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Tom Cruise turned all Olympic eyes from Paris to Los Angeles this summer with his daring closing ceremony stunts. But those eyes had best now turn to the LA Olympic Organizing Committee and Mayor Karen Bass.
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In only four short years, the Olympics come to LA, meaning Mayor Bass and the Olympic organizers have just four years to transform Los Angeles into a metropolis fit for the international attention brought by the Olympics. That seems like a big task for a city whose failed governance leaves it with rampant crime, homelessness, congestion, crumbling infrastructure, business and regulatory nightmares, and tax and budget shortfalls.
The LA solution: a “car-free” Olympics!
Mayor Karen Bass waves the Olympic flag during the closing ceremony of the Summer Games on Aug. 11, 2024, in Paris.(Carl Recine/Getty Images)
Personal vehicles will not be allowed at Olympic venues. Private parking will simply not be available. Don’t even think about driving to an event. Bass and the LA Organizing Committee plan to spend over $900 million on a massive public transit overhaul.
LOS ANGELES KICKS OFF JOURNEY TO 2028 OLYMPICS IN STYLE
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Called the “Twenty-eight by ‘28 Project” and initiated in January 2018 during the bidding process for the 2028 Olympics, it proposes 28 transit projects to facilitate the movement of more than one million anticipated visitors the Olympics will bring – all without cars.
How is the Twenty-eight by ‘28 Project going six years after being proposed and only four years out from the Games?
The answer is not well. I serve on the board of the Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA). We recently received a report from the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority admitting that it will miss the ’28 deadline for 10 of the 28 projects. Only five have so far been completed in the past six years of planning.
Bass does not let this diminish her enthusiasm for a car-free Games. She promises that LA will purchase or borrow and then deploy 3,000 buses. I can’t imagine at what cost, both financial to Los Angeles, but also on other transportation agencies like OCTA and the people they serve around the country.
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That is a mammoth, market-warping diversion of resources – 3,000 buses – to just one city. Other places like Orange County can well expect to feel the pain caused by such a market disrupting force.
The car-free Olympics promise was never serious public policy. Southern California, for the foreseeable future, will remain dominated by personal vehicles. Just over 7.5 million registered motor vehicles exist in LA County, including cars, trucks and motorcycles. The city itself covers a vast 469 square miles, in a stark contrast to Paris’s compact 41 square miles. This sprawling landscape complicates public transit use as residents often need to make multiple transfers to reach their destinations, diminishing the likelihood of opting for buses or trains.
Then there are the substantial safety concerns inherent in today’s LA public transit system. The public worries rightly about personal safety while on the system. Just last week, in the early hours of Wednesday, Sept. 25, an LA Metro bus was hijacked by a gunman who held the driver at gunpoint, led the police on a pursuit, and murdered one of the passengers.
LOS ANGELES ALLEGEDLY PLANS TO SPEND $500K TO INSTALL OLYMPIC FLAGS AT CITY HALL
That level of dramatic violence is admittedly rare. But we do see persistent knife attacks, sexual assaults, homeless vagrant activity and other crimes on public transportation. This is the transit system to be foisted on visitors from all over the world to accomplish the vision of a car-free Olympics.
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Given the city’s deep-rooted car culture, the lack of public transit infrastructure, the long commutes that residents have come to accept as normal, and the sheer physical safety concerns, local residents will likely skip the Games rather than abandon their vehicles.
Public transportation cannot rise to the occasion, as the LA Metro report frankly admits, leaving a potentially miserable experience for out-of-town visitors and a very bad lasting image for Los Angeles and the Olympics organizers. At least Orange County had nothing to do with these bad decisions, even if we will feel some of the consequences.
The Los Angeles Police Department oversees the dismantling of a homeless encampment off of the Venice Beach boardwalk in Venice, California, on Aug. 5, 2024.(Mark Abramson/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
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A car-free Olympics was always an enviro-activist pipe dream. It sounded good to certain interest groups, but is nothing more than a liberal government’s virtue signaling and self-deception.
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The LA Metro report of missed targets throws the harsh light of reality on such wishful thinking. Delays, rising costs due to inflation, failures to meet deadlines and inefficient government bureaucracy can’t deliver on the empty promises of politicians. A car-free Olympics, at least as sold when LA made its bid, is one of those empty promises.
The IRS has released updated federal income tax brackets and standard deductions for the 2026 tax year, which will apply to returns filed in 2027.
Cheddar
It’s officially tax season. The Internal Revenue Service opened the 2026 filing period for the 2025 tax year on Jan. 26.
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Oregonians can file their 2025 federal and state income tax returns until April 15. Those who don’t file by the deadline could face a penalty and may need to request an extension.
