Politics & Government

A Roseburg man known for helping to stop a terrorist attack on a French train announced Thursday that’s running for Congress. In 2015, Alek Skarlatos and several others helped take down a gunman on a high speed train headed for Paris. The incident propelled him to worldwide fame, and landed him a slot on the TV show “Dancing with the Stars.”

Oregon Democratic Senator, Ron Wyden, is calling for mandatory election security standards.

A crowd gathered outside the Springfield Public Library’s plaza Tuesday, they want the local government to pass tougher gun laws, and to stand against white supremacy.

Oregon democratic senator, Ron Wyden, wants stronger action on gun control in response to the shootings in El Paso, Texas and Dayton, Ohio.

Three Oregon counties are establishing a regional committee ahead of the 2020 census. Each person recorded in the area represents $3,200 in federal funding.

President Trump’s war powers, ongoing climate change, and infrastructure development are among the topics Congressman Peter DeFazio hopes to discuss at some upcoming town halls in Oregon this week.

The City of Eugene wants to transform the downtown park blocks into what it calls a “Town Square”.

Will Dowdy is the city’s urban Development Manager. He says the Town Square concept combines energy around the restoration of the downtown park blocks, a permanent home for the Lane County Farmer’s market and a new Eugene City Hall.

Politicians and activists from Oregon continue their efforts to try to pressure the federal government. They want to change how Immigration and Customs Enforcement processes incoming migrants at the U.S.-Mexico Border.

Businesses and residents in Corvallis are seeing a new fee on their utility bills this month. The money will go toward hiring more firefighters and police officers.

The fee was approved by Corvallis City Council and will cost the about $17 per month per single-family home. The city expects the new fees to bring in about four-and-a-half million dollars per year.

A city council proposal could change the name of Washington-Jefferson Park to honor the man who helped create it.

Oregon’s 4th District Representative Peter DeFazio is critical of President Trump’s plans to turn the festivities in Washington, D.C. into a rally with tanks and aircraft flyovers. 

Supporters of the Leaburg Fish Hatchery are celebrating after lawmakers gave the facility a last-minute reprieve this weekend.

A legislative stalemate at the state Capitol threatens to delay construction of a new facility for the Eugene Family YMCA. The walkout by Republicans in the Oregon Senate is over a carbon emissions bill.

Both the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate have passed emergency spending bills to aid the ongoing humanitarian crises at the U.S.-Mexico Border. Oregon Democratic Senator Jeff Merkley voted against both.

As the walkout by Oregon Senate Republicans continues, longtime Eugene Democratic Sen. Floyd Prozanski says he thinks the tactic could signal a “new norm” for Oregon politics.

Senate Republicans have left the state in protest of a bill that would regulate carbon emissions. Their absence denies the majority Democrats a quorum, meaning the Senate can’t meet to vote on bills.

Oregon’s 4th District Representative Peter DeFazio wants Congress to check President Trump’s actions in regard to Iran. He reintroduced his War Powers bill which clarifies that under the constitution, Congress must authorize military force. 

Oregonians could vote next year on whether to increase taxes on cigarettes and cigars. A legislative committee advanced a measure Tuesday that would hike the tobacco tax, and create a new tax on vaping products.