Oregon, the first state in the nation to vote entirely by mail, will "use every legal tool available" to fight Trump's latest executive order on elections. oregoncapitalchronicle.com/2026/03/31/r...

And if you *really* liked it, a tax-deductible donation goes a long way toward maintaining the Capital Chronicle’s fair, fearless and free coverage of Oregon politics and policy. oregoncapitalchronicle.com/donate/

Thanks for following along with our #NoKings coverage today. If you like what you’ve seen, consider subscribing to our (free!) daily or weekly newsletter to stay on top of all things Oregon politics. oregoncapitalchronicle.com/subscribe/

Bluesky is almost entirely No Kings pictures and video today. X feeds for both OCC and my own account are just Lindy West discourse, AI-generated employment advice slop and Nick Kristof's hairdresser never having read a newspaper.

Catch up on all of our local coverage of the No Kings protests. Our veteran journalists across the country have been reporting from the #NoKings demonstrations. Check out @ashleymurray.bsky.social's updated story below with reports from more than two dozen states.

Please pour one out for Fred, who has been lonely most of the day while his human edited protest coverage and then cruelly tricked him into drinking salty, vinegary water by leaving a pot to cool on the stove after boiling eggs.

Tens of thousands of Oregonians turned out to protest Saturday as part of a national wave of rallies against President Donald Trump and his administration. oregoncapitalchronicle.com/2026/03/28/o...

Hi from the Best Coast! Our coverage, via @alexbaumhardt.bsky.social and @shaanthx.bsky.social in Portland and Robin Linares in Salem, will start close to noon Pacific time. If you’re out in another Oregon city and want to share photos/updates, get in touch with editor @jmshumway.bsky.social.

From editor @jmshumway.bsky.social: We believe Oregonians should know why their local, state and federal governments make the decisions they do. That drives all of our work, and it’s why we joined other media outlets in a motion to unseal court records.

Spring is springing and this account is now mostly about blossoms

I spent enough time covering local government to learn the difference between speed humps (gentle, sloping tool to keep neighborhoods safe) and speed bumps (steep torture devices), which mostly just means I can use the right terminology to curse Salem’s new overzealous parking garage speed bumping.

PCUN, Oregon’s farmworker union, announced that it will not celebrate Cesar Chavez Day this year because of allegations that he sexually abused women and girls.

“In the end, they said that the story of Chavez’s movement was their story, too — of the women who marched beside the men, worked in the fields, took care of the children. The movement, they said, was more than one man.” www.nytimes.com/2026/03/18/u...

The price tag to construct a new interstate bridge linking Washington and Oregon has doubled to $14.4 billion, officials from the two states said Tuesday. oregoncapitalchronicle.com/2026/03/17/r...

HB 4177 takes a wrecking ball to Oregon public meetings law. That's why SPJ Oregon, which represents journalists across the state, is calling on Gov. @tinakotek.bsky.social to veto it and preserve the public's right to know. www.spjoregon.com/news/oregon-...

“It’s not our job to tell reporters why we’re there or not." — a state representative who didn't like that @alexbaumhardt.bsky.social and @shaanthx.bsky.social dug into which lawmakers didn't show up to vote on behalf of their constituents. oregoncapitalchronicle.com/2026/03/16/r...

The Oregon Capital Chronicle relies on public records requests for our reporting, but we’re often thwarted by high fees or slow responses. This #SunshineWeek, could you chip in to help us keep Oregon's government accountable?

Seeing a public agency (not in Oregon, thank God) demand a snail mail request and prepaid $30 fee for the same information we routinely get within hours for free from local and state agencies here, and on the eve of Sunshine Week no less:

Wide-scale changes to when the U.S. Postal Service collects mail and postmarks envelopes could jeopardize timely tax returns and the ability for voters in Oregon and other states to have their ballots counted, Oregon’s senior U.S. senator warned Thursday. oregoncapitalchronicle.com/briefs/wyden...

In which a state representative running for governor calls for an investigation because reporters… stayed by their computers and refreshed the state’s court records website anticipating a decision. oregoncapitalchronicle.com/2026/03/11/j...

BREAKING: A recently passed law that moves a citizen vote on new taxes and fees to pay for transportation to the May primary instead of the November general election does not violate the Oregon Constitution, a judge ruled Wednesday. oregoncapitalchronicle.com/2026/03/11/j...

As a local government reporter, I counted on information shared in work sessions to help Bend residents keep up with their government. Sharing information behind closed doors and voting with barely any discussion may be how some legislative committees work, but it’s a terrible idea to replicate.

The #orleg session is over, but our work isn't. Your support helps us continue digging deep into how policies passed in Salem affect every Oregonian, ask tough questions of powerful people and get answers through records requests. buff.ly/QKfUTjo

Nearly forgotten in today’s news rush: I took over as editor in chief of the @oregoncapitalchronicle.com exactly one year ago. Working with the talented team of @alexbaumhardt.bsky.social, @miamaldonado.bsky.social and @shaanthx.bsky.social to inform you is a dream I hope continues for a long time.

