Oregon
Two more Oregon newspapers go dark. This time in Columbia County
Another Oregon news source has gone belly up due to declining revenues.
The Columbia County Chronicle & Chief, a recently formed hybrid of two existing papers serving the rural environs northwest of Portland, printed its last issue Sept. 25.
Its publisher, Country Media, had merged the St. Helens Chronicle and Clatskanie Chief in December 2023, citing the need to cut costs in the face of declining print revenue and difficulties with staff turnover.
“Combining the two newspapers into one was a last-ditch effort to reduce expenses and reestablish profitability,” company president Steve Hungerford said in a statement. “Sadly, that wasn’t successful.”
The weekly Chronicle & Chief was down to a newsroom of one, plus an administrator and page designer when the closure was announced. Both papers had served Columbia County under a variety of mastheads since the late 1800s.
It’s the latest bad news for local print media publishers, who have spent decades searching for a sustainable business model while grappling with an ad market now dominated by tech companies.
EO Media Group stopped printing five newspapers and cut two-dozen staffers in June. Pamplin Media Group also saw job losses once it sold to the Mississippi-based Carpenter chain. The new owners are running house ads warning they will merge their Estacada and Sandy papers unless more readers start paying.
There are about 1,000 people left working for the state’s newspapers, a decline of three quarters since 2000, The Oregonian/OregonLive previously reported.
The Chronicle and Chief’s final issue included front-page reports on a delayed reservoir project and the loss of 24-hour police coverage in St. Helens. Its demise did not go unnoted.
“Social media cannot replace our county paper of record, because its content is not professionally vetted,” reader Margaret Trenchard-Smith wrote in a letter to the editor. “We have lost a chunk of our history.”
—Zane Sparling covers breaking news and courts for The Oregonian/OregonLive. Reach him at 503-319-7083, zsparling@oregonian.com or @pdxzane.
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Oregon
Mayor of Portland, Oregon, demands ICE leave the city after federal agents tear gas protesters
The mayor of Portland, Oregon, demanded U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement leave his city after federal agents launched tear gas at a crowd of demonstrators — including young children — outside an ICE facility during a weekend protest that he and others characterized as peaceful.
Thousands of people attended the “ICE out” protest on Saturday in South Portland, according to the Portland Police Bureau. The protest began near Elizabeth Caruthers Park, and demonstrators later moved to an ICE facility a few blocks away, CBS affiliate KOIN reported. That’s where witnesses said agents deployed tear gas, pepper balls and rubber bullets.
Erin Hoover Barnett, a former OregonLive reporter who joined the protest, said she was about 100 yards from the building in Portland’s South Waterfront when “what looked like two guys with rocket launchers” started dousing the crowd with gas.
“To be among parents frantically trying to tend to little children in strollers, people using motorized carts trying to navigate as the rest of us staggered in retreat, unsure of how to get to safety, was terrifying,” Barnett wrote in an email to OregonLive.
The use of tear gas continued intermittently through the night as the group of protesters dwindled, KOIN reported.
The federal government “must, and will, be held accountable,” Portland Mayor Keith Wilson said Saturday night. “To those who continue to make these sickening decisions, go home, look in a mirror, and ask yourselves why you have gassed children.
Wilson also said the city would be imposing a fee on detention facilities that use chemical agents.
The mayor said the daytime demonstration was peaceful, “where the vast majority of those present violated no laws, made no threat and posed no danger” to federal agents.
“To those who continue to work for ICE: Resign. To those who control this facility: Leave,” Wilson wrote in his statement Saturday night. “Through your use of violence and the trampling of the Constitution, you have lost all legitimacy and replaced it with shame.”
The Portland Fire Bureau sent paramedics to treat people at the scene, police said. Police officers monitored the crowd but made no arrests on Saturday.
In a statement posted Sunday to social media, Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek condemned the presence of ICE in the state.
“Trump’s ICE has no place in Oregon,” Kotek wrote. “The use of tear gas against families, children, and peaceful demonstrators yesterday is a horrific abuse of authority that undermines public safety and violates constitutional rights. Federal agents must stand down and be held accountable.”
The Portland protest was one of many similar demonstrations nationwide against the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown in cities like Minneapolis, where in recent weeks federal agents killed two residents, Alex Pretti and Renee Good.
In downtown Los Angeles, federal officers also deployed tear gas into the crowd on Saturday after local police issued an unlawful assembly order, CBS LA reported. At least eight people were arrested, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.
Federal agents in Eugene, Oregon, deployed tear gas on Friday when protesters tried to get inside the Federal Building near downtown. City police declared a riot and ordered the crowd to disperse.
President Trump posted Saturday on social media that it was up to local law enforcement agencies to police protests in their cities. However, Mr. Trump said he has instructed Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to have federal agents be vigilant in guarding U.S. government facilities.
“Please be aware that I have instructed ICE and/or Border Patrol to be very forceful in this protection of Federal Government Property. There will be no spitting in the faces of our Officers, there will be no punching or kicking the headlights of our cars, and there will be no rock or brick throwing at our vehicles, or at our Patriot Warriors,” Mr. Trump wrote. “If there is, those people will suffer an equal, or more, consequence.”
Oregon
Johan Munch, Matija Samar lead Oregon State over San Diego 78-76 in OT
SAN DIEGO — Johan Munch scored 15 points and Matija Samar added six in the overtime as Oregon State knocked off San Diego 78-76 on Saturday.
Isaiah Sy made two free throws, Samar followed with a 3-pointer and the Beavers never trailed in OT.
Munch added nine rebounds for the Beavers (12-12, 5-6 West Coast Conference). Josiah Lake totaled 12 points, eight assists, five rebounds and four steals. Dez White scored 12 on 4-for-7 shooting from 3-point range. Sy pitched in with nine points, six rebounds and five assists.
The Toreros (10-14, 4-7) were led by Adrian McIntyre with 21 points, six rebounds and six assists. Assane Diop added 13 points, eight rebounds and two blocks. Tim Moore Jr. finished with 11 points, seven rebounds and five blocks.
Sy scored six points in the first half for Oregon State, who led 30-25 at the break. Lake scored 12 second-half points and hit the game-tying 3-pointer with 14 seconds left in regulation to send the game to overtime tied at 60-all.
___
The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
Oregon
College football experts pick Oregon Ducks as 2026 national champions
The Oregon Ducks have accomplished just about everything possible for a college football team in the last few seasons. They’ve had an undefeated regular season, notched back-to-back College Football Playoff appearances and won a ton of bowl games.
The Ducks have been transformed into a perennial contender, and the only thing still on their agenda is the elusive national championship victory. They’ve gotten closer to reaching that goal in each of Dan Lanning’s first four seasons as head coach, so it feels like just a matter of time.
The college football staff of The Athletic were polled on a wide range of predictions about next season, and the most eye-popping result was next season’s national championship game winner, with Oregon receiving the most votes. Nine people out of 28 votes for them, which may not seem too convincing, but the next closest team was the Notre Dame Fighting Irish with five votes.
The Ducks had their season ended by the Indiana Hoosiers, who went on to win the national championship. However, star quarterback Fernando Mendoza declared for the NFL Draft after the historic victory, so that could be enough to put Oregon in the driver’s seat.
Their own quarterback, Dante Moore, will be back in Eugene next year with another season of experience and a full arsenal of weapons around him to make another run at glory. It feels like this team will always be in contention under Lanning, but this year will be one of the best chances they ever have to finally bring home the national title.
Contact/Follow @Ducks_Wire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oregon Ducks news, notes, and opinions.
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