Watchdog reporter Ted Sickinger joined Editor Therese Bottomly on this episode of “Beat Check with The Oregonian” to talk about his extraordinary reporting into Skyline CDL School, which operated in Oregon and Washington. On this episode of Beat Check, we talk about: --How the alleged bribery scheme operated, according to regulators --How the newsr…

When Portland Trail Blazers owner Paul Allen died in 2018 from complications related to non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, it was matter of when, not if, his beloved professional sports team would be sold. Seven years later, that time has finally arrived. Allen’s estate announced on May 13 that is has initiated a formal sales process for one of Oregon’s most …

For this week’s episode of Beat Check with The Oregonian, education reporter Julia Silverman tackles a series of burning questions from readers and listeners who are weighing how to vote on the $1.83 billion bond. Have a listen, and don’t forget to turn in your ballot. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…

It is a bleak time for mass transit all throughout the U.S. The challenges here in the Portland metro area are many and pronounced.TriMet is providing about 30 million fewer rides each year than it did in 2019 — and the recovery appears to be slowing way down. Rider safety has been a persistent concern since the pandemic. Fare evasion is rampant. M…

In recent months, climate and environmental work have been under threat in the U.S., with the Trump administration dismantling climate legislation, freezing funds and intimidating universities, states and nonprofits. Despite the chaos, there’s still a place for hope, says award-winning environmental journalist Alan Weisman, author of the new book H…

When President Trump raised tariffs against China and other countries earlier this month, stock markets plunged, chaos rippled through the global economy and anxiety hit business owners across the United States. The specifics of the tariffs — which soared as high as 145% on China and affected virtually every country on earth — have been changing we…

In this week’s episode, Politics and Education Editor Betsy Hammond breaks down the key finding of a survey of 600 metro area voters by DHM Research, commissioned by The Oregonian. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesBy The Oregonian/OregonLive

With wildfire season approaching and southern California still reeling from the January wildfires, Portland leaders are making sure the city can withstand a major urban wildfire. Forest Park, the city’s crown jewel and one of the largest urban forests in the U.S., has been identified as one of the areas most at-risk for wildfire in the city. Kim Ko…

First-class airfare to Hawaii. Five-star hotel stays. Lots and lots of food. All of it footed — directly or indirectly — by customers of a large Portland-area utility. A recent Oregonian/OregonLive investigation found that executives with Clean Water Services, Washington County’s sewer agency, have spent years enjoying fancy business trips to Hawai…

A series of headlines has brought bad news about the management of Oregon’s Department of Corrections and Oregon Youth Authority to public attention. Numerous leadership changes have also resulted at the two departments. The agencies are separate divisions in Oregon’s state government but share the responsibility to care for people incarcerated for…

When the Mt. Bachelor ski resort abruptly went up for sale in August, a couple of Central Oregon mountain enthusiasts had an audacious thought: Maybe we should buy it. Before they knew it, the me — who had not met beforehand — put in motion a plan to purchase one of Oregon’s most cherished landmarks. They organized a GoFundMe and formed a company. …

But will it be a home run? The Portland Diamond Project has so far struck out on its years-long efforts to bring Major League Baseball to Portland. But now they’ve got a new site on the South Waterfront, fresh energy from city leaders and a pitch to the Oregon Legislature, not to mention swoon-y renderings of a new stadium along the Willamette. Spo…

Preliminary results from a new state survey on wood combustion show more people are using fireplaces and woodstoves in urban areas in Oregon, despite efforts by state and local governments to decrease their use. Why the increase? And just how dangerous are wood stoves and wood-burning fireplaces to our health and the health of the planet? John Wasi…

It’s undeniably good news that deadly violence in Portland continued to tick downward last year. The city recorded 71 homicides in 2024. That’s six fewer than the year prior and a 30% drop from the record-shattering 101 killings Oregon’s most populous city saw in 2022. Reported shootings, meanwhile, fell below 1,000 for the first time since 2020. D…

The second Trump administration has barely begun, but an avalanche of policy changes and executive orders have already had repercussions in Oregon. Editor Therese Bottomly is joined by politics co-editor Jamie Goldberg and watchdog editor Brad Schmidt to discuss local coverage of the Trump effect in Oregon. They discuss the many lawsuits already fi…

