Weekly Headlines April 18-22, 2011

Published on April 22, 2011 in Headlines and Social Media. 0 Comments Tags: .

Good morning!

We’re going to try out a weekly headlines feature on the blog, which will highlight some of the things on our radar around the office. Most of the stories will have a direct tie to the agency’s work, while some may just be of general interest to anyone following state government.

So, without further ado, here are you headlines for this week:

Oregonian
Oregon led nation in under 30 voting in 2010
http://blog.oregonlive.com/mapesonpolitics/2011/04/oregon_led_nation_in_under-30.html

Portland Business Journal
Portland area unemployment down to 9.1%
http://www.bizjournals.com/portland/morning_call/2011/04/portland-area-unemployment-down-to-91.html

KATU.com (Secretary Brown was in attendance)
McDonald’s aims to hire 600 workers in Portland metro area
http://www.katu.com/news/business/120260969.html

Oregonian
Oregon’s next political map
http://www.oregonlive.com/opinion/index.ssf/2011/04/oregons_next_political_map.html

Portland Business Journal
Taxation group praises Oregon’s effective business tax
http://www.bizjournals.com/portland/news/2011/04/20/group-praises-oregons-biz-tax-climate.html

Resuscitating the Flag Fund

Published on March 28, 2011 in Secretary Brown. 0 Comments Tags: , .

In 1969, the Oregon Legislature gave the Secretary of State authority to provide Oregon State flags to Oregonians serving abroad in the armed forces. However, when the economic crisis hit the State of Oregon, the fund and private donations used to purchase and ship those flags dried up, leaving many service members without.

Secretary of State Kate Brown, along with Senator Betsy Johnson (D-Scappoose) and Representative Sal Esquivel (R-Medford), are hoping to change that.

“Our goal is to raise money to buy enough flags to fulfill all requests and to keep the fund up and running,” said Secretary of State Kate Brown. “We must express our gratitude to our fellow Oregonians for their commitment, dedication and sacrifice.”

And as dedicated as Secretary  Brown and Senator Johnson are, for Representative Esquivel, this is deeply personal. In 1969, while serving in Vietnam he sent a flag request to Oregon Secretary of State Clay Myers. He wanted to fly the flag at his quarters. The flag did arrive along with a letter from Myers thanking him for his service.

“For me receiving the flag and the letter was one of the few things I remember about Vietnam that will remain with me forever,” said Rep. Sal Esquivel. “I am sure there are many of our brave men and women that would love to hear from our government and receive an Oregon flag for their quarters.”

This office is in the process of collecting donations for the fund. Each flag costs $50, which is also the recommended donation, however no donation will be turned back! If you would like to donate you can call 503-986-2204 or send checks or money orders made out to Secretary of State Flag Fund to:

Secretary of State’s Office
C/O Flag Fund
Business Services Division
255 Capitol Street NE
Salem Oregon 97310

Let’s make sure that our braved service men and women from Oregon can have the opportunity to receive this wonderful gift. Donate now!

Blue Book News

Published on March 9, 2011 in Archives and Secretary Brown. 0 Comments

Just in case you hadn’t heard yet, the 2011-2012 Oregon Blue Book is now available in print! That’s right, hundreds of pages of pictures, data and fun facts about the State of Oregon are now available to take home. Even if you took home the 2009-2010 edition, you’ll want to take a peek at this years edition as it’s been updated with loads of new content.

You also may have noticed the striking photographic covers of this years edition. The photos came from Oregonians, who participated in our Blue Book photo contest. The winners this year are Tom Porter of Albany and Judi Dickey of McMinnville. The photographers will be recognized by the Oregon House of Representatives as well as Secretary of State Brown on Thursday.

 

Finally, this year we are also releasing a commemorative edition of the Oregon Blue Book, celebrating the 100th anniversary of its publication. You can also reserve a copy of the 1911 commemorative edition of the Blue Book by clicking here.

Editorial: A fine online Blue Book

Published on February 16, 2011 in Archives. 0 Comments Tags: .

An editorial from the fine folks at the Democrat Herald out of Albany:

The Archives Division of the Secretary of State has done a great job with the online version of the latest Oregon Blue Book.

The printed edition may be quicker to use in some cases, especially if you know where to look. But it’s not out yet, and the online edition is more extensive.

