Government
Oregon’s New Gross Receipts Tax What It Means to Oregon Businesses
By Greg Henderson August 27, 2019 On May 16, 2019, Governor Kate Brown signed House Bill 3427 into law. The legislation accomplishes the following: Establishes a “Fund for Student Success” that is separate and distinct from the state’s general fund. Adopts a new Corporate Activity Tax (CAT) imposed on all…
Read MoreCoastal Economic Summit highlights climate challenges, opportunities for communities
Legislative and community leaders dive deep at Oregon Coastal Caucus Economic Summit August 22, 2019 FLORENCE, Ore. – While many topics – from earthquake preparedness to rural broadband expansion – were discussed, it became clear throughout the Oregon Coastal Caucus Economic Summit that many challenges our coastal communities face trace…
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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…
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Data 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…
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Support 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
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Affordable 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…
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Trade 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…
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Are 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…
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Benton 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…
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Commissioner 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…
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Let’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…
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Your 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…
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