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National contest for musical theater songwriting open to Oregon high school students
The National Endowment for the Arts and the National Alliance for Musical Theatre announced the 2024-25 Musical Theater Songwriting Challenge for High School Students on Aug. 1. The challenge is open to high school musicians, lyricists and composers from all 50 states, D.C. and U.S. territories. Participants should submit one original composition written for a musical theater production. The entire musical does not need to be written, but the challenge...
Oregon voters could see Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on the ballot with We The People
Oregon voters could see independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on the ballot in November after a petition received enough signatures to create a new minor political party in Oregon, according to the Oregon Secretary of State’s office.
Oregon Coast Visitors Association launches biking homepage
The Oregon Coast Visitors Association website is now a central hub for all things biking on the coast! For the past few years, we’ve been actively involved in supporting the creation of three coastal mountain bike trail systems (Klootchy Creek in Seaside, Big Creek in Newport, and Whiskey Run in Coos County), and have sponsored mountain biking events like Ride the Dirt Wave and Mountain Bike Oregon, as a way to elevate mountain biking as a coastal experience for visitors and locals. ...
Environmental regulators say NW Natural misleading customers about Oregon's climate credit program
Oregon environmental regulators are concerned that the state’s largest natural gas utility is misinforming customers about a key climate change policy aimed to reduce greenhouse gases. NW Natural, which provides natural gas to more than 2 million people in Oregon and southwest Washington, told its customers in a newsletter this month that the state is proposing a carbon crediting program that might not lead to direct greenhouse gas emission cuts. ...
State May Not Deny Grants to Charity Based on Its Religious Discrimination in Employment, When
From Thursday's decision in Youth 71Five Ministries v. Williams, decided by Judge Kenneth Lee, joined by Judges Bridget Bade and Danielle Forrest:. Youth 71Five Ministries (71Five) is a Christian organization that serves and mentors at-risk youths of all backgrounds, including those who are not Christian. But 71Five hires only those who share its faith and can thus advance the group's mission and message. Once the state of Oregon learned of this hiring practice, it canceled $410,000 in grants to 71Five, asserting that the group violated the state's non-discrimination policy. The district court denied 71Five's motion for a preliminary injunction, and 71Five has now filed an emergency motion seeking an injunction pending appeal of the district court's order.
Gov. Kotek’s panel makes hundreds of recommendations to reform Coffee Creek prison
Oregon Department of Corrections officials have received hundreds of ideas from a governor-appointed panel for reforming the state’s only women’s prison and better protecting women against trauma, sexual abuse and misconduct. The recommendations would make administrators more accountable for Coffee Creek Correctional Facility, which houses about 900 female inmates, and seek a change in culture […]
Legendary Aufderheide Drive could be Oregon’s next ‘Scenic Bikeway’
If all goes according to plan, Oregon could add another State Scenic Bikeway to its collection later this year. Advocates and staff from Oregon Parks & Recreation Department hosted a public meeting July 29th to discuss the Aufderheide Scenic Bikeway, a route that would stretch 60 miles between Highway 58 in Oakridge to Highway 126 in McKenzie River.
1.7 million acres burned in Pacific NW, international firefighters join the battle
PORTLAND, Ore. (KATU) — Several large fires continue to burn across the Pacific Northwest. According to the Northwest Interagency Coordination Center in Portland, over 1.7 million acres have burned in Oregon and Washington. KATU WILDFIRE COVERAGE |. As of Tuesday morning, 99 large fires have occurred this year. “Just...
Breakfast, lunch will be free to all students at many more Oregon schools this year
About 70% of Oregon schools will offer free breakfasts and lunches to all students during the upcoming school year, up from around 55% a year ago, the state Department of Education said Monday. Their ranks now include almost every school in the metro area, including all in Portland Public Schools,...
Northern lights captured in stunning photos around Oregon
The northern lights returned for another dazzling display over the Pacific Northwest this past weekend. The auroras coincided with the annual Perseid meteor shower. Local photographer Jay Shah captured the northern lights across several nights at locations near Mount Hood and in the Columbia River Gorge. Photographing the lights near...
Oregon State Hospital nurses raise safety fears as they work mandatory overtime
Maggie Simpkins starts her workweek at 6:30 a.m. Sundays at Oregon State Hospital, where the registered nurse dispenses medication to patients, goes over their treatment plans and maps out the day’s schedule, including appointments, meals and care. Her shift is supposed to end at 5 p.m. But most Sundays, Simpkins has to work mandatory overtime, which can stretch until about 10 p.m. For Simpkins and her colleagues, mandatory overtime has...
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