Legislative session ends with a mixed bag on housing issues as human toll continues The 2023 Oregon Legislature convened Jan. 17. Melisa Blake died from hypothermia four days later in a downtown Salem parking lot. Legislators came to Salem with an energet ...
12 Jul 2023 - Tom Henderson
Amid inflation and high rent costs, Senate Bill 611 seeks to strengthen rent control, tenants rights President Lyndon Johnson said, "Education is the only valid passport from poverty," but 58 years later, Andrea Haverkamp said a lot of highly ed ...
12 Apr 2023 - Tom Henderson
Senate Bill 1076 would require hospitals to find resources for homeless patients upon discharge Ricky Bayse wanted to testify before the Oregon Senate Committee on Health Care Wednesday, March 22, but he never made it to the Capitol. He spent the morning ...
29 Mar 2023 - Tom Henderson
Bills offering millions to confront homelessness speed through the Capitol The 2023 Oregon Legislature may well be remembered as the session when the governor and lawmakers devoted more than $200 million to confront homelessness. Or so hopes state Rep. Ma ...
15 Mar 2023 - Tom Henderson
Legislation to address homelessness heating up after sluggish start to session Looking at committee schedules, bills affecting housing and homelessness seemed to take baby steps through the Capitol during the first days of Oregon's 2023 legislative s ...
1 Mar 2023 - Tom Henderson
Gov. Tina Kotek laid the groundwork when she declared homelessness a state of emergency, but advocates and homeless Oregonians remain skeptical of lawmakers as legislative session starts Norman Lee LeDuff lives less than a mile from the Oregon State Capit ...
1 Feb 2023 - Tom Henderson
Tenants who can't pay when the eviction moratorium ends can apply for assistance, but it likely won't arrive soon enough June 22 update: The Senate on Tuesday repassed Senate Bill 278. The bill, which now heads to Gov. Kate Brown's desk, w ...
16 Jun 2021 - Tom Henderson
Inside, Oregon lawmakers and special interests wrestle with homelessness. Outside, on the streets of Salem, people experience it. As Oregon legislators grapple with homelessness, a woman living on the streets outside the state Capitol in Salem grapples wi ...
31 Mar 2021 - Tom Henderson
Hearings on a criminal justice reform bill draw testimony about mandatory minimums, parole restrictions and more Kenneth McGee ran into an old acquaintance online Feb. 25 during a public hearing on House Bill 2002 on criminal justice reform. It was former ...
10 Mar 2021 - Tom Henderson
The Aloha representative, who brings lived experience with poverty to her leadership role on a housing committee, speaks for young people who demand action on the housing and climate crises they’ve inherited W hen Oregon Senate President Peter Courtney, 7 ...
3 Mar 2021 - Tom Henderson