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Donald Trump vs. Joe Biden
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On this day, March 28, 1942, Japanese-American lawyer Minoru Yasui (1916-1986) violated a military curfew in Portland, Oregon, and demanded to be arrested after he was refused enlistment to fight for the US. He was one of the few Japanese Americans who fought laws that directly targeted Japanese Americans or Japanese immigrants following the bombing of Pearl Harbor. In 2015 he was among 17 people awarded the presidential Medal of Freedom.

Also on this day March 28, 1939, the front page of the Eugene Register-Guard blared the headline: "Mighty Oregon Scramble Ohio State to Take Hoop Title of All America," right under a declaration that the Spanish War had ended, of course.




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Hood River County GOP's Second Annual Lincoln Dinner
Saturday, April 6, 2024 at 5:00 pm
Hood River County GOP's Second Annual Lincoln Dinner 5pm-9pm
Hood River, OR



Dorchester Conference 2024
Friday, April 26, 2024 at 5:00 pm
Dorchester Conference 2024 April 26th-28th
Welches, Oregon



Memorial Day
Monday, May 27, 2024 at 11:00 am
Memorial Day
A federal holiday in the United States for honoring and mourning the U.S. military personnel who died while serving.



Juneteenth
Wednesday, June 19, 2024 at 12:00 am
Juneteenth
Celebrated on the anniversary of June 19, 1865, when in the wake of the American Civil War, Major General Gordon Granger ordered the final enforcement of the Emancipation Proclamation in Texas.



Independence Day
Thursday, July 4, 2024 at 11:59 pm
Independence Day
USA



Linn Laughs LIVE with Adam Corolla
Saturday, September 7, 2024 at 5:00 pm
Linn Laughs LIVE with Adam Corolla 5pm-9pm
Albany, OR


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Change in Oregon Senate Proposed
Senate legislative districts to be coterminous with county boundaries

HJR 9 is a proposal that would change Oregon's Constitution and therefore needs to be sent to a vote of the people. It is proposing that the number of Senators be increased to 36 and that each county would be considered a Senate District. The bill is the work of State Representatives Mark Owens (R-Crane) and David Brock Smith (R-Port Orford).

The bill has been assigned to the House Committee on Rules. It has not been scheduled for a hearing at this time.

“I recognize the changes proposed are complicated, but the principle behind this bill is what matters,” said Rep. Owens. “Our vast rural communities are not one-in-the-same and our counties have varied interests that deserve more representation in the Capitol. Right now, the system is outdated and takes for granted the diversity of our region. My hope is this legislation starts an important conversation about ensuring all Oregonians have a voice in their Capitol.”

This bill would certainly tip the balance of power toward rural Oregon. Currently, large metropolitan counties send several Senators to Salem and many rural counties are gathered together to make up one Senate District. Were the bill to pass and be approved by the people, large, urban counties would get one Senator, as would all the rural counties.

The Oregon Senate has an interesting history. The Original Oregon Constitution had the counties as Senate districts, though the layout of counties in Oregon was a bit different than we know it today. Additionally, Oregon did not redistrict between 1907 and 1960. In 1954 through a ballot initiative, Oregon changed to a "one person, one vote" system in which each Senate District completely contains two House districts, giving us the district configuration we have today. Though the actual districts change every ten years as they are redistricted, there are always 60 House districts and 30 Senate districts.

In 1964, the US Supreme Court decided in Reynolds v. Sims that legislative districts need to all have roughly the same amount of residents in them. In 2016, Evenwel v. Abbott the High Court backed off that decision. Neither case dealt with Oregon Directly.

If you know a House District, you can always calculate the Senate district. If it's even just divide by two. If it's odd, add one and divide by two. So House District 14 (even, so divide by two) is in Senate District 7 and House District 45 (odd, so add one and divide by two) is Senate District 23.


--Staff Reports

Post Date: 2021-01-27 07:43:37Last Update: 2021-01-27 14:07:31



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