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☆ National Guard troops on standby in Washington state, Oregon and Nevada as a precaution for ‘potential’ election unrest
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-02 | by ( Amanda Musa | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —Ahead of potential civil unrest due to Tuesday’s presidential election, the National Guard is on standby as a precaution in several states, including Washington state and Oregon, where hundreds of ballots were damaged or destroyed after at least three ballot drop boxes were recently set on fire, officials say. Tina Kotek said in a statement Friday the National Guard is standing ready as political leaders call for peaceful protests, according to CNN affiliate KTVZ. In recent years, the National Guard has been activated in several states to assist largely with cyber security threats during elections. The issue has become pressing for law enforcement since the January 6, 2021, insurrection at the US Capitol that delayed certification of the last presidential election. “If you ‘See Something, Say Something’, and let law enforcement investigate and determine the outcome of any suspicious circumstances or incidents.”CNN’s Chris Boyette, Shimon Prokupecz, and Meridith Edwards contributed to this report.

Persons: they’ve, Jay Inslee, ” Inslee, Tina Kotek, Ted Wheeler, KTVZ, Kate Brown, Joe Lombardo, ”, ” Lombardo, Pamela A, Smith, Major Cities Chiefs Association –, Chris Boyette, Shimon Prokupecz, Meridith Edwards Organizations: CNN, National Guard, Portland police, Washington Gov, US Department of Homeland Security, Gov, KTVZ, Portland, Oregon State Police, Oregon Department of Emergency Management, Oregon Gov, Associated Press, The Colorado, Force, Nevada Gov, Capitol, Sheriffs of America, National Sheriffs ’ Association, Major Cities Chiefs Association Locations: Washington, Oregon, Vancouver , Washington, Portland , Oregon, Vancouver, In Oregon, KTVZ, “, Portland, Nevada, Washington , DC, United States, Major

“Make no mistake, an attack on a ballot box is an attack on our democracy and completely unacceptable,” Oregon Secretary of State LaVonne Griffin-Valade said Monday. All ballot boxes in Multnomah County and Clark County have fire suppressant installed, election officials said during a news conference Monday. Voting in Oregon and Washington is done almost entirely by mail or ballot drop off. Enhanced ballot box securityA damaged ballot drop box is displayed during a news conference at the Multnomah County Elections Division office on Monday in Portland, Oregon. Following the ballot box fires, Gluesenkamp Perez requested overnight law enforcement patrols at drop boxes through Election Day.

Persons: LaVonne Griffin, Valade, ”, Steve Hobbs, “, Jenny Kane, Tim Scott, Greg Kimsey, Kimsey, Scott, ” Jay Riestenberg, John Burnside, ” Burnside, They’ve, Burnside, “ It’s, ” “, Mike Benner, Amanda McMillan, Jay Inslee, Jessica Vega Pederson, Tina Kotek, Inslee, Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, Gluesenkamp Perez, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins, I’m, ” Larry Olson, suppressants, ” Olson, CNN’s Nicole Chavez, Taylor Romine, David Williams, Natasha Chen Organizations: CNN, US Department of Homeland Security, Division, Portland Police, Portland Police Bureau, Vancouver Police Department, US Postal Service, . Portland Police, ” Police, Volvo, Oregon Department, Driver, Vehicle Services, Washington Gov, Congressional, Rep Locations: Pacific Northwest, Portland, Vancouver , Washington, Vancouver, Oregon, Washington, Multnomah, Portland , Oregon, Multnomah County, Clark, Clark County, In Oregon, Southeast Portland, Seattle, Washington’s, American, Oregon’s Multnomah County

☆ WNBA announces new expansion team based in Portland, Oregon
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-18 | by ( Wayne Sterling | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —The WNBA is returning to Portland, Oregon, starting in 2026. The new expansion franchise will play its home games at the Moda Center in downtown Portland and become the WNBA’s 15th team, the league announced Wednesday. “As the WNBA builds on a season of unprecedented growth, bringing a team back to Portland is another important step forward,” WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert said in a statement. The city previously had a WNBA team – the Portland Fire – from 2000-2002 before it folded. “Portland has a passion for women’s sports and the teams who play in the Rose City, making us the ideal home of the next WNBA team,” Oregon governor Tina Kotek said in a statement.

