Oregon House unanimously urges Congress to rescue U.S. Postal Service

By   /  May 7, 2013  /  Northwest, Northwest WatchBlog  /  No Comments

BEST BUDDIES: Your BFF, the local postman, like Jamesa Euler of Atlanta, may soon meet his demise, says a new union-backed ad.

By Shelby Sebens | Northwest Watchdog
PORTLAND – The Oregon House of Representatives is urging Congress to rescue the flailing United States Postal Service.
The House voted unanimously on Tuesday in favor of a resolution that asks Congress to pass the proposed Postal Service Protection Act of 2013. The proposed legislation, which would reverse a decision by the [...]

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OR county’s use of stimulus funds under IG scrutiny

By   /  May 3, 2013  /  News, Northwest  /  No Comments

Office of Inspector General questions Multnomah County's spending of stimulus funds

By Shelby Sebens | Northwest Watchdog
PORTLAND — Subcontractors who worked for Multnomah County misused stimulus money on a picnic, bowling alley rental fees and other mortgage-related costs, says a report by the U.S. Office of Inspector General.
The money was supposed to help low-income residents.
The improper expenditures totaled $824 — most of which was in mortgage-related funds [...]

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Walk this way: OR looks to buy treadmill desks for state workers

By   /  May 1, 2013  /  Featured, News, Northwest  /  6 Comments

A model poses on a treadmill desk. Photo courtesy of TrekDesk, a company that sells treadmill desks.

Lawmakers want state workers to do more walking, and they’ll probably use taxpayer money to get the workers off their chairs and into shiny new treadmill desks.

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Oregon proposal to tax fuel efficient cars gains speed

By   /  April 26, 2013  /  Featured, News, Northwest  /  4 Comments

The Nissan Leaf, a new model of electric car, is charging outside the World Trade Center-Conference Center in downtown Portland, Oregon on October 11, 2012.

By Shelby Sebens | Northwest Watchdog
PORTLAND – A proposal to tax fuel efficient cars could be getting some mileage in the Oregon legislature.
Though lawmakers are more than halfway through the session and the bill that would put a per-mile fee on cars that get 55 miles to the gallon or more still sits in committee, [...]

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GOP plan to stop offshore tax havens wins in Oregon

By   /  April 24, 2013  /  Northwest, Northwest WatchBlog, WatchBlog  /  No Comments

Oregon GOP revenue plan goes after corporation who skirt taxes by using offshore tax havens such as Monaco.

By Shelby Sebens | Northwest Watchdog
Oregon House Democrats failed on Wednesday to get two needed Republican votes for a revenue plan that would have raised taxes on the wealthy and corporations.
Instead, the House voted unanimously in favor of an alternative GOP revenue plan that authorizes the Oregon Department of Revenue to investigate corporations that skirt [...]

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