SALEM- In response to the $560 million shortfall in Oregon’s state budget, Governor Ted Kulongoski plans to proceed with his “reset” by implementing a 9 percent budget cut across the board.

The governor said he is “not a fan of across the board cuts,” but they were the only option available, considering the magnitude of this year’s shortfall.

BY SARAH ROSS
SALEM- Oregon’s leaders were caught by surprise Tuesday morning upon learning that the State now must endure a $560 million budget shortfall for the current biennium.
A presentation by Tom Potowski and Josh Harwood from the Office for Economic Analysis showed that the state’s revenues are short $560 million for the 2009-2011 biennium.
Before unveiling [...]

BY SARAH ROSS
SALEM- Oregon’s unemployment rate stayed unchanged in April, according to numbers released Tuesday by the Oregon Department of Employment. The state’s political leaders have begun to debate whether the news indicates a nearing end to the recession.
Governor Ted Kulongoski called the report “a welcome turn in the right direction” but stressed the need [...]

BY SARAH ROSS
SALEM- House Minority Leader Bruce Hanna, R-Roseburg, sent a letter Thursday to Attorney General John Kroger asking him to release documents related to the AG’s former special counsel, Brent Foster.
Foster is currently under investigation by the Marion County District Attorney after misrepresenting himself in a criminal environmental case.
NorthCoastOregon.com had requested to see 69 [...]

Part One of Two
By JACOB SZETO

SALEM – New information has shown that Oregon’s state and local governments owe an additional $3 billion in benefits to their retirees.
Other Post-Employment Benefits (OPEB) debt has reached at least $3 billion statewide but will not be found on government balance sheets. The annual cost for OPEB is $300 million, [...]

BY SARAH ROSS
SALEM- Director of State Lands Louise Solliday testified before the State Land Board Tuesday about the market gains for the Common School Fund’s annual portfolio in the 2009 calendar year.
The data released showed the net returns gained just over 30 percentage points from 2008. While this is a large return compared with most [...]

BY SARAH ROSS
SALEM- Governor Ted Kulongoski and Attorney General John Kroger announced Wednesday their intentions to proceed with legal action supporting the recently passed federal health care reform.
“Oregon has been a leader in expanding access to health care while containing costs, and the bill passed by Congress and signed by the President is essential for [...]

BY SARAH ROSS
HILLSBORO- A letter straight from Idaho’s Governor C.L. “Butch” Otter was sent to the President of Oregon’s Summit Manufacturing, Lewis Barnes, earlier this month.
Although the governor had sent out a blanket letter to Oregon businesses following the January vote on tax measures 66 and 67, this letter, forwarded by the Oregonians Against Job Killing Taxes [...]

BY SARAH ROSS
SALEM- Governor Ted Kulongoski announced Thursday his signing a bill reforming the Business Energy Tax Credit into law.
“This legislation strengthens accountability in the program to ensure taxpayer dollars are delivering outcomes we want, while also maintaining an important economic program that is critical to creating economic opportunities for communities across the state,” stated [...]

BY SARAH ROSS
PORTLAND- With the arrival of census forms this week, the political question following the 2010 census lies in how the change in population will affect state legislative and Congressional representation.
According to the Legislative Policy and Research Office, counties growing faster than the state average will gain greater representation in the state legislature, meaning [...]