Government
5 Ways To Make the Missing Middle Less Missing
A July 2019 report from Bloomberg explores the decline in Missing Middle housing in the United States—and it turns out it’s more missing than ever. This graphic from Bloomberg using Census data shows the decline in the share of missing-middle (blue) housing among all multifamily housing construction, even as very large apartment buildings (light gray)…
Read MoreData Beginning to Clear the Way for a Rate Cut
Central Takeaway If You Don’t Have Any Time This Morning: The Fed hastily delivered a soothing message last week by promising to act appropriately to maintain the expansion. It was hard not to read that as dovish. That combined with the employment data puts a rate cut in play this summer. Things That You Should…
Read MoreSupport your county fair. It’s good business.
Be sure to visit county fairs this summer. Did you know that the county fair is a key economic driver is Oregon? Below is a list of all county fairs in Oregon from oregonfairs.org
Read MoreAffordable Housing and Services for Farmworker Families in Oregon
The city of Forest Grove in Washington County, Oregon is located just inside the Portland metropolitan area’s urban growth boundary, and is nearly surrounded by land zoned for agriculture and forest use. In the most recent step toward meeting the need for affordable farmworker housing in Forest Grove, a nonprofit affordable housing developer completed the…
Read MoreTrade Wars Heat Up with New Assault on Mexico
One way or another, President Trump is going to drag the Fed into his trade wars. Tonight Trump announced via Twitter that imports from Mexico would face a 5% beginning June 10. The tariff could rise as high as 25% unless Mexico acts to stem the flow of refugees from Central America. It’s not clear…
Read MoreAre Rural Communities Being Ignored?
By: Apollo Fuhriman, Region 10 AdvocateIn April, I met with county council members from Union and Wallowa Counties in Northeast Oregon. These elected officials described several significant long-term issues arising from federally owned lands. Approximately half of the land in these counties is controlled by the federal government, so timely implementation of federal regulations is…
Read MoreBenton County Adopts Transient Lodging Tax
At a recent Board of Commissioners meeting, the proposal to implement a transient lodging tax passed unanimously. This tax does not directly affect County residents since tourists and visitors primarily stay in hotels and other lodging facilities within the County. As allowed under ORS 320.300, Benton County will impose a 3% county-wide Transient Lodging Tax…
Read MoreCommissioner Melissa Cribbins to Join Leaders in County Government for Intensive Leadership Program in Nation’s Capital
AOC CONTACT: Megan Chuinard | 503-400-3235 | NACo CONTACT: Paul Guequierre | 202-942-4271 WASHINGTON, D.C. – Melissa Cribbins, Coos County Commissioner and Second Vice President of Association of Oregon Counties Board of Directors has been accepted as one of a select group of leaders in county government from across the country to participate in the…
Read MoreLet’s have an honest discussion about the Rose Quarter freeway widening project
By Joe Cortright Good decisions result only if state officials are transparent and honest City Observatory has been closely following the proposal to spend $500 million widening the I-5 freeway at the Rose Quarter in Portland. In the process, we and others have repeatedly uncovered instances of state agency officials misrepresenting facts, suppressing key data,…
Read MoreYour Zoning Code Is Inherently Exclusionary (But It Doesn’t Have To Be)
by Nolan Gray Since bursting onto the scene in the 1970s, the concept of “exclusion” now figures heavily in the way urban planners do their work. Now more than ever, urban planners are aware of how certain land-use regulations and forms of public process can systematically exclude certain groups of people. These are both good…
Read MoreSale Prices Surge in Neighborhoods with New Tax Break
By Alexander Casey Sale prices ticked up sharply in some of the nation’s lowest-income and highest – poverty communities near the end of last year-but mostly in the neighborhoods now eligible for newly created tax breaks. Tucked within the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (TCJA) is a somewhat overlooked, but potentially massive, program:…
Read MoreHow to Update Your Employee Handbook
By Jenna Reed, Vice President General Counsel and Compliance Services Cascade Employers Association jreed@cascadeemployers.com If it’s been more than a year since you’ve given your employee handbook a thorough read, chances are it’s already out of date. I don’t know too many people that jump up and down about the prospect of updating their employee…
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