Oregon
Drug addiction, housing and homelessness to dominate session – Oregon Capital Chronicle
Oregon lawmakers are starting the legislative session, promising to aim squarely at the state’s homelessness and drug addiction crisis.
From Gov. Tina Kotek to Democratic and Republican legislators, elected officials agree on the priorities, especially with fentanyl overdoses skyrocketing in Oregon and across the country.
They agree police need more tools to investigate and charge fentanyl drug dealers. They also agree that addiction treatment and services need to expand. And they want to cities to add affordable and middle-income housing to address the state’s homelessness crisis and high home prices.
They have their differences, however. Republican and Democratic lawmakers, for example, disagree on criminal charges for possession of small amounts of drugs, which was decriminalized after voters passed Measure 110 in 2020.
And the Oregon Supreme Court ruling last week against Republican senators who participated in the 2023 walkout gives them no incentive to show up if they object to proposals, they said. Lawmakers need a quorum with two-thirds of members present to conduct business.
That could put more pressure on the agenda, which is ambitious for a short session. They come every even-numbered year and are intended for emergencies, budget adjustments and technical fixes.
Here’s a look at what’s ahead:
Housing and homelessness
Gov. Tina Kotek has just one bill for the session, and it’s aimed at the housing and homelessness crisis in Oregon.
“We have a critical shortage of housing supply across the state,” Kotek told reporters last Wednesday at a legislative preview event.
Kotek’s proposal, Senate Bill 1537, would allow cities to expand their urban growth boundaries, but with a caveat: at least 30% of the land within the expansion area would have to be designated for affordable housing.
Kotek stressed the proposal would give cities a one-time chance to add land, something she failed to get passed last year. Her current bill includes $500 million for housing programs, including grants and loans to cities to purchase land and build infrastructure for affordable housing, loans for developers and grants for environmentally friendly homes that use electricity instead of natural gas.
That allocation includes $5 million for a new Housing Accountability and Production Office within the Department of Land Conservation and Development to help local government agencies add new homes.
Kotek has separate requests for $65 million to support existing homeless shelters and $35 million to help homeless prevention efforts like rental assistance. Kotek said the ice storms that clobbered Oregon in January demonstrate the need for communities across the state to have adequate shelters.
Drug addiction and overdoses
Democratic lawmakers have released a wide-ranging proposal to address the state’s drug addiction crisis.
The proposal would allow police to charge people with a low-level misdemeanor for possession of a small amount of drugs. Measure 110, which voters passed in 2020, decriminalized possession for users and put a share of cannabis revenues toward addiction services and programs. The measure allowed police to issue $100 citations to people found with a small amount of hard drugs, but those citations largely failed to motivate people to enter treatment.
Democratic and Republican lawmakers differ on the severity of the punishment: The Democratic proposal would carry a sentence up to 30 days in jail, and the person could avoid a charge if they entered a treatment program. Republicans want a more stringent misdemeanor penalty that carries up to a year in jail.
“Fentanyl has been a significant game changer as it relates to the world of street drugs and it is deadly and disastrous for Oregonians,” Senate Minority Leader Tim Knopp, R-Bend, said during a news conference last week.
Democratic and Republican lawmakers largely agree on other proposed changes, including expanded treatment opportunities, more residential services and tools to help police rein in drug dealers, such as higher penalties for selling drugs.
“I think we agree on more than we disagree,” Senate Majority Leader Kate Lieber, D-Beaverton, said at the same event.
Lawmakers on a joint committee have worked since last year on gathering information and crafting proposed changes, work that Kotek said is “moving in the right direction.”
She said the state needs more than punishment to address the crisis.
“I would hope everybody looks at this as a comprehensive package,” Kotek said at a news conference.
Lawmakers also want to hear from members of the public on the issue.
“The public input is really important to this process,” House Majority Leader Julie Fahey, D-Eugene, said.
Wildfire funding
Democrats have at least three proposals addressing wildfire funding in the state.
Rep. Paul Evans, D-Monmouth, is proposing both a new state body dedicated to public safety and wildfires and a ballot measure to be presented to Oregon voters that would fund it. The ballot measure would include a tax of up to 25 cents on every $1,000 of assessed property taxes. According to the Legislative Revenue Office, this could bring in at least an additional $125 million per year to wildfire prevention and response.
