By Julia Shumway | Editor
“I know folks are working long hours and we’re bringing in folks from the west side of the state to support crews on the east side that have been working nonstop through the fires. I worry that that is going to get so much worse in the future.” — Oregon Department of Transportation Chief Engineer Tova Peltz on what cuts to maintenance staff would mean for responding to severe weather. This summer, like other wildfire seasons,
Also in today's edition:
Insurance will jump tens or even hundreds of dollars for marketplace buyers next year
Columnist Randy Stapilus on Donald Trump’s impact on the race for governor
Cities turn to AI for help processing homebuilding permits
News tips, feedback or questions? Email us at [email protected]
By Mia Maldonado
Oregon Department of Transportation crews close parts of a highway in response to the 2020 Labor Day wildfires. (Photo by Oregon Department of Transportation)
As fires scorched through a record 2.5 million acres this summer, mostly in eastern and central Oregon, many of the state’s transportation maintenance crews traded patching potholes and cleaning culverts for wildfire response.
By Shaanth Nanguneri
An examination room at a clinic in Portland on Friday, Dec. 13, 2024. Oregon officials are exploring enrollment caps and a state reinsurance program to help address rising health insurance costs. (Photo by Rian Dundon/Oregon Capital Chronicle)
Oregon insurance regulators have approved premium hikes that could cost individuals and small businesses that buy health insurance through the state marketplace dozens of more dollars per month and are weighing policy changes that would limit availability.
By Randy Stapilus
Gov. Tina Kotek promised to protect Oregon values during her first press conference after the Nov. 5 election. (Photo by Julia Shumway/Oregon Capital Chronicle)
Democrat Tina Kotek’s second television spot of her gubernatorial re-election campaign focused most directly on the unlikely subject of food banks. But the unsubtle subtext of the ad was the president.
By Robbie Sequeira | Stateline
New housing projects can sometimes stall out as a developer applies to city or county planning boards and goes through cycles of inspections, reviews and approvals.
Now, cities are increasingly turning to artificial intelligence to address one of the most persistent sources of housing permitting delays: incomplete applications. And two new streams of federal money aim to help them.
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