Julia Shumway

Republican petitioners sue Oregon over law rescheduling gas tax referendum • Oregon Capital Chronicle Leaders of a petition to pause gas tax and transportation fee hikes until a citizen vote are suing Oregon over a law rescheduling that vote.

Republican leaders of a successful petition to pause gas tax and transportation fee hikes until a citizen vote are suing the state over a new law rescheduling that vote. oregoncapitalchronicle.com/2026/03/03/r...

Siamese cat cross stitch with “Happy autumn”

Summer orange cat cross stitch with “Happy summer,” ice cream cones, stars and a sandcastle

Orange cat sitting in front of summer hoop

It joins the cross-stitched cats of autumn and summer, my personal favorite because it’s closest to my unhelpful crafting assistant.

Cross stitched hoop with a calico cat, snowshoes, pine cones, snowflakes and the words “Happy Winter”

Latest finished project! My real-life cat and I didn’t get to enjoy snow again this winter, but at least this stitched calico did.

Oregon House speaker reprimands Republican gubernatorial candidate for fundraising during session • Oregon Capital Chronicle It’s not clear whether Rep. Ed Diehl, R-Scio, can or will face any sanctions from House for collecting campaign funds during the session.

Scooplet from @shaanthx.bsky.social: House Speaker Julie Fahey sent Rep. Ed Diehl, R-Scio and a candidate for governor, a letter chiding him for accepting campaign contributions during session because of a questionably legal House rule.

oregoncapitalchronicle.com/2026/02/27/o...

Today in editing a tiny newsroom: I photographed a protest our intern is covering, reached the unexpected high of having multiple middle schoolers (the world’s harshest critics) tell me they liked my dress, then had another media member ask if I was also an intern.

And I say this as a former legislative relief staffer who for years considered being an AP statehouse bureau chief a dream job. Turns out the actual dream job I’m doing now just didn’t exist yet.

We can’t cover everything the AP used to, but also AP coverage of state government here has been sparse for the past decade. The news service shifted focus from serving member papers to surfacing stories for a national/international audience, and local readers paid the cost.

One of the great values of @oregoncapitalchronicle.com and other @statesnewsroom.com sites is that we now function as a state government/politics wire service. Whether Oregonians are reading a tiny weekly paper or one of the state’s largest news outlets, chances are they’ll find OCC stories.

OUT: That one guy always wearing shorts who’s way too enthusiastic about writing tickets.

IN: Unnecessarily but delightfully adorable robots who might scare away the window-smashers and reckless teens doing donuts.

White robot in Salem parking garage

The new Salem parking robots look like WALL-E and EVE had a baby and I’m only a little obsessed.

I looked at a fellow Oregon journalist's LinkedIn once several weeks ago and my web browser decided to autofill the link to their profile page every time I use the site. It's getting awkward.

What Kind of Fighter Do Democrats Want? The Texas Senate primary could help decide.

How are so many politicians still so confused that they don't get to pick the reporters who cover them?

www.theatlantic.com/politics/202...

🧵 from our colleagues in Kansas, who were covering their Legislature’s anti-trans moves long before national outlets noticed and will keep covering it long after the national news cycle moves on.

Oregon Senate panel clears Democratic senator of discrimination, harassment • Oregon Capital Chronicle A Democratic state senator who interrupted a Republican state representative during a contentious debate was disrespectful but didn’t break anti-discrimination policies.

A Democratic senator didn’t engage in discrimination but did violate the #orleg respectful workplace policy when he interrupted and yelled at a Republican House member last June, a Senate panel determined last night.

oregoncapitalchronicle.com/2026/02/26/o...

A handsome orange cat stares into the camera

Letting my phone pick a different picture of Fred as its wallpaper each hour might be the best accidental decision I ever made.

All indications are that there's been a transportation funding deal for weeks. Lawmakers are just opting not to tell anyone what it is. #orleg

Oregon Senate passes bill to regulate ICE in hospitals • Oregon Capital Chronicle Senate Bill 1570 aims to help hospital staff respond when federal law enforcement arrives on site and protect sensitive information.

Federal agents in Oregon have detained and shot immigrants in hospital parking lots, accessed confidential emergency medical service logs from behind nurses’ desks and interfered with nurses while they care for patients — some with shackled ankles as agents stood guard in exam rooms. buff.ly/InvyecL

Salem councilors support law change so they can talk outside of public view  - Salem Reporter Salem city councilors approved council legislative priorities Monday which include a bill that would change prohibitions within state public meetings law against serial communications. To comment on ...

