In November 2021, the Oregon Environmental Quality Commission (EQC) adopted the Advanced Clean Truck (ACT), following in the footsteps of the California Air Resource Board’s rules that limit the kinds of vehicles Oregonians can purchase. The first phase of those new regulations takes effect January 1, 2025.

Representative Shelly Boshart Davis (R-Albany) sent a letter to EQC asking for a delay in the implementation of the ACT rules that will lead to the ban of heavy-duty diesel vehicles in Oregon. This includes RVs, heavy duty pickup trucks like Ford F-250 and -350, utility vehicles, tow trucks, and semi-trucks. The rules require medium- and heavy-duty vehicle manufacturers to sell zero-emission vehicles (ZEV) as a certain percentage of new vehicle sales, beginning with the 2025 model year. RV, pickup truck, and semi-truck manufacturers must increase their zero-emission new truck sales in Oregon year-over-year based on the truck’s size. The ban begins in 2025, requiring between 7-11% (depending on Class size) of sales to be ZEV, and increases in percentage to 100% by 2036.

The letter says in part:

“Given the lack of technological advancements and infrastructure necessary to support this transition, I believe that the implementation of these rules, while well-intentioned, will actually slow the reduction of emissions from the transportation sector while harming local industries and communities who rely on trucks to keep Oregon’s economy moving.”

Due partly to the lack of technological advancement, North Carolina, Connecticut, and Maine have since backed off their commitment to adopt the California standards. Colorado, Maryland, and Rhode Island have also delayed implementation. Federal law allows states that choose to adopt CARB regulations to modify implementation dates, but the substance of the regulations must be identical to California’s.

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“Oregon’s climate change policies need to get back in touch with reality,” Representative Boshart Davis said. “A 100% ban on new diesel pickups, RV’s and semi-trucks by 2036 should alarm everyone. Without immediate action from the EQC, countless everyday Oregonians who rely on essential equipment to make a living will find themselves unable to purchase that equipment. Without action, these regulations will do irreparable harm to Oregon businesses and working people. I urge the EQC to take immediate action and delay these rules.”

You can read the entire letter here.

The EQC is scheduled to meet on November 21 about potential paths forward regarding the ACT rules. There are new inventive energy systems being develop that will soon revolutionize vehicles that should cause a delay in all restrictions of use of fuels whether for vehicles or energy.

See the agenda here.


--Donna Bleiler

Post Date: 2024-11-15 02:18:46

Last Update: 2024-11-15 00:10:35

The final District 4 election results are in and Oregon Fourth Congressional District will return Val Hoyle to Washington D.C. to represent an average of 706,917 residents in Coos, Curry, Lincoln, Lane, Benton, Linn and a portion of Douglas County.

Challenging Hoyle was Monique DeSpain, a retired U.S. Air Force Colonel, mother of twin boys, and public policy advocate who resides in Eugene, Oregon. She has been the Republican nominee for Oregon’s 4th Congressional District, running to unseat incumbent Congresswoman Val Hoyle in 2024 to bring about a safer, more prosperous Oregon. She issued the following statement and challenge to Hoyle:

“I am immensely proud of our campaign that led the public debate on the top issues voters care about. We shed a bright light on the truth about the disastrous policies and corrupt conduct of the elected official who has been representing us these past two years,” noted DeSpain.

“Despite being outspent 3 to 1 and inundated with more than $1 million of ads telling baldfaced lies, our campaign message of restoring public safety, securing our border, stopping fentanyl, ending homelessness, bringing back an affordable, prosperous economy, preventing wildfires, and ensuring a transparent and accountable government clearly resonated with voters and forced my opponent to run ads paying lip service to them - issues she made no mention of in her voter pamphlet statement or during her previous years representing Oregonians.”

“With nearly 157,610 or 30% of the 526,538 eligible 4th District voters not casting ballots in this election, there were still too many voters who chose to remain silent when it mattered the most. To bring about the change we seek, these voters must awaken and participate in the political process that dictates the direction of Oregon and our nation.”

“Bottom line: this election is not the end, but just the beginning of holding Val Hoyle accountable for delivering bipartisan results she has promised. I challenge her to actually vote to secure our border, to stop fentanyl from entering Oregon and killing our people, to prevent wildfires rather than fund fires, to end, not just fund, homelessness, to deliver infrastructure with $2.3B of funding to the Coos Bay Port, and to kill the reviled BOEM windfarms threatening our coastal communities,” said DeSpain. “And, all of us will be watching with great interest how the U.S. Department of Justice proceeds with their current investigation of Val Hoyle’s pay-to-play scheme to strong-arm the illegal BOLI grant of over $500,000 for La Mota’s nonprofit Endeavor.”

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“In the coming weeks and months, I will be exploring various opportunities to continue to make a difference on the key issues that we care about, those issues which I have fought to address during my campaign. Our district and our nation are worth it.”

