The election of Donald Trump and a GOP Congress will very likely be devastating for federal environmental policy. But that’s not the only environmental news from the election.
Measure 100 — an Oregon initiative to ban the sale of products made from some of the world’s most imperiled animals — has passed overwhelmingly with 70 percent of the statewide vote.
Following the passage of similar laws in California and Washington, Oregon voters have effectively closed the west coast of the U.S. for trade in elephant ivory, rhino horn and other highly trafficked wildlife products.
Voters in California, Nevada, Washington and Oregon approved stricter gun control initiatives while those in Maine, Kansas and Indiana leaned towards protecting the Second Amendment.
PORTLAND — A ballot measure that would have taxed Oregon businesses with $25 million or more in sales failed Tuesday, but voters approved ballot measures on an array of other issues.
Measures covering everything from guaranteed outdoor school for Oregon middle schoolers to additional funding for veterans' services to whether public universities should be allowed to play the stock market got the thumbs up at the polls.
Aside from Measure 97 — the tax measure — the only other measure to fail was one that would have lifted ban on state judges serving beyond the age of 75.
SALEM, Ore. - The biggest proposed tax hike in Oregon history, Measure 97, was defeated by by voters in updated results Wednesday, but most other measures were approved by voters.
The 2.5 percent increase in corporate minimum tax for sales over $25 million lost 59 percent no to 40 percent in favor, with more than 1.8 million ballots counted.
Opponents and supporters of Measure 97 battled bitterly during a campaign in which the two sides raised about $25 million.
A major education spending proposal, overshadowed on the fall ballot by a contentious fight over corporate taxes, appeared headed to an easy victory according to partial returns Tuesday.
Measure 98, leading 65 percent to 34 percent, was billed as an antidote for Oregon's 74 percent high school graduation rate, third-worst in the nation.
It will pump $150 million a year, roughly $800 per student, into a fund to help high schools drive graduation rates higher.
Animal advocates are asking Oregon voters this fall to ban sales of parts from a dozen animal species, including ivory from elephants and rhinoceroses.
Shark fins are the only animal product from a non-native species currently banned from sale in Oregon, according to the state voter's pamphlet. Measure 100 would ban sales of 12 additional species: elephants, rhinoceroses, whales, tigers, lions, leopards, cheetahs, jaguars, pangolins, sea turtles and rays. It would also prohibit the sales of any part of a shark.
An ecstatic crowd greeted 2016’s Portland EcoFilm Festival, which took place at Portland, Oregon’s historic Hollywood Theatre from October 20-23. The event focused heavily on the ways in which we understand our connection with the environment.