Oregon
Planned Parenthood affiliates in Oregon map out long-term strategy – Salem Reporter
Planned Parenthood in Oregon is restructuring its advocacy and public policy arm to set the stage for expanding and bolstering reproductive health care access in the years to come.
Officials from the state’s two Planned Parenthood affiliates, Planned Parenthood Columbia Willamette and Planned Parenthood of Southwestern Oregon, said Tuesday they are planning a new advocacy organization with 10 to 20 staffers. The new organization will replace Planned Parenthood Advocates of Oregon, which is the lobbying and public policy organization that advances the organization’s work.
The change coincides with record demand for abortion services. Planned Parenthood health centers throughout Oregon have seen a nearly 50% increase in demand since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022. The court’s decision didn’t restrict abortion access in Oregon, but allowed other states, including Idaho, to ban or restrict abortion access, prompting pregnant people to travel from out of state to seek care in Oregon.
Planned Parenthood’s clinics will continue their current operations. Planned Parenthood Columbia Willamette has clinics in the Portland area, Bend, Ontario and Vancouver and Planned Parenthood of Southwestern Oregon serves people in Eugene and Medford.
Planned Parenthood officials said the organization is the largest abortion provider in Oregon, but they didn’t immediately have the total number of abortions performed last year. In 2023, the Oregon Health Authority preliminary data shows that nearly 8,940 abortions were performed in the state, up from more than 8,670 in 2022.
Planned Parenthood also offers other services, like testing for sexually transmitted infections and screenings for breast and cervical cancer. Planned Parenthood Columbia Willamette provided nearly 6,800 abortions in fiscal year 2023, and dispensed emergency contraceptives nearly 9,900 times. The organization, which also serves patients in southwest Washington, had nearly 56,000 patient visits. Planned Parenthood of Southwestern Oregon served nearly 14,000 patients in fiscal year 2023.
The new advocacy organization and changes will not go into effect until after the November general election. The new organization does not yet have a name.
“The purpose is to continue all of that important advocacy work around advocating for and protecting abortion rights and sexual reproductive health care rights,” Dr. Sara Kennedy, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Columbia Willamette, said in an interview. “We’re adding just really a sharpened focus on how the Planned Parenthood affiliates keep their doors open to continue to care for the patients who need us most in Oregon.”
The current advocacy organization has three employees. The new organization’s staff of up to 20 will include field staff, public policy representatives and support staff. Planned Parenthood officials will first hire a chief of external affairs to strengthen statewide communications and its advocacy work at all levels of government, including state agencies like the Oregon Health Authority and local entities. That chief of external affairs will be announced first, they said.
“This is really a structural change that we had to make to ensure that we could build a bigger, bolder team and so and bigger, bolder advocacy,” said Amy Handler, CEO and president of Planned Parenthood of Southwestern Oregon.
Planned Parenthood clinics primarily serve low-income people and those enrolled in the Oregon Health Plan, the state’s Medicaid plan.
It’s not clear how much of the increase in demand is from out-of-state patients. Kennedy said Planned Parenthood doesn’t ask patients where they are coming from, though, in general, providers know patients fly and drive in from all over the country, including Idaho.
“We are working to try to build out our operations and be able to increase access, both for the rural and remote Oregonians, and also for folks traveling from across the border,” Kennedy said.
Planned Parenthood is working on an analysis that will continue through the end of the year to determine where to open new clinics based on where access is limited and where it would benefit people the most to have new centers or services, Kennedy said. In general, she said, areas in Oregon that have limited providers and access include coastal areas and eastern Oregon outside of Ontario.
“The North Star is how do we continue to do that for patients and grow and expand?” Kennedy said. “That’s where we’re going. We are going to be bigger and stronger and trying to expand, to see even more people. That’s the whole point of all of this.”
Oregon Capital Chronicle is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Oregon Capital Chronicle maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Lynne Terry for questions: [email protected]. Follow Oregon Capital Chronicle on Facebook and Twitter.
STORY TIP OR IDEA? Send an email to Salem Reporter’s news team: [email protected].
Ben Botkin covers justice, health and social services issues for the Oregon Capital Chronicle. He has been a reporter since 2003, when he drove from his Midwest locale to Idaho for his first journalism job. He has written extensively about politics and state agencies in Idaho, Nevada and Oregon. Most recently, he covered health care and the Oregon Legislature for The Lund Report. Botkin has won multiple journalism awards for his investigative and enterprise reporting, including on education, state budgets and criminal justice.
Oregon
Iconic Cannon Beach Sandcastle Contest returns on Oregon Coast
Video shows rafting Oregon’s iconic Wallowa-Grande Ronde River
Learn about an overnight rafting trip on a famous 40 mile stretch that includes both the Wallowa and Grande Ronde rivers.
The beloved Cannon Beach Sandcastle Contest returns for a series of events from June 19 to June 21.
In 1964, this event was founded by four locals to lift community spirits after a tsunami washed out the Elk Creek Bridge. Now, the event draws thousands of tourists and is recognized as the first and oldest sandcastle contest in Oregon.
Registration for the contest is available online through the Cannon Beach events site.
To start off the weekend, contestants can pickup their competition materials from 10 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. on June 19.
The same day, Bill Rose will provide a live sandcastle demonstration on the beach off Second Street from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Then, the kickoff celebration will take place at Steidel Community Hall from 5 to 7:30 p.m.
Competition day starts 8:30 a.m. on June 20 when the beach opens for parking. During the time of the contest, parking is allowed in every public parking lot, on the beach and the sides of the street.