DeSpain fought for bold, effective solutions to the problems that really matter to the people of this District. “Though we didn’t achieve our goal to replace our corrupt incumbent career politician by deploying me to Congress, my outstanding team and I want to express our heartfelt thanks and appreciation to all of the voters, volunteers, and contributors from all parties and parts of the District for their hard work, generosity in time and resources, and constant moral support and prayers. I am honored to have raised your voices. Thank you.”

She can be contacted via Communications Director, Kevin Hoar, at kevinghoar@gmail.com or call 503-866-3264.


--Staff Reports

Post Date: 2024-11-15 01:01:01

Last Update: 2024-11-15 00:09:53

Initial DMV release of its After Action Report, which identified additional errors in its processes resulted in 302 individuals being registered to vote who did not provide proof of their eligibility. In response, Secretary of State LaVonne Griffin-Valade directed county elections officials to inactivate all 302 voter registrations.

Secretary Griffin-Valade also joined Governor Tina Kotek calling for an independent, external audit of the Motor Votor system.

Secretary Griffin-Valade stated, “The DMV’s After Action Report raises serious concerns about this important part of our voter registration system. The first step in restoring the public’s trust in Motor Voter is a transparent review by a neutral third party operating under strict government auditing standards.”

The investigation by DMV increased the number to 1,259 in September. Two days after the election DMV says they have found 56 more non-citizens who were added to the voter rolls making the total 1,617 since the error was discovered.

According to the After Action Report:

The system was configured to use a drop-down menu of document choices, where the default choices included U.S. passport (as opposed to any other kind of passport) and U.S. birth certificate (as opposed to any other kind of birth certificate). This configuration did not separate documents that prove U.S. citizenship from those that do not and did not take into proper account the need to minimize potential for human error when accurate input for OMV purposes should have been paramount. Front-line staff were not adequately trained on the importance of accuracy in this part of a transaction and why it was critical for the reliability of OMV to take the time to get it right every time.

Secretary Griffin-Valade instructed the Oregon Elections Division to take steps to increase its oversight of the Motor Voter system. DMV hired a new Motor Voter oversight position to ensure automatic voter registration policies and procedures are reviewed, updated and followed with regular data checks. Additionally, she directed corrective action to be taken to protect the integrity of the 2024 election. County clerks were to inactivate all ineligible voter registrations and issue “due process” letters providing them with the opportunity to reregister if they can confirm their eligibility. In a second layer of security, ensure that any ballots returned from this group are not counted without first verifying eligibility to ensure the error does not impact the 2024 election.

Do we know these individuals’ citizenship status?
No. We simply know that they did not present the necessary documentation supporting their eligibility when they interacted with the DMV.

Did any of these individuals vote? And if so, what will be done with them?
The Oregon Elections Division will work with the 36 county election officers to determine if there are any individuals with a vote history and follow the same process used with the previous data sent over by the DMV in September.

Counties will be instructed to flag these ballots in the election management system. If any ballots are returned, they will be removed from the vote tallying process. The voter will be given an opportunity to demonstrate that they are eligible, but if that doesn’t happen the votes will not be counted.

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“Both the Secretary of State’s office and the Department of Motor Vehicles assured voters there were no more issues to be found, but again they were wrong. They also assured voters nothing would impact the 2024 election; how are voters to be sure they are not wrong about that also?” said Representative Anna Scharf (R-Amity). “What is clear is that there are major flaws in the Motor Voter system. Yes, we should have an independent audit, but there should also be an investigation performed into possible violations of the law”


--Staff Reports

Post Date: 2024-11-11 12:42:59

Last Update: 2024-11-11 17:28:30

According to the 2022 Oregon Student Health Survey taken by 6th, 8th and 11th grade students, 12% think they are transgender, gender-expansive, or questioning. The survey is used to gather data to increase gender-affirming support for youth, families, and educators, and build legacies of love and support for transgender and gender expansive youth in our school communities during Transgender Awareness Month and all year.

According to the LGBTQ2SIA+ Student Success Plan, student focus groups reported, “a majority of students we heard from believe that their curriculum is not sufficiently inclusive of LGBTQ2SIA+ people or issues.” Only 3 out of 10 Oregon LGBTQ2SIA+ students said they were taught positive representations of LGBTQ2SIA+ figures, history, or events with inclusive instructional materials, and fewer than 2 out of 10 reported receiving inclusive sex education in school.

In Director Dr. Charlene Williams’ monthly report, she expounded on creating spaces where everyone feels a genuine sense of belonging that means also carrying the responsibility to show up well, to make room for learning and growth, and to step up when it’s time to make amends. She provides an example, “sometimes getting folks to the table requires us to think about how we are welcoming them: strong relationships with families, as well as intentional communication, are impacting attendance rates for kindergartners in Yoncalla, Oregon. Yoncalla kindergartners are attending school at 93%! This is just one example of how our efforts to reach out to our communities matters significantly for the youth and families we serve.”