Persons: Cathy Engelbert, Lisa Bhathal Merage, Alex Bhathal, ” Merage, Tina Kotek, Engelbert, “, ” Engelbert, Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese, A’ja Wilson Organizations: CNN, Moda, “, WNBA, RAJ Sports, Portland, Sacramento Kings, Rose City Rollers, Sports, Indiana Fever, Chicago Sky, Las Vegas Aces Locations: Portland , Oregon, Portland, “ Portland, Rose City, Oregon, Rose, Toronto

☆ ‘Veep’ star Julia Louis-Dreyfus to host panel with female governors during DNC
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-13 | by ( Elizabeth Wagmeister | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Julia Louis-Dreyfus will host a panel during the Democratic National Convention with the Democratic Governors Association to put a spotlight on the United States’ female governors, the actress’ publicist confirmed to CNN. Louis-Dreyfus – who played the first fictional female vice president of the United States on HBO’s Emmy-winning “Veep” – is a longtime Democratic supporter and has spoken out publicly on women’s issues throughout her career. The panel, which will be held on August 21 during the week of the DNC in Chicago, will feature the country’s eight Democratic women governors: Arizona Gov. “I’m looking forward to our conversation and the opportunity to shine the spotlight on these accomplished leaders.”Julia Louis-Dreyfus in "Veep" Season 7. As if life was imitating art, fans have noted the real-life similarities to the scripted show in which Louis-Dreyfus played the first female vice president who then became the first female president.

Persons: Julia Louis, Dreyfus, Louis, Dreyfus –, Veep, Katie Hobbs, Laura Kelly, Janet Mills, Maura Healey, Gretchen Whitmer, Michelle Lujan Grisham, Kathy Hochul, Tina Kotek, Seinfeld, ” Louis, “, ” Julia Louis, HBO Max Louis, Selina Meyer, –, Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, Harris, ” Armando Iannucci, ”, CNN’s Lisa Respers Organizations: CNN, Democratic, Convention, Democratic Governors Association, United, Warner Bros ., DNC, Kansas Gov, Maine Gov, Massachusetts Gov, New, New Mexico Gov, New York Gov, Oregon Gov, “, Hollywood, HBO Locations: United States, Chicago, Arizona, Kansas, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Mexico, CNN’s Lisa Respers France

☆ Park Fire in California burns nearly 125,000 acres as Oregon firefighters battle nation’s largest active fire
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-26 | by ( Dalia Faheid | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

The largest active wildfire in the US has scorched more than 280,000 acres in eastern Oregon and another blaze has exploded to nearly 125,000 acres in California. • Park Fire explodes in size: By Thursday morning, the wildfire had burned an average of nearly 50 football fields per minute since starting Wednesday afternoon. • Firefighters battle massive Oregon fire: The Durkee Fire, which has burned an area larger than the city of Indianapolis, started on July 17 near the Oregon-Idaho state line. • Oregon wildfire destroys buildings: Three people were injured and two homes and 12 other structures were destroyed as the fire spread, according to the Oregon Department of Emergency Management. In this image provided by the Oregon Department of Transportation, shows an area burned by the Durkee fire near Interstate 84 close to Huntington, Oregon, on July 23, 2024.

Persons: Tina Kotek, Justin Trudeau, ” Julia Yarbough, Yarbough, Ronnie Dean Stout, Mike Ramsey, “, ” Stout, Ramsey, Stout, CNN Stout, Noah Berger, ’, Danielle Smith, Mike Ellis, ” Ellis, ” Smith, Jasper, Richard Ireland, ” Organizations: CNN, Western, Cal Fire, • Firefighters, Oregon -, Oregon Department of Emergency Management, Oregon Gov, National Guard, Northern Rockies, National Interagency Fire Center, Oregon Department of Transportation, KOVR, DA, “, ’ ”, ”, Public Safety, Emergency, Jasper National, Facebook Locations: Western United States, Canada, Oregon, California, Atlanta, Butte County, Indianapolis, Oregon - Idaho, Baker County, Boise, Colorado , Idaho , Oregon, Washington, Jasper, Alberta, Western, Northwest, Huntington , Oregon, Chico, Butte, Bidwell, Butte County , California, ’ ” Alberta, “, ” Alberta, ” Ireland

