McKenzie High School’s class of 2021 graduated Saturday in a ceremony at the school gym in Blue River. Many students had lost homes to the Holiday Farm
State of the State: Brown looks back at Oregon’s crises, ahead to goals
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) Nearly a year after the first COVID-19 case was confirmed in Oregon, Gov. Kate Brown delivered her annual State of the State speech on Thursday, as the Legislature s regular session got underway.
During the 45-minute speech, Brown reflected on the challenges Oregonians have faced in the last year the pandemic, protests and wildfires and outlined her goals for the future, focusing on racial equity, ensuring children return to school, mitigating wildfire danger and expanding health care access.
In the State of the State speech, which is usually presented to a joint session of the Oregon Legislature but instead was held virtually due to the pandemic and pre-recorded, Brown defended her approach to the pandemic.
Jan 21, 2021
Governor Kate Brown today delivered her State of the State address, which expands on the vision she set forth in her 2021-23 budget to build back a more just and equitable Oregon in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, historic wildfires, and a long overdue clarion call for racial justice. We must recognize that going back to the ‘way things were’ will not move us forward. Every difficult turn of this past year has only proven this point, further exacerbating existing disparities for Oregon’s Black, Indigenous, Latino, Latina, Latinx, Asian, Pacific Islander, Native American, and Tribal communities,” said Governor Brown. “The first step to creating opportunity is recognizing that racism is endemic to our systems, impacting every part of our culture and our economy. I am committed to ensuring that the world we build as we emerge from this last year is a more equitable one.”