Does the LGBTQ2SIA+ Student Success Plan reach out to present themselves as being inclusive? Or is the program so self-centered it conveys their own exclusion? How should inclusion be taught so it goes two ways? President-elect Trump has announced that on day one he will set up processes that may affect how Oregon schools treat equity and diversity.

Trump states: “I will revoke Joe Biden’s cruel policies on so called gender affirming care, a process that includes giving kids puberty blockers, mutating their physical appearance and ultimately performing surgery on minor children. I will sign an executive order for all agencies to cease programs that promote the concept of sex and gender transition at any age. I will then ask congress to stop any taxpayer dollars to be used to promote or pay for these procedures and pass a law prohibiting child mutilation in all 50 states. Any hospital or healthcare provider that participates in the chemical or physical mutualization of minor youth will no longer meet health and safety standards for Medicaid and Medicare and terminated from the program immediately. Furthermore, I will support the creation of a private right of action for victims to sue doctors who have unforgivably performed these procedures on minor children…

“My department of education will inform school districts, if any teacher or school district suggests to a child that they could be trapped in the wrong body, they will be faced with severe consequences including potential civil rights violations for sex discrimination, and the elimination of federal funding. As a part of our new credentials for teachers, we will promote positive education about the nuclear family, the roles of mothers and fathers, and celebrating rather than erasing the things that make men and women different and unique. I will ask congress to pass a bill that the only genders recognized by the United States government are male and female assigned at birth. The bill will also make clear that Title IX prohibits men from participating in women’s sports. It will protect the rights of parents to allow their minor child to assume a gender which is new and an identity without the parent’s consent…”

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The controversial bill passed by Democrats in 2023, HB 2002, allows abortions without parents’ knowledge or consent. Oregon also lets teens age 15 and up receive state-subsidized gender-affirming care and other medical treatment through school services without parental consent. Oregon has even prevented parents from seeking psychological conversion preventive therapy when a child is confused. It's that 12% that thinks, but not positive they are transgender, gender-expansive, or questioning that run the risk of being abused.

Governor Tina Kotek said of HB 2002, “I want to be very clear. Gender-affirming care is health care.” Oregon should ask what role schools need to play in healthcare and seek a healthier curriculum to serve 100% of the students?


--Donna Bleiler

Post Date: 2024-11-11 10:10:04

Last Update: 2024-11-11 15:37:20

The League of Women's Voters of Oregon has been running a TV ad in support of Measure 117, Ranked Choice Voting (RCV). The ad is misleading and may be mal-information. They state: "study after study, state after state confirms it’s effective” while displaying two articles that supposedly supports their statement. Those studies are articles written by NBC News,”New voting method that involves ranking candidates gains favor across the nation,” stating that 14 states will consider bills.

USA Today article, “Following a big year, more states push ranked-choice voting,“ simply cites who is using RCV, and not a study. USA Today cites California, Oregon counties and Florida cities.

The League’s ad seems to copy what FairVote Research says on their website. FairVote, a non-partisan organization, takes credit for getting Measure 117 on the ballot in Oregon. They do not identify one actual study done to come up with their ideology. They examined recounts and determined that there were not enough to be concerned about. The issue here is whether fraud can be proven or not, and they don’t seem to have an answer.

A study by the Report: Deficiencies in Recent Research on Ranked Choice Voting Ballot Error Rates (July 13, 2024) found that RCV causes an average of 17% more votes to directly affect the outcome between top candidates. This highlights the potential for inaccuracies in vote tallies.

Overall, studies that have been done highlight the ongoing debate and discussion surrounding ranked choice voting, with proponents arguing it can improve elections and opponents citing concerns about complexity and potential drawbacks of unintended results and transparency.

Some key findings and debates from these studies include:

• Inadequate testing and implemented incorrectly leading to errors.
• RCV’s complexity and difficult to understand leading to voter confusion.
• Lack of standardization leading to inconsistent application and potential errors.
• The impact of RCV on candidate quality and diversity.
• The effectiveness of RCV in reducing spoilers and vote splitting.
• The potential benefits of RCV in increasing voter satisfaction and participation.
• The need for further research and evaluation of RCV’s effects in different contexts.

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In areas that have actually used RCV:

1. Ballot Measure 2 in Alaska: The 2020 ballot initiative implemented RCV in Alaska, and opponents argue it is complicated and convoluted. It is on the ballot to repeal after the system provided a win to other than the most popular candidate.
2. Ranked-Choice Voting in Missouri: Amendment 7, a ballot measure in Missouri, aims to ban RCV in the state. Proponents argue that RCV is unnecessary and would lead to confusing elections, while opponents claim it would increase voter participation and reduce spoilers.
3. California’s 2023 Oakland Unified School District election, a court-ordered recount revealed errors that changed the outcome of the race.
4. Maine’s 2018 primary election, errors were discovered in the RCV count, leading to a re-count and a changed winner.