☆ Largest active wildfire in the US burns in Oregon, forcing evacuations and creating its own weather
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-25 | by ( Dalia Faheid | Robert Shackelford | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —A lightning-sparked wildfire raging in eastern Oregon has scorched nearly 270,000 acres, making it the largest active wildfire in the United States. The massive blaze is the largest of 31 large wildfires currently burning across Oregon, which has been the hardest hit by fires in recent days. Over the weekend and earlier this week, the Durkee Fire exhibited extreme fire behavior, even creating it’s own weather in the form of pyrocumulus clouds. Wildfire smoke, including from the Durkee Fire in Oregon, was spreading into Boise and beyond. A cold front has moved through the area Thursday morning, bringing high temperatures to the 80s on Thursday, according to the National Weather Service.

Persons: Indianapolis –, Tina Kotek, ” Kotek, Sarah Sherman, Patrick Nauman, ” Nauman Organizations: CNN, Oregon -, Nationwide, National Interagency Fire Center . Oregon Gov, National Guard, Oregon Department of Emergency Management, Land Management, Oregon State Fire, Weiser, Associated Press, National Weather Service Locations: Oregon, United States, Indianapolis, Oregon - Idaho, Eastern Oregon, Malheur County, Baker, Boise, Colorado , Idaho , Oregon, Washington, Weiser , Idaho

☆ Bill Walton, one of basketball’s most eccentric characters, dies at 71
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-27 | by ( Jason Quick | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +15 min

There was the satisfaction and appreciation of a team coming together to win the 1977 NBA title. The next day, before a Trail Blazers home game, Walton explained his emotions to a group of reporters. I regret the circumstances in which I left the Portland Trail Blazers’ family. “The Portland Trail Blazers deplore Bill Walton’s statement calling for the rejection of the United States Government. “And you are never the same again.”Related reading(Top photo of Bill Walton: NBA Photos / Getty Images)

Persons: Bill Walton, Walton, Adam Silver, Bill, Bill’s, Lori, Adam, Nate, Luke, Chris, ”, ” Walton, “, Ted Kulongoski, it’s, Jack Ramsay, Hank Delespinasse, Robert Parrish, Ricky Pierce, Eddie Johnson, Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, Steve James, Bird, Walton . Bird, James, ” James, Dave Twardzik, Tom Shanahan, don’t, Jack, Micki Scott, Patty Hearst, Walton’s, Herman Sarkowsky, Larry Weinberg, Harry Glickman, Bill Walton’s, Arthur Ashe, Kareem Abdul, Jabbar, Bill Russell, Muhammad Ali …, White, Hal Bock, …, Marty Glickman, —, Bill Walton's, Sir Isaac Newton’s, Fabricio Roberto, you’ve, Taylor, ” “ John Stockton Organizations: Fame, NBA, UCLA, Portland Trail Blazers, Boston Celtics, Naismith Hall of Fame, Blazers, The Athletic, Trail Blazers, Celtics, NCAA, Memphis State, Florida State, Getty, Philadelphia, Portland, LA Clippers, Sixth, Walton, Athletic, Associated Press, Wilshire, FBI, Scotts, Symbionese Liberation Army, United, United States Government, National Basketball Association, “ Sports, The Associated Press, New York Knicks, Prime Ticket Network, NBC, ABC, CBS, FOX, ESPN, Turner Sports Locations: La Mesa, Calif, Portland, Oregon, “, Blazermania, Los Angeles, Vietnam, United States, San Francisco, Walton, Utah, America

The reversal comes as other high-profile liberal jurisdictions are also getting tougher on drugs and crime. And on Super Tuesday, San Francisco voters approved ballot measures that expand police powers and impose mandatory drug-screening and treatment requirements for welfare recipients. San Francisco had more than 800 motor vehicle thefts per 100,000 residents and – though a decline from 2022 – more than 20,000 car break-ins, according to The San Francisco Standard . In 2019, the year before voters approved the decriminalization measure, Oregon saw 280 accidental opioid overdose deaths, according to state public health authorities . “If you were to ask the public at large I think there’s a perception that it hasn’t worked,” says Hansen.

