairs jobs would be eliminated from the state payroll and at least 100 other jobs would disappear with the closure of a minimum security prison under a budget agreement announced Wednesday as the Oregon Legislature opened its 2012 session. The plan, a bipartisan agreement forged by the Legislature's three top budget writers, emerged on a day that included boisterous protests by Occupy demonstrators and Gov. John Kitzhaber testifying at a hearing to push his plan for reforming schools. If the agreement holds up, one of the toughest tasks of the abbreviated February session will be nearly over."

Oregon prison in Salem proposed for closure because of budget cuts
Oregonian
"Oregon's budget crisis is taking a toll once again on the state prison system, with legislators planning to close a 440-bed prison in Salem to save money. Santiam Correctional Institution, a minimum-security prison operating in what was once a mental hospital annex, is set to close this July, eliminating up to 100 jobs. No inmates would be freed, state Corrections Department officials said. The prison held 434 inmates in January. The agency said 214 would be moved to more secure and more expensive cells at medium-security prisons. Inmates also would be shuffled to other minimum-security prisons."

Bottle of bourbon leads lawmakers to consider change in rules for nonprofits
Oregonian
"Just before she introduced herself to the House Revenue Committee members, Ginny Lang pulled a bottle of bourbon from a wooden case and set it before them. 'The reason we're here is this,' said Lang, a member of the Oregon State Capitol Foundation. The bottle of Buffalo Trace Bourbon wasn't just any old bottle of the Kentucky spirit -- it was one of 174 bottles of bourbon that came from the distillery's final barrel of the 20th Century.  The folks over at the Oregon State Capitol Foundation became the proud owners of the limited edition bourbon after Buffalo Trace decide to give away their final batch to charities, the idea being that they could then auction or raffle the stuff off."

By Jenny Smith
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Today's Oregon News: January 30, 2012

It's Monday! AG Kroger has issued temporary rules to help struggling homeowners deal with misleading practices by mortgage middlemen, and the Register Guard has called on the legislature to prioritize foreclosure protection in the February session.

Another report (this time from the Tax Foundation) shows that Oregon has low business taxes, and public awareness is slowly growing about the details of the Governor's education plans.

Foreclosures

Oregon Attorney General Kroger issues emergency rules to protect distressed homeowners from wrongful foreclosures
Oregonian
"Oregon Attorney General John Kroger issued temporary rules today that will give homeowners more protection from alleged wrongful foreclosures and misleading practices by mortgage servicers. The rules, good for 180 days, come just ahead of a legislative session in which lawmakers are being asked to consider even stronger protections. It also comes as Kroger evaluates whether to sign on to a controversial, multi-state legal settlement with the nation's five largest loan servicers."

EDITORIAL: Head off foreclosures
Register Guard
"Oregon’s budget will be at center stage during the legislative session that convenes on Wednesday, but lawmakers should spare some energy for dealing with the problems underlying the state’s weak fiscal condition. An economic recovery can’t take hold in Oregon until the housing market stabilizes, and that can’t happen as long as foreclosures continue to drag prices down. The Legislature should put in place rules that would reduce many Oregonians’ chances of losing their homes."

Economy

As small businesses are tasked to fuel economic recovery, who will finance their growth?
Oregonian
"Jan Walker needed new equipment and software for her Tigard firm but worried about going into debt. But with the help of a small-business course she realized a $10,000 loan could pay dividends for her five-person company, Inform Restaurant Accounting, and turned to her bank last fall. She soon concluded that the terms were too long, the payments too steep and the rate too high. 'And it wasn't the full amount that I wanted anyway,' she said. 'It just didn't feel right.'"

By Jenny Smith
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Today's Oregon News: January 27, 2012

Happy Friday! Legislators prepare for the February session, beginning next week.

Oregon's Republican legislators say they'll fight the Governor's health care plan unless it includes limits on medical malpractice lawsuits, and turnout for Democrats and Republicans appears to be about the same rate in the CD1 election--though with the large Democratic registration edge, that means many more Democratic ballots are being turned in.