For one thing, it includes an explanation of the state budget that is both lucid and brief, a huge achievement. That description also reminds people of the unvarnished truth, namely that the overall budget approved for 2009-11 was 25 percent higher than the previous one, swelled largely by the infusion of federal stimulus grants. That postponed some of the economies that are all the more painful now.

The online Blue Book has extensive sections on counties including long lists of places that have public records. The one for Linn County for some reason includes the Corvallis School District but no Linn County districts. If that’s an oversight, it should be easy to fix because after all, this is only a virtual book.

The most entertaining part of the online version has to be the picture display related to Oregon’s efforts to allow women to vote. There are news photos, cartoons and campaign posters and cards — all amusing or instructive or both.

It’s nice to be reminded that contrary to Oregon’s conceit in several other areas, our state was far from the first to adopt the women’s vote.

Idaho was first in 1896, Washington followed in 1910, and even California beat Oregon on this progressive issue by granting women the vote in 1911. Oregon men didn’t get around to it until 1912, and not by much. They passed an initiative for women’s suffrage by 61,265 yes to 57,104 no.

That vote total is the kind if information you can dig up in a matter of seconds if you have a printed copy of an old Blue Book in your bottom desk drawer, ready to be deployed at a moment’s notice.

Online, you have to click various places and wait each time. You get there too, but it takes awhile. Which is why people who rely on the book a lot are eagerly awaiting the printed version, which is coming out next month. (hh)

Archives Highlights Women’s Suffrage With New Exhibit

Published on February 16, 2011 in Archives. 0 Comments Tags: , .

Abigail Scott Duniway (standing left) at a woman suffrage meeting. (University of Oregon Library)

On Monday, we announced that our Archives division had made the 2011-2012 Oregon Blue Book available online.

One of the new exhibits released alongside the online version of the Blue Book is the Woman Suffrage Centennial Web Exhibit.

With 2012 marking the Centennial celebration of Women’s suffrage in the State of Oregon, our Archives division has been digitizing some of the very best historical records surrounding Women’s suffrage for all Oregonians to take a look at.

We’ve said it once, and we’ll keep on saying it; our Archives division has the coolest online material you’ll find just about anywhere.  After you’re done taking a look at the Suffrage exhibit, take a look at some of the other amazing exhibits from previous Blue Books.

Online Now – Your 2011 Blue Book

Published on February 14, 2011 in Archives. 0 Comments Tags: .

The amazing Blue Book team in our Archives division has made the 2011-2012 Oregon Blue Book available online ahead of the print version being released in March.
Secretary of State Kate Brown would like to invite you to check out the new Web version of Oregon’s Blue Book and all the extras it has to offer. The 2011-2012 Blue Book online includes all the content of the print version plus much more including thousands of links and photographs.
This years Blue Book is also the centennial celebration of the publication, which is published every other year. It is the state’s official fact book and almanac including maps, information about state agencies, counties, educations institutions and public officials.
The online version will feature two special exhibits. The first takes a nostalgic look back at the 100 years of Oregon Blue Books from the evolution of the book covers to the wide-ranging subjects of photos inside. An additional exhibit celebrates the 2012 centennial of women’s suffrage in Oregon with colorful images and descriptive text.
Another advantage to posting the Blue Book online, is that the Web version is updated regularly, as new information becomes available. In addition you can find thousands of links to content including games, trivia, quizzes and biographical sketches of prominent Oregonians.
The print version of the Blue Book will be released in March. In celebration of the 100th anniversary of commemorative 1911 Blue Book will be available to purchase in addition to the latest print version.
For more information about purchasing a print version of the Oregon blue Book or a Commemorative 1911 Blue Book please contact Julie Yamaka at (503) 978-5199 or julie.a.yamaka@state.or.us

Secretary of State Brown Makes Her 2011 Session Debut

Published on February 11, 2011 in Elections and Secretary Brown. 0 Comments

On Wednesday, we talked about how this session will be about continuing to implement our agency vision, which is to:

  • Engage;
  • Innovate for the Future; and
  • Deliver even better Results for all Oregonians

    • As part of this effort, Secretary of State Kate Brown is getting involved in the 2011 legislative session in a big way on Monday, testifying on two elections bills before the House Rules Committee. The two bills, House Bill 2258 and House Bill 2259, aren’t really new laws. Rather, they will refine some of the landmark legislation passed during previous sessions.

