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Pulling back the curtains on wage-theft enforcement in MN; Trump's latest attack is on RFK, Jr; NM LGBTQ+ equality group endorses 2024 'Rock Star' candidates; Michigan's youth justice reforms: Expanded diversion, no fees.

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Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says rebuilding Baltimore's Key Bridge will be challenging and expensive. An Alabama Democrat flips a state legislature seat and former Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman dies at 82.

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Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Governor's Budget Shows Oregon Economy "Turning Corner"

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Wednesday, December 6, 2006   

Salem, OR - Governor Kulongoski's new budget is painting a rosier economic picture after nearly a decade of grim cuts. The budget would increase state spending by 20 percent over two years, including an increase of more than $1 billion for Oregon education and $700 million for healthcare and human services.

Katy Small is a nursing assistant at a Portland nursing home that she says has been understaffed for years. She's convinced the new budget would make a big difference.

"It would give us more time to spend with each patient, which we desperately need."

John Mullin, with the Oregon Association of Area Agencies on Aging and Disabilities, notes it's the first time in many years that services for seniors and people with disabilities aren't being cut.

"All in all this is a very good start. Hopefully the legislature will restore some services for seniors and people with disabilities."

The budget also proposes to increase the state's cigarette tax by 84 cents, making it among the highest in the nation. Tabithia Engle with the Tobacco Free Coalition of Oregon sees that as good news on several fronts.

"An increase in the price of tobacco is a good public health measure, all by itself. The Governor's proposal goes further in dedicating some of that revenue to tobacco prevention and health care for Oregon's uninsured children."

The budget also calls for raising corporate taxes and putting the corporate "kicker" into a rainy day fund. Republicans say they're concerned those proposals could hurt the state's economy, but other analysts say it will help level the tax playing field between big corporations and other Oregonians.

The Governor's recommended 2007-2009 budget can be found online at www.oregon.gov/DAS/BAM/GRB0709.shtml.


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