Oregon ski areas, river rafting guides, rock gyms, mountain biking companies and other recreational providers are celebrating the passage of a bill that will allow liability waivers to fend off lawsuits. My story: www.oregonlive.com/politics/202...

Many people may not think of this as a "grocery store" right off. But dollar for dollar, ounce for ounce, it's beating the competition on price. My story: www.oregonlive.com/retail/2026/...

I have long done all of the grocery shopping for my household, and at a whopping five different stores. But even I learned some new tactics for getting cheaper groceries as I delved into a wide-scale comparison of major grocery chains. My story today: www.oregonlive.com/retail/2026/...

Prosecutors could soon have a powerful tool to catch sex traffickers, who rely on the fact that many of their victims are too scared to show up to court. My story: www.oregonlive.com/politics/202...

All of Oregon's ski resorts and many other recreational providers — from river rafting companies to nonprofits who manage trails — object to a bill that set out to help them. My story: www.oregonlive.com/politics/202...

Is Trader Joe’s actually cheaper? We bought the same groceries at 8 Portland grocery stores to find out Trader Joe’s private label products make comparisons exceptionally difficult. But we tried.

And here's my story comparing Trader Joe's prices to seven other major grocery chains — for items like fresh chicken breast, broccoli, avocados and butter.
www.oregonlive.com/business/202...

We compared prices of 20 items at 8 grocery chains and discovered a staggering $76 difference Here are the cheapest and most expensive.

Here's my story looking at the price of grocery items — at Costco, Walmart, WinCo and other stores — to see which was the cheapest and most expensive. www.oregonlive.com/business/202...

Did Bend lawmaker ‘verbally abuse’ his colleague after her vote on gun bill? Refuse to accept ‘no’? A spectator filed a complaint, accusing Oregon Rep. Jason Kropf of intimidating Rep. Thủy Trần, leaving her ‘visibly shaken.’

It's common for Oregon legislators to work hard to get their bills passed. But some critics say one lawmaker went too far. He says: "It’s natural that tensions run high in this building." My story: www.oregonlive.com/politics/202...

Should Oregon hand out free needles to drug users? A heated debate ends with a dead bill A bill that would have prevented mobile providers from distributing needles near schools and daycare centers won’t move forward.

There's a lot of disappointment over this failed bill, but also relief. My story: www.oregonlive.com/politics/202...

Oregon’s ‘Hidden Homicides’ bill tries to catch domestic abusers who may have secretly committed murder Some Oregonians suspect their loved ones were murdered by abusers who staged their deaths as something else.

They believe their daughters died under suspicious circumstances or a murder staged as suicide. The sheriff reviewing two of these cases disagrees. But with no autopsies, questions remain. It's heartbreaking to hear what these families have been through. My story: www.oregonlive.com/crime/2026/0...

After streak of suicides by teen AI chatbot users, Oregon bill aims to restrict what chatbots can say or do The bill also would require the chatbots to remind people using them that the bots are not a real person.

The most eye-opening fact I learned yesterday? There are teddy bears embedded with AI technology, so they can have conversations with toddlers. Here's my story about a bill to regulate that and more. www.oregonlive.com/living/2026/...

‘A betrayal’: Southwest’s new plus size policy leaves some passengers unable to fly Some loyal customers say the airline’s new requirement that they buy an extra seat means that they can no longer fly as often or at all.

I interviewed three plus-sized passengers about how Southwest Airlines' new "customers of size" policy impacts them. My story: www.oregonlive.com/travel/2026/...

IRS tax filing season begins today. Expect confusion. Here’s what to know Millions of U.S. taxpayers will start filing returns today, which is their first chance at getting a refund.

Millions of tax returns are expected to stream into the IRS today, the first day U.S. taxpayers can file this tax season. With so many new rules, plenty of taxpayers have had and will have challenges in coming weeks filing out their tax forms. My story: www.oregonlive.com/business/202...

Have your kids watched YouTube? Deadline to claim your share of class-action settlement is days away Here’s what you need to do to get a slice of the settlement.

Given the HUGE number of children who've watched YouTube and are eligible for this settlement, who knows how much each will get. But the deadline to claim money is approaching in a few days. My story: www.oregonlive.com/business/202...

‘Snow drought’ hits Oregon as temps reach 60 degrees at Mt. Hood ski resorts. Skiers are irked Dry skies and a temperature inversion made Portland 15 degrees colder than the ski resorts on Mt. Hood.

Temps at Mt. Hood ski resorts reached an astonishing 60 degrees this week — in mid-JANUARY. Here's my story about this terrible, horrible, very bad ski season (so far) in Oregon. www.oregonlive.com/travel/2026/...

These celebrated new IRS tax breaks will save some taxpayers money. Do you qualify? Some widely talked about tax breaks will only benefit a sliver of Americans, while other changes will benefit far more people.

I've been hearing questions from readers about how likely it is that they'll be able to claim the new tax breaks in Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill Act. My story today provides answers: www.oregonlive.com/business/202...

Oregon to taxpayers: Don’t do this or you’ll have to wait an extra 2 months to get your kicker refund The Oregon Department of Revenue warned taxpayers Thursday that some old-school filers may experience long waits.

