Oregon
Opinion: Our leaders must all get their ‘stuff’ together to save our state
Betsy Johnson
Johnson ran for governor as an unaffiliated candidate in 2022. Beforehand, she represented Columbia and Clatsop counties as a Democrat within the Oregon Home and Senate from 2000 till 2021. She lives in Warren.
Gov. Tina Kotek just lately advised elected officers in Portland and Multnomah County to get their “stuff” collectively relating to homelessness. Good for her. I solely want she had used the stronger “S” phrase I believe she had on her thoughts. For too lengthy, the progressive energy construction in Portland and Oregon has denied or refused to talk the reality about our greatest issues. Till elected officers acknowledge issues overtly and truthfully, they are going to by no means do what’s required to repair them.
Even after a year-long marketing campaign with homelessness, medicine, crime and housing entrance and heart, up to now, the actions from elected officers in any respect ranges of presidency have been insufficient to the severity of the disaster. As voters develop numb or resigned, politicians are providing drained or timid options adopted by self-congratulatory high-fives. I get that previous habits die-hard. However when individuals and companies are fleeing your state and largest county – massive modifications are required.
I’ll begin by saying a number of issues out loud that almost all politicians in Oregon with the facility, cash and duty to make things better won’t.
First, there are too many broken and struggling individuals on the streets in Portland and Oregon who want necessary drug habit and/or psychological well being remedy. There are additionally too many harmful individuals on the streets that who must be arrested, prosecuted and in jail. Issues usually are not protected.
We’d like huge state and native investments in a number of detox and psychological well being services to get individuals cared for, clear and medicated to allow them to start to take management of their lives. We have to change state civil dedication legal guidelines to compel assist for individuals who gained’t settle for it voluntarily. We have to repeal or reform Poll Measure 110, beginning with a right away two-year pause in drug legalization. We have to incentivize hiring and fast-track state coaching of a number of new legislation enforcement professionals. We have to substitute native prosecutors who gained’t prosecute with those that will maintain criminals accountable.
Second, the aim of the billions we’re spending for homelessness ought to be to count on and empower individuals to alter their conduct to realize self-sufficiency. Sure, now we have an inexpensive housing disaster that is part of the homeless disaster. However for many individuals dwelling in tents, it is a disaster of drug habit and psychological well being challenges.
We have to substitute “housing first” insurance policies with insurance policies that extra particularly deal with medicine and psychological well being. We have to finish inhumane, harmful tent cities and create sanctioned and protected tenting/shelter areas with entry to primary requirements like water, loos, and rubbish. We have to cease “hurt discount” applications that allow self-destructive conduct.
Third, the governor ought to scrap her nine-month, 25-person committee to review Oregon’s housing provide and affordability disaster. The governor has already recognized the issue and purpose – enhance new housing by 80%, constructing 36,000 new items a yr for the subsequent decade.
The Legislature ought to: streamline the overly regulated housing market; make extra land accessible for housing; cut back pricey mandates and costs; restrict authorized appeals on land use; present state cash for public infrastructure; cease harassing law-abiding landlords; and if native governments don’t meet aggressive new housing targets, override them.
These concepts don’t match the stylish progressive playbook and a few will annoy Republicans. However now’s not the time for ideological debates. Let’s repair the holes within the boat – we are able to argue about bailing strategies later.
In every single place I went in my marketing campaign for governor, once I mentioned, “Oregon can’t succeed if Portland fails,” heads would nod in settlement. Oregonians throughout the political spectrum instinctively perceive the important function of Portland within the financial, social and cultural well being of our state. Now, we want elected officers must act with a higher sense of urgency and motion to get our beloved Oregon again on observe.
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Oregon
Powerball ticket worth $328.5 million sold in Oregon
Powerball, Mega Millions jackpots: What to know in case you win
Here’s what to know in case you win the Powerball or Mega Millions jackpot.
Just the FAQs, USA TODAY
The first Powerball jackpot of 2025 was sold in Oregon and is worth $328.5 million, according to lottery officials.
The winner purchased the winning ticket in Beaverton on Thursday, Jan. 17, the Oregon Lottery said. The retail location will not be revealed until a winner has come forward.
The winning numbers for the Saturday drawing were: 14, 31, 35, 64 and 69 and Powerball 23.
The winner has a year to claim their prize, Oregon Lottery spokesperson Melanie Mesaros said. After the winning ticket is presented, “it will take time before a winner can be identified due to security and payment processes.”
Oregon lottery winners, with few exceptions, cannot remain anonymous, Mesaros said.
The winner will have a choice between an annuitized prize of $328.5 million or a lump-sum payment of $146.4 million, according to lottery officials, which are both options before taxes.
Last year, the largest Powerball prize won in Oregon — a $1.3 billion jackpot — was split between a Portland man, his wife, and friend.
Before Saturday, the most recent Powerball jackpot was sold in December in New York and was worth $256 million.
Powerball is a multi-state jackpot operated by 44 states, plus the District of Columbia, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.
Fernando Cervantes Jr., a news reporter for USA TODAY, contributed to this story.
Cherrill Crosby is the executive editor of the Statesman Journal and The Register-Guard. Reach her at crosbyc@gannett.com
Oregon
Oregon’s Dan Lanning visits 5-star recruit Cantwell, top TE Premer during Midwest run
Oregon head football coach Dan Lanning has been a busy man.
But when you’re the man tasked with running one of the top college football programs in the country, burning jet fuel to shake hands and take photos is a big part of the gig. And Lanning was doing plenty of that last week.
A native of Kansas City, Mo., Lanning returned home last week on a two-day tear recruiting some of the top 2026 prospects in the country.