Persons: ” Kassandra Frederique, “, ” Leo Beletsky, –, Bob Lee, Henry Cuellar, Democrat –, Mayor London Breed, It’s, ” Beletsky, Tina Kotek, George Floyd’s, ”, Ben Hansen, hasn’t, Hansen Organizations: Drug Policy Alliance, Washington , D.C, San Francisco, Northeastern University, D.C, San Francisco Standard, Republican, Democrat, Mayor London, University of Oregon Locations: Oregon, Washington ,, Washington, carjackings, San Francisco, downtown San Francisco, Portland, Portland –, West Coast

Tina Kotek wants to scrap a plan to implement tolls on large sections of two Portland-area interstates, she said Monday. Kotek sent a letter to the Oregon Transportation Commission on Monday saying the Regional Mobility Pricing Project for Interstate 5 and Interstate 205 should be halted, KGW-TV reported. Kotek’s letter came a few weeks after a survey found a majority of Oregon voters opposed the Regional Mobility Pricing Project tolls, KOIN-TV reported. Photos You Should See View All 60 ImagesThe move also came after the Oregon Department of Transportation produced a report on the equity impacts of tolling and the agency’s plan to mitigate the impacts on low-income Portlanders. Beyer said “metro leadership views on tolling have changed” and “local and regional opposition to tolling makes clear that Oregon is not ready for regional tolling."

Persons: Tina Kotek, Kotek, ”, Julie Brown, Lee Beyer, Kris Strickler, Beyer, Strickler, ” Brown, ” Kotek, Washington that’s Organizations: —, Oregon Transportation, Oregon Department of Transportation, ” Oregon Transportation, Washington Locations: PORTLAND, — Oregon, Portland, Oregon, ” Oregon

Tina Kotek said she was committed to developing a transparent roadmap for exploring offshore wind opportunities with the input of coastal and tribal communities. As a next step, BOEM said it will prepare an environmental assessment on the potential impacts of leasing offshore wind farms. The offshore wind industry in the U.S. is growing after lagging behind Europe for decades. The first auction of leases to develop commercial-scale floating farms was held in 2022, for five sites off the coast of California. The administration has set a goal of 30 gigawatts of offshore wind energy by 2030 using traditional technology that secures wind turbines to the ocean floor.

Persons: Tina Kotek, ” Kotek, ” BOEM, Brad Kneaper, BOEM, Joe Biden Organizations: of Ocean Energy Management, Oregon Gov, Tribal Locations: PORTLAND, Oregon, Coos Bay, Brookings, California, Coos, Lower Umpqua, U.S, New York

☆ Fentanyl crisis in Oregon: 90-day state of emergency declared in downtown Portland
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-31 | by ( Amy Simonson | Lauren Mascarenhas | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Oregon leaders joined forces to declare a 90-day state of emergency in downtown Portland, funneling resources into the city’s deadly fentanyl crisis. Oregon voters passed Measure 110 in 2020, which decriminalized some use of hard-drugs, including fentanyl, a potent synthetic opioid. The measure has received criticism, as opioid overdose deaths steadily climbed since. Opioid overdose deaths in the state increased from 280 in 2019 to 956 in 2022, according to the state’s data. Experts say reversing the trends in overdose deaths really depends on broader access to and use of treatments for opioid use disorder.

