Gazing at the Starr(s) to Transportation Future
Former Oregon Senate Republican Leader Bruce Starr joins The Political Center to discuss the future of transportation in Oregon. From the state’s funding challenges and the future of ODOT to bipartisan solutions and long-term infrastructure planning, this conversation explores what’s next for one of Oregon’s most pressing public policy issues.
Confronting the Problem We All Live With
Today in Federal Court, U.S. District Judge Ann Aiken made it clear that America still has a long road ahead to fulfill that promise. In a strong rebuke, Aiken chastised a lawyer for the Mid-Willamette Valley Council of Governments for firing Beth Schmidt, the former Safe Routes to Schools Coordinator, who embraced her responsibility to honor Ruby Bridges during a walk to school event for Salem-Keizer students last fall.
Ten Lesson Plans to Turn Around Oregon’s K-12 School Performance
Five changes the Legislature might consider to lift Oregon schools out of the nation’s basement in school performance. None will be easy. The status quo is a formidable opponent.
Podcast: Jim Green on Oregon Schools at a Crossroads
Rick Metsger dives into Oregon education issues with Jim Green, former Executive Director of the Oregon School Boards Association, in this month’s Political Center video podcast.
Time to Rebuild the Oregon Department of Transportation?
The ODOT director called it quits at the end of last year and two interim directors have warmed the chair since. Sources familiar with the search say finding a permanent replacement has been — to be kind — challenging.
Oregon Government’s Secret Society
Neither the Legislature nor the public have a clue what goes on behind the closed doors of the Oregon Commission on Judicial Fitness and Disability (CJFD). In the last 10 years, more than 2,000 complaints have been filed with the Commission charging some form of judicial misconduct, though not a single public hearing has taken place on any of them.
Moneyball: The Crisis in Oregon Public Education
Oregon’s education system is spending more than ever, yet student outcomes continue to fall behind. We examine Gov. Tina Kotek’s appointments to the Quality Education Commission, the growing influence of teachers unions, and the widening gap between school funding, labor costs, and student achievement.
Oregon’s Political Slasher Is Back
Like Michael Myers from Halloween or Jason Voorhees from Friday the 13th, Initiative Petition 28 has become a political bogeyman for Oregon hunters, anglers, and livestock producers. And just like those iconic horror movie slashers, once you think it’s finally dead, it somehow keeps coming back.
Podcast: Oregon Treasurer Elizabeth Steiner on Savings Plans, PERS and State Finances
In this podcast, Steiner sits down with political analyst Rick Metsger to pull back the curtain on the sometimes opaque world of the Oregon State Treasury. They discuss a new savings plan for Oregonians that Steiner plans to introduce in the next legislative session, and Metsger even floats a novel idea for eliminating the state’s multi-billion-dollar PERS debt.