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OPINION: The path to cheaper prescription drugs runs through PBMs
In 2021, via legislation that I chief-sponsored through the State Legislature, Oregon became an early adopter of an insulin price cap. Just two years later, the Inflation Reduction Act brought similar savings on insulin to seniors across the country. For far too many Americans, prescription drug prices are still a significant strain. With more than 30 years’ experience as a public health nurse, I believe our leaders must do more to tackle drug costs. In 2024, that means Congress should focus on pharmacy benefit managers...
Bay clamming reopens statewide, mussels reopen on south coast
SALEM, Ore. — Bay clamming is now open statewide and mussel harvest reopens from Coos Bay north jetty to the California border, the Oregon Department of Agriculture and the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife announced Friday. Two consecutive tests showed biotoxin levels below the closure limit in these...
CFTLC briefed on HCP revenue replacement schemes
Following ten months of negotiations with the governor’s office, members of the Council of Forest Trust Land Counties were briefed on three proposed solutions for revenue reductions projected to be caused by the habitat conservation plan for western Oregon state forests on June 28. A group of five county representatives worked with three representatives from the governor’s office to hammer out the options, landing on reducing contributions to either the counties and special districts or Oregon Department of Forestry, or moving school districts in the...
To save spotted owls, US officials plan to kill hundreds of thousands of another owl species
To save the imperiled spotted owl from potential extinction, U.S. wildlife officials are embracing a contentious plan to deploy trained shooters into dense West Coast forests to kill almost a half-million barred owls that are crowding out their cousins.
Grant program funded by federal gas tax makes more than $300,000 investment in Southwest Oregon Trail Projects
Oregon State Parks’ Recreational Trails Program is investing over $300,000 in southwest Oregon’s trail networks via three nonprofit trail organizations, the Siskiyou Uplands Trails Association, Rogue Valley Mountain Biking Association, and Siskiyou Mountain Club. SUTA will be completing a five-mile section of new trail on their Jack-Ash trail project. The funding will also cover costs of signs, including an interpretive sign with information on local indigenous cultures. The multi-phase project will ultimately connect the Ashland watershed trail system to Jacksonville’s Forest Park. The group was...
Despite mild fire season forecast, agencies tell Oregon leaders they need to invest in workforce
Oregon is likely to face fewer big wildfires this summer than in previous years, but a lack of rural housing, coupled with unstable and often low pay, continues to create firefighter workforce challenges across the state and region. That was a big part of the message from state and federal fire and emergency response officials, who discussed this year’s fire outlook and what they need at a meeting Monday at the Northwest Interagency Coordination Center. The Portland-based center is part of a larger wildfire prevention...
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