Recent ads promoting data centers in Oregon were paid for by Oregon Connects, a non-profit funded by an industry group that includes Microsoft, Google and Meta, the Oregon Capitol Chronicle reported in this story.

Nearly identical ad campaigns are being run in more than half a dozen states around the country.

Tax incentives in Oregon will save data centers $85 million in property taxes this year.

Safeway and Fred Meyer were among the most-listed employers on Oregonians’ applications for Medicaid in 2025, according to a report by the Oregon Capitol Chronicle.

More than 5,000 people receiving Medicaid listed Safeway/Albertsons as their employer and just over 4,000 listed Fred Myer/Kroger.

This comes as cuts to the federal program in 2025 could cost Oregon more than $9 billion in Medicaid funding over the next ten years, according to The Oregon Health Authority, the Chronicle reported.

Initiative Petition 28, an effort to dramatically expand the state’s animal cruelty laws, won’t be on the ballot in November. The Oregon Secretary of State’s Office announced the petition did not have enough valid signatures to qualify.

The Oregon Capitol Chronicle reported that, “none of the other 88 initiatives Oregonians proposed this year submitted enough signatures, so this will be the first general election in decades without a citizen-led initiative on the ballot.”

Read the full story at the Oregon Capitol Chronicle by clicking on this post.

The Albany Historic Carousel and Museum is celebrating National Carousel Day on July 25th with free rides for visitors. Hours and pricing are on its website.

The Albany Carousel includes a greyhound named Neil who is missing a toe. As are most of the wooden animals in the carousel, Neil is modeled after a real pet, a former greyhound racer who lost a toe and had to stop racing.

All of the animals have been crafted by hand by a team of 30 or so active artists. It took four years to carve Neil, appropriately the fastest carving ever for the museum.

Click to read the whole story on the KLCC website.

Arrive, an Oregon non-profit, helps people on a low income buy a home.

Formerly the Portland Housing Center, Arrive helps marginalized Oregonians achieve homeownership with counseling and lending services. In 2025, it expanded its lending services statewide to support Oregonians living outside the Portland area.

A one-time $99 fee provides access to a housing counselor and finance, homebuying and homeowner classes such as plumbing 101 or estate planning.

In 2013, the state passed some of its earliest regulations regarding the public use of drones. Today, the state police, and the departments of forestry and transportation are among the Oregon State agencies using drones as a standard part of the job.

Oregon's minimum wage will increase by 50 cents per hour on July 1. For workers in the Siuslaw region, the new minimum wage will be $15.55/hr.

Oregon State Park officials are urging people to keep fireworks off the beaches and out of state parks. They are illegal and a fire hazard officials said.