After election, Oregon Legislature poised to focus on transportation and tax proposals in 2017

The 90 Oregon lawmakers who will be gaveled into the 2017 legislative session face a difficult task after a bruising campaign season that ended in the thumping defeat of a $3 billion-a-year tax measure. Beset by rancor over Measure 97, they must frantically figure out who will lead Oregon on the two issues that observers say will matter most next year - addressing a budget shortfall that could hit $2 billion, possibly by raising new revenue, while crafting a transportation-funding package that's eluded Salem since 2015.

One person ‘shot crossing bridge in Portland’ – Anti-Trump protesters …

Thousands of protesters took their frustrations over Donald Trump's election as the next U.S. president onto the streets on Friday and into Saturday in several cities, including Portland, Oregon, where one person was shot. People try to move away from a gas cloud during a protest against the election of Republican Donald Trump as President of the United States in Portland, Oregon, U.S. REUTERS/William Gagan People gather at Portland City Hall to protest of the election of president-elect, Donald Trump, Friday.

Oregon is epicenter as Trump protests surge across nation

Protesters gather in Pioneer Courthouse Square in Portland, the third night of protests over the results of the 2016 U.S. presidential election, Thursday, Nov. 10, 2016. President-elect Donald Trump fired back on social media after demonstrators in both red and blue states hit the streets for another round of protests, showing outrage over the Republican's unexpected win.

Measure 97 mystery: One of its biggest opponents is exempt from the tax

Why are Safeway and Albertsons spending so much to fight a tax that affects their rivals, but not them? Big retail chains are spending millions of dollars to fight Measure 97 , the ballot initiative that would establish a 2.5 percent tax on Oregon sales over $25 million to help fund education and other state services. Grocery stores are particularly active in the fight, and it's easy to understand why: They do huge volumes of sales in an industry with famously thin profit margins.

Scholar: Medicare growth is not the real problem

A prominent scholar says that Medicare will not be saved either by vouchers backed by Republican congressional majorities or the national health-care overhaul achieved under Democratic President Barack Obama. Theodore Marmor, who is making several stops in Oregon, says the ideal of Medicare for all - universal coverage based on the 50-year-old federal program of health insurance for people 65 and older - rests on stemming medical cost increases and setting limits for medical care.

Oregon May Send Every Child to ‘Outdoor School’

An initiative on the November ballot in Oregon would send every fifth- or sixth-grade student in the state to a week-long, overnight outdoor school. Under the proposal, funded by up to four percent of the state's lottery funds, any district could apply for help setting up, running and paying for an "outdoor school" focused on scientific exploration and building life skills.

Democratic National Convention: If Trump beats Clinton, don’t blame me (Letters to the Editor)

Democratic Party convention: There's been a lot of chatter about how, if I cast my ballot for the Libertarians or the Greens or anybody but Hillary Clinton, it will be all my fault when Donald Trump gets elected. If Trump wins, it will be because the Democrats rigged the process to nominate someone who is loathed by great swatches of Americans.

Hillary Clinton gets some old advice for her historic speech: Be yourself

It's advice generations of parents have given third-graders before a first performance on a field or in a recital. Hillary Clinton gets some old advice for her historic speech: Be yourself It's advice generations of parents have given third-graders before a first performance on a field or in a recital.

Leaders ask Oregon, Washington governors to ban oil-by-train

In thisJune 3, 2016, file frame from video provided by KGW-TV, smoke billows from a Union Pacific train that derailed near Mosier, Ore., in the scenic Columbia River Gorge. Oregon's Multnomah County Chairwoman Deborah Kafoury and Portland, Ore., Mayor Charlie Hales are calling on Oregon Gov. Kate Brown to oppose oil-by-rail projects like the Tesoro-Savage terminal proposed in Vancouver, Wash., and to work for a permanent ban on oil-by-rail--a request that comes in the wake of the Mosier derailment.