PORTLAND- The Wu and Cornilles campaigns announced on Wednesday that they will be holding a debate between the two candidates at Portland State University on Friday.

The debate is sponsored by a number of local organizations, including the League for Minority Voters, the Oregon Taxpayers Association, Cascade Policy Institute, Tax Fairness Oregon, and the Oregon Politico.

SALEM- A hearing on the future of Petition 50 ended Monday afternoon, but no ruling by Judge Mary James has been made yet.

Petition 50, which would put the power of redistricting in the hands of a non-partisan panel of retired judges, was spearheaded by former Rep. Kevin Mannix and Common Sense for Oregon.

A group gathered at a bus stop Friday, despite the heat, to celebrate the addition of four low-floor hybrid buses to the TriMet fleet that covers the Line 72-Killingsworth/82nd Ave. route.
TriMet was notified Thursday that it had received $2 million in funds from the Federal Transit Administration after submitting its application in early February to [...]

NEWBERG- A lawsuit filed against the City of Newberg over an initiative petition ended at the Yamhill County Circuit Court on Tuesday, requiring the City to approve the petition which they have rejected numerous times.

Hank Grum joined forces with Common Sense for Oregon, a conservative advocacy group, to file suit against the city after five similar initiative petitions were rejected by Dawn Wilson, the Elections Officer for Newberg.

WASHINGTON D.C.- The U.S. Supreme Court announced Monday that laws prohibiting possession of handguns in the home for purposes of self-protection are unconstitutional not only at the federal level, but also on the state and local level.

The case, MacDonald v. City of Chicago, was a contentious 5-4 decision that extended the ruling of District of Colombia v. Heller, which banned federal laws prohibiting handgun ownership in the homes of Washington, D.C. residents.

SALEM- Gov. Ted Kulongoski’s final approval over agency budget cuts has reverted Oregon’s General Fund spending to approximately 2007 levels. Oregon’s General Fund budget accounts for about 22 percent of the entire Oregon state budget.

Despite cuts to the General Fund, the state’s total budget has increased by over $11 billion since the last biennium.

ALBANY- James “Jim” Egan of has been practicing law for over 20 years as a shareholder in a law firm in Albany, Ore.

He will continue his legal career in a new capacity after being sworn in as circuit court judge for Linn County, filling one of the two vacancies created by the retirements of Judges Rick McCormick and Glen Baisinger.

SALEM- With Hearing Room F’s speaker phone tuned into legislators across the state who were unable to attend Tuesday’s Emergency Board meeting, the Committee voted to grant $64,762,227 to the Oregon University System (OUS).

The Emergency Board Committee is a standing committee of the legislature that meets in the interim to give emergency funds to agencies who request additional funding.

SALEM- While the Oregon unemployment rate has dropped since its peak of 11.6 percent May and June of 2009 to 10.6 percent this May, it still sits slightly above the national average of 9.7 percent.

Brooke Jackson-Winegardner, an economist for the Employment Division, said that there are several factors that contribute to the higher unemployment rate in Oregon. Seasonal industries like agriculture, construction and timber along with the state’s small labor force were two, but a third less-likely candidate was Oregon’s mild climate.

SALEM- After the legislature used stimulus dollars and other federal aid to balance the budget in February’s special session, Governor Ted Kulongoski is now turning to Congress again to fill remaining gaps.

Kulongoski wrote a letter to the state’s Congressional delegation urging the passage of two bills in Congress that would extend expiring medical assistance and bring more aid for educational jobs.