    In brief, HB 2258 will:

    • Establish a toll free initiative hotline;
    • Institute a requirement for employers to maintain more detailed payroll information; and
    • extend the ban on signature gathering for fraud, forgery or identity theft.

    House Bill 2259 changes reporting requirements in the last 42 days of a campaign. Under the new reporting rules: Any expenditure over $5,000 would have to be reported within 48 hours. Expenditures und $5,000 would have 14 days to be reported. Currently, campaigns have only 7 days

    The Secretary strongly believes that these refinements will help the Secretary of State’s office deliver even better results for Oregonians, by further safeguarding our initiative process and focusing our precious resources on ‘alligators not mosquitoes’ when it comes to reporting.

    To listen to Secretary Brown’s testimony please log onto:

    http://www.leg.state.or.us/listn/listeninfo.htm and click on Capitol Hearing Room Video: 50. The hearing begins at 3 p.m PST.

    The 2011 Session is Here!

    Published on February 9, 2011 in Archives, Audits, Corporation, Elections, Secretary Brown and Uncategorized. 0 Comments

    The time has come and the Oregon State Legislature is convening to discuss some of the most pressing issues in the history of the State of Oregon. The good news is, the Legislature is wasting no time, introducing a bevy of bills, and keeping our staff plenty busy in the process.

    It’s nearly an even split in both chambers of the legislature and while some folks view this as a potential problem, we think it’s an opportunity for the legislature to work together in a truly bipartisan way to get Oregon through these tough economic times.

    As for the Secretary of State’s Office, our goal for this session is to continue the work we’ve started on implementing our agency vision, which is to:

  • Engage;
  • Innovate for the Future; and
  • Deliver even better Results for all Oregonians

    • We will be sharing information on some of the bills we’re working on and we hope you will register to leave comments, so that we can get your feedback on our bills and the session in general.

    Secretary of State Brown at the Portland City Club

    Published on January 7, 2011 in Secretary Brown. 0 Comments

    Secretary of State Kate Brown was at the Portland City Club today to speak at its Friday Forum.

    To listen to the speech, head over to the Portland City Club’s site.

    We’d like to thank the Portland City Club again for allow Secretary Brown to lay out her vision for this agency and talk a bit about the redistricting process.

    Ballot Return Update – November 4th Edition

    Published on November 4, 2010 in Elections. 0 Comments

    As of 8:30am, here is where ballot returns stand

    County Returned Counted % counted difference
    BAKER 7440 7424 99.8% 16
    BENTON 37095 36432 98.2% 663
    CLACKAMAS 158505 152038 95.9% 6467
    CLATSOP 15116 14953 98.9% 163
    COLUMBIA 20423 20366 99.7% 57
    COOS 25996 25221 97.0% 775
    CROOK 9042 8997 99.5% 45
    CURRY 10465 10461 100.0% 4
    DESCHUTES 65136 64171 98.5% 965
    DOUGLAS 44090 43781 99.3% 309
    GILLIAM 985 981 99.6% 4
    GRANT 3533 3532 100.0% 1
    HARNEY 3447 3436 99.7% 11
    HOOD RIVER 8650 8591 99.3% 59
    JACKSON 79439 77447 97.5% 1992
    JEFFERSON 6701 6670 99.5% 31
    JOSEPHINE 34126 33586 98.4% 540
    KLAMATH 23318 23304 99.9% 14
    LAKE 3218 3211 99.8% 7
    LANE 146844 119384 81.3% 27460
    LINCOLN 20027 19971 99.7% 56
    LINN 42011 41594 99.0% 417
    MALHEUR 7865 7865 100.0% 0
    MARION 102626 95512 93.1% 7114
    MORROW 3222 3214 99.8% 8
    MULTNOMAH 285814 272857 95.5% 12957
    POLK 29663 29402 99.1% 261
    SHERMAN 928 927 99.9% 1
    TILLAMOOK 11124 11122 100.0% 2
    UMATILLA 20120 20010 99.5% 110
    UNION 10950 10810 98.7% 140
    WALLOWA 3896 3892 99.9% 4
    WASCO 9520 9214 96.8% 306
    WASHINGTON 190072 175040 92.1% 15032
    WHEELER 765 764 99.9% 1
    YAMHILL 37016 36193 97.8% 823
    Grand Total 1479188 1402373 94.8% 76815
    Turnout 71.3%