Latest Oregon Headlines
All the headlines from our Oregon Topic Page, ordered by recency.
First Big Piece Of West’s ‘Electric Highway’ Gets Juice
Mar 19 2012 // Following a trail blazed by Indians and pioneers in covered wagons, electric car drivers hit the road Friday to inaugurate the first major section of a West Coast “Electric Highway” dotted with stations where...
Jury Makes $432,000 Judgment Against Oregon DHS
Mar 16 2012 // A Clackamas County jury concluded the Oregon Department of Human Services was partially responsible for the death of an infant who died in foster care four years ago. The jury also found Wednesday that the child’s...
Magnitude-3.1 Earthquake Off Oregon Coast
Mar 13 2012 // Seismologists say they’ve detected a magnitude-3.1 earthquake off the Oregon coast. The U.S. Geological Survey reports the quake occurred at 4:37 a.m. with an epicenter 27 miles west of Newport. There were no...
Oregon Senate Approves Health Insurance Exchange
Mar 7 2012 // The Oregon Senate has approved a measure implementing an online marketplace where individuals and small businesses can shop for health insurance coverage. The vote on Monday sends the measure to Gov. John Kitzhaber, who...
Oregon To Pay $1.5M In Torture Death Lawsuit
Mar 2 2012 // The state of Oregon has agreed to pay $1.5 million to the estate of a murdered Eugene teenager. The settlement will resolve a lawsuit alleging that negligence by state child protection workers led to Jeanette Maples’...
Oregon Jury Awards $25M In Smoker’s Death
Feb 21 2012 // An Oregon jury has awarded $25 million in punitive damages in the death of a Salem smoker whose family sued tobacco company Philip Morris USA over its low-tar cigarettes. The award is the second time a jury has considered...
Oregon’s ‘Second Lawsuit’ Legislation Tabled
Feb 13 2012 // The Oregon House Judiciary Committee on Monday tabled HB 4136, a bill its detractors said would have imported “the legacy of bad faith litigation” from neighboring states into Oregon. A handful of insurance...
Lawsuit Seeks $8 Million in Murders by Oregon Sergeant
Feb 13 2012 // Relatives of two women killed by an off-duty Clackamas County, Ore., sheriff’s sergeant are seeking $8 million in a lawsuit that alleges the county, the sheriff and two top aides knew the man was dangerously...
Parents Sue Park for $2.4 Million After Oregon Toddlers’ Deaths
Feb 13 2012 // A fire that killed two toddlers is the subject of a Umatilla County lawsuit that alleges negligence on the parts of the Seattle-based management company and the trailer park manager. The suit names the toddlers’...
$1.5M New West Deal Before Montana Insurance Commissioner
Feb 8 2012 // State regulators are examining a $1.5 million proposal by an Oregon insurer to take over a portion of Montana’s third-largest health insurance company as part of a government anti-trust settlement. Commissioner of...
Oregon Jury Takes Second Look At Tobacco Suit Damages
Feb 6 2012 // A Portland jury is reconsidering a $100 million damage award against Philip Morris in a suit over low-tar cigarettes that goes back more than a decade. In 2002, a jury awarded $150 million in punitive damages after finding...
Early Tally: January Storms Cause $38M Damage In Oregon
Feb 2 2012 // Preliminary assessments indicate the wind, rain and snow that hit Oregon in mid-January caused an estimated $38 million in damage to nine counties. The Oregonian reported that figure is expected to grow. Flooding was...
Oregon GOP Pushes Limits on Medical Malpractice Liability
Jan 31 2012 // Republicans in the Oregon Senate say they’ll fight Gov. John Kitzhaber’s proposed overhaul of the Oregon Health Plan unless it includes limits on medical malpractice claims, injecting a hot-button issue into...
Flood Damages 145 Vehicles in Oregon Motor Pool
Jan 26 2012 // The Oregon State Motor Pool says 145 vehicles were damaged when floodwaters inundated its parking lot Thursday in Salem. The Statesman Journal reports insurance adjusters are adding up the damage. The Department of...
Climate Change Lawsuit in Court in Oregon
Jan 25 2012 // A Lane County Circuit Court judge is deciding whether to allow a lawsuit brought by two girls against Gov. John Kitzhaber, accusing him of failing to protect the state’s resources against climate change. Judge...
Ice Storm Adds to Weather Woes in Pacific Northwest
Jan 20 2012 // A deadly ice storm swept across the Pacific Northwest on Thursday, adding to the misery of residents struggling with power outages and treacherous roads since an earlier record snowfall. Washington’s governor...
2-Year Term for Texting Driver in Fatal Oregon Crash
Jan 13 2012 // A La Pine, Ore. driver was sentenced Wednesday to more than two years in prison for a fatal crash near Bend that occurred while he was texting his girlfriend who was sitting next to him. Deschutes County Circuit Judge Alta...
Davis Joins RiskPoint Insurance Advisors in Oregon
Jan 11 2012 // Bend, Ore.-based RiskPoint Insurance Advisors, a commercial insurance agency, has named Matt Davis as director of employee benefits. Based in Portland, Ore., Davis works with clients nationwide. Davis has over 20 years of...
Feds Throw Obstacle at Oregon Health Exchange
Dec 28 2011 // A clearer picture is surfacing of a new health insurance marketplace intended to help individuals and small businesses shop for health coverage. A preliminary business plan projects that more than 280,000 Oregonians will...
Eastern Oregon Man Dies When Train Strikes Grader
Dec 20 2011 // A Umatilla County employee was killed when a train struck the road grader he was operating to spread gravel. The East Oregonian reports. the accident on Thursday killed 63-year-old Stanley McCall. The train’s...
