Free Republic

Eugene mayoral candidate Douglas Barr, a FOOD for Lane County driver, has lived in the community for decades. A resident of the Bethel district, Barr, 59, has been involved in various community organizations. In 2020, he ran for city council in Ward 7, where he lost to incumbent Claire Syrett. Barr is also a convicted felon, he shared with the Daily Emerald. Upon further review, the Emerald found that in 1984 at age 19, Barr was involved in a self-described hate crime — referred to as “gay bashing” by the prosecution. Barr and three other men were charged of the...

California Gov. Gavin Newsom backed the controversial proposal to remove four Klamath River hydroelectric dams along the California-Oregon border. Now, the same fish he swore to protect could be killed in the process. The dams had been breached on claims that it would help salmon migrate, but the Klamath River is now full of destroyed spawning salmon beds and pollution including decomposed algae, organic deposition, chemicals, and fine silt which is killing its ecosystem, according to a report from the California Globe. Additionally, dead endangered steelhead trout and other species have been rising to the surface of the Klamath River,...

SALEM, Ore. (KATU) — Oregon lawmakers on a joint committee on Tuesday voted to move a bill that would make possession of drugs a crime again to the House for a vote. The bill would effectively change voter-approved Measure 110. The bill has an emergency clause, which means if it makes it through both houses of the Legislature and the governor signs it, it becomes law immediately. But the new criminal charge for drug possession would take effect Sept. 1, giving the Department of Justice a chance to implement it. If it becomes law, people openly using illegal drugs on...

They purposefully made a disaster and are leaving taxpayers and the locals to clean up their mess

If 10 million cubic yards of sediment were to settle in the river, we’d see the equivalent of six lanes of freeway piled eight feet deep for nearly 100 miles. There are 192 river miles below the lowest dam, Iron Gate. In total, the river is approximately 250 miles long. For most of February, turbidity levels in the Klamath River hovered around 500 to 1,000 units over a stretch of at least 100 miles, according to U.S. Geological Survey measurements.2 These turbidity levels are 10 to 20 times what juvenile salmon can survive, according to a 2001 research report by...

It's a common sight on the streets of downtown Portland, Oregon: people in front of stores, trendy restaurants and hotels, on sidewalks, corners, and benches, crouched over torch lighters held up to sheets of tinfoil or meth pipes. Some drape blankets over their heads, or duck behind concrete barriers. Others don’t try to hide. "All summer long, we were right out in the open. You didn't have to be paranoid anymore, you didn't have to be worried about the cops," said John Hood, a 61-year-old drug addict living on the streets of Oregon’s most populous city. Hood spoke to Reuters...

The owner asked to remain anonymous for fear of being targeted by activists ... A Seattle, Washington restaurant owner .. has lost faith in city leadership after his business suffered what he claims is its 23rd break-in since the "defund the police" movement started three years ago. "I have lost all faith in the city of Seattle, SPD, Council members, and state elected officials ... The owner of the establishment asked to remain anonymous over fear that activists would target him ... he was previously inundated with a slew of negative Yelp reviews after speaking out against the crime crisis...

KGW has a policy of thoroughly screening all content for standards and accuracy before broadcast, but failed to uphold it, the station said.A television station in Portland, Oregon, apologized Friday for inadvertently showing a racist image during a program aimed at highlighting positive stories. KGW-TV displayed the image Thursday evening during “The Good Stuff,” which includes a “Throwback Thursday” segment sharing “cheesy, silly, or memorable” photos submitted by viewers. “The image, seemingly from the 1950s, depicted children throwing balls towards a sign prominently displaying (a racial slur),” the station said Friday in a statement posted to its website. “We understand...

Let’s face facts; some people are getting richer off the removal of the Klamath River dams. Glen Spain member [formerly] of Klamath River Renewal Corp. ‘KRRC’ board and fisherman’s advocate said “Economics Not Salmon Is the Reason PacifiCorp is Removing the Dams” It is now estimated by some experts that the total direct cost for the Klamath River dam removal project, will reach $800-million dollars, not the $450-million cost estimate projected over tens years ago. And then we have the costs related to the liabilities that are already arising from what is seen by many as an ill-fated project. According...

For over 100-years after the first dam was installed (Copco 1 Dam) and over 60-years after Iron Gate Dam was installed, there was nevertheless a decent run of Salmon and steelhead in the Klamath River, even with all of the changing ocean conditions, climate change, and OVERFISHING by both indigenous people and others. Any fishing guide on the Klamath River below Iron Gate Dam would attest to the fact that fishing was great. Therefore, this is the ONLY relevant Question: Is the deaths of millions of wildlife (mammals, birds, fish, etc.) and the collapse of an entire ecosystem, on top...