Persons: Tina Kotek, Jessica Vega Pederson, Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler, ” Kotek, ”, “, ” Pederson Organizations: CNN, Oregon, Oregon Gov, Portland Mayor, US Centers of Disease Control, CDC, Portland Central City Task Force, Portland Police Bureau, Oregon State Police Locations: Portland, Multnomah, Portland’s Central City, Oregon

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Several elected leaders in Oregon declared a state of emergency on Tuesday for downtown Portland over the public health and public safety crisis fueled by fentanyl. The declaration is a recommendation from a governor-established task force that met for several months last year to determine ways to rejuvenate downtown Portland. The effort also extends the Portland Police Bureau’s partnership with Oregon State Police to jointly patrol downtown streets for fentanyl sales. At the state level, Oregon lawmakers have introduced a new bill that would undo a key part of the state’s drug decriminalization law. Public opinion has soured on it as public drug use has become more visible because of growing homelessness.

Persons: Tina Kotek, Ted Wheeler, Jessica Vega Pederson, ” Kotek, Mike Myers, Nathan Reynolds, Kotek, Joe Biden, Xi Jinping Organizations: Oregon Gov, Staff, Portland, Portland’s Community Safety Division, state’s, Resilience, Emergency Management, Portland Police, Oregon State Police Locations: PORTLAND, Oregon, Portland, Multnomah, Portland’s, Narcan, China, America, Mexico, U.S

Storms have walloped the Pacific Northwest, Midwest, Plains, South and Northeast with low temperatures, heavy snow, ice storms, freezing rain and high winds for the past two weeks. Tina Kotek on Thursday declared a statewide emergency following deadly ice storms. Trees and power lines already coated with ice could topple if they get more, the National Weather Service warned. “Stay safe out there over the next several days as our region tries to thaw out,” the weather service said. The National Weather Service said there could be a thaw next week, when the forecast calls for above-average temperatures across almost the whole country.

Persons: Bob Johnson, ” Johnson, Doug McGowen, Joe Biden, Tina Kotek, Jonathan Mattise, Kristin M, Claire Rush, Carolyn Thompson, Jeffrey Collins, Colleen Long Organizations: Midwest, D.C, National Weather Service, Tennessee, Sheriff’s, Memphis, Water, Blood Assurance, The West Virginia Legislature, Capitol, Washington D.C, U.S . Capitol, White House, U.S . Conference of Mayors, Buffalo Bills, Kansas City Chiefs, Michigan, West Coast , Oregon Gov, Associated Press, Hall Locations: MEMPHIS, Tenn, Memphis, U.S, Canada, New York City, Baltimore, Washington, Pacific Northwest, Midwest, Plains, South, Arkansas , Mississippi , Missouri , Tennessee , Kentucky, Kansas, Lewisburg, Marshall, Memphis , Tennessee, Chattanooga , Tennessee, West Virginia, The, In Buffalo , New York, Michigan City , Indiana, West Coast , Oregon, Columbia, Willamette Valley, Nashville , Tennessee, Portland , Oregon, Buffalo , New York, Columbia , South Carolina

Tina Kotek said Tuesday she has directed state police to launch new strategies aimed at disrupting the fentanyl supply chain and holding sellers of the frequently deadly drug accountable. Kotek said in a statement that she made the announcement at a Tuesday meeting of her task force created to revitalize downtown Portland. “I want all Oregonians to know that the state is moving forward with several new fentanyl strategic enforcement and disruption strategies,” Kotek's statement said. So far this year, the Oregon State Patrol has seized nearly 233,000 fentanyl pills and 62 pounds of powder, the statement said. Illegally made fentanyl is often added to other drugs, including heroin, cocaine and methamphetamine, to increase its potency.

Persons: Tina Kotek, Kotek, General Merrick Garland Organizations: —, Oregon Department of Justice, Oregon State Patrol, Washington , D.C, U.S . Justice Locations: SALEM, Ore, — Oregon, Portland, “, U.S, Washington ,

Fewer than half of rural hospitals now have maternity units, prompting government officials and families to scramble for answers. The closures have worsened so-called “maternity care deserts" — counties with no hospitals or birth centers that offer obstetric care and no OB providers. Ultimately, doctors and researchers say, having fewer hospital maternity units makes having babies less safe. “It feels like you’re held in a way.”Some states and communities are taking steps to create more freestanding birth centers. It was a novel and “innovative” idea to request federal nurses to boost staffing at a rural maternity unit, Wyden’s office said.