Portland City Council races will be using RCV to select City Council members. Architects of the system hoped for a more diverse set of policymakers, and political experts predicted candidates would identify with policy-aligned slates and encourage voters to rank multiple candidates.

While ranked choice voting aims to promote more representative outcomes, its counting process can produce faulty results due to errors, inaccuracies, and complexity. To ensure the integrity of election results, it is essential to prioritize thorough testing, due diligence, and transparency in the counting process.

Failing this, the choice is to vote No on Measure 117.


--Donna Bleiler

Post Date: 2024-11-03 23:43:50

Last Update: 2024-11-04 00:06:59

Clatsop County Circuit Court Judge Beau Peterson dismissed the Jewell School District’s case against the state over the Western Oregon State Forest Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) limits on logging that will lead to reduced funding for the district. The Jewell School District with 124 students, funds its current $4.3 million budget entirely with state forest timber harvests. They rely on timber harvests along with 13 Forest Trust Land Counties.

The School District argued that the Oregon Department of Forestry will cause the school and the forestry department serious financial harm by allowing the HCP to move forward that will reduce logging more than 35% in the Clatsop State Forest. The HCP will scale back logging on 630,000 acres for the next 70 years claiming to protect 17 threatened or endangered species.

Judge Peterson’s decision stated there was not enough evidence that the forestry department couldn’t find other cost-saving or revenue-generating activities to make up for any lost revenue from the HCP. He must not be aware that ODF is asking taxpayers for $450 million in lost wildfire revenue, or that a 2010 administrative rule mandates that ODF harvest enough timber from state forests to fulfill its obligations to manage the forests. The judge also determined that ruling against the state on the HCP wouldn’t guarantee the school district would receive financial relief. The judge is making a political decision leaving Jewell’s fate to taxpayers because the Oregon Department of Education is obligated to provide adequate funding. Under the state education funding equalization formula, Jewell would take a 17% cut with the timber harvest reduction.

Recently, an Oregonian had the opportunity to ask President Trump his thoughts on removing dead trees and debree from forest floors instead of backburning. After he explained the need for the jobs wasted, Trump agreed that the jobs are important to rural communities and he will look into a more productive forest management plan.

Meanwhile an investigation is brewing to carry on the work of the National Wildfire Institute (NWI) to continue research into the increasing wildfires that pose financial risks to communities in addition to the HCP. The need for USFS to better manage its wildfires and forestlands includes immediate snag salvage and site preparation followed by better reforestation planning and forest maintenance strategies for future generations.

In the past 10 years, 51 communities in western states were struck by wildfires started on National Forests, and most of those are in the legal range of spotted owls and subjected to the NWFP. These communities had at least 30 structures burned; or 50% of a community’s structures. A part of the project is to determine if the source of fires are related to parts of the forest management practices.

Bob Zybach, spearheading the project, said, ”We were pretty shocked at how recent most of the fires were, and also that they were almost entirely related to USFS lands. All indications are that the September 2020 fires were at least as destructive, if not as deadly, as the historic 1871 and 1910 Fires.”

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As reports come out on increasingly destructive wildfires in western states, regrowth is proving to be slow. It isn’t just that nursery can’t keep up with seed supply, training enough workers is difficult to prepare burnt sites and replant. The Forest Service says the biggest roadblock is the never-ending task of completing environmental and cultural assessments and preparing severely burnt land for replanting.

Now studies show a slowing of regrowth blamed on climate change producing extended drought. This makes young trees more vulnerable to repeat fires and often killing them. Research indicates hot fires also can harden the ground leaving barren slopes susceptible to washing away in rainstorms and polluting waterways that may never recover.

Forestry practices have been a hot topice for decades, starting with enviornmental and conservation clamp downs to forest management, which has steadly increased wildfire risks. For the first time, what once was a self-supported Oregon Department of Forestry, it is in the red asking for taxpayer bailout. While some call the HCP illegal, it will also have its toll on taxpayers to makeup for reduction in harvesting timber as many counties and school districts rely on those funds.


--Donna Bleiler

Post Date: 2024-11-01 15:18:46

Last Update: 2024-11-01 16:49:46

In July, Tom Fitton, President of Judicial Watch sent a notice letter to the Oregon secretary of state on behalf of the Constitution Party of Oregon and an Oregon registered voter, notifying them of violations of the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) of 1993, based on the failure to remove inactive voters from the registration rolls. The notice letter to Oregon served as a “pre-suit” notice.

Judicial Watch announced this week it is making good on the notice and filing suit after discovering a statewide failure to clean up voter rolls. In its complaint, Judicial Watch argues that Oregon’s voter rolls contain large numbers of old, inactive registrations; and that 29 of Oregon’s 36 counties removed few or no registrations as required by federal election law. Their discovery contends that 35 of its counties had overall registration rates exceeding 100%; and that Oregon has the highest known inactive registration rate of any state in the nation.

