By Oregon Employment Department, We’ve been getting requests for median wage data by Oregon county. Here is what we have for the first quarter of 2015. Oregon’s median hourly wage was $18.02 during the first quarter of 2015. Six counties had median wages that were higher than the statewide median: […]

By Oregon Small Business Association, Former Portland Trailblazer Cliff Robinson fell afoul of the NBA’s anti-marijuana policy twice in his days as player for a marijuana-related DUI and failing a drug test. Now, he’s making headlines once again for pot. This time it’s as a businessman and an advocate for […]

U.S. Senator Ron Wyden Press Release, Oregon’s U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, along with Al Franken, D-Minn., Patty Murray, D-Wash., and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass.,  led the charge to extend overtime pay to millions of Americans who are working long hours without fair pay. Last year, the Department of […]

By Steve Buckstien, Cascade Policy Institute The annual “New Partners for Smart Growth” conference opened in Portland on Thursday, February 11. “Smart Growth” refers to an amorphous planning theory favoring (or requiring) high urban densities, mixed-use development, and non-auto travel. Given Portland’s status as the Mecca for this philosophy, it’s […]

By NFIB, The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB)  urged House leadership to fast-track a bill blocking the Executive Branch from finalizing costly business regulations after Election Day. “Small businesses are typically an afterthought when bureaucrats are rushing to finalize new rules and regulations,” said NFIB Vice President of Public […]

Ater Wynne LLP NW Law firm The Oregon Supreme Court recently reversed the Oregon Court of Appeals in Neumann v. Liles, a defamation lawsuit involving a negative review of a wedding venue. The plaintiff, an operator of the venue, was the target of a review on google.com calling her, among […]

By Oregon Attorney General, In recognition of National Consumer Protection Week (March 6-12, 2016), Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum today announced the annual Oregon Department of Justice’s 2015 Top 10 Consumer Complaints. For the first time, a new category of consumer complaint, auto repair, appeared on the list. Imposter scams, […]

By Josh Lehner Oregon Office of Economic Analysis Blog As our office continues to unpack the latest employment data, which most importantly included revisions to the 2015 estimates, it’s looking even better than initially thought. Oregon is now getting very close to full employment, something we are likely to reach […]

U.S. Chamber of Commerce The U.S. Chamber of Commerce  filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington to challenge a Seattle ordinance that authorizes union organizing of for-hire drivers working as independent contractors, highlighting that the ordinance will burden innovation, increase prices, and reduce […]

From Stoel Rives LLP Oregon law Firm By Chad Marriott and Kate D’Ambrosio  Oregon legislators passed Senate Bill (SB) 1547 into law yesterday, creating aggressive timetables for eliminating coal-fired electricity from the State and setting a 50% Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) by 2040. A diverse group of utilities, consumer advocacy […]