City councilors who broke Oregon's public meeting law support changing Oregon's public meeting law.

www.salemreporter.com/2026/02/24/s...

Kotek says there's a bipartisan agreement on short-term transportation funding that avoids layoffs but didn't share details when OPB's @dirquez.bsky.social pressed her. This is the most recent public document, a suite of options including potential layoffs.
olis.oregonlegislature.gov/liz/2026R1/D...

Kotek says she expects a roughly 1% cut to state expenditures this year, pending the #orleg passing a measure to partially disconnect from the federal tax code that would result in about $300 million in revenue.

Gov. Tina Kotek places responsibility for controversial bill to move a transportation tax referendum from November to May on Democratic lawmakers. Rs have blamed her.
"Legislators have been very clear. They want to put the measure before voters as soon as possible," Kotek just told reporters #orleg

Waiting on the Oregon House floor as most Dems have returned to the chamber since yesterday's adjournment. Rep. Greg Smith, R-Heppner, is back on the floor after announcing his party's walkout on Monday over the gas tax referral bill. We'll see if the rest of his party follows suit and returns.

Still hard to believe we have a new Hilary Duff album in 2026, but it’s a perfect little collection of melancholy bops.

Oregon House Republicans stage walkout as gas tax election, gun control votes near • Oregon Capital Chronicle The walkout came as controversial gun control and transportation bills neared consideration in the Oregon House.

UPDATED: The House adjourned until 10:30 a.m. tomorrow, unable to vote on any bills today because Republicans walked out.

oregoncapitalchronicle.com/2026/02/23/o...

Oregon Supreme Court bars Republican senators who participated in walkout from reelection • Oregon Capital Chronicle Republican senators who participated in the longest walkout in state history cannot seek reelection in 2024 or 2026, the Oregon Supreme Court ruled Thursday.

Their prior preferred solution — banning lawmakers who skip 10 or more days from running for reelection — resulted in the longest walkout in state history, a state Supreme Court battle and a couple disqualified senators swapping places with family members.
oregoncapitalchronicle.com/2024/02/01/o...

Screenshot of Oregon Legislature bill page for SJR 202, with a summary saying that it "Proposes an amendment to the Oregon Constitution to extend the duration of a regular session of the Legislative Assembly by one calendar day for each day that the Senate or the House of Representatives fails to achieve a quorum after attempting to do so."

As the #orleg deals with another walkout caused by the state's abnormally high quorum requirement, it's worth noting that the latest walkout solution majority Dems proposed was adding extra days to session, the way schools may extend the year after too many snow days.

Oregon Senate passes bill to reschedule gas tax referral despite GOP opposition • Oregon Capital Chronicle After several delays, a proposal to reschedule the date of a gas tax referendum to May finally passed the Oregon Senate.

The Senate passed that bill to move the transportation tax referendum from November to May earlier today, as @miamaldonado.bsky.social reported. Election officials say it would need to pass both chambers and be signed by 2/25 because of election deadlines.

oregoncapitalchronicle.com/2026/02/23/o...

Oregon House Republicans stage walkout as gas tax election, gun control votes near • Oregon Capital Chronicle The walkout came as controversial gun control and transportation bills neared consideration in the Oregon House.

The House is set to return at 3:45. Republicans say they won't be there, denying quorum to block the first reading of gas tax bill. More from @shaanthx.bsky.social, reporting from the #orleg with @alexbaumhardt.bsky.social and @miamaldonado.bsky.social:
oregoncapitalchronicle.com/2026/02/23/o...

Bill could enable secret government talks, Oregon ethics chief warns A section that would provide broad exceptions to the public meetings law 'gives me heartburn,' said Susan Myers, executive director of the Oregon Government Ethics Commission.

A bill is advancing in Salem that would blow a hole in the public's right to know, according to the top official who protects Oregonians’ public meetings law, Susan Myers. @SPJOregon, @OPB and others strongly oppose #orleg #orpol #foia

I fell out of posting as often as Twitter got more toxic, but I’ve also definitely noticed a difference here compared to Twitter at its peak. It feels a lot more like shouting into a void and not knowing if anyone will hear.