Sen. Jeff Golden, D-Ashland, wants the timber industry to step up its funding. He’s proposing a ballot measure to reinstate a tax on the value of timber logged on industrial forestland. This would send tens of millions of dollars to the forestry department and ease pressure on the state’s general fund, according to Golden.
“Asking all Oregonians to pay even more for wildfire protection does not address the very large tax advantages that have been developed for companies whose lands (the state) protects,” he said.
Sen. Elizabeth Steiner, D-Portland, will propose reducing the millions in per-acre fees that timber and grazing landowners pay to the state for wildfire protection after ranchers expressed anger about fees going up as much as 40% in a year. She walked back part of her earlier proposal that would have charged every property owner in the state a $10 fee. The proposal no longer includes details about where the forestry department would make up that lost revenue, but she is co-sponsoring Evans’ tax proposal.
Rep. Paul Holvey, D-Eugene, is backing Golden’s proposal and introducing a bill that would require the state’s investor owned utilities such as PacifiCorp and Portland General Electric to report to the State Fire Marshal and the forestry department every time a fire is started because of the company’s infrastructure. Such reports could be used in court if a large wildfire starts from the companies’ electrical equipment and leads to property losses. It would also mandate that utilities cannot recoup the costs of fires that their equipment starts by raising rates on customers.
Senate President Rob Wagner, D-Lake Oswego, said there was not an effort among House or Senate leaders to encourage collaboration on an omnibus wildfire bill rather than considering all three independently.
“Wildfire funding is a real challenge,” Wagner said. “I think I’m open to hearing from everyone on solutions.”
Reporter Alex Baumhardt contributed to this report.
Oregon
Oregon State baseball vs. Saint Mary’s in Corvallis Regional: Preview, starting lineups, how to watch elimination game
CORVALLIS — The top-seeded Oregon State Beavers play the fourth-seeded Saint Mary’s Gaels Sunday afternoon in an elimination game at the Corvallis Regional at Goss Stadium.
First pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m.
(Follow the game live here)
It’s the first outing of a double-header that will see the winner advance to face No. 3 seed USC on Sunday night. The Trojans are 2-0 in the double-elimination event and sit one win away from reaching the super regionals.
If the OSU-Saint Mary’s winner defeats USC in Sunday’s nightcap, the teams would meet again on Monday in a winner-take-all finale.
After suffering an opening-round upset against Saint Mary’s, the Beavers vowed to fight back and “do something special” … and they backed up the pledge in their first elimination game, defeating TCU 7-2 on Saturday to keep their season alive.
Freshman right-hander Dax Whitney was electric and the Beavers’ offense slugged four home runs in the win. Afterward, Saint Mary’s suffered a 6-4 defeat to USC, setting up today’s losers’ bracket rematch.
Here are details about the first game of Sunday’s double-header:
Oregon State Beavers (42-13-1) vs. Saint Mary’s Gaels (36-25)
When: 3 p.m. PT, Sunday, June 1
Where: Goss Stadium, Corvallis
TV channel: The game will not be broadcast on television, but will stream live on ESPN+.
How to watch live stream online: The game will be streamed live on ESPN+ via a subscription. Visit osubeavers.com and click on the baseball schedule for a direct link or visit plus.espn.com for subscription information.
Radio: All games air on the Beaver Sports Network. Pregame starts 30 minutes before the first pitch and you can listen live anywhere via the Varsity Radio Network. Local affiliates include KEJO 93.7-FM & 1240-AM (Corvallis), KKNX 105.1-FM & 840-AM (Eugene), KCFM 104.1-FM & 1250-AM & 104.1-FM (Florence), KLAD 104.3-FM & 960-AM (Klamath Falls), KCFM 103.1-FM (Mapleton), KTMT 96.1-FM & 580-AM (Medford), KCMX 880-AM (Medford), KCMX 99.5-FM (Phoenix), KEX 1190-AM (Portland), KSKR 1490-AM (Roseburg) and KBZY 1490-AM (Salem).
