PORTLAND – An innovative Oregon program turned $125 million into nearly 1,400 new shelter beds across 32 facilities in 18 Oregon counties. Now, U.S. Rep. Suzanne Bonamici wants to take the state’s Project Turnkey program nationwide.
The Democratic Oregon representative was in Portland on Thursday to meet with community leaders who have worked on developing shelters and housing through Project Turnkey, a state program that launched in 2020 to add shelter space by converting motels into emergency shelters. A second round of state funding in 2022 added more types of buildings, including repurposed apartments and single-family homes, but the model remained the same: People or families coming into the shelters had their own rooms and access to services.
“Oregon really has been at the forefront in developing innovative strategies to address the housing shortage and to help people who are experiencing homelessness transition from the street into stable housing,” Bonamici said.
She introduced House Resolution 8297, the Project Turnkey Act, in May with 15 Democratic co-sponsors, including fellow Oregon Reps. Andrea Salinas and Earl Blumenauer. It would allocate $1 billion annually for Project Turnkey grants through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and allow grant recipients to use the money to convert vacant buildings into housing or shelter, provide direct rent support and assistance with security deposits and utility bills, contribute to down payments and repair and expand emergency shelters.
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Bonamici said she isn’t counting on passing anything this year, with Congress away from D.C. for most of the rest of the year, but she’s trying to build support. She noted that she has a Republican cosponsor, Pennsylvania’s Brian Fitzpatrick, on a separate bill for recovery housing, and that there is a growing bipartisan awareness in Washington around housing issues.
“I’m really excited to take these stories back with me and share why this is a meaningful program,” Bonamici told participants in the town hall.
Tigard project
The Bridge to Home shelter in Tigard was the final one funded under Project Turnkey last year, said Rose Money, executive director of the Family Promise of Tualatin Valley that operates the shelter. Money from Project Turnkey, Washington County and the city of Tigard cleared the way for the nonprofit to turn a Quality Inn hotel into a shelter that can house up to 70 households in rooms with kitchenettes.
Before Project Turnkey allowed the Tualatin Valley program to buy a hotel, it was renting individual hotel rooms to house people and families. But as more people started traveling as the COVID pandemic lightened, available rooms were harder to find.
“When we were in that motel environment, the motel industry started coming back to life and people were traveling again, so our ability to secure those 40 rooms was harder and harder and harder,” she said. “We went from 40 down to 37, down to 22. And we thought, ‘What are we going to do?’ because the need was growing in the community.”
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For the Urban League of Portland, which received $2.7 million to adapt a multifamily complex into seven units for women returning from incarceration, the funding meant providing stability. Two women who participated in the program are the responsible adults in their children’s lives again, and that likely wouldn’t have happened if the Urban League was limited to providing shelter in a motel or congregate setting, president and CEO Nkenge Harmon Johnson said.
“Project Turnkey for us was an opportunity to acquire an asset, because that’s important to our ability to survive as an organization and not be at the mercy of these motel owners who now know the money’s in the long term leases,” she said. “Beyond that, it gives us an opportunity to make commitments to community partners to say, ‘Hey, I can get you five beds.’ Because I know you can always fill them and I will always have them, and I’m not at the mercy of someone else. It makes a big difference.”
Longer-term plans
Most of the community organizations that own Project Turnkey shelters plan to convert them into longer-term housing, including apartments with below-market rents or permanent supportive housing that includes on-site social services.
Creating shelters and future affordable housing in existing buildings has proven to be cheaper than new construction: According to the Oregon Community Foundation, a Portland nonprofit that oversaw the development Project Turnkey, the average unit costs less than $100,000, compared to a pre-pandemic statewide average of $226,000 and a nearly $375,000 cost per unit for affordable apartments funded by Portland’s 2016 housing bond.
But retrofitting buildings also brings some challenges, not all of which can be solved with money from state or local governments. Jes Larson, assistant director of Washington County Housing Services, said one glaring example is sprinklers.
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“These are great, ready-made buildings that have immediate shelter for our community, that sometimes don’t meet code in really big expensive ways, like required sprinkling systems,” Larsen said. “And that wasn’t a part of the original Project Turnkey plan. It’s not a part of the flexible homeless services dollars that I get to work with in Washington, so we have to figure it out.”
PORTLAND Ore. (KPTV) – Starting in 2026, a new law in Oregon requires all non-motorized boats, regardless of size, to buy and carry a waterway access permit. That includes paddleboards and kayaks.
But there has been some push back from one organization.
Ben Roche is part of Let Us Paddle. The organization aims to repeal the updates to the waterway access permit.
“It’s Oregonians constitutional right to free access to our waterways. And human powered watercrafts are the best way to do that, and the least environmentally impactful,” said Roche.
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According to the Oregon State Marine Board, permit fees range from $6 to $35.
If you’re caught without a permit, there’s a $115 fine.
The state agency says the funding goes directly to two programs.
One supports aquatic invasive species watercraft inspection stations and the other improves access points to the water that specifically serve paddlers.
