Dirk VanderHart
Dirk VanderHart covers Oregon politics and government for OPB. Before barging onto the radio in 2018, he spent more than a decade as a newspaper reporter—much of that time reporting on city government for the Portland Mercury. He’s also had stints covering chicanery in Southwest Missouri, the wilds of Ohio in Ohio, and all things Texas on Capitol Hill.
Dirk’s byline has appeared in USA Today, The New York Times, The Houston Chronicle, The Columbus Dispatch, The Oregonian, and more. He’s got a journalism degree from Michigan State University.
-
The Oregon state legislature has voted to overhaul Measure 110, recriminalizing small amounts of drugs and signaling the end of the most progressive experiment in U.S. drug policy.
-
In Oregon, an ongoing walkout by Republican lawmakers is blocking Democrats' attempts to pass a law that would protect and expand access to reproductive and gender-affirming health care.
-
In the Oregon race for governor, the Democrat, Tina Kotek, and the Republican, Christine Drazan, are in a dead heat thanks to the independent, Betsy Johnson, who has outraised her competitors.
-
Nearman refused to resign in the face of overwhelming evidence he would be ejected from the Legislature. The four-term Republican lawmaker becomes the first person ever expelled from the Oregon House.
-
Oregon state Rep. Mike Nearman, a Republican who allowed far-right demonstrators to breach the state Capitol in December, now faces charges of official misconduct and criminal trespass.
-
The two states are both led by strong Democratic majorities and face similar issues. Only one of them is successfully passing legislation.
-
Criticizing a session they say is moving too quickly, Republicans refused to attend a floor session of the Oregon House on Tuesday evening. Lawmakers showed up to the House chamber at 6 p.m. with Rep. Cheri Helt, R-Bend, the only Republican in attendance.
-
State capitals have been warned of potential armed protests and violence in the days leading up to President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration. We hear from reporters in Virginia, Michigan and Oregon.
-
Protests continued in Oregon's largest city through Saturday night.
-
The Oregon ranchers whose imprisonment helped spur an armed occupation in 2016 don’t have permission to graze on federal land after all. On Friday, a U.S. District Court rejected the Trump administration’s decision to restore grazing rights to Dwight and Steven Hammond, the father and son pair at the center of years of controversy in eastern Oregon.