Probable starters: TBA
This and that: Neither team has announced its starting pitcher, but the Beavers are expected to go with sophomore Ethan Kleinschmit, who was their Sunday starter all season. The 6-foot-3 left-hander has been OSU’s most consistent starter this year, going 7-3 with a 3.84 ERA and 89 strikeouts in 72 2/3 innings. And Kleinschmit is coming off one of his best performances, a one-hit, seven-strikeout gem against Long Beach State in the regular-season finale. … Wilson Weber, Trent Caraway, AJ Singer and Tyce Peterson bashed home runs for OSU in Saturday’s elimination game. It was the fourth time this season the Beavers have hit four or more homers in a game and it pushed their season total to 89, tied for the second-highest single-season total with the 2023 club. The Beavers hit a school-record 118 in 2024. … Caraway has belted a home run in each of the first two games of the regional and in three of his last four games. The sophomore third baseman hit six during the regular season. … Gavin Turley enters the game with 179 RBIs in his career, tied with Michael Conforto for the most in program history. … The Gaels have been carried all season by the strength of their lineup — not their pitching — and the depth of their staff will be tested today. Saint Mary’s likely will start right-hander Lukas Sarantos, who is 3-0 with a 5.40 ERA this season. He’s made 15 appearances, including seven starts. … The Gaels’ staff ERA is 6.17.
OSU’s projected starting lineup
1. Easton Talt, RF
2. Aiva Arquette, SS
3. Gavin Turley, LF
4. Wilson Weber, C
5. AJ Singer, 2B
6. Canon Reeder, CF
7. Trent Caraway, 3B
8. Tyce Peterson, 1B
9. Dallas Macias, DH
Saint Mary’s projected starting lineup
1. Eddie Madrigal, 1B
2. Cody Kashimoto, 2B
3. Aiden Taurek, LF
4. Ryan Pierce, 3B
5. Brian Duroff, DH
6. Diego Castellanos, RF
7. Jared Mettam, SS
8. Ian Armstrong, C
9. Tanner, Griffith, CF
— Joe Freeman | jfreeman@oregonian.com | 503-294-5183 | @BlazerFreeman | @freemanjoe.bsky.social | Subscribe to The Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories.
The Oregon Ducks are in the heat of the recruiting cycle for the class of 2026, with commits landing at schools across the country by the day. The Ducks are in the hunt for one of the most coveted safeties in the country, five-star Jett Washington. Washington is a top recruit and will visit four Power Four schools that will each try and sway him to come play for their team.
Washington, who stands at 6-5, anchored one of the best high school defenses in the country during his time with Bishop Gorman. Washington was awarded the MaxPreps Nevada Player of the Year and won the 5A state title with Bishop Gorman while compiling 38 tackles, 5 interceptions, and a forced fumble.
He is one of the most highly coveted players in the class of 2026. He still has official visits planned with Ohio State, Alabama, and Oregon, according to 247 Sports, and the No.1 recruit in Nevada has recently scheduled a visit with USC. Washington has ties to California; his uncle was the late Kobe Bryant, a five-time NBA champion.
Washington is set to visit Tuscaloosa and Alabama coach Karen Deboer on May 30, then he will turn around and fly to Los Angeles to meet with the USC coaching staff. Washington has a trip planned to Ohio State on June 6.
His final official visit of this cycle will be one week after his trip to Ohio State when he travels to Eugene to meet with Oregon coach Dan Lanning and the Ducks. Oregon having the last official visit can only be good news for Ducks fans, as Lanning will most likely have the last impression on the No.1 recruit out of Nevada.
Washington has already been to Eugene once and had good things to say about his trip. Washington had this to say to On3 when asked about his visit.
“My last visit to Oregon was great. It is a great program and they are recruiting me as hard as anyone. coach Hampton is a great coach, coach Lanning has the program going up and I liked it a lot when I was up there,” Washington told On3.
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Oregon has had talented safeties since Lanning has been at the helm with former Duck Tysheem Johnson playing a big role in his final two seasons with the Ducks. Just last year, safety Kobe Savage played a large role in Oregon’s defense. Lanning seems to have struck gold at the safety position again this season, grabbing Dillon Thieneman out of the transfer portal from Purdue.
Washington committing to Oregon by the end of the summer would be much needed good news for Oregon fans. It has been a surprising recruiting cycle for Ducks fans, with much to be pleased about but a sour taste is still in the mouth due to five-star offensive tackle Kodi Greene flipping from Oregon to Washington, and the Ducks losing out on both five-star quarterback Jared Curtis and five-star offensive tackle Jackson Cantwell.