The suit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Oregon, Eugene Division, to compel the defendants to comply with their voter list maintenance obligations under Section 8 of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (NVRA).

The NVRA requires states to “conduct a general program that makes a reasonable effort to remove” from the official voter rolls “the names of ineligible voters” who have died or changed residence. Among other things, the NVRA requires registrations to be cancelled when voters fail to respond to address confirmation notices and then fail to vote in the next two general federal elections. In 2018, the Supreme Court confirmed that such removals are mandatory (Husted v. A. Philip Randolph Inst., 138 S. Ct. 1833, 1841-42 (2018))

Judicial Watch is a national leader in voting integrity and voting rights. As part of its work, Judicial Watch assembled a team of highly experienced voting rights attorneys, including Stephen Joncus of Joncus Law PC in Happy Valley, who stopped discriminatory elections, and cleaned up voter rolls across the country. Legal pressure from Judicial Watch ultimately led to the removal of up to four million ineligible voters from voter rolls in New York, California, Pennsylvania, Colorado, North Carolina, Kentucky, Ohio, and elsewhere.

In September, Judicial Watch presented arguments regarding a lower court ruling on Mississippi’s election law that permits absentee ballots to be received as late as five business days after Election Day. Now, the 5th Circuit Court just ruled that ballots must be received by Election Day and any state laws that allow them to be received and counted after Election Day violates federal law. This case affects Oregon’s practice giving ballots seven days to arrive.

Oregon has also been shown to have over 100% of registered voters in 35 out of its 36 counties. Oregon’s legislature has also tried to limit public access to voter lists. In July 2023 Judicial Watch filed an amicus curiae (friend of the court) brief, supporting the decision of the U.S. District Court for the District of Maine, which struck down Maine’s policy restricting the use and distribution of the state’s voter registration list. According to a national study conducted by Judicial Watch in 2020, Maine’s statewide registration rate was 101% of eligible voters.

“Dirty voter rolls can mean dirty elections,” said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. “Oregon has among the dirtiest voting rolls in America and needs to clean them up ASAP!”

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This suit comes on the heels of Oregon’s DMV caught registering more than a thousand noncitizens as eligible voters. The potential is that Oregon has 218,521 noncitizens that could have done business at DMV in the past two years that have a possibility of receiving a ballot in error. Add to that dirty voter rolls of people that have moved out-of-state or died, no wonder so many counties have more than 100% registered voters, and they all were sent ballots that can be fraudulently cast by unethical people.

Any ballot not legally voted, is an opportunity to be illegally cast. Please vote, and vote early to prevent your ballot from being stolen.


--Donna Bleiler

Post Date: 2024-11-01 11:59:48

Last Update: 2024-11-01 16:49:17

Ballots were mailed last week and Oregonians are pondering how to vote. Early voting nationally indicates the nation seems to be making a shift for change. Has Oregon’s one-party state had enough to follow? Oregon voters have more than enough to make their decision.

1. HB 4133, passed in 2022 by Democrats, created a fourth option for identifying as a valid voter in the registration process. This bill was advertised as “an effort to make voting more accessible to minority and underserved communities.” In Oregon there were three valid forms of ID: a drivers' license, a drivers' permit, or a State issued ID card. HB 4133 added a valid Social Security number, but then they negated its “validity” for the last four-digits, which can have duplicates. It became more complicated after allowing noncitizens a drivers' license.
   
   
2. Registering noncitizens at DMV has been in the news, and Governor Kotek and Secretary of State Lavonne Griffin-Valade are calling it “clerical errors.” It was a challenge for them to admit the number was over a thousand and call for an investigation. The potential is that Oregon has 218,521 noncitizens that could have done business at DMV in the past two years that have a possibility of receiving a ballot in error. Now, they are pushing ranked-choice-voting so these errors will be nearly impossible to discover.
   
   
3. The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) is holding its final public hearing on the leadership’s plan to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 90% from fossil fuels used in Oregon. This would essentially shut down the Oregon economy. DEQ’s Climate Protection Program was ordered by former Governor Kate Brown after she failed to get the program enacted by the state legislature. The Democrat controlled legislature has refused to address the devastation it will bring to the economy and raise costs on everything. It seems their answer is to move closer to socialism.
   
   
4. Governor Brown issued an Executive Oregon (EO 20-04) in 2020 which directed state agencies to reduce and regulate greenhouse gas emissions followed by the Democrat legislature passing HB 2021 into law creating a 100% “clean” energy mandate by 2040 and prohibited new fossil fuel plants. Ratepayers will bear the cost of this expensive mandate and will also be the ones left in the dark when the grid fails to operate without sufficient reliable power. The excess cost has already shown up in residential arrearages for energy utilities. They tripled throughout the pandemic, and increased $74 million on arrears over 91-days with nearly 300,000 Oregon residential customers collectively owing more than $94 million in arrears.
   