Lanning’s known stops included Lee’s Summit on Jan. 16, where the Tigers have 2027 interior line prospect Zach Harsha (6-5, 260) and 2028 tight end Max Trillo (6-4, 225).
He was even busier the following day. He had stops at Raymore-Peculiar, where he visited with and offered four-star uncommitted running back DeZephen Walker (6-0, 205) who is believed to be heavily considering Kansas and Nebraska.
He also headed to Illinois, where he swung by Lincoln-Way East to visit with quarterback Jonas Williams, who agreed with the Ducks on Aug. 3, 2024,
A trip to the Springfield, Mo. area was also on the docket, as Lanning traveled to Nixa High School to again meet with the country’s No. 1 2026 offensive lineman, Jackson Cantwell, on Jan. 16. The 6-8, 315 offensive tackle has offers from just about everyone in the country, though he has spoken highly of Lanning and his relationship with the Ducks coach – making Oregon one of the favorites for his services.
Cantwell was honored by the Kansas City Chiefs on Jan. 18 during their AFC Divisional playoff game against the Houston Texans after he was selected to represent the Chiefs at the ‘Nike Ones’ showcase during Super Bowl weekend in New Orleans.
Lanning concluded his trip with a little basketball in Hutchinson, Kan., where he watched Great Bend tight end Ian Premer (6-6, 215) – the top tight end in the 2026 class – take on Hutchinson. Premer, a three-sport star in football, basketball and baseball, impressed with 22 points in the game.
The Midwest swing adds to a busy month for Lanning, who also has been spotted with Utah No. 1 athlete Salasi Moa and recently secured a visit with top 2026 quarterback and Nashville native Jared Curtis.
Oregon
People with disabilities are extra vulnerable in major disasters like wildfires, says Oregon advocate
Jake Cornett, Executive Director and CEO of the advocacy group Disability Rights Oregon, says he will forever be haunted by Ashlyn Maddox’s death during the 2021 Oregon heat wave.
The Portland woman, 36, was disabled and living in a group foster home. She was dropped off by a medical transport company, but the company didn’t make sure she made it safely into her air-conditioned home. She ended up wandering around for hours in the heat, and died only 50 feet from safety.
Cornett says, “These deaths are preventable with the right planning, the right strategy for mitigation, the right preparedness and a response plan that complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act and respects the needs of people with disabilities.”
Cornett spoke with “All Things Considered” host Geoff Norcross about Oregon’s ability to help people with disabilities during a natural disaster, such as the deadly wildfires burning in the Los Angeles area.
This conversation has been edited for clarity and length.
Geoff Norcross: If we were to transport those fires in Southern California here, would we see a similar catastrophe for people with disabilities?
Jake Cornett: Surely, we fear that the same disasters we’ve seen play out in the catastrophes in the lives of people with disabilities in LA would play out right here in Oregon as well. And I don’t think this is just a theoretical question. It’s only a matter of time before we have major wildfires along Highway 20, very close by in Portland and in other major cities throughout our state.
Norcross: What is the obligation of local governments to provide for people with disabilities when disaster strikes? I guess I’m asking if the Americans with Disabilities Act applies here.
Cornett: Absolutely. The Americans with Disabilities Act requires that cities, counties, the state and the federal government are taking into account what the needs are of people with disabilities, and providing accommodations for those needs when engaging in disaster planning.
Norcross: Getting information out to people quickly in a disaster is so critical, especially for something that’s as fast-moving as the LA wildfires. For people who are deaf or blind, can you talk about how that’s extra complicated?
Cornett: Absolutely. You know, emergency response notification systems that happen on your phone are a great tool if you have a phone, or if you have the technology to make your phone provide you the information you need. And that’s particularly important for folks who are blind.
I think about a blind person who may not have the same visual access to information as others. If police run around your neighborhood and put a notice on your door that says “get out of town, there’s an evacuation order, you’re under wildfire threat,” that notice on your door might not be enough because you can’t access that information.
And this is where cities, counties and the state really have an obligation to adjust to how they communicate so that it’s effective for all people with disabilities.
Norcross: And again, when you say obligation, you mean a legal obligation, not just because it’s the right thing to do.
Cornett: Absolutely. There’s a legal obligation to do that under the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Norcross: Even if an evacuation order gets to affected people quickly, there’s this expectation that most people will get in their car and they will leave. How does that expectation leave people with disabilities in even greater danger?
Cornett: Yeah, that’s another huge issue for people with disabilities, especially when it happens quickly like the LA fires. People think evacuating is getting in the car, driving quickly away to safety.
But many people with disabilities don’t have access to a car, or they can’t physically drive a vehicle. They’re totally reliant on others to transport them to safety. So just providing that notice is not an adequate way to ensure that we are saving the lives of people with disabilities in the way it needs to be done.
Norcross: Is there an event here in Oregon that you can point to that shows us how situated we are to help people with disabilities when disaster strikes, good or bad?
Cornett: Here in Oregon, we’ve seen hundreds die or have serious injuries because of heat in the past few years. Climate change is real. We live in a warming environment, and it’s having a really disproportionate impact on seniors, on people with disabilities and people with underlying medical conditions.
And I’ll forever be haunted by a story of a 30-something year old woman who was dropped off by a medical transport company, but didn’t wait in their air-conditioned van to make sure that she got inside her home where there was air conditioning. Instead, they took off. She wandered around for hours before dying of heat, just 50 feet from her adult foster home.
These deaths are preventable with the right planning, the right strategy for mitigation, the right preparedness, and a response plan that complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act and respects the needs of people with disabilities.
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