Lobbyists try for influence, without as much access to Oregon lawmakers
Updated Mar 03, 2021;
Posted Mar 03, 2021
Visitors, lobbyists and lawmakers hold conversations outside the legislative chambers. The pandemic has closed the Capitol to the public and lobbyists. The OregonianLC- The Oregonian
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By Jake Thomas, Salem Reporter
SALEM An impromptu five-minute conversation can be politically effective in the halls of the Oregon Capitol.
Such encounters have long been crucial for the army of Oregon lobbyists hoping to get a moment with a state legislator.
Paloma Sparks, the vice president of Oregon Business and Industry who serves as the group’s lobbyist, described her practice of parking herself outside of a committee hearing or a legislator’s office. Once the legislator emerged, she could walk with them to their next appointment or committee hearing.
Chris Lehman graduated from Temple University with a journalism degree in 1997. He landed his first job less than a month later, producing arts stories for Red River Public Radio in Shreveport, Louisiana. Three years later he headed north to DeKalb, Illinois, where he worked as a reporter and announcer for NPR–affiliate WNIJ–FM. In 2006 he headed west to become the Salem Correspondent for the Northwest News Network.
Grupos de agricultura y trabajadores agrícolas en Oregon chocan por las regulaciones de COVID oregonlive.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from oregonlive.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
As harvest season looms, agriculture and farmworker groups in Oregon clash over COVID regulations
Updated Feb 18, 2021;
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By Jake Thomas | Salem Reporter
As Willamette Valley farmers and agricultural workers prepare for the 2021 season, a regulatory battle is playing out over state rules intended to reduce the risk of COVID spreading in farmworker housing.
The Oregon Farm Bureau is seeking to overturn state regulations intended to protect agricultural workers from COVID, arguing the requirements are forcing farmhands into crowded and unsafe conditions. But in Marion County, a farmworkers’ group said that the regulations have made working conditions safer.
Last month, the Oregon Farm Bureau filed a petition with the Oregon Occupational Safety and Health Administration targeting new requirements for agricultural workplace around social distancing, masking, cleaning, signage, reporting and others. The regulations apply to labor-intensive agricultural establishments