   
5. In 2019 a huge transportation package was enacted to solve Oregon’s infrastructure. Years later the infrastructure is as bad as it ever was, and now they want to install tolling, even on already built highways. One of the proposals is a $3 toll on Hwy 217 and I-5.
   
   
6. Oregon Department of Forestry was one of the few agencies in the nation that was self-funding and some of the forest harvest money went to 250 essential services. That all changed when leadership adopted an illegal unfunded HCP, which will reduce timber harvest 57% on 640,000 acres. This is about $4.5 billion in lost revenues. Now, they are asking taxpayers to pick up nearly $450 million, and counties are left bankrupt.
   
   
7. Speaker of the Oregon House Dan Rayfield (D-Corvallis) and then-Majority Leader and now-Speaker of the Oregon House Julie Fahey (D-Eugene) and eight others listed on OrStar received LaMota money, a company based in Spain. The parent company is still under secret investigation. They are accused of a crime against public health, criminal organization, money laundering, and power theft. These candidates along with Rayfield took LaMota money and didn’t report it until they got caught up in the 2023 scandal. Is this money connected to why the legislature didn’t refund the 2021 grant to irradiate "illegal grows"?
   
   
   
   
8. Leadership’s experiment to decriminalize drugs was a disaster, which has lead to taxpayer funded treatment centers as they try and dig their way out of legalizing criminal activity. Even though more arrests for trafficking drugs have taken place, they have not provided more funds for the one enforcement program that shut down over eight slave camps in one county. Fentanyl deaths in Oregon increased 41% in 2023, and a 1,500% increase in overdose deaths since 2019, which is mostly the results of cartel activity.
   
   
9. Biden/Harris Administration has flown in 674,000 convicted criminals distributed nationwide. Now, Oregon is giving homes to non-citizens, including free abortions to non-residents, free medical care, free sex changes, free treatment centers, and free lodging for homeless all funded by taxpayers.

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10. Are Oregon voters happy with 10-year-olds getting abortions without parent consent, and the legalization of pornography in schools? In 2023, the legislature passed HB 2002, which allows girls of any age to obtain an abortion without her parents’ knowledge. ODE teaches students how to redefine their gender as X giving them 58 options. Are Oregonians satisfied with a stagnant education system that focuses on identity and diversity and not education?
    
    
11. The current majority party repeatedly tries to exclude parents from school board meetings and from their children’s school records. The legislature, in 2024, introduced SB 1583 attempting to block parents and citizen-elected school boards from having input to determine and exclude age-inappropriate books and materials used in the curriculum. The Education Recovery Scorecard, 2024 study, shows Oregon’s elementary and middle school students remain an average of about two-thirds of a year behind in reading compared to pre-pandemic levels and three-fourths of a year behind in math. That’s roughly two to three times the deficit faced by students nationwide despite a $1.6 billion infusion of federal pandemic aid.
    
    
12. In 2023, the Oregon Legislature passed HB 2005 which makes it a crime to make or be in possession of any modern firearm or certain firearm’s parts unless those have been serialized in accordance with federal rules.Then there is Measure 114, still making it’s way through the courts, which legislature leadership should never have put an unconstitutional measure before the voters that ends the sale and possession of most modern firearms and magazines.

Oregonians "flies with her own wings", is she ready to break the old mold?


--Donna Bleiler

Post Date: 2024-11-01 11:58:20

Last Update: 2024-11-01 16:48:43

The Oregon Joint Committee on Transportation recently wrapped up its 12-stop tour to determine how to fix the many ways Oregonians need a safe, functional and efficient transportation system. Now the committee will convene three workgroups tasked with providing a starting point for the legislature in 2025.

From June through September, legislators visited 12 cities around Oregon where legislators and staff received more than 1,000 pieces of spoken and written testimony and engaged in detailed dialogue with 285 roundtable participants.

Election years give voters a preview of what legislation will look like if reelecting the same people. Developing consensus ideas, in most cases, is a show of cooperation to impress voters. The group expressed the need to address Oregon’s transportation system with a focus toward fundamental maintenance and safety, public transit options, and finishing major existing projects.

The Joint Committee on Transportation is made up of 12 members, seven Democrats and 5 Republicans. Three workgroups consisting of approximately 50 members consisting of committee members and stakeholder will determine the direction the legislation will take. Meetings will be livestreamed and posted on the Oregon Legislative Information System. The three workgroups will be:

• Back-to-Basics / Maintenance and Operations: Preservation of our systems and ADA requirements
• Public and Active Transit: Transit, Rail, Micromobility, Safe Routes to School
• Finishing 2017 Priority Commitments: Projects with statewide significance that are already in process with state and major federal funding secured (e.g., I-205-Abernethy Bridge, the I-5 Rose Quarter Safety Improvement Project).

