PNS Daily Newscast - March 8, 2021
Nationwide protests in advance of trial of former Minneapolis police officer charged in the killing of George Floyd; judicial districts amendment faces bipartisan skepticism in PA.
2021Talks - March 8, 2021
After a whirlwind voting session the Senate approves $1.9 Trillion COVID relief bill, President Biden signs an executive order to expand voting access and the president plans a news conference this month.
Public News Service - OR: Rural/Farming

SALEM, Ore. - Critics say big dairy farms produce a massive amount of waste and pollution, and bills in the Oregon Legislature would hit pause on these facilities. The measures place a moratorium on licenses for dairy operations with more than 2,500 cows. Emma Newton is the Oregon organizer for Fo

PORTLAND, Ore. -- If a small fraction of farms captured solar energy, it could produce a large slice of the country's energy needs - and boost farmers' bottom lines. New research from Oregon State University finds 1% of farmland in the U.S. could provide 20% of the country's electricity needs thro

PORTLAND, Ore. -- Congress could fund restoration projects on the Oregon coast - and focus on rural communities that were left behind in the wake of the 2008 recession. Mark Trenholm, coast program director with the Wild Salmon Center, said the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2008 includ

PORTLAND, Ore. - As the COVID-19 pandemic grinds on, some organizations are leading efforts to provide relief to Black Oregon families. Shantae Johnson is a farmer and community health worker who co-manages Mudbone Grown, a Black-owned farm that hosts programs for community members. The farm is he

KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. -- With the Klamath Basin expected to see one of the driest years on record, struggles for salmon in southern Oregon are piling up this year. The Yurok Tribe and commercial fishing groups tried to convince a federal court that an emergency motion to increase flow in the river wa

SALEM, Ore. -- With tensions high in Salem as lawmakers begin work on a cap-and-invest bill, one organization is reminding legislators that voices in agriculture are not a monolith on this issue. The Oregon Climate and Agriculture Network, representing more than 250 farmers and ranchers across the

SALEM, Ore. - Oregon lawmakers are trying again to ban coyote-hunting contests. In 2019, Oregon Senators passed a bill to end coyote-killing tournaments, but it died in the House. The practice came under scrutiny last year after the Humane Society captured video of one of these contests in Burns.

PORTLAND, Ore. -- Oregon's climate future could be decided in several ways in the New Year. During the legislature's short session in February, lawmakers will take another crack at a cap-and-invest bill. In the 2019 session, Republican senators walked out of the State Capitol to prevent passage