For decades, TriMet kept expanding light rail—even as voters repeatedly rejected transit ballot measures. Four decades later, the anniversary celebrations may tout the miles of track and trains added. But the real question is: What have taxpayers and riders actually received in return?

Portland Public Schools is getting smaller—and big changes could be ahead. With enrollment declining, PPS is considering closing or consolidating as many as 20 schools. District leaders say fewer students are now spread across a system built to serve significantly more. What’s driving the decline, and what could it mean for Portland families, students, and taxpayers? bit.ly/4cYx6Mf @Oregonian

The consequences of pandemic school closures didn’t disappear when classrooms reopened. New international PISA results show troubling declines in student achievement, with struggling students hit especially hard. For Oregon families, the lesson is clear: Every child deserves access to an education that works for them—and parents deserve the freedom to choose it. Read more about what the latest results reveal. bit.ly/46ebpE5 @Comm4Prosperity

Portland kept expanding light rail. Portlanders kept choosing cars. The share of commuters driving alone rose from 64.6% before the first MAX line opened to a record 77.4% in 2024. After four decades of light-rail expansion, that’s an outcome worth examining—not celebrating.

Oregon drivers are getting hammered at the pump—and Salem still wants more. After 83% of voters rejected higher transportation taxes, proposals remain that could automatically raise the gas tax with inflation. Oregon doesn’t need higher taxes. It needs accountability for the money it already collects. bit.ly/4Ary8tX

TriMet isn’t “reimagining transit.” It’s cutting 34 lines because the system is collapsing under its own costs and shrinking ridership. A $158 million budget hole forced one of the biggest service reductions in agency history. When you build policy around restricting driving instead of improving mobility, you get exactly this — less service, more congestion, and a transit system that can’t sustain itself. bit.ly/4gOhopf @ttw_digital

Portland’s MAX light rail turns 40—but the numbers give taxpayers little reason to celebrate. Before construction, transit carried 9.6% of Portland-area commuters. By the time the first MAX line opened, that share had fallen to 6.5%—and it has never recovered. Forty years of expansion. Billions invested. Still below where we started.

Oregonians rejected Governor Kotek’s gas tax by 83%. Now lawmakers are considering 36 new taxes and fees to raise the money another way. From DMV fee hikes and tolling to congestion pricing and delivery fees, Salem seems determined to work around voters’ answer. Oregon doesn’t need more taxes. It needs accountability, better priorities, and leaders who respect voters. bit.ly/4cz4M2M @oregoncatalyst

MAX just turned 40. That’s four decades of light-rail expansion—and Portland still hasn’t regained the transit commute share it had before MAX construction began. That’s a result worth examining, not celebrating.

Eastern Oregon is showing how rural communities can build the housing they need — if Salem loosens its grip. Stanfield’s Bumble B Estates is thriving, demand is high, and the only thing stopping more projects like it are Oregon’s restrictive land‑use laws that box small towns inside outdated boundaries. Let rural leaders make local decisions, open up fallow land for housing, and stop forcing Portland’s land‑use model onto communities that are ready to grow. bit.ly/3SSdQcl Source: @OPB

“Picking up steam” is what Oregon state economists think is happening with our economy, but the fundamentals still lag. Unemployment is well above the national rate, manufacturing is shrinking, and high costs — fuel, inflation, regulation — continue to drag down families and businesses. Yes, tax revenue is up, but mostly because a small group of high earners are paying more, not because the broader economy is strong. Oregon won’t fix its economic slump until lawmakers confront the policies holding the state back — heavy regulation, high taxes, and a business climate that drives jobs elsewhere. bit.ly/4xlXCX7 Source: @OPB

Oregon’s public schools are making headlines—and not for the right reason. WalletHub’s 2026 analysis ranks Oregon 48th among all 50 states and Washington, D.C. The study examined 32 measures of school quality and safety, including academic performance, class size, funding, teacher credentials, and more. What’s behind Oregon’s ranking—and what can we do differently for Oregon students? Read the full analysis. 📊 See how your state ranked: bit.ly/3zxklSy @wallethub

According to @USAFacts, about 11.7% or one in nine dollars of public school funding came from the federal government during the 2023–24 school year. 📊 See the data and explore how funding varies across the country bit.ly/4ypk2HK

Winter may be getting colder. PNW planners warn we’re heading toward a 9‑gigawatt power shortfall by 2030 — enough to trigger blackouts during winter peaks. By 2035, the gap could reach 18 gigawatts. For the average Portlander, that means higher bills, less reliability, and a grid that struggles when you need it most. With a crunch this severe, public dollars should be adding dependable power — not studying how to remove the hydropower that already keeps the lights on.

Portland froze freeway construction in 1982 to force people out of their cars. Instead, driving more than doubled, commuter delay tripled, and fuel wasted in congestion skyrocketed sixfold. The policy didn’t just fail — it proved the opposite of what planners believed. We need policies that adhere to habits over ideals.

Portland spent billions on rail, but transit trips per resident fell 16% since 1982. In 2024, only 3.8% of Portland-area workers commuted by transit. Spending isn’t the same as serving riders.

Before MAX, transit carried 9.6% of Portland‑area workers in 1980. By 2024, that share had fallen to just 3.8% — a 60% decline after four decades of light‑rail expansion. Taxpayers spent billions building and subsidizing rail, yet the system never regained the reach transit once had. Portland paid more and got less.

New article: Randal O’Toole examines what TriMet’s MAX anniversary claims leave out—including falling transit commute share and a record share of Portlanders driving alone to work.

Cascade supports creating high‑occupancy toll lanes to the region’s freeways — new, optional lanes that are managed to stay free‑flowing and actually move people. That’s very different from ODOT’s tolling scheme, which charges drivers for using the congested lanes they already have without adding any new capacity. HOT lanes expand mobility; ODOT’s tolls just make the existing bottlenecks more expensive.

Where is our money going? At least eight publicly funded efforts have already examined a future without the four lower Snake River dams. More than $15.1 million has been authorized or spent — with no new answers to show for it. For taxpayers, the question is simple: when does “study” become a sinkhole? At some point, due diligence turns into repetition, and repetition turns into waste.