Within an hour of arriving in downtown Portland to investigate the city's newly-declared 'state of emergency' over its fentanyl crisis, I am on the phone calling 911. One of dozens of homeless drug addicts lining the sidewalks has just taken a hit from a piece of aluminum foil in open view and collapsed in a lifeless heap. In a county where overdoses caused more than 200 deaths in 2022 alone, I fear another might be about to happen right in front of me.

In February 2021, politicians and activists celebrated Oregon's implementation of Measure 110, the nation's first law to decriminalize drugs like fentanyl, heroin, cocaine, and meth. It's not a surprise what happened next: a dramatic increase in overdoses. Fast forward to last week: Oregon Governor Tina Kotek and Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler declared a state of emergency in Portland due to sharp rises in overdose deaths, public drug use, and crime. Though the state of emergency is a step in the right direction, more must be done to undo the harm caused by Measure 110 and help more Oregonians live safe...

George Santayana famously wrote, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” Leftist policies daily show his wisdom. The latest leftist policy to go down in flames is Oregon’s experiment with legalizing all drugs. It turns out that when you give people license to sin, and also delete all moral constraints, they’ll sin themselves to death. Now, Oregon’s very leftist governor, Tina Kotek, is walking back the policy, having declared a state of emergency over fentanyl drug overdoses. The Founding Fathers never forgot the past. Indeed, they were imbued with it. One example of that wisdom was...

PORTLAND Ore. (KPTV) - The U.S. Attorney’s Office-District of Oregon said four suspected drug traffickers are facing federal charges Thursday after they were caught transporting near 370 gallons of liquid heroin. Police said 44-year-old Marco Antonio Magallon, 26-year-old Luis Deleon Woodward, 25-year-old Jorge Luis Amador and 32-year-old Santos Alisael Aguilar Maya have ties to a Mexico-based transnational criminal organization. They have all been charged with conspiracy to distribute and posses with intent to distribute heroin and possess with intent to distribute heroin. Investigators watched Amador drive a rented moving truck alongside a red pickup truck west on I-84 near Bonneville....

The Oregon Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that 10 Republican state senators are ineligible to run for reelection after they participated in a quorum-denying walkout for six weeks last year to stall legislation on abortion, transgender treatments and firearms.The high court decided in favor of Oregon Secretary of State LaVonne Griffin-Valade, who had disqualified the senators from running for office again after voters approved a measure in 2022 to amend the state constitution to ban lawmakers with more than 10 unexcused absences from running again. The measure to prevent walkouts passed after GOP lawmakers staged other walkouts from the Legislature...

The homeless Portland woman who shoved a toddler onto train tracks in December 2022 will head to a mental institution after being found guilty of the heinous crime.

Last year, Oregon Senate Republicans undertook a historic walk-out to stop two radical pro-abortion bills, including one that would have stripped parents of their right to be involved in their children’s abortion decisions. Republican lawmakers blocked the Democrat-controlled Senate from passing legislation because of House Bill 2002, a radical pro-abortion bill that would allow girls as young as 10 to have abortions – or be coerced by an abuser – without their parents’ knowledge. Republican and independent lawmakers denied a quorum in the Oregon Senate and blocked action on the pro-abortion bill and other legislation. Senate rules require two thirds...

Oregon high court decides 10 Republican state senators cannot seek re-election after record-long walkout The Oregon Supreme Court decided on Thursday that 10 Republican state senators who participated in a record-long boycott last summer to block bills extending access to abortion for minors, transgender procedures and medical intervention, as well as another measure on ghost guns, cannot seek re-election this year. The Oregon Senate Republican Caucus charged that the "Democrat-stacked supreme court sides with Democrats and union cronies on Measure 113 despite plain language of Constitution." The caucus stressed that the state high court's decision is "effectively ending the service...

SALEM, Ore. (AP) — The Oregon Supreme Court said Thursday that 10 Republican state senators who staged a record-long walkout last year to stall bills on abortion, transgender health care and gun rights cannot run for reelection. The decision upholds the secretary of state’s decision to disqualify the senators from the ballot under a voter-approved measure aimed at stopping such boycotts. Measure 113, passed by voters in 2022, amended the state constitution to bar lawmakers from reelection if they have more than 10 unexcused absences. Last year’s boycott lasted six weeks — the longest in state history — and paralyzed...

Before the 1950s, an estimated 5.5 million coho salmon, Chinook salmon and steelhead returned to California rivers as part of their natural life cycle. In 2022, only 93,000 of the iconic fish spawned in the state’s rivers, a number so low it prompted closure of the commercial fishing season. A report released by CalTrout in 2017 in partnership with the UC Davis Center for Watershed Sciences found that 74% of California’s native salmon, steelhead, and trout species are likely to be extinct within a century or less if present trends continue