OKLAHOMA CITY — On a night filled with career-highs for Lyndsey Grein in the circle, it was the actions Oregon’s ace took when she wasn’t pitching that may have been the biggest difference in her latest masterpiece performance, which kept the Ducks alive at the Women’s College World Series.
With Rylee McCoy committing two early errors in her first game back at first base since taking a line drive to the face in the Eugene Regional final against Stanford, it was Grein who consoled the All-American freshman, who was later moved to designated player.
After getting out of a two-on, two-out jam in the top of the tenth, it was Grein who spoke up in Oregon’s huddle even after she threw 94 strikes out of 144 pitches over 9 1/3 innings — all career-highs for the junior right-hander.
Grein held Ole Miss 2 for 13 with runners in scoring position and though she surrendered the game-tying two-run single in the seventh, the All-American buckled down and finished the gutsiest performance of her career. She silenced the Rebels throughout extra innings long enough for the Ducks to finally break through once more in a 6-5 win in 10 innings decided on a walk-off walk by Kedre Luschar after Friday night turned to Saturday morning at Devon Park.
“I knew my teammates had my back regardless,” Grein said. “I knew before we got here we were going to pull it off. We didn’t know what it would look like, but the Ducks were going to leave with a win today.
“I told my teammates as long as there’s innings and we have outs to spare, I will stay here until 8:30 the next — or today, and however long it was going to take for us to win. But today wasn’t the day that Version 7 ends their season.”
Grein left with with Oregon leading 2-1 with two outs and a runner on third in the fifth, then Ole Miss tied it on a single by Persy Llamas off Staci Chambers. Grein later reentered with two on and one out in the sixth, one of multiple jams she got out of unscathed, and did not leave the circle again.
Grein’s performance actually improved after reentering, despite the high leverage situations she was in.
She notched four of her seven strikeouts after returning to the circle and threw 46 strikes on 64 pitches compared to 48 out of her first 80. She threw first pitch strikes to 14 of the final 21 Ole Miss batters she faced compared to 10 of the first 21.
“I think they did a good job pitch calling because they went back down and mixed in some different off speeds in some of those counts, whether they led with it or finished with it, just to keep us off balance,” Ole Miss coach Jame Trachsel said. “Good pitcher, had good command today, up and down and mixed speeds and could throw it on different counts. Could throw it for a strike or expand the zone. It was a tough puzzle to crack.”
It was the most pitches thrown by an Oregon pitcher since Jordan Dail’s 145 against Utah on May 3, 2019, when UO literally had no other pitchers on its roster.
While not extremely outrageous volume in college softball, Oregon coach Melyssa Lombardi avoids overworking her pitchers and looks to avoid topping 120 pitches in a game.
Made aware Grein was one shy of the high pitch count mark of her tenure, Lombardi smiled.
“Lyndsey is just a straight-up competitor on the mound,” Lombardi said. “There’s no way she’s coming out of that game. There’s no way. She’s going to finish it.
“At Oregon, we talk about it all starts in the weight room. And the reason why Lyndsey was able to finish that game is because it all starts in the weight room. What she’s done with (strength coach Kaelin Jackson) has given her the strength, the endurance she needs to start a game like that and come out and reenter it and finish it and get better as the game went on. She got better as the game went on.”
It was performances like Grein’s that Oregon has so sorely been missing from the circle since All-American Brooke Yanez, who missed the 2022 season due to injury and transferred to UCLA in 2023.
Getting out of one jam after another — two on, no outs; two on, one out; runner on second, one out; bases loaded, one out; first and second, one out; first and second, two outs — against top competition on the sport’s biggest stage is what will make Grein’s outing live in lore no matter how Oregon’s season ends.
“It was just a no-way mentality,” Grein said. “I think one of the things that motivates me is when I glance up and look at my teammates, and that gets me really motivated, just to do it for them. ”
Grein allowed five runs, four earned, on eight hits and three walks, but those figures will be lost to history compared to the ultimate result as Oregon (54-9) advances to play the loser of Texas and Oklahoma in an elimination game on Sunday (4 p.m., ESPN2).
“I put her up against any hitter in this country and she’s going to win, and I just know it,” Luschar said. “I trust her, I believe in her, and she’s so awesome to play behind.”
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