When Oregon became the third state in the United States to legalize recreational marijuana use, proponents envisioned a double dose of green. Residents were given a chance to light up legally, finally bringing the state’s underground cannabis culture out of the shadows. Nowadays, Oregon boasts twice as many cannabis shops as Starbucks coffeehouses.…

It’s no secret that Oregon has an affordable housing problem. Gov. Tina Kotek has set an ambitious goal of building 36,000 units of housing a year, but so far, the state is nowhere close to hitting that target. Housing and real estate reporter Jonathan Bach recently went to Bend to spotlight a small but meaningful piece of the affordable housing pu…

Oregon’s residential electricity rates have gone up nearly 50% in the Portland area in just the past four years. Those increases have primarily been driven by the rising costs to buy power from the open energy market. But there’s growing concern that the rapid expansion of power-hungry data centers could significantly drive up residential power bil…

A housing, homelessness and behavioral health crisis. Flagging student test scores. Billions of dollars needed for road and bridge repairs.Oregon legislative leaders will kick off their 2025 session this week at the Capitol with no shortage of significant challenges to tackle and tame. And while Democrats and Republicans say right now that they sha…

Business reporter Matthew Kish just completed a three-part series on one of Oregon’s signature companies, Nike. He took a deep dive into the so-called “Starfish” surveys, a clandestine effort to document problems employees had with harassment and discrimination. The surveys are at the heart of a court case set to be argued this winter at the 9th Ci…

In one of their most professional efforts ever (even with Alfredo's audio sounding like a Jack in the Box drive-thru speaker) the HBTG boys visited with Samantha Swindler -- features reporter, videographer, chronicler of all things weird, intriguing, and off-the-beaten path for The Oregonian/OregonLive -- to learn more about her recent efforts to d…

Large solar farms are on the rise in Oregon, in a push to fulfill the state’s ambitious clean energy mandates. But their rapid rise is leading to worries about how they could reshape the state’s agricultural economy and rural vistas. In November, the Oregon Energy Facility Siting Council, a board that oversees the siting of large energy facilities,…

Season 3 of History by the Glass reaches its culmination with a trip into the heart of Portland's historic Chinatown district to visit the century-ish old Republic Cafe (222 NW 4th Ave.) — the oldest Chinese-American restaurant in the city — and its random and remarkable Ming Lounge. Still stuffed with Christmas ham and eggnog, Alfredo and Nathan s…

Schools may be closed for the holiday break, but there’s a lot ahead for Oregon’s public education system in 2025. We asked three of the superintendents of Oregon’s largest public school districts — Kimberlee Armstrong of Portland Public Schools, Gustavo Balderas from the Beaverton School District and Andrea Castaneda from Salem-Keizer Public Schoo…

On the evening of Saturday, Dec. 7, a series of curious and unusual red lights illuminated the Oregon night sky. They moved around dramatically, zooming up and down at speeds so extreme, so uncharacteristic, nearby pilots were left in awe as they watched it all unfold from 30,000 feet. “I don’t even know how to describe it,” one pilot said. “It’s p…

Last week, plans for the largest U.S. supermarket merger in history imploded in spectacular fashion. First, an Oregon federal judge blocked the $24.6 billion bid by Kroger to take over Albertson’s, its next largest rival. Less than 24 hours later, Albertsons, which also owns Safeway, pulled out of the deal entirely — and then filed a massive lawsui…

For decades, The Oregonian has sponsored an annual fundraising drive, featuring local nonprofits making a difference in our community. Its part of The Oregonian/OregonLive’s mission to strengthen and empower the communities we serve. This year, we are featuring 13 nonprofits. Once the board chooses a nonprofit, reporters and photographers find an e…

Filled with immense thanks for all YOU who have traveled with the two of US for the past six years, we celebrated Thanksgiving weekend with our second annual HBTG Audience Choice Episode. The ridiculously over-complicated Thunderdome selection process saw 12 audience-nominated old bars enter, one bar leave as chic NW Portland's beloved Rasputinesqu…

Roger A. Pearce Jr. spent three decades as a successful attorney in the Northwest, representing prominent people and high-profile businesses in Oregon and Washington. He dedicated his free time to nonprofit boards and planning commissions. He spent countless hours doing pro bono legal work. He was well-liked in social circles and part of a happy ma…

For more than a decade, Oregon forecasters have underestimated the strength of the state’s economy — and the amount of money it collects each year. That’s led to tax rebate windfalls for Oregon residents, who receive a portion of excess revenue under the state’s unique “kicker” law. It’s also left state lawmakers with less money to spend on schools…