The Oregon Department of Revenue will also begin processing state income tax returns filed electronically.
Here’s what to know about filing your 2025 taxes.
When is the first day to file 2025 income tax returns in Oregon?
Oregonians can already file their federal and state income tax returns for the 2025 tax year. The season began on Jan. 26.
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When is the 2025 income tax return deadline?
The deadline for Oregonians to file their federal and state income tax returns for the 2025 tax year is on April 15.
When will Oregon issue 2025 state tax refunds?
The Oregon Department of Revenue will begin issuing refunds for electronically filed income tax returns on Feb. 15.
For tax returns filed by paper, the Department of Revenue will begin issuing refunds in early April.
According to agency, the IRS was late in sending Oregon the necessary tax forms for 2025, and as a result, Oregon could not begin processing paper-filed personal income tax returns until late March.
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Oregonians are encouraged to file electronically to receive a tax refund sooner.
“This year, if you file a paper return, you’re going to face a significant delay in receiving your refund,” said Megan Denison, the administrator of the Personal Tax and Compliance Division at the Department of Revenue. “Taxpayers who file electronically can avoid the extra wait.”
Additionally, the IRS recommends mailing in paper tax forms earlier than the April 15 deadline, as postmarks are not guaranteed for the same day.
Why is Direct File no longer available on the IRS website?
Direct File was a free tax filing program that could be found on the IRS website and used to file taxes for free.
However, following its two-year pilot phase, the Trump administration discontinued the program. The IRS announced in late 2025 that IRS Direct File will no longer be available at the beginning of 2026.
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IRS Free File is an alternative option to file federal income taxes for free in 2026 for households with an adjusted gross income of $84,000 or less.
Direct File Oregon is another option to file state income taxes for free in 2026. The program is currently in its third year and allows Oregonians to file directly with the state of Oregon for free.
How much is Oregon’s 2025 kicker rebate?
Oregon taxpayers who qualify could see a share of a $1.4 billion surplus through the state’s “kicker” credit when they file their 2025 income tax returns in 2026.
The refund amount differs depending on the individual but is calculated to be about 9.9% of their Oregon personal income tax liability for the 2024 tax year.
To get an estimate on how much their kicker could be, Oregonians can visit the Oregon Department of Revenue’s “What’s My Kicker?” calculator at revenueonline.dor.oregon.gov/tap/.
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How can Oregonians track their refunds?
Oregonians can track their tax refunds by visiting www.irs.gov/wheres-my-refund for federal tax returns, and www.oregon.gov/dor/programs/individuals/pages/where-is-my-refund.aspx for state tax returns.
Ginnie Sandoval is the Oregon Connect reporter for the Statesman Journal. Sandoval can be reached at GSandoval@statesmanjournal.com or on X at @GinnieSandoval.
The killings took place in a region exempt from federal gray wolf protections.
(Dawn Villella |AP) A gray wolf is pictured in 2004 in Minnesota. Utah officials recently killed three wolves after they were seen near livestock in Cache County.
In a rural stretch of southwestern Cache County, state officials killed three wolves earlier this month after the animals were spotted near livestock, the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources confirmed Tuesday.
The wolves were shot Jan. 9 by the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food, said DWR spokesperson Faith Jolley, a move allowed because the animals were found in a small corner of northeastern Utah exempt from federal gray wolf protections.
The region, which lies mostly east of Interstate 15 and extends roughly as far south as Ogden, is considered part of the greater Yellowstone region, where the predator is in recovery. It is the only part of Utah where the state is allowed to manage wolves.
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(Christopher Cherrington | The Salt Lake Tribune)
Across the rest of the state, the animal is considered an endangered species. It’s illegal to hunt, harass, trap, shoot or harm them without permission from the federal government.
Jolley said state law directs DWR to prevent wolves from breeding in the delisted area. While the animals were not considered a pack, she said they were believed to be traveling together.
“Lethal removals ensure they don’t establish breeding populations in Utah,” Jolley wrote in a text message.
Caroline Hargraves, a spokesperson for the state agriculture department, said the wolves were found near Avon, a small census-designated community in Cache County of about 500 residents, surrounded mostly by farmland.
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Utah leaders have long been hostile to wolves for preying on livestock and thwarting hunters. The state has doled out millions in taxpayer dollars in an effort to get gray wolves removed from the federal endangered species list.
Most confirmed wolf sightings in Utah have involved lone wolves, Jolley said, though small groups have been documented on a few occasions since the first confirmed sighting in 2002.
During the past year, she said, a handful of lone wolves have migrated into Utah from Wyoming and Colorado.
Wolves from Wyoming and Idaho have made their way into Utah at least 21 times since 2004, according to DWR. In September, the agency said it was aware of at least one lone male wolf present in the state.