“Whether we were in Ontario, Coos Bay, Bend, or Tillamook, we learned about the unique challenges that different communities face when it comes to transportation infrastructure," said Senator Chris Gorsek (D - Gresham), committee chair. "We also heard many common themes: Oregonians said they want well-maintained roads, stable bridges, multiple modes of transit, and for everyone to pay their fair share.”

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, “Inaction is not an option — based on what we learned during our statewide tour, the legislature must act in 2025 to provide stable and sufficient funding to our transportation systems,” said Rep. Susan McLain (D - Hillsboro). "Now that we’ve heard from the public, members of the committee will lead workgroup discussions in three key areas so the legislature can consider the best package for all Oregonians using our roadways."

"Over the past several months, this committee engaged in robust discussions with members of the public and community leaders about their needs and their suggestions for how we fund those needs. Those conversations were a vital step in crafting a path forward," said House Speaker Julie Fahey (D-West Eugene & Veneta) and Senate President Rob Wagner (D-Lake Oswego). "Now, the work groups will incorporate those perspectives into discussions about how we maintain a safe, functional, and efficient transportation system.”

This is the slow easing towards developing the need to support a tolling package that can’t be refuted by voters regardless of prior outcries. The only option is to vote.


--Donna Bleiler

Post Date: 2024-10-16 22:49:51

Last Update: 2024-10-16 23:11:23

It is nearly a year since Oregon Governor Tina Kotek issued Executive Order 23-26 establishing a state government artificial intelligence advisory council. She stated it was a fundamental priority of her office to be well-prepared for the rapid evolving landscape of artificial intelligence (AI).

The council’s primary recommendations aim to ensure the responsible and beneficial use of artificial intelligence in Oregon state government, while promoting transparency, equity, and fairness. The council will be meeting October 30 to finalize their action plan. Even though the public comment period closed last week, public comment can be made at the October 30 meeting.

The council is recommending 35 actions in three principle areas. All actions seem to point to an agency for oversight and governance, and establishes a methodology of equity, diversity and inclusion in all areas. Standards of transparency, accountability, testing, auditing and guidelines for use ensure compliance with relevant privacy laws with exceptions.

In all the recommendations, there seems to be convenient carve outs that will allow the Secretary of State and any other government agency to continue spying on free speech for what they determine to be mis- mal- or dis-information.

Big tech AI is an energy guzzler and the council has ignored standards for energy use. Big tech AI companies Google, Oracle and Microsoft have turned from renewable energy giving up on reaching ‘net zero’ with wind and solar power. Instead they are buying buildings next to nuclear power and employing nuclear engineers. If Oregon wants to be a player in AI, the council needs an energy action plan that will secure energy for Oregonians.

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OSU has been at the forefront of AI research and education. As a result, AI development companies are the 13th most popular industry and market group, including such companies as AI Chatbots, Generative AI, AI Virtual Assistants, AI Deployment and Darwoft, which is a custom software development company with expertise in UX design and development for web and mobile applications.

Possibly the only thing standing in the way of AI success in Oregon is leadership's policy on energy.


--Donna Bleiler

Post Date: 2024-10-13 16:29:57

Last Update: 2024-10-14 01:10:21

The Oregon Department of Education (ODE) released results from the Oregon Statewide Assessment System’s spring 2024 summative tests, which highlights the need for more work to reach pre-pandemic academic performance levels. The results included key areas of progress statewide, with six out of seven grade levels showing improved math scores, while recovery in literacy scores has been slower and more uneven across the state.

While ODE is patting themselves on the back claiming gains were made in math scores, overall the gain was 0.4 percent for 31% achievement rate compared to pre-pandemic of 45.8%. That’s barely noticeable to base progress on and still leaves a gap of 14.8. It doesn't show real gains when the national average is approximately 70.9%.

Districts who have shown improvement are pointing to several factors that have contributed to this progress, including teacher collaboration time, an emphasis on connecting the math lesson to other school subjects such as science and social science, and a focus on conceptual understanding.

ODE says English Language Arts (ELA) data reveals it as a critical area of concern as students are not consistently demonstrating grade-level knowledge and skills. The ELA scores dropped -0.5% showing eighth grade with the biggest loss at -1.3. The overall achievement rate is 42.5 compared to the pre-pandemic rate of 62.6 leaving a 20.1 rate gap. In the last three school years, the level of achievement in ELA has steadily declined -1.1, clearly showing the current programs are not working. Then compare that to the national average of 65.1%.

Science also took a 0.1% loss which puts it back at 2021-22 levels at 29.3 achievement rates.