The contest will be on the beach west of Ocean Avenue near Madison Street.
The artists can begin crafting their masterpieces at 9 a.m. when the sandcastle building starts. Only natural materials native to the beach can be used.
Final judging takes place at 2 p.m. Judges are looking for team effort, enthusiasm, composition, detail, adherence to the rules and final appearance.
Spectators and competitors can celebrate from 7 to 10 p.m. with s’mores and music on the beach at the west end of Second Street. There is free admission for the party.
For those looking to get their steps in, the weekend wraps up with the Singing Sands 5K Fun Run at 9 a.m. June 21.
Registration for the run is on the beach at the Tolovana Wayside entrance at 8 a.m.
The Cannon Beach Chamber of Commerce and Information Center is available to answer any questions at 503-436-2623.
Makenzie Stamets is an outdoor intern at the Statesman Journal. She can be reached at mstamets@statesmanjournal.com or on X at @MakenzieStamets.
Oregon
Oregon Lottery Pick 4 results for June 18
The Oregon Lottery offers several draw games for those aiming to win big.
Here’s a look at June 18, 2026, results for each game:
Winning Pick 4 numbers from June 18 drawing
1PM: 2-7-1-6
4PM: 4-7-3-2
7PM: 3-7-5-1
10PM: 2-1-7-7
Check Pick 4 payouts and previous drawings here.
Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results
When are the Oregon Lottery drawings held?
- Powerball: 7:59 p.m. on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
- Mega Millions: 7:59 p.m. on Tuesday and Friday.
- Pick 4: 1 p.m., 4 p.m., 7 p.m. and 10 p.m. daily.
- Win for Life: 7:30 p.m. on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
- Megabucks: 7:29 p.m. on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by an Oregon editor. You can send feedback using this form.
Oregon
Oregon man sentenced to 77 months in prison after pleading guilty to attempted kidnapping
CORVALLIS, Ore. — A Benton County man has been sentenced to more than six years in prison after prosecutors say he held his brother at knifepoint inside their family home, a confrontation that ended with police shooting the wrong person as the victim tried to escape, the Benton County District Attorney’s office said in a media release.
On Thursday, June 18, John Dakota Lyon pleaded guilty to Attempted Kidnapping in the Second Degree, Unlawful Use of a Weapon, and Coercion, according to a news release from the Benton County District Attorney. He was sentenced to a total of 77 months in prison and two years of post-prison supervision.
The case stems from the morning of Jan. 6, when Maverick Lyon was home visiting his parents during winter break from college. Prosecutors said Dakota Lyon, his brother, was living at the home after recently being released from the Department of Corrections.
In February 2023, Dakota Lyon was sentenced to 58 months in prison for convictions of Attempted Assault in the First Degree and Unlawful Use of a Weapon, the release said.
On Jan. 6, prosecutors said Dakota Lyon accused Maverick Lyon of conspiring with their father to do harm to him. Dakota Lyon armed himself with a large kitchen knife and, while holding onto Maverick Lyon’s shirt, pulled him throughout the house, implying he would harm him with the knife, according to the district attorney’s office. Despite Maverick Lyon’s pleadings, prosecutors said Dakota Lyon refused to release him or put the knife down.
Prosecutors said Maverick Lyon convinced Dakota Lyon to allow him to grab his own kitchen knife under the guise that they would leave the residence to confront their father together. Their father, who saw and heard what was happening through a surveillance system set up at the home, called 911 to report the crime, the release said.
Multiple Albany Police Department officers arrived and were able to see two men through a back door window, including one with a knife, according to the district attorney’s office. After a brief conversation between officers and the men, prosecutors said Maverick Lyon broke free and rushed out the back door.
The district attorney’s office said Maverick Lyon still had a knife in his hand as he began to break the plane of the door, and officers were standing near the door. Prosecutors said Maverick Lyon began dropping the knife, but officers, fearing for their lives and the lives of other officers, fired their weapons. Maverick Lyon was struck several times.
An earlier Officer Involve Shooting review by the Benton County District Attorney’s Office found the officers’ use of force was justified, the release said.
Officers rendered first aid, and while being treated, Maverick Lyon said, “You shot the wrong guy,” according to the district attorney’s office.
Dakota Lyon was taken into custody without further incident, and the knife he was believed to have been possessing was located near him, prosecutors said. He has been in custody since Jan. 6.
After surgery and a lengthy recovery period, Maverick Lyon “appears to be doing well,” the release said.
The district attorney’s office said methamphetamine may have played a role in Dakota Lyon’s actions. A urine sample taken from him that day tested positive for methamphetamine, and he was known to use methamphetamine in the past and was believed by those close to him to have recently begun using methamphetamine again, according to the release.
“The tragic shooting was a direct result of Dakota Lyon’s actions. As Dakota marched Maverick around the house at knife point, Maverick feared for his life and wanted nothing more but to escape his drug crazed older brother. But for Dakota’s actions, police would not have been called, Maverick would not be a victim of kidnapping, unlawful use of a weapon, and coercion, and the police would not have shot Maverick,” Chief DDA Amie Matusko, who prosecuted the case, said in the release.
At sentencing, Dakota Lyon’s attorney, Christian Strahl, acknowledged Dakota Lyon’s responsibility in Maverick Lyon’s shooting, the release said. Strahl indicated the remorse Dakota Lyon felt, saying Dakota Lyon wished he could have taken the bullets instead of Maverick, according to prosecutors.
“While this sentiment is appreciated, true accountability would be remorse in having raised a knife towards his brother and regret that the lives of Maverick and the family are forever changed,” Matusko said.
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