Dirk VanderHart
JPR Oregon State Capitol CorrespondentDirk VanderHart is JPR's Salem correspondent reporting from the Oregon State Capitol. His reporting is funded through a collaboration among public radio stations in Oregon and Washington that includes JPR. Before barging onto the radio in 2018, Dirk spent more than a decade as a newspaper reporter—much of that time reporting on city government for the Portland Mercury.
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Five Republican lawmakers say they can’t be barred from running for another term because they boycotted the Senate earlier this year. Now, Oregon’s top court will decide the true meaning of Measure 113.
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A new legislative committee convened Wednesday with a look at the state’s threadbare treatment system.
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Prosecutors and Republicans say a 2021 court opinion has made it too hard to convict dealers. Top Democrats are listening.
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The campaign featured big spending on both sides, but ended in a decidedly lopsided outcome as initial returns show the Eugene Democrat surviving one union's efforts to oust him.
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Tina Kotek is getting ready to dole out $240 million that could lead to more than $40 billion in investments.
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Amid rumblings that she could face a challenge to her role, House Minority Leader Vikki Breese-Iverson, R-Prineville, announced on Thursday she will step down as caucus leader when GOP representatives meet to elect new leadership next week.
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After 12 years, the role of Oregon’s top lawyer will be up for grabs in 2024.
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Gov. Tina Kotek put an end to a policy of paying state employees for traveling back to Oregon. It hasn't dissuaded people from working from elsewhere.
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Legislative aides in Oregon were the first partisan workers of their kind to form a union. It took more than two years to negotiate a contract.
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Oregonians can expect roughly 45% of the state personal income taxes they paid last year to be returned to them — about $980 for the median taxpayer.
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GOP senators and state attorneys disagree on what Measure 113 does, but they agree the matter needs to be answered soon.
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The senators say Secretary of State LaVonne Griffin-Valade cannot bar them from seeking another term because of a constitutional loophole