Archeologists near Oregon-California border use canine forensics to find cremated remains after McKinney Fire

Umatilla tribes vote to align cannabis policy with Oregon law. The Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation have legalized cannabis possession on their land. The East Oregonian reports the tribes’ Board of Trustees approved the change Monday night. Changing the policy brings the tribes in line with Oregon law. Anyone 21 or older can now possess and consume cannabis on the reservation. The change does not immediately legalize business operations for marijuana, however. The trustees said they are reviewing policies currently and will decide in the future if they want to approve businesses. (OPB Staff)

Your browser does not support the audio element. Oregon launched a hotline this month to help callers understand the state’s reproductive health laws following the overturn of Roe v. Wade last year. Abortion remains legal in Oregon and the Supreme Court’s decision did not change abortion laws in the state. We hear more about the hotline from Anna Sortun, a partner with Tonkon Torp and one of the lawyers taking calls.

Your browser does not support the audio element. Robert Hammer is the special agent in charge for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Homeland Security Investigations division – also known as HSI – in the Pacific Northwest. He sat down with Jefferson Public Radio’s Roman Battaglia to discuss the state of illegal cannabis in Southern Oregon, and how law enforcement is helping victims of human trafficking.

New Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek wants to spend $1 billion in the next two years to preserve and build more affordable housing, funnel more than $9 billion to public schools and devote millions to increase staffing at the Oregon State Hospital, under a $116.5 billion proposed spending plan released on Tuesday.

Your browser does not support the audio element. The Dry Farming Collaborative at Oregon State University will convene on Feb. 8 to discuss dry farming techniques and the results from trials using the method. Dry farming employs techniques like utilizing moisture stored in soil during a rainy season to produce crops during a dry season. We learn more about how dry farming is used in Western Oregon from Amy Garrett, the board president of the Dry Farming Institute, and Lucas Nebert, a research associate at OSU.

An institute promising to transform higher education’s impact on a major challenge facing the state and the country has taken a key step toward that goal. The University of Oregon announced Tuesday the first executive director for its new Ballmer Institute for Children’s Behavioral Health. Katie McLaughlin, a...

Kate Brown hasn’t yet announced professional plans now that she’s departed the Oregon governor’s mansion. But for a week or so this spring, Brown is Cambridge-bound. The former governor has been tapped as a “visiting fellow” at the Institute of Politics at Harvard’s Kennedy School. That means Brown is headed to the university campus this semester to offer its students a glimpse into what she learned over decades in state politics – and as a sometimes controversial and unpopular executive.

In each of the last few years, supporters of afterschool and summer learning programs have seen a familiar pattern: they show up in Salem to push for money; legislators listen and eventually agree to put money into summer programs. It leaves school and community leaders grateful for the money but scrambling to put classes and activities together before school lets out in June.

Legislators in Olympia are considering a host of bills to address the housing crisis, and Tuesday, members from both parties announced they’re finding common ground. A group of lawmakers highlighted a suite of policy proposals, backed by both Republicans and Democrats, that would make regulatory and construction changes aimed at boosting the supply of homes across Washington.