Crisis pregnancy centers, and the week's news

Happy Saturday, Oregon!

What a hot, smoky week it’s been. We’re looking forward to better air and slightly cooler temperatures in the valley, bracing for whatever August brings and praying for rain and the safety of everyone affected by current blazes across the West. On the fire front, we have stories this week from Stateline’s Alex Brown on how the current fires are unsettling property insurance markets and the risks firefighting veterans see in directions to aggressively suppress dangerous fires, and from our Shaanth Nanguneri on wildfire-related scams to watch out for.

Shaanth, who’s covering the race for governor, dug into tax and business records this week to show that Republican Christine Drazan sent nearly $100,000 from the nonprofit she formed after her 2022 loss to a consulting company she owns with her husband. Federal law allows nonprofits to pay individuals or businesses connected to the board, but the IRS recommends documenting conflict of interest policies to avoid taxes penalizing “excess benefits,” or nonprofit insiders being paid beyond a reasonable rate to provide services. Drazan wasn’t in office when A New Direction paid her firm, so she wasn’t subject to higher ethics standards for public officials.

Rep. Greg Smith, the Heppner Republican who has served in the Legislature since 2001, is subject to ethics laws, and he has agreed to pay $12,000 to settle his latest Oregon Government Ethics Commission investigation, Alex Baumhardt reported. The settlement, which will require the commission’s approval at a meeting next Friday, stems from Smith using his role as director of the Columbia Development Authority of Boardman to maneuver a $66,000 raise through a federal grant application without his board’s knowledge. It also dings Smith for approving his own paid vacation time at that role, including nearly 11 paid weeks off at a cost of more than $26,000. Smith, who did not respond to Alex’s inquiries, stipulated in the proposed settlement that he won’t admit to intentionally violating state laws.

Alex joined States Newsroom’s “Stories from the States” podcast this week to talk about her recent reporting on an astroturf data center advocacy group running nearly identical ads in at least seven states, as well as the bigger picture of data center politics in Oregon. Her segment starts around the 15:30 mark if you’re pressed for time.

She also paid attention to a seven-hour meeting of Gov. Tina Kotek’s data center advisory committee so you didn’t have to. The big takeaway: Committee members won’t recommend a statewide moratorium on data center development, saying doing so was beyond their charge. Instead, they’re recommending more state and local partnerships and transparency from industry.

Kotek on Friday said she supports local moratoriums, including one the Salem City Council voted to initiate this week. Columnist Randy Stapilus noted data centers stand to be one of this fall’s biggest electoral issues, as they played a role in a Democratic primary upset in Washington County and recent polling shows strong opposition across age, geographic and political spectrums.

Drazan, meanwhile, joined GOP leaders to announce that she’ll support a legislatively referred constitutional amendment to safeguard rights to hunt, fish and farm. It’s a response to an initiative petition animal rights advocates came close to placing on this year’s ballot that would have banned most killing of animals. Whether she wins or loses in November, Drazan won’t be in the Legislature to introduce the measure next session.

On the economic front, Mia Maldonado covered a new state report that found tariffs exacerbated Oregon’s economic slowdown and looked at an ongoing lawsuit that could undo Oregon’s new ban on out-of-state banks charging predatory interest rates to Oregonians.

Our Saturday story this week, from our friends at Stateline, is about the crisis pregnancy centers that exist in all states and receive taxpayer funding in at least 19. Pregnant women and current and former center employees who talked to reporters Sofia Resnick and Shalina Chatlani have complicated views on the issue, with some women feeling supported and others feeling judged.