Opb Politics Now

The cannabis industry is booming in the Pacific Northwest -- and now state leaders and industry advocates want banks to get involved. Plus, there’s a move afoot to ask Oregon voters to decriminalize all drugs.

This week we discuss Governor Kate Brown’s proclaimed commitment to government transparency -- including in how she picks her judges. We also discuss a shakeup in House Republican leadership.

Oregon Gov. Kate Brown promised to improve transparency when she was elected. But this week the state’s first-ever public records advocate quit. This week we talk about the state of transparency in Oregon and whether Brown has been a help or hindrance to transparency in the state.

It’s Labor Day weekend, otherwise known as the ceremonial start of the upcoming campaign year. We give you a rundown of what to watch for as the state and local campaigns heat up.

Governor Kate Brown can't seek reelection again, yet her future was the big question in Oregon politics this week. On the latest episode of OPB Politics Now, reporters Lauren Dake, Dirk VanderHart and Jeff Mapes explore her recent big fundraising push and the dueling campaigns to recall her from office.

This week, OPB politics reporters Lauren Dake and Dirk VanderHart and Jeff Mapes discuss some of the repercussions we’re already seeing from the 2019 legislative session.

the recent horrific mass shootings have once again prompted the gun control debate to take center stage. This week, we localize the national conversation around gun control and talk about what has - or hasn’t happened - in Oregon.

We’re taking a break at OPB Politics Now to recover from the 2019 Oregon legislature and prepare for the 2020 campaign cycle. While we’re off, here’s a special look at season 2 of Bundyville, a podcast from OPB and Longreads that chronicles the rise of the so-called patriot moving and how extreme rhetoric is going mainstream. In this episode, freelance journalist Leah Sottile looks at Washington Rep. Matt Shea and his push for a 51st state — a place governed by biblical law and made up of white people.

We’re taking some time off to recover from the legislative session, but in the meantime here’s a spirited conversation from our friends at Think Out Loud about the future of Oregon’s efforts to fight climate change. They talked to Senators Michael Dembrow, a Democrat, and Cliff Bentz, a Republican.

Once again, protests in downtown Portland have ended in brawls between the far left and far right. And once again, Portland leaders face criticism for their inability to prevent violence. This week, we look at what police can and can’t do -- and why ending the fighting is so politically difficult.

OPB’s Dave Miller spoke to Oregon Governor Kate Brown in this special episode of OPB Politics Now.

The Oregon legislature finished its work this weekend with a flurry of votes. And despite the nine-day Republican walkout, Democrats left Salem with a lot of what they wanted. On a special episode of OPB Politics Now, OPB reporters Jeff Mapes, Lauren Dake and Dirk VanderHart break down the 2019 session and look at how it will change life for Oregonians.

After skipping work for nine days, the 11 Senate Republicans are coming back to town. Victorious.

Senate President Peter Courtney is vowing to fine Republican senators who walked off the job. And he’s getting Governor Kate Brown’s help to send out the state police to round up the errant lawmakers. And one Republican senator warned that the state police better send bachelors because he won’t be taken into custody.

Oregon leaders are poised to take a crack at fighting climate change with legislators on the verge of passing a landmark cap-and-trade bill that aims to significantly curb the state’s carbons emissions. But can it work? And will it even pass? OPB reporters Jeff Mapes, Dirk Vanderhart and Cassandra Profita look at the potential impact of this sweeping legislation on our latest episode of OPB Politics Now.

The Oregon legislature is headed into its final weeks, and there is too much happening to fit into one podcast. So we’re doing things a little differently. It’s legislative pop quiz time.

This week at the Oregon legislature, lawmakers started work on campaign finance limits that don’t go quite as far as you might expect. And they mourned one of their own. We look at how much those campaign finance changes might change elections and examine Senator Jackie Winters’ life and legacy.

Portland’s city council just passed its yearly budget, and things got ugly. This week, we unpack the budget, and how it’s setting the stage for a very unpleasant 2020 campaign season in Oregon’s largest city.

Bills on vaccines and guns are out. Landmark school funding is in, and this year’s Legislative session shows no sign of slowing down. On this week’s OPB Politics Now, we hash out a hectic week in Salem, and why you might, or might not, have some money coming your way.

Republican members of the Oregon Senate walked off the job this week to prevent a vote on a $2-billion tax plan for public schools. In the latest edition of the OPB Politics Now podcast, political reporters Jeff Mapes, Dirk VanderHart and Lauren Dake explain what’s behind their walkout and what they hope to accomplish.