Final Jamboree
The 2025 Oregon Jamboree will mark the end of an era, as organizers have announced it will be the festival’s 34th and final year. Founded in 1992 as an economic development project for Sweet Home, the nonprofit festival has helped generate millions in revenue for the region and supported the community through decades of change. Despite strong community support and dedicated volunteers, organizers say the rising economic challenges of hosting a major music festival no longer align with their mission of supporting rural development in the Willamette Valley. They thanked artists, sponsors, staff, and fans for helping make the Jamboree a beloved tradition for more than three decades.
SAWMILL Act
Oregon Senator Jeff Merkley and Montana Senator Tim Sheehy have introduced the bipartisan SAWMILL Act, aimed at revitalizing America’s timber industry. The bill would provide low-interest, long-term loans to help mills modernize and expand, especially those processing hazardous fuels from public lands. Merkley says the legislation will create good-paying jobs, support rural economies, and reduce wildfire risk. The act permanently authorizes the USDA’s Timber Production Expansion Loan Guarantee Program and has broad support from conservation groups and timber industry leaders.
SNAP Benefits Endangered
Oregon lawmakers would have to find an extra 850-million dollars in the state budget starting in 2028 to cover cuts to SNAP in the so-called “One Big Beautiful Bill” just signed by President Donald Trump. Alex Aghdaei with Partners for a Hunger-Free Oregon says the bill is projected to cause an estimated 100-thousand Oregonians to lose SNAP coverage by 2034. He says policymakers will face some hard choices going forward.
“We believe that there is no other option than to find the funding, because our state simply cannot abandon the one-in-eight of all Oregonians that rely on this program to feed their families.”
Aghdaei adds the bill makes more people subject to a work requirement, even though 83-percent of Oregon Trail Card users are already employed. It also requires people to verify their eligibility more often, and it cuts the amount the federal government reimburses for the administrative costs of SNAP.
