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FOR THE PEOPLE, BY THE PEOPLE. WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2026 GRANTSPASSTRIBUNE.COM | $0.00

Federal Wildlife Directive Reshapes Legal Ground for Oregon Logging and Development

By John Oliver A single tree falling in an Oregon forest could now carry a different meaning under federal wildlife law. If a protected animal is killed inside it, the decisive question may no longer be whether the death was foreseeable, but whether killing the animal was the purpose of cutting the tree. That legal shift emerged from a September 14 directive issued by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director Brian Nesvik. The order instructs agency employees to reserve the Endangered Species Act’s prohibition against taking protected wildlife primarily for conduct intentionally directed at an animal. Wildlife killed incidentally during logging, construction or another lawful operation may fall outside federal enforcement when the animal was not deliberately targeted. The directive reverses an enforcement approach that, for decades, allowed foreseeable but unintended deaths to expose landowners, contractors and corporations to federal liability. Its reach could extend across Oregon’s timberlands, transportation corridors, waterways and expanding communities, with particular relevance in Southern Oregon, where protected species share the landscape with working forests, highways, farms and residential development.

Southern Oregon Week Unfolds Deliberately hunting, shooting, trapping, capturing or killing endangered wildlife remains prohibited. The transformation lies in how federal officials will evaluate deaths resulting from commercial or construction activity. A timber company cutting an occupied nesting tree could contend that the objective was harvesting timber, not killing the bird inside. A contractor clearing land could make the same argument if machinery kills protected wildlife encountered during the work.

That narrower reading arrives at a consequential moment for Oregon’s forest economy. Western Oregon contains extensive habitat for the northern spotted owl, marbled murrelet and other protected species associated with mature forests. Timber operations have long incorporated nesting surveys, seasonal restrictions, habitat buffers and take-avoidance measures to reduce the danger of violating federal law.

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see WILDLIFE, page 7

Kotek, Drazan Debate the Debates While Southern Oregon Fights to Be Heard By John Oliver Oregon’s contest for governor has produced a campaign dispute over the debates themselves, leaving Gov. Tina Kotek and Republican challenger Christine Drazan separated not by policy on this occasion, but by their competing choices of Portland television studios. Both candidates have committed to televised debates in Eugene, Bend and Medford. In Portland, however, their schedules are divided. Kotek accepted KOIN’s invitation, while Drazan declined. Drazan accepted competing invitations involving KGW and The Oregonian/OregonLive, along with a separate event connected to KPTV and organizations representing district attorneys and law enforcement officials. Kotek declined those appearances. Unless one campaign changes course, Oregon’s largest media market could enter the final weeks of the election without a locally televised gubernatorial debate for the first time in decades. Kotek and Drazan are scheduled to appear at a Portland Business Journal candidate forum, but that engagement does not replace the traditional television debate now imperiled by the campaigns’ disagreement. What began as an abundance of invitations has deteriorated into competing accusations over which candidate is willing to appear, where the encounter should occur and which broadcaster should control the stage. Hundreds of miles south of that dispute, the political calculation is less theatrical and more consequential. Residents across Jackson, Josephine, Douglas, Klamath, Lake, Coos and Curry counties live with wildfire evacuations, vanishing homeowners

insurance, deteriorating highways, emergency communication failures, hospital staffing shortages, insufficient behavioral health treatment and an economy increasingly strained by housing costs and the contraction of traditional rural industries. Those conditions receive statewide attention during disasters, legislative emergencies and election season, but Southern Oregon rarely commands the sustained political courtship afforded to the Portland metropolitan area. The numbers explain the campaign strategy with unforgiving clarity. Oregon had 3,087,953 registered voters in September. Jackson and Josephine counties accounted for 234,540, approximately 7.6% of the statewide electorate. Expanding the boundary to include Douglas, Klamath, Lake, Coos and Curry counties raises Southern Oregon’s registration to 449,510 voters, or approximately

14.6% of the state. Fewer than one in seven Oregon voters lives within that seven-county region. Multnomah, Washington and Clackamas counties, by comparison, contain approximately 1.31 million registered voters, representing 42.4% of Oregon’s electorate. Multnomah County alone has 583,397 registered voters, nearly 134,000 more than the seven Southern Oregon counties combined. Campaigns follow those concentrations. Advertising money gravitates toward the largest television audience. Candidates pursue appearances capable of reaching the greatest number of voters in the shortest amount of time. Fundraising networks, party organizations and statewide political coverage remain concentrated in and around Portland, where three counties hold nearly three times

