Author Archives: Jerry Curry

Regional Business Cycle Exposure, Pt 1

Right now the macroeconomic outlook is largely stable. The economy is slowing and is expected to continue to slow over the next year or two. As Tim Duy recently noted, this means we are likely to see more “bad data” or data that surprises to the downside given the overall slowing trend. If we didn’t […]
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Resistance And Mistrust Around Vaccinations Aren’t Anything New–They’ve Always Existed Together

State Library Ed. Note: FYI and Courtesy of the Kaiser Health News Morning Briefing, here are a number of recent news stories on the topic of vaccinations. Although the antivaccination movement has grown in the past few years, thanks in part to social media, there has always been a fierce outcry against compulsory shots for […]
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Record number of campers stayed at Oregon state parks in 2018

A record 2.9 million campers stayed at Oregon state parks last year, while the park system overall remained extremely popular. If you felt like some of Oregon’s campgrounds were a little more crowded in 2018, you weren’t alone. According to data released in February by the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department, the state park system […]
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Editorial: Don’t give the vote to 16-year-olds

Oregonians, like other Americans, can vote when they turn 18. That may change, however, if a handful of state lawmakers have their way. They believe 16-year-olds should be given the vote, and they’ve introduced legislation that would put the question before the people of Oregon. State Sen. Shemia Fagan, D-Clackamas, told reporters this week that […]
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Elder Care Audit  – OPB’s Think Out Loud

We talk with Danielle Moreau, co-author of the latest audit of Oregon’s home care program for aging and disabled people. The state audit says the Department of Human Services has implemented some of its 2017 recommendations for improvement, but some work still needs to be done to improve the program. Source: Japanese Newspaper | Zebrafish | Elder Care Audit . Radio | […]
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Wyden says wildfire help on the way

U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden promised Wednesday that federal help is headed to Southern Oregon to confront our wildfire problems. He said he’s shepherded legislation that will stop a long-standing practice of raiding fire prevention coffers to pay for wildfire suppression. “The fire prevention funding got the short end of the stick,” he said before about […]
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State of the States 2019 | The Pew Charitable Trusts – Stateline

In our annual State of the States series, Stateline reporters look at some of the pressing issues state lawmakers are facing as they begin their work this legislative session. Part One: Access to Voting Part Two: School Funding Part Three: Opioid Spending Part Four: 2020 Census Part Five: Prescription Drug Costs Source: State of the […]
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Making sense of cap and trade

The trio of state legislators on the video screen in the Blue Mountain Community College conference room left no doubt they are not in love with Oregon’s cap and trade proposal. Nine people sat around the BMCC conference room table sipping coffee and chatting with Sen. Cliff Bentz, R-Ontario, Rep. Greg Barreto, R-Cove, and Sen. […]
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Sara Gelser: Why I back Clean Energy Jobs bill 

According to the latest reports from the world’s climate scientists, the need to address climate change has never been more crucial. Already we are seeing the impact of our carbon footprint. News of wildfires, drought, floods and food shortages dominates our papers and airwaves. Without meaningful action to cap carbon emissions, the problems will only […]
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Commissioners: No to proposed regional bridge district 

Linn County Commissioners Roger Nyquist, John Lindsey and Will Tucker were unanimous Tuesday morning in their opposition to a proposal by Rep. Paul Evans, D-Monmouth, to create a multi-county taxing district supporting construction of a bridge over the Willamette River in Salem. Evans introduced House Bill 2974 on Friday. It would create a Capital Region […]
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