By Jenny Smith
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Today's Oregon News: January 25, 2012

It's Wednesday! New numbers show the heavy toll that budget cuts have taken on educators, who've faced massive layoffs. PolitiFact Oregon had to reverse a ruling from True to False on a claim made by the Oregon GOP about Rob Cornilles, which is featured in a Blue Oregon post by Our Oregon's Scott Moore.

Legislators and advocates are preparing for the upcoming legislative session, which begins next week. Willamette Week has a rundown of marijuana-related initiative petitions aiming for the November ballot.

And in case you missed it, President Obama used last night's State of the Union speech to call for steps to be made to shrink the widening gap between the rich and the poor.

BLOG: Trivial Pursuit: That's some Har-ible reporting
BlueOregon
"If I was the editor of the national PolitiFact enterprise, I’d be alarmed at the amount of damage its Oregon branch has been doing to the brand for many months, even violating PolitiFact’s own stated principles. The recent output from PolitiFact Oregon and its chief Oregonian reporter, Janie Har, should make it clear that they’ve ditched the fact-checking mission in favor of an embarrassing obsession with selectively focusing on political items that amplify Har's apparent personal bias. Late yesterday, that obsession blew up in their face, when Har had to reverse a 'ruling' on a claim that was meaningless to begin with."

POLITIFACT RULING CHANGE: Has Rob Cornilles locked up endorsements from Independent, Democratic and Republican mayors?
Politifact
"Rated FALSE: PolitiFact Oregon has the great dishonor of reversing a ruling today. We freely admit we have egg on our face. If we were a cat, our ears would be lowered and our head down. If we were a dog, we’d be looking up at you with sad dog eyes. You get the picture. Last week we ruled True a statement by the Oregon Republican Party that Republican Rob Cornilles had the endorsements of a variety of local mayors, including Democrat, Republican and Independent. The upper case 'I' means he had the backing of a registered member of the Independent Party of Oregon, which is a third party group."

Obama challenges: Shrink gap between rich, poor
Associated Press via Register Guard
"Declaring the American dream under siege, President Barack Obama delivered a populist challenge Tuesday night to shrink the gap between rich and poor, promising to tax the wealthy more and help jobless Americans get work and hang onto their homes. Seeking re-election and needing results, the president invited Republicans to join him but warned, 'I intend to fight.' In an emphatic State of the Union address, Obama said ensuring a fair shot for all Americans is 'the defining issue of our time.' He said the economy is finally recovering from a deep and painful recession and he will fight any effort to return to policies that brought it low."

Budget and economy

Budget debate looms in Salem
Register Guard
"Gov. John Kitz­haber and legislative leaders expect the upcoming four-week session in February to center on balancing Oregon’s budget, despite myriad controversial policy questions — including the next steps in the governor’s proposed sweeping reforms in health care and education — that also will be raised. Projected state revenues have shrunk by more than $300 million since last summer, and the upcoming revenue forecast is expected to show another loss, perhaps in the range of $50 million to $80 million, lawmakers said Tuesday at a series of press meetings."

By Jenny Smith
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Today's Oregon News: January 23, 2012

It's Monday! 2011 saw a big increase in venture capital investments in Oregon startups. State officials have approved exceptions to the hiring freeze, and Gov. Kitzhaber says Oregon may receive $2.5 billion in federal funds tied to health care reform.

Yesterday was the 39th anniversary of the landmark decision Roe v. Wade.

Budget and economy

Charting the decline of Oregon's timber industry
Oregonian
"The decline of Oregon's timber industry -- and the fading of its political clout -- is not a new story.  But a series of charts from the Oregon Office of Economic Analysis paint a vivid picture of how our economy has changed. First, here's a chart showing employment in the wood-products industry.  As you can see, employment took a big dive during the deep recession of the early 1980s and again following new environmental restrictions on logging in federal forests in 1990. Since then, employment has trended down, with a small upswing during the housing boom of the early years of this century."

