Category: In the News

FEMA director, Oregon senators say they’ll help every step of the way

The state’s top lawmakers and the federal government’s top emergency official pledged to work together without partisanship to rebuild Southern Oregon as quickly as possible after the destructive Almeda and South Obenchain fires. They acknowledged, however, that the rebuild won’t necessarily be swift. FEMA director Pete Gaynor said Saturday at

Nearly $1.5 million headed to McMinnville airport

The McMinnville Municipal Airport will receive a $1.46 million federal grant for apron reconstruction, U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden, both D-Oregon, announced Thursday. The money will pay for reconstruction of 10,500 square yards of existing apron on which aircraft can be parked, boarded, unloaded and refueled. McMinnville’s airport

Congress frees up $10 million for Project drought relief

The U.S. House of Representatives passed an amendment of the 2000 Klamath Basin Water Supply Enhancement Act on Thursday, which will better distribute $10 million in funding every year to drought relief efforts in the Klamath Basin. The bill passed the Senate in June and is headed to President Trump’s

Solar array makes Hermiston RV park first of its kind

The new Panelview RV Park near Hermiston is the first of its kind to provide solar shade canopy solar arrays, meaning on a sunny day more energy could be produced than a motorhome can use. The 147-kilowatt solar array system will generate an estimated 226,357 kilowatt-hours of renewable electricity per

Merkley intros bill to protect jobless workers’ health insurance during COVID-19

Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., along with 14 Senate Democrats, has introduced the Worker Health Coverage Protection Act, a bill that would protect millions of unemployed or furloughed workers from losing their health insurance by enabling them to access subsidized COBRA coverage and keep their insurance. The bill would provide a 100

Merkley bill would provide aid to families hit by natural disasters, economic crises

Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) said Monday he has teamed up with Sen. Brian Schatz (D-HI) to introduce the Family Crisis Cash Assistance Act, legislation that would create a new, permanent program to help families struggling through a natural disaster or economic crisis with immediate cash assistance. As the COVID-19 pandemic has made clear, direct

Senators press FEMA for quick action after Oregon wildfires

Oregon’s U.S. senators say they will press the Federal Emergency Management Agency and others to step up their efforts to aid people and businesses who lost their property or saw it damaged by the recent wildfires that swept the state after Labor Day. Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley concluded

Senators Wyden and Merkley meet with evacuees on rebuilding

LANE COUNTY, Ore. — As of Saturday, all evacuations have been lifted for the Holiday farm Fire and the fire is 45% contained. Now, it’s time to look towards long term recovery. That’s why Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley were in Eugene, meeting with survivors of the Holiday Farm

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