Latest Oregon Headlines
All the headlines from our Oregon Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Utility Investors Wary of Exposures After Buffet’s PacifiCorp Held Liable for Wildfires
Jul 19 2023 // Destructive wildfires are now an almost routine part of summer in the American West, and electrical utilities have likewise become used to having their power lines and equipment blamed for igniting the blazes. But a jury...
Warren Buffett’s PacifiCorp Sued by Oregon Wineries Over Fire Damage
Jul 17 2023 // Berkshire Hathaway Inc.’s PacifiCorp was sued by Oregon wineries claiming that smoke from wildfires ignited by the utility’s equipment in 2020 destroyed their grape harvests, resulting in tens of millions of...
Oregon Climate Change Lawsuit Seeks $50B, Citing 2021 Heat Wave
Jun 22 2023 // An Oregon county on Thursday sued Exxon XOM.N, Chevron CVX.N, other major oil and coal companies, and industry groups, seeking over $50 billion to counter the harms caused by extreme weather fueled by climate...
Verdict in Oregon Wildfires Case Highlights Risks Utilities Face Amid Climate Change
Jun 20 2023 // A jury verdict that found an Oregon power company liable for devastating wildfires – and potentially billions of dollars in damages – is highlighting the legal and financial risks utilities take if they fail to...
Oregon Jury: PacifiCorp Must Pay Punitive Damages for Fires, Plus Award That Could Reach Billions
Jun 15 2023 // A jury on Wednesday ordered the electric utility PacifiCorp to pay punitive damages for causing devastating wildfires in Oregon in 2020 – on top of an earlier verdict already expected to amount to billions of...
PacifiCorp Could Owe Billions After Jury Verdict in Devastating Oregon Wildfires
Jun 15 2023 // A jury in Oregon this week found the electric utility PacifiCorp responsible for causing devastating fires during Labor Day weekend in 2020, ordering the company to pay tens of millions of dollars to 17 homeowners who sued...
Berkshire Unit Liable for Millions in Damages Over Oregon Fires
Jun 12 2023 // A Berkshire Hathaway Inc. unit is liable for destruction caused by the 2020 Labor Day Fires in Oregon, a jury concluded, exposing energy company PacifiCorp to potentially more than $1.5 billion in damages. Following a...
Youth Environmentalists Bring Montana Climate Case to Trial After 12 Years
Jun 12 2023 // Whether a constitutional right to a healthy, livable climate is protected by state law is at the center of a lawsuit going to trial Monday in Montana, where 16 young plaintiffs and their attorneys hope to set an important...
Oregon City to Clear Sidewalk Tents to Settle Lawsuit with People With Disabilities
Jun 7 2023 // Portland, Oregon will remove tents blocking sidewalks under a tentative settlement in a lawsuit brought by people with disabilities who said sprawling homeless encampments prevent them from navigating Oregon’s most...
Truck Driver Indicted After Deadly Oregon Crash That Killed 7 Farmworkers
Jun 1 2023 // The driver of the semitruck involved in a fatal crash on Interstate 5 in Oregon earlier this month that left seven farmworkers dead has been indicted on charges of manslaughter, court documents show. A grand jury in Marion...
Truck Driver in Multi-Vehicle Freeway Crash That Killed 7 in Oregon Arrested
May 24 2023 // The driver of a semitruck that slammed into a passenger van on Interstate 5 in western Oregon, killing 7 people in one of the state’s deadliest crashes in recent years, was arrested on suspicion of manslaughter, DUI...
Victims of Deadly Oregon Highway Crash Were Farmworkers, Union Says
May 22 2023 // The victims of one of Oregon’s deadliest highway crashes were farmworkers traveling in a van at an hour when agricultural laborers typically commute home after toiling in the harvest, the state’s farmworkers...
$1.6B Trial Starts Against Utility Over Fatal 2020 Oregon Wildfires
Apr 28 2023 // PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) – A trial connected to a $1.6 billion class action lawsuit against utility PacifiCorp over the catastrophic Labor Day 2020 wildfires in Oregon started Tuesday in Portland. The fires in 2020 killed...
Wife of Man Killed by Oregon Police Gets $1.6M Settlement
Mar 15 2023 // A lawsuit over the death of a man who was killed by Oregon State Police outside his home in southern Oregon in 2015 has been settled for $1.6 million after a lengthy legal odyssey, the Grants Pass Daily Courier...
Oregon Closer to Magic Mushroom Medical Therapy
Mar 14 2023 // Oregon was taking a major step Friday in its pioneering of legalized psilocybin therapy with the graduation of the first students trained in accompanying patients tripping on psychedelic mushrooms, although a...
Washington, Oregon Ending Health Care Settings Mask Mandate
Mar 9 2023 // Washington and Oregon will soon drop mask requirements in health care settings, state health officials said, moving to lift the last major masking requirements meant to curb the spread of COVID-19. Mandates in both states...
Oregon Getting $420K From Nexo Securities Settlement
Mar 8 2023 // Oregon is set to receive more than $420,000 from a settlement with Nexo securities. The North American Securities Administrators Association and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission recently announced that a...
Former Oregon State University Dean Wins $600K Whistleblower Lawsuit
Mar 1 2023 // A jury has awarded over $600,000 to a former Oregon State University dean who sued the school for whistleblower retaliation. University officials disagree with the verdict issued earlier this month and plan to appeal,...
Oregon City to Phase Out Gas Use in New Homes
Feb 9 2023 // The city of Eugene, Oregon, will join other local governments throughout the country in phasing out gas appliances in some types of new construction in an effort to cut climate pollution. The Eugene City Council passed the...
Deaths, Flooding as Storm Hit Oregon And Washington State
Jan 3 2023 // A winter storm that brought powerful wind gusts to Oregon on last week was found to have caused at least two fatal car accidents that left four people dead, preliminary police investigations have found. Weather conditions...