“There is a need for inspection and we support that. What we don’t support is charging recreational paddleboarders for cleaning of motorboats that enter our state,” said Roche.
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Roche adds, the state is only funding a few dozen access points.
Let Us Paddle has collected at least 20,000 signatures, and they want about 130,000 more by July 2.
They need at least 120,000 verified signatures to put the repeal before voters on the November ballot.
But even if they don’t meet the requirement, Roche says he’ll keep pushing for change.
“I think it’s really a poorly crafted bill that collects a small drop in the bucket of revenue but impacts thousands of recreational kayakers across the state,” said Roche.
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FOX 12 reached out to the Oregon State Marine Board to ask more questions, but have not yet to heard back.
Oregon DMV temporarily paused dispersing new undercover vehicle license plates starting April 15.
FILE – The U.S. Department of Justice seal is seen on a podium before a news conference, May 4, 2026, in Washington.
Julia Demaree Nikhinson / AP
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The Justice Department is suing four states after they refused to issue confidential license plates to federal law enforcement agencies, despite having done so in the past.
The lawsuits, filed Wednesday in Oregon, Washington, Massachusetts and Maine, seek to force states to resume what the federal government describes as long-standing, routine policies.
The scope of the combined litigation raises questions about ways the federal government has aggressively carried out immigration enforcement since President Donald Trump’s reelection, and whether the Constitution grants states the power to deny federal law enforcement agencies license plates that effectively conceal officers’ identities.
“Oregon’s DMV policy illegally discriminates against the United States, violates the Supremacy clause, and is unconstitutional,” attorneys for the federal government argued in court filings.
Oregon DMV temporarily paused disbursing new undercover license plates to all federal agencies starting April 15.
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“The DMV is currently evaluating the undercover vehicle registration program to ensure the program complies with Oregon law,” Oregon DMV Administrator Amy Joyce explained in a May 22 letter to Assistant Attorney General Brett Shumate.
A recent lawsuit filed against Oregon State Police alleges the state is providing personal information to federal immigration authorities through databases, including Oregon’s DMV.
“If the DMV process for issuing undercover plates could be questioned under Oregon law, the State is at risk for additional litigation,” Joyce explained in the letter to Shumate.
The state’s review of the undercover license plate program doesn’t prevent federal vehicles from legally driving on Oregon roads.
“State and local law enforcement are unaffected by this pause and the federal agencies that participate in the program are able to continue to use their existing unexpired plates,” Kevin Glenn, a spokesperson for Gov. Tina Kotek wrote in a statement.
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Immigration officers have relied on these license plates for enforcement, including during Operation Black Rose in Oregon. According to U.S. Immigration and Custom Enforcement, officers arrested more than 1,498 people between September and March, which led to 1,057 removals.
The lawsuits filed Wednesday argue the states’ DMV policies undermine ongoing federal investigations.
“Federal law enforcement agencies should not be subject to the challenged DMV policy, which is unconstitutional and recklessly disregards officer safety, public safety, and federal operational needs‚” the Justice Department’s lawsuit states.
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Thursday is shaping up to be another active weather day across the region, with the potential for strong to severe thunderstorms developing this afternoon and evening. The greatest severe weather threat is expected across southeast Oregon, where the Storm Prediction Center has issued a Slight Risk for severe storms. Portions of southwest Idaho remain under a Marginal Risk, meaning isolated severe storms are possible. Boise and much of the Treasure Valley are mainly under a general thunderstorm threat, but storms could still bring gusty winds, blowing dust, lightning, and brief heavy rain later today.
Idaho News 6
Storms are expected to first develop across southeast Oregon and near the Nevada border this afternoon before tracking north and northwest through the evening hours. The strongest storms will likely stay west of Boise, especially across areas of Malheur County, western Owyhee County, and parts of the west-central Idaho mountains.
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Impacts
The biggest impact today will likely be strong outflow winds. Some storms could produce wind gusts between 40 and 60 mph, with isolated gusts near 70 mph possible in the strongest storms across eastern Oregon. Winds of that strength can blow around patio furniture, trampolines, garbage cans, and other loose outdoor objects, bring down tree limbs, and cause isolated power outages.
Blowing dust may also become a major issue in open desert and agricultural areas, especially across eastern Oregon and southwest Idaho. Visibility could quickly drop on roads and highways, creating dangerous travel conditions for drivers.
Some storms may also produce hail capable of damaging vehicles and outdoor property, while brief heavy downpours could lead to ponding on roads and reduced visibility. Frequent lightning will also make outdoor activities dangerous through the afternoon and evening.
Even though Boise is not currently in the higher severe weather categories, residents should still stay weather aware because any thunderstorm that moves through the Treasure Valley could produce sudden gusty winds and localized blowing dust.
Looking ahead
Storm chances continue Friday with additional showers and weaker thunderstorms before conditions gradually dry out heading into the weekend. Temperatures will cool closer to normal on Saturday before another warming trend develops next week.
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