ANDREW SELSKY

Inside scientists’ mission to save America’s wine industry from climate change

The U.S. West Coast produces over 90% of America’s wine, but it’s also prone to wildfires — a combustible combination that spelled disaster in 2020 for the industry and one that scientists are scrambling to neutralize.

Oregon’s top court asked to decide if GOP senators who boycotted Legislature can be reelected

The Oregon Court of Appeals has formally asked the state’s highest court to decide whether Republican state senators who carried out a record-setting GOP walkout this year can run for reelection.

Hawaii economists say Lahaina locals could be priced out of rebuilt town without zoning changes

Economists in Hawaii warn that residents who survived the wildfire that destroyed much of the Maui community of Lahaina might not be able to afford to live there after it is rebuilt unless officials alter the zoning laws and make other changes.

Outrage boils in Seattle and in India over death of a student and an officer’s callous remarks

Demonstrators in Seattle have demanded the resignation of two police officers over the death of a student from India and callous remarks by one of them. Meanwhile, diplomats from India are seeking an investigation and action against the officers.

Oregon launches legal psilocybin access amid high demand and hopes for improved mental health care

Oregon has taken an unprecedented step in offering psilocybin, also known as magic mushrooms, to the public. The director of the state agency that regulates it says it’s going well so far.

GOP senators who boycotted Oregon Legislature file for reelection despite being disqualified

Oregon state senators with at least 10 absences during a record-setting Republican walkout are supposed to be disqualified from running for reelection, but several have filed candidacy papers with election authorities.

A Black man imprisoned since 1998 walks free and his attorneys raise concerns about police racism

A Black man sentenced to death in Oregon for a 1998 murder is now free, two years after the state Court of Appeals reversed the conviction in a case that his defenders said was tainted by racism.

Man escapes mental hospital in Oregon while fully shackled and drives away

Oregon police say a dangerous man has escaped from the state’s psychiatric hospital despite being fully shackled. He was last seen driving south on Interstate 5 near Salem in a stolen white van.

Oregon political leaders are delighted by the state’s sunny revenue forecast

Oregon will have plenty to spend on public services as corporate tax collections are increasing in a strong post-pandemic economy. State economists say total general fund resources increased by $437 million. Democratic Gov.

Immigrant workers’ lives, livelihoods and documents in limbo after the Hawaii fire

Foreign workers once benefitted from jobs that were plentiful in Lahaina before fires whipped by hurricane-force winds leveled the Hawaiian town earlier this month.

YMCA camp session canceled, allowing staff to deal with emotional trauma of Idaho bus crash

An upcoming YMCA summer camp session in Idaho has been canceled so staff can cope with the emotional trauma of a bus crash that injured almost a dozen people.

Power at the gas pump: Oregon lets drivers fuel their own cars, lifting decades-old self-serve ban

Oregon has ended a decades-old ban on self-serve gasoline. For the first time in 72 years, motorists across the Pacific Northwest state can grab a nozzle and let the gas flow. Democratic Gov.

A man accused of locking a woman in a homemade cell had a handwritten plan and sketch, FBI says

The FBI says man accused of kidnapping a Seattle woman and holding her in a homemade cell in Oregon had a list that included a chilling reminder to go after women who wouldn’t be missed to avoid “any kind of an investigation.”

Far-right activist Ammon Bundy loses Idaho hospital defamation case, must pay millions

A far-right activist who led the takeover of a federal wildlife refuge in Oregon now must pay millions of dollars in damages after a hospital in Idaho won a defamation lawsuit against him. The lawsuit by St.

A maternity ward in Oregon is the scene of fatal gunfire

Gunfire has erupted in a maternity unit of an Oregon hospital, fatally wounding an unarmed security guard and leading to renewed calls to protect health care workers from increasing violence.

Man linked to deaths of four women in Oregon reportedly assaulted one earlier, victim’s father says

A man being investigated in the deaths of four women in Oregon had previously attacked and choked one of them, the woman’s father told a newspaper reporter.

As police try to solve deaths of four women in Oregon, mothers hope for answers

The announcement that authorities are holding a person of interest in the case of four women found dead this year in Oregon has their mothers hoping they may finally get answers about what happened to their daughters.

A ‘person of interest’ is being held in Oregon deaths of 4 women after governor revokes commutation

Deaths of four Oregon women over three months are linked, authorities say, reversing earlier call

Authorities in Oregon say the deaths of four women whose bodies were found over three months are linked and that at least one person of interest has been identified. Police initially had said the cases appeared to be unconnected.

Oregon justice fires panel due to lack of public defenders

Oregon’s chief justice has fired all the members of the Public Defense Services Commission, frustrated that hundreds of defendants charged with crimes and who cannot afford an attorney have been unable to find public defenders to represent them.

Oregon officials bet that lottery will boost COVID-19 shots

Oregon officials are betting that the desire to win $1 million in a lottery will boost the percentage of residents who are vaccinated against the coronavirus.

Oregon National Guard to support COVID-19 vaccinations

Hundreds of people have been receiving COVID-19 vaccines at the Oregon State Fairgrounds in a mass vaccination that doctor in charge called “the most meaningful work of my career.”

Ranchers whose case sparked standoff may get grazing rights

The federal government has proposed awarding grazing allotments to an Oregon ranching family whose members were convicted of arson in a court battle that triggered the takeover of a federal wildlife refuge by right-wing extremists.

Oregon hospital workers face strain as COVID-19 cases spike

Health care workers are facing incredible stress as the Thanksgiving holiday approaches and they work long shifts while trying to save coronavirus patients without getting sick themselves.

Environmental groups sue over Portland tear gas use

Night after night in Portland, tear gas and other crowd control devices have enveloped protesters and bystanders in airborne chemicals that settle on the ground, later to be washed into storm drains.

Trump supporters rally near Portland and at Oregon’s Capitol

Pro-Trump supporters and counter-protesters have clashed in Oregon’s Capitol city. On Monday in Salem, the right-wing crowd rushed a smaller group of Black Lives Matters counter-demonstrators, firing paint-gun pellets.

Oregon governor blasts state troopers for not wearing masks

Oregon’s governor denounced four state troopers who were seen on video without face masks in a coffee shop, saying such behavior was “inexcusable.” Under an order from Democratic Gov.

Oregon’s top courts begin reversing nonunanimous convictions

Oregon’s top two courts have begun reversing convictions by nonunanimous juries, the first of hundreds — and perhaps thousands — of cases that are being scrutinized after the U.S.

Heart disease main underlying condition in COVID-19 deaths

The number of known deaths from the coronavirus in Oregon topped 100 on Wednesday. The Oregon Health Authority reported 61 new cases of the coronavirus and two deaths, bringing the total known death toll to 101.

Oregon governor forming draft plan to reopen economy

Under a draft plan, the Oregon governor’s office is circulating its own version of a three-phase plan to lift restrictions amid the coronavirus pandemic, including allowing childcare facilities to reopen in phase one and possibly restaurants.