Gov. John Kitzhaber says feds could support health reform with $2.5 billion, easing state budget crunch
Oregonian
"As state officials wrestle with a projected budget hole on top of $640 million in health cuts, they are counting on a federal lifeline. Gov. John Kitzhaber and his top health officials said Friday they are now confident that a little-discussed state request of $2.5 billion over five years will in large part be fulfilled. Their optimism stems from a trip to Washington D.C. last week."

By Jenny Smith
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Today's Oregon News: January 19, 2011

It's Thursday! Oregon's unemployment rate has dipped below 9%, which many see as a milestone. Overall recovery for the state, however, is still uncertain.

Oregon House Republicans have released a jobs agenda that relies on tax cuts, including tax cuts on capital gains. The Democratic Party of Oregon has responded here, pointing out that the $4 billion in tax cuts over five years would force "cuts to vital services for students, seniors and middle-class families."

By Jenny Smith
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Today's Oregon News: January 18, 2012

It's a rainy, slushy Wednesday over much of the state. Street Roots features a guest opinion from Alison McIntosh calling on the legislature and advocates to fight for the economically vulnerable in the coming session. The Statesman Journal looks at preparations for the legislative session, and nationally, Mitt Romney reveals that he pays about 15% on most of his income, well below the rate paid on earned income, though he still hasn't released his tax records.

OPINION: Let's not go blindly into the next session
Street Roots
"ALISON McINTOSH -- Too many Oregonians today are forced to choose between paying rent or buying groceries or medicine.  Too many of us are busy looking for work, holding down two or three jobs, hunting for an apartment or affordable day care, or trying to hold off a foreclosure. Many others of us are trying hard to sleep through the night while worrying, or while sharing shelter space with dozens of other people. In February, the Oregon Legislature will convene for a short, one-month session.  This makes us anxious for yet another reason, holding our breath nervously in anticipation of what might occur in February. It is almost certain that we’ll hear more grim news about the budget, and we’re worried that the Legislature will act to do even more damage to our community’s system of support for people facing hard times."

What's a 'discouraged worker'?
OPB
"There are about 1.6 million jobs in Oregon -- a number that hasn't changed much over the last year.  But the unemployment rate has dropped significantly -- from about 11 percent down to nine percent in that time. There are several reasons why: many people have gone back to school, decided to look after a family member, or retired. But there are also a significant number of workers the state classifies as 'discouraged,' instead of unemployed. With December’s unemployment figures due out this week, Kristian Foden-Vencil took a look at who those discouraged workers are."

By Jenny Smith
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Today's Oregon News: January 17, 2012

It's Tuesday. Ballots for the CD1 special election started going out this weekend, and the Oregon legislature has gotten poor marks on racial equity bills. CNN reports that various states around the country are considering tax increases on the rich in order to deal with their budget crises.

Ballots headed to mailboxes in Oregon's 1st District special election
Oregonian
"Ballots should begin arriving in mailboxes in Oregon's 1st Congressional District this weekend for the special election to choose a replacement for former U.S. Rep. David Wu. The two major candidates in the race, Democrat Suzanne Bonamici and Republican Rob Cornilles, have been duking it out in debates and through TV ads for weeks. The deadline to turn in ballots is 8 p.m. on Jan. 31. Results will be announced soon after."

Oregon House, Senate get low grades in report on racial equity bills
Oregonian
"On Martin Luther King, Jr. Day a coalition of seven groups representing Oregon's communities of color, is releasing the state's first-ever report card that rates how the state Legislature dealt with racial equity bills. The grades are not good. The 2011 legislative session was a tough one for minority interests, according to the coalition's Racial Equity Report Card. More than half the bills advocacy groups had named top priorities failed. Overall, the House received a 'D' for its work on issues pertaining to communities of color, while the Senate received a 'C.'"

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