Oregon has been home to many indigenous nations for thousands of years. The first European traders, explorers, and settlers began exploring what is now Oregon's Pacific coast in the early to mid-16th century. As early as 1564, the Spanish began sending vessels northeast from the Philippines, riding the Kuroshio Current in a sweeping circular route across the northern part of the Pacific. In 1592, Juan de Fuca undertook detailed mapping and studies of ocean currents in the Pacific Northwest, including the Oregon coast as well as the strait now bearing his name. The Lewis and Clark Expedition traversed Oregon in the early 1800s, and the first permanent European settlements in Oregon were established by fur trappers and traders. In 1843, an autonomous government was formed in the Oregon Country, and the Oregon Territory was created in 1848. Oregon became the 33rd state of the U.S. on February 14, 1859.
Today, with 4.2 million people over 98,000 square miles (250,000 km2), Oregon is the ninth largest and 27th most populous U.S. state. The capital, Salem, is the third-most populous city in Oregon, with 175,535 residents. Portland, with 652,503, ranks as the 26th among U.S. cities. The Portland metropolitan area, which includes neighboring counties in Washington, is the 25th largest metro area in the nation, with a population of 2,512,859. Oregon is also one of the most geographically diverse states in the U.S., marked by volcanoes, abundant bodies of water, dense evergreen and mixed forests, as well as high deserts and semi-arid shrublands. At 11,249 feet (3,429 m), Mount Hood is the state's highest point. Oregon's only national park, Crater Lake National Park, comprises the caldera surrounding Crater Lake, the deepest lake in the United States. The state is also home to the single largest organism in the world, Armillaria ostoyae, a fungus that runs beneath 2,200 acres (8.9 km2) of the Malheur National Forest. (Full article...)
Ballot Measure 37 was a citizens' initiative passed in 2004, which requires that government compensate owners whose property value has been diminished by land-use regulations, or else waive the regulations. It followed Oregon Ballot Measure 7 passed in 2000 with similar provissions that had been struct down by the Oregon Supreme Court. Measure 37 represents a major change of course from Oregon's legacy of land use planning, and has generated a great deal of controversy. Passage led to many large land owners filing claims across the state that totaled in the millions of dollars each. The controversy surrounding these claims and the possibility of less controlled growth led lawmakers and other groups to propose changes to the law. Changes would exempt many larger developments from the provisions of Measure 37, while explicitly allowing some of the smaller claims, such as families building up to three houses on a single lot. These changes were turned into Measure 49. In a special election in November 2007, Measure 49 was passed by Oregon voters after one of the most expensive campaigns in the state's history.
Jack Ely (1943–2015) was an American guitarist and singer, best known for singing The Kingsmen's version of "Louie Louie". Born in Portland, Oregon, his father died when he was five. Ely was classically trained in piano and began playing guitar after seeing Elvis Presley on television. In 1959 while in high school, Lynn Easton invited him to play with him at a hotel gig. The two grew up together, and would perform at yacht club parties, and soon added Mike Mitchell on guitar and Bob Norby on bass to round out a band. They called themselves The Kingsmen, taking the name from a recently disbanded group. Ely played with the Kingsmen as he attended Portland State University. The group recorded "Louie Louie" in 1963, with Ely's famously incoherent vocals partly the result of his braces and the rudimentary recording method. Before the record became a hit, Ely was forced out of the group and began playing with his Courtmen. In later years Ely lived in Terrebonne in Central Oregon, where he trained horses. He released a Christian rock album, Love Is All Around You Now, in 2012.
... that when Oregon journalist Larry Smyth was asked who he thought would win presidential elections, he invariably replied "the man who gets the most votes"?
Madam Speaker, although much work is left to be done as our communities start to recover from the severe storms that ravaged Oregon and Washington on December 2 and 3, 2007, we can reflect and be grateful for the hard work of the thousands of our fellow Pacific Northwesterners who helped neighbors, families, and complete strangers during the storms and their aftermath. ... We were all shocked by the devastating impact that these storms wreaked on Oregon. More than 10 inches of rain fell in a 24-hour period with wind gusts ranging from 60 to 129 miles an hour. ... Thankfully, first responders and ordinary citizens moved quickly to help their fellow Oregonians cope with the storm. ... Selfless Oregonians from across the State came to help in what turned out to be a spectacular response effort. It has been incredible to see the extraordinary efforts of so many.
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