Meet the Five High-Level Staffers Who Left Gov. Tina Kotek’s Office

Lindsey Burrows, deputy general counsel: Burrows previously worked as a criminal defense lawyer. In 2018, she became one of the few lawyers ever to win two cases in the same day before the Oregon Supreme Court. Insiders say Burrows grew disillusioned over Gov. Tina Kotek’s unwillingness to place structure around first lady Aimee Kotek Wilson’s […]
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Aimee Kotek Wilson Is Her Wife’s Closest Adviser And Highest Priority

When Tina Kotek ran for governor in 2022, she’d already been speaker of the Oregon House for nearly a decade, the longest tenure in the state’s history. Decisive, focused and transactional to the point of ruthlessness, Kotek was a known commodity. Her partner of nearly 20 years, not so much. That all changed March 22, […]
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Slated Measure 110 Grantee Is Subject of Federal Fraud Investigation

Darla Byus, the founder of a drug and alcohol outpatient treatment clinic in Prineville, has been charged with defrauding the Oregon Health Authority Medicaid program of $1.5 million. Byus “used the stolen identities of at least 45 victims to make numerous fraudulent health care-related claims,” according to the charging document filed yesterday in U.S. District […]
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New era at Shellburg Falls: Tweaked hikes, changed trailhead, burned but beautiful forest

One of the most popular hikes in the Santiam Canyon will look a lot different when it reopens Friday. The Shellburg Falls Recreation Area has been closed since the 2020 Labor Day Fires burned across it, torching almost 75% of its forest north of Mehama and closing access to a site beloved by Salem residents. […]
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Murmurs: Advocates Sue ODOT Over Rose Quarter

The group No More Freeways joined three other nonprofits and the Eliot Neighborhood Association to sue the Oregon Department of Transportation in Multnomah County Circuit Court on May 10, alleging ODOT’s plan to widen Interstate 5 through the Rose Quarter violates state law because it does not comply with either the city of Portland’s comprehensive […]
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Law enforcement seizing a lot more fentanyl pills, especially in West, study says

There’s been a dramatic spike in the number of fentanyl pills seized by law enforcement across the United States, especially in the West, according to a new study that looks at the past six years. The study, released by experts at New York University and the University of Florida in the International Journal of Drug […]
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Oregon House, Senate Republicans call on Gov. Kotek for action plan to fix Employment Dept. jobless benefit delays

On Tuesday, a group of House and Senate Republicans sent a letter to Governor Kotek urging her administration, in coordination with the Oregon Employment Department, to lay out a detailed plan of action – beyond the normal increases to staffing – complete with aggressive increases in agency performance targets at set deadlines, as well as […]
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New data reveals leading causes of death amongst Oregon’s homeless population

A first-time full statewide Domicile Unknown report released by the Oregon Health Authority (OHA) last week shows homeless residents in Oregon died of an overdose at a rate 37 times higher than the overall statewide overdose rate. The new data reveals the leading cause of death amongst Oregon’s homeless residents is overdose followed by heart […]
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Oregon spotted frog numbers stabilize in the Upper Deschutes

In a wetland near the banks of the Deschutes River, Jennifer O’Reilly stepped cautiously into half a foot of water in search of an elusive creature whose small size belies its importance. Crouching in a pair of waders, she peered through oversized sunglasses into a dark pool reflecting cotton ball clouds and blue sky. The […]
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‘More than one per day’: Multnomah County report shows spike in fentanyl overdose deaths

In 2018 and 2019, an average of two people per month in Multnomah County died from a fentanyl overdose, a new county health report states. By last year, the average number rose to nearly 36 deaths per month. Eight hundred and sixty-eight. That’s how many people have died from a fentanyl overdose in Multnomah County […]
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