OPB’s First Look: On the road funding again

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Good morning, Northwest.

Today marks the start of a high-stakes special legislative session in Oregon.

We’ve mentioned it before, but in case you haven’t been paying attention: State lawmakers are back in Salem to reach a deal to fund the Oregon Department of Transportation.

The agency faces a budget gap in the hundreds of millions. If legislators can’t figure out a way to fill it, ODOT plans to lay off hundreds of workers, and vital maintenance on roads and bridges could pile up.

OPB politics reporter Dirk VanderHart sets the table to start this morning’s newsletter.

We also have the latest on Border Patrol detaining firefighters, including one from Oregon, in Washington’s Olympic Peninsula.

Here’s your First Look at Friday’s news.

— Bradley W. Parks

Oregon lawmakers convene Friday to take up road funding. Here’s what you need to know

Oregon lawmakers will convene today for a special legislative session that may be more marathon than sprint.

Gov. Tina Kotek called the session to complete what she says is unfinished business: passing a transportation funding package that will avert laying off state employees and help cities and counties pay for road repairs.

But legislative Republicans aren’t having it.

For months the party has insisted that higher taxes proposed by Democrats are not necessary, and that the Oregon Department of Transportation can use its existing money more wisely.

The difference of opinion could make the session an extended affair, likely not concluding until Wednesday at the earliest.

As lawmakers get ready to meet, here’s what you need to know. (Dirk VanderHart)

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4 things to know this morning

• A study of 30 streams in the aftermath of Oregon’s 2020 Labor Day fires is challenging the notion that wildfire harms aquatic wildlife. Despite warmer water temperatures after the fire, fish populations in those stream systems have remained just as high as unburned sites, if not higher. (Jes Burns)

• The Flat Fire has destroyed another home in Central Oregon. It’s the fifth one since the blaze began on Aug. 21. (Riley Martinez)

• At least one firefighter arrested in Washington state while battling a blaze on the Olympic Peninsula is a resident of Oregon, his attorneys said yesterday. Attorneys say they have not been able to locate the firefighter since he landed in federal custody. (Troy Brynelson)

• A violent attack outside the Portland Central Library this week is the second one in less than two months. Multnomah County Director of Libraries Annie Lewis talks about security in and around the facility. (Geoff Norcross)

The politics of Gov. Kotek’s special session on transportation funding

Lawmakers will be back in Salem this week to consider a proposal that would help stave off layoffs for hundreds of transportation workers. But it would also raise taxes at a time when a lot of Oregonians are already hurting financially. We’ll discuss the politics at play on both sides of the aisle. (Dirk VanderHart, Lauren Dake and Andrew Theen)

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Headlines from around the Northwest

• Hillsboro prepares to open new 75-person homeless shelter (Holly Bartholomew)

• Push to ban Oregon mail-in voting gains momentum, GOP backer says. Opponents have their doubts (Bryce Dole)

• Trump suggests Portland and more US cities need National Guard​​​​​​​ but crime stats tell a different story (Ed White and Christopher L. Keller)

• A handful of patients have been cured of HIV. OHSU just won $8.4 million to decode their cells (Amelia Templeton)

• Trump officials plan to remove protections on 2 million acres of national forests in Oregon (Mia Maldonado)

• Even after revisions, ‘no one is happy’ about Southern Oregon University’s proposed financial plan (Jane Vaughan)

Listen in on OPB’s daily conversation

“Think Out Loud” airs at noon and 8 p.m. weekdays on OPB Radio, opb.org and the OPB News app. Today’s planned topics (subject to change):

• 5 years after the Almeda Fire, Talent’s new resident-owned mobile home park is thriving

• Community land trust builds housing in Lane County in the wake of Labor Day fires

• An update on the Flat Fire and its impact on residents of Sisters

Superabundant recipe: Oi kimchi (cucumber kimchi)

Oi kimchi is a quick kimchi, more like a salad. Instead of taking a day or two to develop the fermented tang, you toss it together and let marinate for a couple hours.

This kimchi will continue to ripen in the refrigerator, but it’s not good for long (a week or two, tops) so just make what you’ll eat in a few days. (Heather Arndt Anderson)

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