Persons: Alisha Alderson, ”, Alderson, “, Eric Scott Palmer, It’s, —, Peiyin Hung, Saint Alphonsus, Odette Bolano, Dina Ellwanger, John Tucker, Tucker, we’ve, ’, Lacy Kee, she’ll, She’s, Kee, Henry, Pamela Evans, Evans, she’s, Katie O’Brien, Paris, Bennett —, O’Brien, Corina Fitch, Fitch, Betsy Baarspul, you’re, Ned Lamont, Alecia McGregor, ” McGregor, Tina Kotek, Sen, Ron Wyden, Shane Alderson, Alisha's, ” ___ Rush, Kuna , Idaho . Ungar, Robert Wood Johnson Organizations: OB, Henry County Medical Center, American Hospital Association, University of South, University of South Carolina’s Rural, Minority Health Research Center, Saint, Henry County Medical, Associated Press, Medicaid, Midwifery, Connecticut Gov, Harvard, of Public Health, National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, Medicine, AP, Oregon Gov, U.S . Public Health Service, Corps, Associated Press Health, Science Department, Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science, Educational Media Group, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Locations: Oregon, Boise , Idaho, U.S, Tennessee, University of South Carolina’s, Baker City, Paris , Tennessee, Kentucky, Henry County, Summertown , Tennessee, Connecticut, Chan, “, Baker, Baker City , Oregon, Kuna , Idaho

☆ Oregon Secretary of State Resigns Over Cannabis Consulting Job
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Talal Ansari | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Shemia Fagan’s salary as Oregon’s secretary of state was $77,000 in 2022, according to state records. Photo: Matthew Hinton/Associated PressOregon’s secretary of state is resigning after it was revealed that she worked on the side as a consultant for a cannabis company, earning $10,000 a month, while her office was overseeing an audit of the state’s marijuana regulator. Democrat Shemia Fagan announced her resignation Tuesday, as fallout and political pressure over the consulting job grew. Tina Kotek last week asked the Oregon Government Ethics Commission to investigate Ms. Fagan’s dealings. Kotek also asked the state’s Justice Department to look into a recent audit of the cannabis industry overseen by the secretary of state’s office.

☆ Executions in U.S. continue decline but many ‘botched,' report says
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-16 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +6 min

Kate Brown commuted the sentences of all 17 of the state’s death row inmates to life in prison without parole. There have been no federal executions since January 2021 following a historic use of capital punishment by the Trump administration. Dunham said he believes ongoing issues with botched executions or reviews of execution protocols by states is helping to erode public support of capital punishment. In 2000, Texas executions reached a high of 40, according to this year’s annual report by the Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty. Dunham said he believes the number of botched executions has contributed significantly to the movement among lawmakers, particularly conservatives, to express doubts about the death penalty.

☆ Oregon Gov. Kate Brown commutes sentences of 17 people on death row
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Zoë Richards | Zoë Richards Is The Evening Politics Reporter For Nbc News. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

Kate Brown announced plans Tuesday to commute the sentences of the 17 people on death row to life in prison without the possibility of parole, most likely using her executive clemency powers for the last time as governor. “Unlike previous commutations I’ve granted to individuals who have demonstrated extraordinary growth and rehabilitation, this commutation is not based on any rehabilitative efforts by the individuals on death row. Instead, it reflects the recognition that the death penalty is immoral." Brown said the commutations were consistent with a moratorium on the death penalty Gov. The death penalty was first legalized in Oregon in the 19th century, but it has been abolished and reinstated three times since then.

☆ Oregon Gov. Kate Brown commutes sentences of all 17 inmates on death row in her final month in office
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Sophia Ankel | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Oregon is one of 27 states in America that allows for the death penalty. Kate Brown commuted the sentences of all 17 inmates on death row. Kate Brown commuted the sentences of all of the state's 17 death row prisoners to life in prison without the chance of parole. Brown added that the commutation "is not based on any rehabilitative efforts by the individuals on death row" but instead "reflects the recognition that the death penalty is immoral." She is the seventh US governor in the past 50 years to commute all death sentences in a state.

