Ben Botkin
Oregon Capital ChronicleBen Botkin covers justice, health and social services issues for the Oregon Capital Chronicle. Ben Botkin has been a reporter since 2003, when he drove from his Midwest locale to Idaho for his first journalism job. He has written extensively about politics and state agencies in Idaho, Nevada and Oregon.
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State regulators want to hear from Oregonians about insurance companies’ plans to increase costs in 2024. -
Department of Human Services workers who care for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities say their workplaces are unsafe and that they’re burned out. -
So far, more than three-fourths of the Oregonians reviewed for eligibility on the Oregon Health Plan have kept their benefits since the state started reviewing the status of the nearly 1.5 million people on Medicaid. -
Sen. Brian Boquist, the maverick Oregon lawmaker who said state police should “send bachelors and come heavily armed” if they wanted to drag him back to the Capitol in a 2019 Republican-led Senate walkout, has prevailed in a First Amendment federal lawsuit tied to that statement and others. -
Gun rights groups on Monday filed notice to appeal a federal judge’s ruling upholding a voter-approved Oregon law that bans large ammunition magazines and requires permits to buy guns. -
Oregon legislators addressed sex crimes, street racing, ghost guns and other public safety issues but did not fund a legal service for victims. -
The Senate on Saturday passed a bill that would clamp down on paramilitary activity and give law enforcement and private citizens tools to combat illegal intimidation, including through civil actions. -
Lawmakers and advocates hope the program can grow and serve more families in the future. -
The Oregon National Primate Research Center would have to be more transparent about the nearly 5,000 primates in its care under a bill headed to Gov. Tina Kotek’s desk. -
The Senate on Thursday quickly and without debate passed two of the most contentious bills of the session – on abortion and firearms – as the Republican-led walkout ended and work began. -
More than 1,000 state government employees joined a union rally at the state Capitol, urging state officials to pay better wages. -
Oregonians have much to lose if the legislative session ends by June 25 without a functioning Senate that can vote on bills, Democrats warned Tuesday.