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see KOTEK, page 5

By Bryce Robinson The final full week of September arrives across Southern Oregon with music spilling into downtown venues, cyclists preparing to follow the Rogue River, farmers hauling the season’s harvest to market and theater audiences choosing among some of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival’s most prominent productions. From Wednesday, September 23, through Monday, September 28, the regional calendar reaches from Grants Pass and the Illinois Valley to Rogue River, Medford, Talent and Ashland. Entrepreneurship opens the week Wednesday morning at The Hivve, 164 SE G Street in Grants Pass, where the Southern Oregon Innovation Hub will conduct its weekly 1 Million Cups gathering. The program gives business owners, prospective entrepreneurs and community members a place to exchange ideas, discuss emerging ventures and strengthen professional connections across the region. By evening, the downtown venue will trade business conversation for Americana, blues and folk music as Cristina Vane and Madeline Hawthorne take the stage. The all-ages concert begins a two-night sequence of touring roots musicians appearing in Grants Pass. Advance admission is listed at $20, with higher pricing at the door. Ashland’s theater district will already be in motion by then. The Oregon Shakespeare Festival begins Wednesday with a Behind the Curtain tour at 9:30 a.m., followed by a noon preface program introducing A Midsummer Night’s Dream. At 1:30 p.m., audiences can choose between A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Smote This, A Comedy About God and Other Serious $H*T. A preface for Yellow Face begins at 5:30 p.m. before evening performances of Yellow Face and Emma at 8 p.m. Fresh produce, handcrafted goods and regional food will take over Hawthorne Park in Medford on Thursday as the Rogue Valley Growers and Crafters Market returns from 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Near Hawthorne and East Jackson streets, farmers, ranchers, specialty food producers, artisans and mobile food vendors will assemble one of the valley’s largest recurring outdoor markets. Later that afternoon, the focus moves south

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see CONCERTS, page 11

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Wednesday, September 23, 2026

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POLITICS Oregon’s FastTrack Development Plan Opens New Contest for Investment Beyond Portland By Ellen Ward Oregon is moving closer to opening a new permitting program intended to accelerate major industrial and infrastructure developments through coordinated state review, with the first applications expected later this year. The Joint Permitting Council is scheduled to meet Tuesday to establish the readiness standards that will govern FastTrack, the economic-development program created under House Bill 4084. The council will consider the financial, engineering, environmental and local-government preparations that developers must complete before competing for one of 15 available positions. FastTrack was created to address a state permitting system in which large developments can require separate approvals from multiple agencies operating under different procedures and schedules. Rather than moving from one department to another, selected projects will receive a coordinated plan assigning responsibilities, deadlines and a lead agency to oversee progress. The council held its first organizational meeting August 31. Tuesday’s agenda includes approval of its charter, adoption of project-readiness criteria and development of the assessment process that applicants will undergo. Those standards must be completed by October 1. The state expects to solicit projects this fall, evaluate applications through the winter and begin negotiating coordinated permitting agreements next year. Qualification begins with the amount invested. A project inside the Portland metropolitan urban growth boundary must exceed $100 million. The minimum falls to $50 million in most other areas and to $25 million in counties classified as nonurban under state law. That structure divides Southern Oregon into two categories. Douglas, Curry and Klamath counties receive the $25 million threshold. Josephine and Jackson counties do not carry the statutory nonurban designation, placing projects in Grants Pass, Medford and sur-

rounding communities under the higher $50 million requirement. Capital investment will not secure admission by itself. A project also must require multiple state regulatory approvals, support job creation or economic growth within a Business Oregon targeted industry and comply with existing land-use requirements. Applications involving ordinary permit renewals are excluded. The standards scheduled for consideration Tuesday would require developers to arrive with preliminary engineering completed, control of the property secured and environmental requirements identified. Financing for the entire project must be committed or conditionally committed. Applicants also must demonstrate that the development is economically viable and capable of becoming operational within 24 months after permits are issued. Cities, counties and utility providers will become part of that preparation. Local governments would document their support, identify a contact person and establish schedules for their own approvals. Developers must account for water, electrical service, transportation access and other infrastructure before a project advances into FastTrack.

Those requirements carry particular importance in Southern Oregon, where a proposed development may encounter limited utility capacity, water constraints, transportation expenses, wildfire hazards or substantial site-preparation costs. Faster decisions from state agencies will not resolve an inadequate power supply, unfinished engineering or a financing gap. Projects must overcome those obstacles before receiving accelerated treatment. The council includes representatives from the departments overseeing transportation, land conservation, energy, state lands, environmental quality, water, agriculture, business development, wildlife, administration and geology. Its two economic-development members represent Eastern Oregon and Albany. No seat is expressly reserved for Southern Oregon or the Rogue Valley. After the council determines that an application is eligible, the Regional Solutions Program will examine whether the project aligns with regional economic-development priorities. That review may also identify local conditions for the governor’s consideration. Gov. Tina Kotek will make the final decision on each ap-