I went through hundreds of #orleg and #orpol candidate filings so you don't have to. Stay tuned to the @oregoncapitalchronicle.com as we roll out an issues-focused voter guide and profiles of key races ahead of the May primary.

The legislative session was especially exhausting for Fred, who is only capable of sleeping on top of his human

For the first time in years, Oregon lawmakers in Salem’s newly-reopened Capitol streamed out of the chamber floors into the rotunda to cap the end of a short legislative session that had both Republicans and Democrats claiming victories. oregoncapitalchronicle.com/2026/03/06/a...

Thankful this Thursday for living in a capital city where I can meet good friends to craft at a neighborhood bar, and that this Legislature has far fewer late nights than some others.

Senators got punchy voting on this 70-page health care bill as the sun sets in Salem. Sen. David Brock Smith, R-Port Orford, asked to clarify a section of it, then several senators voted against it before switching their votes to tease the House sponsor. olis.oregonlegislature.gov/liz/2026R1/M...

"I don’t know why we can’t do anything simply.” — Cave Junction Republican Sen. Noah Robinson with the quote that sums up the session/year/decade/history of #orleg

The #orleg session is drawing to an end in the next few days, and our live blog is up to help you keep up with the news. Follow along here for updates from reporters @miamaldonado.bsky.social, @shaanthx.bsky.social and @alexbaumhardt.bsky.social and editor @jmshumway.bsky.social buff.ly/9UymuGV

Republican leaders of a successful petition to pause gas tax and transportation fee hikes until a citizen vote are suing the state over a new law rescheduling that vote. oregoncapitalchronicle.com/2026/03/03/r...

Latest finished project! My real-life cat and I didn’t get to enjoy snow again this winter, but at least this stitched calico did.

Scooplet from @shaanthx.bsky.social: House Speaker Julie Fahey sent Rep. Ed Diehl, R-Scio and a candidate for governor, a letter chiding him for accepting campaign contributions during session because of a questionably legal House rule. oregoncapitalchronicle.com/2026/02/27/o...

Today in editing a tiny newsroom: I photographed a protest our intern is covering, reached the unexpected high of having multiple middle schoolers (the world’s harshest critics) tell me they liked my dress, then had another media member ask if I was also an intern.

One of the great values of @oregoncapitalchronicle.com and other @statesnewsroom.com sites is that we now function as a state government/politics wire service. Whether Oregonians are reading a tiny weekly paper or one of the state’s largest news outlets, chances are they’ll find OCC stories.

The new Salem parking robots look like WALL-E and EVE had a baby and I’m only a little obsessed.

How are so many politicians still so confused that they don't get to pick the reporters who cover them? www.theatlantic.com/politics/202...

🧵 from our colleagues in Kansas, who were covering their Legislature’s anti-trans moves long before national outlets noticed and will keep covering it long after the national news cycle moves on.

A Democratic senator didn’t engage in discrimination but did violate the #orleg respectful workplace policy when he interrupted and yelled at a Republican House member last June, a Senate panel determined last night. oregoncapitalchronicle.com/2026/02/26/o...

Letting my phone pick a different picture of Fred as its wallpaper each hour might be the best accidental decision I ever made.

All indications are that there's been a transportation funding deal for weeks. Lawmakers are just opting not to tell anyone what it is. #orleg

Federal agents in Oregon have detained and shot immigrants in hospital parking lots, accessed confidential emergency medical service logs from behind nurses’ desks and interfered with nurses while they care for patients — some with shackled ankles as agents stood guard in exam rooms. buff.ly/InvyecL

City councilors who broke Oregon's public meeting law support changing Oregon's public meeting law. www.salemreporter.com/2026/02/24/s...

Kotek says there's a bipartisan agreement on short-term transportation funding that avoids layoffs but didn't share details when OPB's @dirquez.bsky.social pressed her. This is the most recent public document, a suite of options including potential layoffs. olis.oregonlegislature.gov/liz/2026R1/D...

Kotek says she expects a roughly 1% cut to state expenditures this year, pending the #orleg passing a measure to partially disconnect from the federal tax code that would result in about $300 million in revenue.

Gov. Tina Kotek places responsibility for controversial bill to move a transportation tax referendum from November to May on Democratic lawmakers. Rs have blamed her. "Legislators have been very clear. They want to put the measure before voters as soon as possible," Kotek just told reporters #orleg

Waiting on the Oregon House floor as most Dems have returned to the chamber since yesterday's adjournment. Rep. Greg Smith, R-Heppner, is back on the floor after announcing his party's walkout on Monday over the gas tax referral bill. We'll see if the rest of his party follows suit and returns.

Still hard to believe we have a new Hilary Duff album in 2026, but it’s a perfect little collection of melancholy bops.

UPDATED: The House adjourned until 10:30 a.m. tomorrow, unable to vote on any bills today because Republicans walked out. oregoncapitalchronicle.com/2026/02/23/o...