A new investigation published in The Oregonian/OregonLive focuses on the life of an Oregon girl who was repeatedly trafficked for sex and on how the foster care system had failed to protect her. On the latest Beat Check, investigative reporter Hillary Borrud talked about the story, including how sex trafficking of children can happen in a city like…

We’re a few days out from Election Day 2024, and reporters at The Oregonian/OregonLive have been hard at work trying to decode all the results and what they mean for our region. Portland’s got a new mayor, and the new City Council is coming into focus too. Voters chose two new progressive Multnomah County Commissioner candidates over their more mod…

In one of the most contentious and consequential elections in recent memory, Oregon has become ground zero for one of the most intriguing and potentially important races in the United States. District 5, a wide swath of Oregon that stretches from SE Portland to Albany to Bend, is home to a heated and hotly-contested political showdown between Repub…

"There's a big difference between mostly dead and all dead. Mostly dead is slightly alive." And that's just where the HBTG boys found themselves after an energy draining 2-month production delay -- rusty, slightly discombobulated, and, yes, probably a little drunker than advisable...but still slightly ALIVE and, in fact, overflowing with joy after …

The Oregonian/OregonLive's Maxine Bernstein reported on the two-week trial in federal court that brought to light a pattern of crimes by defendant Negasi Zuberi. A final twist as the case was headed to the jury threatened to hold up the final verdict. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…

The senior vice president at DHM Research decodes his firm's recent polling on the Portland mayor's race, voter attitudes about downtown and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesBy The Oregonian/OregonLive

At the end of September, when the federal government canceled Oregon’s first-ever offshore wind lease sale, many people were left with questions about why and what’s next. The announcement from the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management came after Gov. Tina Kotek sent a letter to the agency asking it to stop the Oct. 15 auction. Kotek cited tribal …

On the latest Beat Check, Oregonian/OregonLive reporters Shane Dixon Kavanaugh and Julia Silverman discuss the prospects of Portland mayoral hopefuls Rene Gonzalez, Carmen Rubio and Keith Wilson. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesBy The Oregonian/OregonLive

The general election is fast approaching and Oregon journalists are working hard to inform voters. The Oregonian/OregonLive’s politics team is tackling everything from congressional races to local measures. A particular focus this fall is Portland’s new ranked-choice voting system. Jamie Goldberg, who with Betsy Hammond leads the newsroom’s politic…

Connie Chung is an icon. It’s been almost 20 years since she was regularly on air, but she’s still a household name and a namesake for a generation of Asian American women. Americans remember her as one of the faces of the news, from the 1970s through the early 2000s. She interviewed Nixon and Oregon’s one-time Olympic darling-turned-national villa…

School is back in session, but September has been warmer than usual. Thousands of students in the Portland area were let out of school early or had classes canceled earlier this month as temperatures reached triple digits and dirty air from wildfires in the region triggered air quality alerts. With extreme weather events on the rise both during sum…

Portland City Hall is on the verge of some truly monumental changes, ranging from the radical transformation of how the city’s government operates to an historic election in November that will usher in a new mayor and expanded 12-member City Council. The work to get here has now been years in the making. Few have followed the twists and turns of th…

new wave energy test site is nearly complete off the Oregon coast. The site, overseen by Oregon State University, will allow private developers to test devices that can harness the power of ocean waves, a technology that’s still in its infancy. The hope is that wave energy can become another major source of clean, renewable electricity akin to sola…

Last month, watchdog reporter Ted Sickinger published an in-depth article examining a loophole in the Oregon Lottery’s rules. In Oregon, it is perfectly legal to re-sell your winning lottery ticket at a discount, allowing the buyer to claim the prize. Why would anyone do this? Well, if they wanted to avoid having the state seize part of their winni…

The 2024 fire season so far hasn’t encroached on as many highly populated areas or forced as many mass evacuations as some recent years. But it’s been historic nonetheless. More acres have burned across the state than in any year since at least 1992, when officials started keeping a reliable tally. Sujena Soumyanath and Fedor Zarkin, public safety …

Portland, like much of Oregon, is still in the throes of a housing crisis. Rents and home prices continue to squeeze some residents and move further out of reach for many more. Developers who could help reverse these troubling tends are skittish. Meanwhile, the dream of converting swaths of empty offices in Portland’s beleaguered downtown to apartm…