Oregon
Oregon Sens. Sollman, Thatcher to revive veteran income tax break proposal – Oregon Capital Chronicle
A bipartisan pair of Oregon state senators will try again to give retired veterans an income tax break after running out of time in the most recent legislative session.
Sens. Janeen Sollman, D-Hillsboro, and Kim Thatcher, R-Keizer, said Wednesday they plan to revive a bill they introduced this spring to allow veterans aged 62 or younger to exempt up to $17,500 in military pensions from their taxable state income.
State fiscal analysts estimated this spring such an exemption would apply to about 7,000 veterans in Oregon and cost the state about $8 million annually. Oregon already exempts military pensions earned before 1991 from state income tax.
“Veterans have served our country and bring a rich work experience, professional training, strong work ethic and commitment to purpose to our workforce,” Sollman said in a statement. “In a time where many positions remain open and unfilled in Oregon, we should be doing all we can to make it easier for veterans to live, work and thrive right here in Oregon.”
Eight states, including Washington, have no income taxes. Another 25 states don’t tax military retirement income at all, according to TurboTax.
States that provide tax incentives for veterans do so to encourage them to retire there. Thatcher described the bill as a small step to making Oregon a better place for veterans to retire.
“It’ll help a lot of people and hopefully, help us attract and or retain some of these veterans that have chosen to live in other states because of our pension taxation,” Thatcher said.
Thatcher, Sollman and Sen. Mark Meek, D-Gladstone, backed the same bill in the 2023 session, but the session ended before it could receive a vote from the full Senate. The Senate Finance and Revenue Committee, chaired by Meek, approved the measure on a 4-1 vote just three days before the deadline for the Legislature to adjourn for the year and as senators worked through a backlog of hundreds of bills that piled up while Thatcher and other conservatives participated in a six-week walkout.
The only senator to vote against the measure, Sen. Jeff Golden, D-Ashland, said he supported veterans but didn’t agree with a blanket exemption that didn’t take into account financial need. State fiscal analysts estimated that one-third of the eligible veterans had an adjusted gross income below $80,000, one-third fell between $80,000 and $150,000 and the remaining third had an adjusted gross income above $150,000.
Oregon has four tax brackets, and they increase steeply. For 2023, single Oregonians are taxed 4.75% on their first $4,050, then 6.75% on every dollar earned up to $10,200. The third tax rate, 8.75%, kicks in at $10,200, and any income beyond $125,000 is taxed at 9.9%.
“I have constituents, I imagine we all do, who struggle to meet their income tax liability,” Golden said when he voted against the measure.
Thatcher said she’s not opposed to a broader look at the state’s tax system, but that the exemption for veterans is doable now.
“This is what’s been supported and this is what’s been vetted through the committees of the legislature as it exists right now, and it’s indexed to consumer price increases,” she said. “Hopefully, it’s something that can go through.”
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Oregon
Durkee Fire 80% contained at 295K acres in eastern Oregon
BAKER COUNTY Ore. (KPTV) – Firefighters continued to make progress on the Durkee Fire this weekend – one of the biggest wildfires in the country and in Oregon.
As of Sunday, the fire in eastern Oregon is 80% contained and is at nearly 295,000 acres. That is about 1,000 more acres than was reported Saturday, because officials said they have been able to better map the fire since last estimate.
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Officials are using infrared maps to help identify remaining hot spots and to make sure the flames are staying within containment lines.
The National Interagency Fire Center reported that Oregon has by far the most acres burned in the country this year, and is currently sitting at more than 950,000 acres.
Copyright 2024 KPTV-KPDX. All rights reserved.
Oregon
8-4 Memorial unveiled on 5th anniversary of Oregon District shooting
DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) — Sunday marks five years since the Oregon District mass shooting took the lives of nine people.
For the fifth anniversary, the 8-4 Memorial was unveiled in the Oregon District, located in the area of 530 East Fifth Street. The public artwork pairs nine standing pieces and a ground mosaic in several colors.
‘Continue to keep fighting’: Oregon District shooting survivor reflects on five years
A team of local artists created the piece, including: Terry Welker, FAIA: architect/sculptor, team leader; Sierra Leone, poet, educator, community builder; Jes McMillan, artist, community builder, The Mosaic Institute; and James Pate, artist, designer, community builder.
After nearly four years of planning and work, and nearly 5,000 volunteer contributors to the project, the memorial was officially unveiled during a ceremony on Sunday afternoon.
Organizers call it a place for all, and a dedicated area for the public to heal.
“We have joined together and unified in this giant effort toward healing,” said Jes McMillan. “We made it. We crossed the finish line and we couldn’t have done it without Dayton.”
To learn more about the design process, visit 8-4memorial.com.
Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WDTN.com.
Oregon
How Oregon Ducks Football Can Earn ‘That Team Out West’ Moniker
The Oregon Ducks are officially members of the Big Ten Conference, and with that comes expectations as well as ridicule.
This past week, the Ducks announced a new four-part documentary series titled “That Team Out West”. The project will be in the style of Hard Knocks, following Oregon through fall camp and telling the stories of players and coaches on and off the field.
If you’re new to the Big Ten’s history, like most in Ducks Country are for a number of things, “That Team Out West” is modeled on the heated rivalry between Ohio State and Michigan. Former Buckeye coach Woody Hayes coined the phrase “That Team Up North” so he would not have to say the word “Michigan”.
So how can Oregon successfully become “That Team Out West”?
First, you have to put up with the ridicule of trying to force something.
Hayes lived the hate he had for Michigan, something that Ohio State fans have had for the Wolverines for more than a century. Simply walking into the league and declaring yourself something won’t get the respect, or hate, needed for such a title, especially in the era of social media.
Next you have to win against the traditional powers. It does not matter that you’ve beaten Ohio State, Michigan, and Michigan State in your most recent matchups. You have to win now.
All of three of those programs are on the schedule this season: Oct. 4 vs Michigan State, Oct. 12 vs Ohio State, and Nov. 2 at Michigan. There’s also the likelihood of seeing one of these team’s again in the Big Ten Championship. Taking the league crown another piece of beating the traditional powers.
Winning against the traditional powers won’t be enough if you’re not taking care of business at home. Three other programs are “out west”, so you not only have to beat them, you have to dominate.
Oregon plays Washington annually going forward, and USC and UCLA are on rotations. Over the next five seasons, Oregon will play these three programs 11 times. It is not an understatement to say that the Ducks need to win nine or more of those games. Domination out west is the only way to get the rest of the league to think solely of you when it comes to success from the west coast.
Finally, you have to get that elusive national championship. Making the College Football Playoff as the No. 1 seed and 13-0 but not winning it all will not go anywhere for the teams back east as they can always point to that goose (duck) egg next to national titles, just like in the social media post above.
The only thing keeping Oregon above Purdue, Indiana, and Northwestern in the eyes of the league is the 2014 Heisman Trophy win by Marcus Mariota. Everyone else either has a national championship or multiple Heisman winners.
Flashy uniforms and a high powered offense? Zero national titles. That’s the reputation to overcome.
Be thick-skinned, beat the traditional powers, dominate the west coast, and get that coveted national championship. If Oregon is serious about becoming “That Team Out West”, and not just producing a gimmick from the new kid on the block, it all begins this fall.
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