Along with the data release, ODE has identified key areas for targeted action to support improved student performance, including continued and increased investment in K-12 literacy, support for summer and afterschool learning, refining data and policy practices and developing an accountability framework. The key areas they want to target are:

• ODE was recently awarded $11.5 million from the U.S. Department of Education to deepen and expand literacy efforts across the K-12 continuum. This grant is the initial installment of a potential total of $57 million, with funds flowing as soon as the 2025-26 school year to high need districts through competitive subgrants. This new grant builds on the momentum generated by the Early Literacy Success Initiative, the 2023 legislation (HB 3198) that invested more than $90 million in state funding to close opportunity gaps for historically underserved students, including multilingual learners and those experiencing disabilities from birth to 12th grade.
  
  
• The state legislature has tasked a workgroup to address critical areas such as equitable access to summer and afterschool programs, sustainable funding, streamlined grant administration, program quality and oversight, and incentivizing partnerships.
  
  
• Ongoing examination of achievement data to guide decision making in order to direct resources where they are most needed. ODE is elevating a system of assessments by combining the state summative test results with other data, such as the Student Educational Equity Development (SEED) Survey. The intent is to highlight those students who had more frequent opportunities to learn (e.g. write about what they read, use different ways to show math thinking, etc.) were also more likely to be proficient on the state summative tests.
  
  
• ODE is developing an accountability framework in partnership with education and community partners that represents the diversity of our state in terms of race/ethnicity, region, gender, and role. This workgroup is synthesizing the guiding principles and student success categories that will drive the identification of indicators that can be used to shine a light on Oregon’s K-12 education system in places that might need additional attention.

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ODE Director Dr. Charlene Williams said, “Several targeted efforts are underway to support students including the statewide investment and commitment to early literacy best practices. As funding and supports from the Early Literacy Success Initiative become embedded in schools, we will begin to see a significant payoff for Oregon’s scholars.”

Governor Tina Kotek expressed her dissatisfaction, “We must double down on our commitment and collaboration to fix the gaps in our system that are failing students. I am focused on working with education partners across the whole system to identify evidence-based solutions, increase high-quality learning opportunities, and strengthen student wellbeing.”

Filling the gap to regain pre-pandemic levels that are below national levels, is to continue to be below achievement levels the state should be providing students. After three years of no viable gains, it’s a high indicator that the state’s answer to throw more money in the system is failing students. It has encouraged a growing movement towards school choice with funding that follows the student as an attractive education option.


--Donna Bleiler

Post Date: 2024-10-03 18:46:36

Last Update: 2024-10-03 19:47:46

Oregon Governor Tina Kotek issued Executive Order 24-28 directing state agencies to take all actions necessary and work cooperatively to fulfill the State of Oregon’s commitments to the Columbia Basin Restoration Initiative (CBRI).

Governor Kotek said, “The Columbia Basin Restoration Initiative is the result of a historic, unified partnership with sovereign Tribal nations and the states of Oregon and Washington – and I am committed to full implementation of our agreement over the next decade. My directives to state agencies will uphold our state’s commitment and complement other efforts by the state to build a resilient and adaptive future to climate change, while also positioning our communities for a prosperous economic future.”

The “Six Sovereigns,” made up of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs, the Confederated Tribes of the Yakama Nation, the Nez Perce Tribe, and the states of Oregon and Washington, joined together to develop the CBRI.

In December 2023, the United States government agreed to a suite of actions memorialized in the federal commitments made by the Biden-Harris Administration in response to the CBRI, in conjunction with a Presidential Memorandum, and the federal commitments together comprise the Resilient Columbia Basin Agreement (RCBA).

In collaboration with the Biden-Harris Administration, an agreement was developed to work in partnership with the Six Sovereigns to restore wild salmon populations, expand Tribally sponsored clean energy production, and provide stability for communities that depend on the Columbia River System for agriculture, energy, recreation, and transportation.

A key to the stability of the region is the development of clean, reliable, and affordable replacement power for the region prior to considering removal of existing dams on the Snake River as a priority in the agreement.

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To achieve these outcomes, Governor Kotek is directing relevant Oregon state agencies to:

• By February 2025, develop a report that outlines program commitments and existing statutory or administrative needs and capacity.
• Twice annually, meet with the Governor’s Office to review coordination among the State of Oregon, the federal government, and the other Six Sovereigns for the purpose of assessing their work to achieve and accelerate full implementation of the CBRI and RBCA.
• By June 2025, and annually thereafter, report to their respective boards or commissions on their implementation of the CBRI and RBCA, including identifying opportunities to enhance their agency’s role in CBRI and RBCA implementation.
• By November 2025, and annually thereafter, convene with the Governor’s Office a meeting with the Six Sovereigns to discuss ongoing implementation efforts and opportunities for collaboration to optimize implementation by Oregon.

The Governor’s Executive Order also directs the Northwest Power and Conservation Council (NWPCC) to identify opportunities for the NWPCC to advance the goals of the CBRI and RBCA and, by April 2025, deliver a report to the Governor of the opportunities that have been identified and the actions that are needed to implement those opportunities.


--Donna Bleiler

Post Date: 2024-10-01 20:14:35

Last Update: 2024-10-01 22:54:21