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 […]

Oregon’s unemployment rate dropped to 5.1 percent in January from 5.5 percent in December 2015. The last time Oregon’s unemployment rate was this low was in June 2007. In January 2015, Oregon’s unemployment rate was 5.9 percent.

 By NFIB Business owners may have to close their doors should the proposal go through. If having one of the highest minimum wages in the country wasn’t enough, Oregon business owners might soon face the prospect of even higher wages. It’s expected that some sort of minimum wage increase will […]

By Oregon Prosperity Project, Still and Again – Oregon’s Minimum Wage Conversation Isn’t Over Yet The ink was barely dry on Oregon’s new minimum wage increase last week when a new effort began. Seeking to minimize the impact of a wage hike on their districts, a small bipartisan group of […]