Jonathan Levinson

Oregon lawmakers have been so busy this session working up major packages on housing and semiconductors that the two parties have barely had time to fight over the issues that most bitterly divide them. That changed this week, as Democrats called up three bills that would expand gun regulation in the state. OPB reporters Dirk VanderHart and Jonathan Levinson break them down on the new episode.

Legislators in Oregon are making a fourth attempt to ban “ghost guns,” untraceable and undetectable firearms that are assembled at home. They have proliferated in recent years. The legislation is one of three bills put forward this session to address gun violence in the state.

The Portland Police Bureau should do more to protect information about people’s alleged gang affiliations and to measure how effective the new gun violence teams are at reducing gun violence, according to a city auditor’s update released Tuesday.

The family of a Josephine County man shot and killed by Oregon State Police troopers in 2015 announced they had settled a wrongful death lawsuit against the state for $1.6 million and an apology.

For Portlanders without a permanent place to live, frigid temperatures can be dangerous, even deadly.

The Tigard police officer who shot and killed Jacob Macduff on Jan. 6, 2021, had no reason to fear for his life, according to an independent report released this week.

A man who neighbors knew only as Brent and say had ongoing mental health issues prompted a standoff with police Friday at his St. Johns apartment. After an approximately three-hour standoff, the man started a fire in his apartment and was taken into custody.

A years-long standoff between the City of Portland and the Portland Police Association over what policies will govern federally mandated body cameras ended in a stalemate this week. The two sides’ final respective proposals were released Friday and the decision now heads to an arbitrator to make the final decision.

The Portland City Auditor has opened an investigation into ShotSpotter for possibly violating city lobbying codes, according to an official in the auditor’s office.

The Oregon Supreme Court has denied a petition to overturn a lower court ruling blocking the state’s new gun laws from taking effect. Ballot Measure 114’s provisions remain blocked in their entirety pending a lower court hearing on the measure’s constitutionality.