Oregon is warning taxpayers how to avoid an extra two-month delay in getting their tax refunds — including the much-celebrated kicker — this year. My story: www.oregonlive.com/business/202...

What we know: 2 people shot in Portland by Border Patrol A picture is emerging of what happened in a Portland parking lot Thursday, a day after an ICE agent in Minneapolis fatally shot a woman.

There are many conflicting details and unknowns about a Border Patrol agent shooting two people in Portland on Thursday. Here's what we know so far. My story: www.oregonlive.com/crime/2026/0...

IRS announces first day you can file your taxes in 2026, get a bigger refund Many taxpayers who are due refunds jump on filing taxes on this date.

The IRS this morning announced the opening date of tax season. Time to jump on filing, especially if you're getting a refund. My story: www.oregonlive.com/business/202...

Here’s what you need to do to get a bigger tax refund in 2026, under new IRS rules The average taxpayer might receive refunds that are $300 to $1,000 larger than last year’s.

The average U.S. taxpayer will likely receive a tax refund that's $300 to $1,000 larger than last year's, some analysts say. Here's what you need to do to get a bigger refund. My story: www.oregonlive.com/business/202...

USPS warns of postmark delays, but won’t say which parts of Oregon, U.S. will be most affected USPS postmark delays could impact Oregonians’ mail-in ballot, tax returns and other time-sensitive mail.

The U.S. Postal Service won't provide a list of post offices where customers mailing letters or packages might experience a day-long (or longer) delay in getting a postmark. This could cause problems for people mailing ballots and tax returns. My story: www.oregonlive.com/politics/202...

Oregon fertility clinic inseminated woman with wrong sperm, $17M lawsuit alleges A wife, husband and their now-adult child say the mistake happened 44 years ago, but they only found out in recent years.

This is the second lawsuit that I've found that alleges a sperm mix-up at OHSU. In each case, a woman thought she was being inseminated with her husband's sperm. My story: www.oregonlive.com/health/2025/...

‘Are you responsible for your own mistakes?’ Some lawmakers say it’s too easy to sue in Oregon A coalition of Oregon legislators wants to raise the legal bar for lawsuits against ski resorts, rock climbing gyms, outdoor expedition companies and the like.

With Oregon's ski industry starting to say it is one large lawsuit away from collapse, I looked into the intense debate over how to solve this problem — or perceived problem, depending on your perspective. My story: www.oregonlive.com/pacific-nort...

Not everything in Oregon is getting pricier. Here’s what costs more and what doesn’t in 2025 While Oregonians forked over more cash for most goods and services in 2025, there were a few surprises, including for Portland renters.

It was illuminating to step back and look at what got more expensive in 2025. I found a few things, however, that didn't. My story: www.oregonlive.com/retail/2025/...

$224 for a lift ticket in Oregon? Where prices are rising or staying put, as ski resorts absorb insurance hikes The Oregonian/OregonLive compared last season’s prices to this year’s at the state’s 7 largest ski resorts.

I used the Wayback Machine and other information I could scour from the internet to compare how prices are increasing at Oregon's ski resorts this upcoming ski season. My story: www.oregonlive.com/pacific-nort...

Map shows where Oregon kids will get $250 gift from billionaires A billionaire couple from Texas made a splashy announcement this week that will benefit most U.S. children, including in Oregon.

My colleague and I mapped out 431 ZIP codes in Oregon to see where Oregon kids will be eligible for a $250 gift from tech billionaires Michael and Susan Dell. Hint: It's nearly every ZIP code in the state. Here's our map and story:

www.oregonlive.com/news/2025/12...

‘Nearly all’ AT&T customers could be eligible for a massive settlement. Are you? Deadline to claim cash nears A deadline is near for current and former customers to claim cash.

Though we don't know how much each AT&T customer will receive, a deadline is nearing for current and former customers to stake their claim in a $177 million settlement. My story today: www.oregonlive.com/business/202...

From salted duck eggs to durian ice cream: This Portland-area Costco caters to its Asian customer base The high share of customers of Asian heritage supports a diverse mix of food choices at this grocery in the heart of Washington County.

Earlier this year, when I walked into this Costco in Washington County for the first time in years, I noticed a striking difference from the other Portland-area Costcos I'd been to. There was far more Asian food. Here's my story that came from that: www.oregonlive.com/retail/2025/...

Oregon critics say new U.S. law will ‘wipe out 95% to 99%’ of hemp industry, take CBD gummies and oils off shelves Proponents say the new law will keep dangerous, candy-like THC products out of the hands of kids.

Oregon's hemp industry is reeling after passage of federal law with new restrictions on hemp-derived CBD gummies, oils and other products. My story: www.oregonlive.com/politics/202...

Trump misleadingly said Walmart’s Thanksgiving meal is cheaper this year. Here’s what it costs at other Portland area stores Portland-area grocers are fighting inflation and tariffs, just like stores nationwide.

Trump says Thanksgiving groceries are much cheaper this year compared to last. I dug into 2024 prices vs. 2025 prices at area grocery stores, not just Walmart. My story: www.oregonlive.com/retail/2025/...