The Oregon Supreme Court has finally cleared the way for a Portland man to circulate petitions calling for a statewide vote on banning studded tires.  Jeff Bernards was opposed from the outset by a group led by a former Governor Kulongoski spokeswoman, who now works for a public relations and lobbying firm hired by tire companies.  He won in court, so he can now try to collect 80-thousand signatures.  He says he will try to collect 110-thousand signatures, to be sure the studded tire ban qualifies for the ballot.  Bernards says studded tires cause more damage to Oregon roads than the state can afford to fix.  Opposition to the measure is expected from drivers in rural areas.

Frustrated Republican legislators are accusing Governor Kitzhaber’s negotiating team of giving away the store in labor contract talks.  The state budget was 3.5 billion dollars in the hole to start with last session, so legislators hoped to hold the line on salaries and benefits for unionized state workers.  But legislators don’t negotiate with state worker unions, which strongly backed Kitzhaber for Governor—the Governor’s office negotiates the salary and benefit deal with the unions that heavily financed his campaign.  The deal hikes the total cost to the state for its unionized workers by about seven and a half percent….and it came in 42 million dollars over budget.  A spokesman for the Governor called the deal ‘a reasonable settlement’. The ‘reasonable settlement’–42 million dollars over budget–coupled with news that recession-battered state revenues are already 200 million dollars short of budget estimates may force legislators to cut further into state programs when they meet in February.

Friday, Sep 16th is the first statewide employee furlough day of the new biennium.  Most state offices will be closed.  DMV and a few other agencies say you can do some simple business on line.  State employees get a three-day weekend, but their Friday is not paid.  The furlough days are a budget-reducing compromise negotiated with state worker unions.  State offices will be open as usual Monday.

Albany Police got a call from a local department store saying a man was observed stuffing clothing under the garden center fence–perhaps planning to pick it up later.  The would-be shoplifter thought he was acting normally, crouching at the base of the chain link fence by the pots of petunias and stuffing things underneath, but he soon learned that he’d been busted, and he bolted–took off in a blue car with two other people.  Albany Police quickly caught up with the car, which had been stolen in Eugene.  A search of the car turned up methamphetamine.  Justin Clifford, Crystallynn Medina, and Casey Lynn Morris were arrested for–among other things–car theft and drug possession.

Oregon Republicans have decided to embrace an idea proposed by younger Republicans at the annual platform gathering in Bend.  Their idea is to make the 2012 election about the economy and jobs–and back off from platform language that denounced same sex couples–even those in civil unions–as unfit parents.  The idea was controversial, but it passed a floor vote by a thin majority after a lively debate.  The Oregon GOP platform has now been stripped of its objections to civil unions, and same sex partners as parents.  Republicans kept language in the platform that calls for limiting marriage to one man and one woman.