Author Archive
Tony Schick
Management
The federal government just acknowledged the harm its dams have caused tribes. Here’s what it left out.
The Biden administration said officials historically gave “little, if any, consideration” to impacts on tribal fishing. But some sought deliberately to upend the harvest, according to documents obtained by ProPublica and Oregon Public Broadcasting.
- By Tony Schick, ProPublica
Management
Oregon's experiment in drug decriminalization failed. Advocates blame the state's political leadership.
Just over three years since Oregon voters passed Ballot Measure 110, elected officials want to repeal key elements, blaming the law for open drug use and soaring overdoses. But it’s their own hands-off approach that isn’t working, advocates say.
- By Tony Schick and Conrad Wilson, ProPublica
Finance
'We Have Counties in Deep Trouble': Oregon Lawmakers Seek to Reverse Timber Tax Cuts That Cost Communities Billions
For decades, corporate timber benefited from tax cuts that devastated local budgets. Lawmakers want change and have filed dozens of bills, making this one of Oregon’s most consequential sessions for forest policy.
- By Rob Davis and Tony Schick, ProPublica
Finance
Timber Tax Cuts Cost Oregon Towns Billions. Then Polluted Water Drove Up the Price.
Rural communities in Oregon paid millions of dollars for clean, safe drinking water because the state didn’t protect their watersheds from logging-related contamination.
- By Tony Schick and Rob Davis, ProPublica
Management
What Happened When a Public Institute Became a De Facto Lobbying Arm of the Timber Industry
Internal emails show a tax-funded agency created to educate people about forestry has acted as a public-relations agency and lobbying arm for Oregon’s timber industry, in some cases skirting legal constraints that forbid it from doing so.
- By Rob Davis and Tony Schick, ProPublica