our oregon | Fighting to Protect Oregon’s Priorities

May 17, 2012

By Scott Moore

The drumbeat for school funding gets louder

It was another fantastic week for signature gathering—we’ve now brought in more than 67,000 signatures statewide.

Volunteer Spotlight

We continue to have a great response from volunteers around the state. This week’s Volunteer Spotlight shines on schools advocate and parent Barbara Smith Warner. Barbara has gathered more than 100 signatures largely by talking to other parents at her kids’ events.

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The drumbeat for school funding gets louder

It was another fantastic week for signature gathering—we’ve now brought in more than 67,000 signatures statewide.

Volunteer Spotlight

Thanks to her help, we’re that much closer to reaching the ballot in November. Thanks, Barbara!

Will you help get signatures from family and friends? Go here to get everything you need.

Parents, Students, and Teachers March

Last Friday, as many as 2,000 parents, teachers, students, and community members rallied in Portland to demand an end to school budget cuts. It was an inspiring action by people who see the impact of cuts every single day.

Did you miss it? Never fear, we were there with video cameras. Here’s a short video of the event!

Great News from the May Election

They may not have been the most prominent races on your local ballot, but there were school bonds and levies that were decided in this May’s election.

The results held great news for school supporters: There were 10 communities that had school measures on the ballot, and a whopping 8 of them passed. From East Portland to North Douglas to Klamath Falls, voters lined up to support their local schools.

It’s yet more evidence that local communities have had enough of ongoing cuts to their schools.

May 16, 2012

Oregonian jumps further to the right with new hire

By Scott Moore

They may not have hired an actual corporate shill, but the Oregonian today signaled that they’re moving even further to the right by hiring Erik Lukens to be the new Editorial Page Editor.

Lukens comes from the Bend Bulletin, widely viewed as the home to the most conservative editorial board of any major paper in the state. While there, he built up a back catalog of right-wing opinions, steadfastly opposed to taxes, union protections, and spending on basic services like schools. (Unless you’ve got a paid subscription, you won’t be able to read his Bulletin editorials, but here’s a sample courtesy of—surprise surprise—the Oregon Republican Party: http://www.oregonrepublicanparty.org/node/231)

Bottom line: The Oregonian Editorial Board has long been out of touch with its community of readers, taking positions diametrically opposed to their readership on just about every important issue and candidate.

By hiring Lukens to run the Editorial Page, Oregonian Publisher N. Christian Anderson III has made it clear that his intention is to push the paper even further away from their base of subscribers. Oregonian readers who believe their paper should be a reflection of the community will be sorely disappointed.

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They may not have hired an actual corporate shill, but the Oregonian today signaled that they’re moving even further to the right by hiring Erik Lukens to be the new Editorial Page Editor.