plication, and no additional project can enter the program while 15 remain active. Every approved project will receive a cooperative plan establishing intermediate deadlines and a final schedule for state decisions. One agency will supervise coordination and provide monthly reports. Reviews may proceed concurrently, allowing agencies to identify conflicts, incomplete applications and duplicated requirements before they produce extended delays. FastTrack does not automatically approve a development or exempt it from Oregon law. Agencies retain authority over pollution, water rights, wetlands, wildlife habitat, transportation and land use. The program changes how those reviews are organized and how quickly decisions are pursued, while the underlying regulatory standards remain in force. The council also is considering whether projects with environmental, cultural or infrastructure complications should qualify. Its working materials recognize that restricting FastTrack to uncomplicated properties would avoid many of the regulatory difficulties the program was created to address. More complex developments could provide a stronger test of interagency coordination, although they also would place greater pressure on accelerated schedules. House Bill 4084 directs another $40 million into Oregon’s Industrial Site Loan Fund for infrastructure, environmental mitigation, property assembly and other site-preparation expenses. That money could become essential in communities where industrial land exists but cannot support a major employer without extensive public and private investment. Southern Oregon is not excluded from FastTrack, but its ability to compete will depend upon more than eligibility. The first 15 selections will reveal whether the program reaches communities still assembling infrastructure and investment or concentrates accelerated development in regions where large, construction-ready industrial sites already exist.

Three National Polls Find Majority Disapproval of Trump as Household Costs Shape Voter Views By John Oliver President Donald Trump’s approval averaged approximately 33 percent across three national polls released in September, as voters gave his handling of household costs some of its lowest marks. Reuters/Ipsos found 32 percent approval in a survey conducted September 17 through 20. American Research Group recorded 29 percent in polling conducted September 16 through 20, while a Marquette Law School survey conducted earlier in the month placed approval at 37 percent. Each found that a majority of respondents disapproved of Trump’s overall job performance. The Reuters/Ipsos result was the lowest recorded for Trump across the organization’s polling of his first and second presidencies. It also showed a decline in support among Republicans. Seventy-three percent approved of his overall performance, compared with 86

percent in January. On the cost of living, Republican approval of his handling of the issue fell from 70 percent in January to 44 percent. American Research Group found 26 percent approval of Trump’s handling of the

economy and 71 percent disapproval. Nearly three-quarters of its respondents said they believed the national economy was getting worse. Marquette’s survey recorded 19 percent

approval of Trump’s handling of inflation and the cost of living, and 20 percent approval of his handling of gas prices. His rating on border security was considerably higher, at 49 percent. The White House has continued to defend its economic record, pointing to investment, jobs and other administration initiatives. It has also promoted Trump’s proposed $5,000 payment to adult citizens, which he has tied to Republicans retaining control of both chambers of Congress. The White House has not issued an identified response specifically addressing the latest Reuters/Ipsos result. The polling comes as Republicans seek to hold the House and Senate in November. Reuters/Ipsos found registered voters favored Democratic congressional candidates over Republicans by 43 percent to 35 percent in its national survey. Control of Congress will be decided in individual state and district races.

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Wednesday, September 23, 2026

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Wednesday, September 23, 2026

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OREGON Oregon Court Opens New Path for Affordable Housing Conversions Across State By Ellen Ward An Oregon Court of Appeals decision has widened the path for converting churches, offices and other existing buildings into affordable housing, reshaping the financial calculations surrounding projects that may otherwise remain vacant or never reach construction. The September 16 ruling in DEVNW v. Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries reversed a state determination that required prevailing wages on the conversion of a former church into 17 affordable apartments. The nonprofit developer retained the church’s foundation, exterior walls and some windows while rebuilding the interior for residential use. The Bureau of Labor and Industries had classified the project as a major renovation of a church rather than the construction of housing. Because the original structure was not residential, the agency concluded that the project did not qualify for an exemption covering privately owned residential construction that predominantly provides affordable housing. A divided Court of Appeals rejected that interpretation. The majority concluded that affordable housing can qualify for the exemption even when a developer reuses portions of a nonresidential structure. The controlling issue is whether the completed project creates affordable residential housing, rather than whether construction began on vacant land. The decision does not eliminate Oregon’s prevailing wage law or establish a general wage exemption for affordable housing. It applies to projects meeting specific statutory conditions, including private ownership and the predominant provision of affordable housing. Publicly owned developments, projects that do not satisfy the affordability requirements and construction supported by certain federal programs may remain subject to prevailing wage obligations. The ruling also does not require developers to hire nonunion contractors. Oregon’s prevailing wage system establishes minimum wages and benefits for covered construction classifications. Union and nonunion companies may compete for the same work. The court addressed whether the

