The Oregon Department of Revenue is making a list and checking it twice
Starting this summer, the Oregon Department of Revenue will publish online a list of individuals and companies that owe the state more than $50,000 in taxes. The Legislature authorized such a list, which is common in other states, including California, in 2019. People or businesses can avoid having their names put on the list by paying their taxes in full or making arrangements to pay. (Dianne Lugo/Salem Statesman Journal)
Grants Pass is closing a park after a houseless person was shot to death
The city of Grants Pass will close Riverside Park after a homicide over the weekend. One houseless man is in jail for allegedly shooting another houseless man to death in the park Sunday. City Manager Aaron Cubic said residents’ concerns over the fatal shooting and other incidents at the park led to the closure. The five-day Boatnik festival starting next Thursday is expected to draw thousands of people to the park, after which the park will remain closed through June 21. (Vickie Aldous/Grants Pass Daily Courier)
Pendleton opens the door to massive development
The Pendleton City Council this week unanimously approved the annexation of nearly 50 acres off Goad Road to develop workforce housing inside Pendleton’s urban growth boundary but outside city limits. At the same meeting, the council took additional measures to open some 250 acres for even more future housing. Pendleton will create a reimbursement district that will allow the city to invest in the area and develop critical infrastructure the Goad Road development needs. (Dakota Castets-Didier and Phil Wright/East Oregonian)
The Washington Legislature approved $3.5M for Vancouver’s Terminal 1 project
The Port of Vancouver’s Terminal 1 Public Market is one step closer to reality after the Washington Legislature allocated $3.5 million for the removal of the port’s century-old Terminal 1 dock. The Legislature’s final capital budget for 2023 included funding for the next phase of the port’s Terminal 1 redevelopment project. Gov. Jay Inslee signed the budget into law Tuesday. (Sarah Wolf/The Columbian)
OLCC restricts employee access to rare liquors
The Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission is putting new policies in place to restrict employee access to rare liquors. This follows the discovery earlier this year that top OLCC executives and managers had been setting aside hard-to-find bourbons for personal use. The agency says the first of the policies ban OLCC employees from setting liquor aside. Anyone who violates the rule could be fired. The board is also working on new policies for distributing rare liquors to consumers, and to nonprofits and charities. The director of the OLCC resigned as the scandal came to light in February. Republican lawmakers in Oregon have pushed for an investigation to find out who else received the specialty liquors. (Jeff Thompson/OPB)
Related: Oregon’s convoluted regulatory system helps explain how the rare bourbon scandal happened 🥃
