Local Government
Latest reporting from the Local Government desk.
Local Government
Local Government
Portland Medicare Advantage members lose Providence, OHSU network access
More than 23,000 Multnomah County Medicare Advantage enrollees must find new coverage as Providence Health Plan shuts down, OHSU exits Regence networks and other insurers pull back before a Dec. 7 enrollment deadline.
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Local Government
View MorePortland wetland project wins national flood award
Portland's $10 million Springwater Wetland Restoration Project along Johnson Creek won first place in a national flood management competition, with modeling showing roughly 360 structures could be removed from the 100-year floodplain.
Local Government
View MorePortland Union Station gains recognition for Black labor history
The National Park Service updated Union Station's National Register listing to recognize the Portland terminal's role as the largest employer of Black Portlanders for 75 years and a center of labor organizing, correcting a gap in the original 1975 documentation.
Local Government
View MoreMultnomah County sends two ballot cards for Nov. 3 election
Multnomah County voters will use ranked choice voting for the first time on Nov. 3, ranking up to six candidates on a separate ballot card, while elections officials urge using drop boxes or mailing ballots by Oct. 27 after a county test found USPS delivery times as long as six days.
Local Government
View MorePortland names Sept. 25 Dolly Parton Day
Portland will declare Friday, Sept. 25, Dolly Parton Day by mayoral proclamation, with a public ceremony at City Council on Wednesday morning honoring the late singer's legacy and her Imagination Library literacy program that serves tens of thousands of Oregon children.
Local Government
View MoreMultnomah County debuts ranked-choice voting Nov. 3
Multnomah County voters outside Portland will encounter ranked-choice voting for the first time when ballots mail Oct. 14, with different thresholds for city council and county races on the Nov. 3 ballot.
Local Government
View MorePortland awards $12.3M for 106 affordable homes
The Portland Housing Bureau selected Mercy Housing Northwest and REACH Community Development to build 82 senior rentals in Hazelwood and 24 for-purchase townhomes in Mt. Tabor, awarding $12.3 million in public funds and pushing the city's Metro Affordable Housing Bond total to 2,177 units.
Local Government
View MoreOregon public defender backlog drops 66%, but 1,100 still wait
Oregon's unrepresented defendant backlog fell from more than 4,000 to 1,104 in one year, with Multnomah County down 57%, but an Oregon Supreme Court dismissal rule has already wiped about 1,500 cases in the county, including 186 robberies.
Local Government
View MorePortland camping ban yields 31% shelter acceptance rate
A Street Roots analysis finds only 31% of people offered shelter during Portland camping ban sweeps have accepted, as the city has cleared more than 6,000 encampments since November 2025 and shelter beds are being cut.
Local Government
View MorePortland festivals face fee squeeze as Wilson rejects full waiver
Emails obtained by Willamette Week show Mayor Keith Wilson rejected a full fee waiver for Portland's Rose Festival and Waterfront Blues Festival, offering a 50% discount for 2026 as both events warn they cannot sustain current costs at Tom McCall Waterfront Park.
Local Government
View MoreJade Apartments open 40 affordable units in East Portland
The Jade Apartments, a 40-unit affordable housing development co-built by APANO and Gorman & Co., opened in Powellhurst-Gilbert as the seventh and final Metro Housing Bond project to open in Portland in 2026.
Local Government
View More9th Circuit revives PSU student's vaccine-email lawsuit
The 9th Circuit ruled Portland State University may have violated the First Amendment when it suspended Cal Jamison McCollough for a vulgar anti-vaccine email, sending the case back to district court.
Local Government
View MoreMultnomah County delays Preschool for All tax hike to 2028
The Multnomah County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously Aug. 27 to push a scheduled 0.8% Preschool for All income tax increase back one year to Jan. 1, 2028, choosing a shorter delay than the two years their advisory group recommended.
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