A looming fiscal cliff could force Rogue Valley Transportation District to cut routes and endure an almost 50% drop in ridership in 2026. The local bus service, which serves most cities in Jackson County, has already instituted a strict fare enforcement policy, which wasn’t in place during the pandemic because it helped assist the homeless and unemployed.
Jackson County Administrator Danny Jordan presented his budget message for 2025-26 March 31, showing a focus on needed capital projects related to animal control, airport travel and emergency/disaster response. The total recommended budget is $660,109,748 for the fiscal year.
A packed open house on Saturday at Jackson County Fire District 5 Station 4 outside of Ashland offered a detailed financial update on the embattled district and a chance to discuss everything from staffing struggles to an investigation that remains under review by the Oregon Department of Justice.
Jackson County Fire District 5 officials and union members reached an agreement Tuesday for reduced staffing minimums on fire engines and other apparatus to better distribute service coverage during an ongoing staffing struggle.
Forest restoration and wildfire mitigation projects have been halted and employees laid off as freezes of federal funds impact Lomakatsi Restoration Project, an Ashland-based nonprofit organization. Nearly two of every three dollars — 65% — of the nonprofit’s budget for 2025 came from the Inflation Reduction Act or the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law — two pots of money affected by broad freezes of federal funds by the Trump administration.
An effort to create a safer, cleaner, more fire-resistant Bear Creek Greenway is gathering momentum as Medford and other cities explore ways to improve the 22.4-mile bike and pedestrian path from Ashland to Central Point.
Jackson County District Attorney Beth Heckert marked the final day of her third and last term in office on Monday. Former Chief Deputy DA Patrick Green was sworn in as the county’s new top prosecutor Monday.
A U.S. district judge has denied a motion by regional tribes that would block federal officials from greenlighting a Coquille Indian Tribe casino in Medford.
Jackson County needs a new animal shelter, one for both dogs and cats and run by a nonprofit organization, not the county, says Denise Krause, an Ashland resident who serves on the Rogue Valley Transit District board and is known to many as a candidate for county commissioner.
Republican Randy Sparacino notched an apparent landslide victory Tuesday night in the race for Jackson County commissioner against Democrat Denise Krause of Ashland. The unofficial results posted on the Oregon Secretary of State’s website on Thursday show Sparacino received 56.84%, or 62,603 votes, against Krause’s 43.04%, or 47,403 votes in the race for the position 2 commissioner seat.
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Ask Strider: A worried older brother asks our advice columnist’s advice. And a dog’s guardian wants to know if there is any hope getting their hat-hating dog to calm down. As always, Strider tries to give words that help!
After a successful production of “The Vagina Monologues” and raising more than $2,000 for Planned Parenthood of Southwestern Oregon, Ashland actor and director Lia Dugal intends for “The Climate Monologues” to premiere in Oregon in late 2025 or early 2026 at the Bellview Grange in Ashland.
It’s complicated.
Herbert Rothschild: Whether visualization and intention by themselves can effect broad social change is impossible to determine, but the question merits sustained consideration.
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