☆ Oregon governor lifts death sentences for 17 inmates facing execution
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Brendan O'Brien | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Dec 14 (Reuters) - Oregon Governor Kate Brown, who leaves office at the beginning of the year, has commuted the death sentences of all 17 inmates facing capital punishment in the state, leaving them to serve life in prison without the possibility of parole. The Democrat said she decided to use her executive clemency powers to commute the sentences because she believes capital punishment is immoral. Legal and ethical questions have swirled around capital punishment in the United States in recent years as states have found it difficult to procure drugs to carry out the death penalty. Nine years later, the state's department of corrections closed its death row and reassigned condemned inmates to special or general population housing units. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and policy changes, the number of executions in 2021 fell to 11, the fewest since 1988.

Democrat Tina Kotek has won the race for governor in Oregon, NBC News projects, narrowly defeating Republican Christine Drazan. With her victory Kotek will be one of the first out lesbian governors in the United States. She joins another out lesbian governor-elect, Democrat Maura Healey of Massachusetts, in making history in the 2022 midterms. Drazan came close, bombarding Kotek with relentless attacks over record-breaking crime and homelessness and tying her to term-limited Democratic Gov. Her victory suggests those messages may have broken through to Oregon voters.

Nov 10 (Reuters) - Democrat Tina Kotek won a tough three-way race to become the next governor of Oregon, the Associated Press projected on Thursday, enabling Democrats to extend nearly four decades of control over the Oregon governorship. Official returns from Tuesday's election showed Kotek winning 47.1% of the vote to 43.5% for Republican Christine Drazan. The last time a Republican was elected governor was in 1982, and Kotek was always favored to succeed Democratic governor Kate Brown, who could not run again due to term limits. With the polls tightening late in the race, President Joe Biden visited Oregon in mid-October to campaign with Kotek, a former state legislator. In Michigan, Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer was re-elected and voters flipped the state House and Senate from Republican to Democratic control.

☆ A record number of LGBTQ candidates claim victory in another 'rainbow wave'
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( Jo Yurcaba | Jo Yurcaba Is A Reporter For Nbc Out. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +8 min

A record number of LGBTQ candidates won their midterm races this year, creating what some advocates are calling yet another “rainbow wave.”Many races are still too close or too early to call, but as of Thursday afternoon, at least 400 out LGBTQ candidates had won their elections, according to the LGBTQ Victory Fund, which supports queer people running for office. “With so much at stake this election, from the future of marriage equality to abortion, LGBTQ candidates’ grit and exceptional grassroots support is paying off.”National firstsQueer candidates celebrated a number of notable victories and firsts across the country. Alaska is one of four states with zero out LGBTQ state lawmakers, according to the LGBTQ Victory Institute. Magni said the results prove that LGBTQ candidates can successfully compete in both blue and red states. “This is a powerful message, saying, ‘Hey, LGBTQ candidates can win elections and can win elections in many states and many districts across the country.’” he said.

☆ Democrat Tina Kotek faces off against Republican Christine Drazan in Oregon's gubernatorial election
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-02 | by ( Hanna Kang | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Democrat Tina Kotek is running against Republican Christine Drazan, independent Betsy Johnson, and three others in Oregon's gubernatorial race. Just months after being elected, she was chosen by her peers to become the state House minority leader. While serving as the Republican leader of the Oregon House, Drazan opposed the governor's emergency COVID-19 orders and fought against implementing additional taxes. Prior to personally serving in office, Drazan was the chief of staff for Oregon House Speaker Mark Simmons. Her opponent, Drazan, has raised $17 million and spent nearly $16.3 million, while Johnson has raised just over $16.9 million and spent $16.1 million.

☆ GOP Has a Chance at Oregon Governorship for First Time in Four Decades
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-27 | by ( Eliza Collins | Photographs Kristina Barker For The Wall Street Journal | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

PORTLAND—Oregonians might choose a Republican governor for the first time in 40 years, polls show, as voters look for new leadership to take on homelessness and crime and a well-funded independent candidate complicates the race. Former Democratic state House Speaker Tina Kotek and former state House GOP leader Christine Drazan are running evenly at just under 39%, according to the polling average on the website FiveThirtyEight.

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