From page 1

state wage schedule applied to this category of affordable housing construction, not whether organized labor could participate. For housing developers, the decision removes a financial uncertainty that could determine whether an older building is preserved, demolished or abandoned. Prevailing wages can raise labor expenses substantially, particularly when a conversion requires new plumbing, electrical service, heating systems, fire protection, accessibility improvements and extensive interior reconstruction. The developer involved in the case reported that BOLI’s original decision increased the project’s cost by approximately $50,000 per apartment, representing about 13 percent of the total development expense. Those figures belong to that particular project and should not be applied automatically to other developments. Building condition, financing, location, environmental work and local construction costs will produce different results. For Josephine County, the ruling may create additional options where land prices, lower local incomes and limited public financing already complicate affordable housing construction. Grants Pass and Cave Junction contain churches, offices, motels and commercial properties that may possess redevelopment potential, although

no specific local project has been confirmed as a beneficiary of the decision. Converting an existing structure can preserve usable foundations, walls and utility connections while placing housing closer to established streets and services. It may also allow a developer to work within an existing neighborhood without clearing an undeveloped property. Those advantages depend heavily on the condition and design of the building. Severe deterioration, hazardous materials, seismic deficiencies or an unsuitable floor plan can make conversion more expensive than new construction. The economic effect in Josephine County would therefore emerge one project at a time. A qualifying conversion may become more attractive to a nonprofit or private affordable housing developer because the court has removed BOLI’s prior interpretation as a barrier. That may improve the chances of financing a proposal, increase the number of apartments supported by a fixed budget or permit a long-vacant property to return to productive use. Construction workers face a different financial consequence. When the exemption applies, contractors are no longer compelled by this portion of state law to pay BOLI’s prevailing wage and fringe-benefit rates. Contractors may still offer comparable compensation through union

agreements, company wage policies or competitive hiring conditions, but the state schedule would not establish the minimum rate for the project. Labor organizations may view the decision as a loss of wage protection on publicly assisted construction, while housing providers may regard the lower mandated cost as a means of producing more units. The ruling carries the same legal force throughout Oregon, but its practical value will vary among the state’s 36 counties. Urban areas with vacant offices may see opportunities for larger conversions. Rural communities may find potential in former schools, churches, motels or smaller commercial properties. Counties with high construction costs may gain more from the exemption, while projects requiring extensive structural work may remain financially unworkable regardless of wage classification. Federal law remains a separate consideration. Affordable housing developments receiving covered federal assistance may be required to pay federal Davis-Bacon prevailing wages. State grants, loans and tax-supported financing can also carry individual conditions. Developers must still examine ownership, financing, building height, affordability restrictions and the final residential use before determining whether the Oregon exemption applies. BOLI may continue making project-specific coverage decisions within the limits established by the appellate ruling, and further review by the Oregon Supreme Court remains possible if sought and accepted. The decision nevertheless changes the current statewide framework: the reuse of an existing nonresidential building, standing alone, cannot disqualify an otherwise eligible affordable housing development from Oregon’s residential construction exemption. For Josephine County and communities throughout Oregon, the ruling creates an additional route for addressing the housing shortage through properties already standing. Whether that route produces new apartments will depend on local buildings, available financing and developers willing to undertake the conversions.

Kotek, Drazan Debate the Debates

the registration of Southern Oregon’s seven. Population may dictate campaign efficiency, but it does not diminish the importance of the region’s vote. Southern Oregon’s broader electorate includes 154,134 registered Republicans, 92,147 Democrats and 168,465 nonaffiliated voters. Republicans outnumber Democrats by nearly 62,000, yet neither major party controls the region through registration alone. Nonaffiliated voters constitute its largest political bloc, accounting for more than 37% of registered voters. That composition makes Southern Oregon more complicated than its conservative reputation suggests. Republican candidates depend upon commanding margins here to counter Democratic advantages elsewhere. Democratic candidates cannot surrender the region completely without enlarging the deficit they must recover in Portland, Eugene and other population centers. In a close statewide election, Southern Oregon may lack the population to dominate the outcome, but it retains enough electoral strength to decide it.

Drazan’s connections to the region extend beyond a campaign itinerary. She was born in Klamath Falls and attended Eagle Point High School before establishing her political career in Clackamas County. Her campaign has centered on lower taxes, public safety, education, government accountability and Oregon’s business climate. Those priorities resonate across Southern Oregon, although her campaign has provided considerably less regional detail about how those proposals would confront the distinct economic and infrastructure problems of the Rogue Valley, Klamath Basin, Douglas County and South Coast. Kotek approaches the region with an incumbent’s record rather than a challenger’s promises. Her administration has directed homelessness and housing resources toward the Medford area, mobilized state assistance during Southern Oregon wildfires, worked with behavioral health providers and participated in regional economic discussions. During a Jackson County visit, Kotek met with business leaders, behavioral health professionals,

wildfire recovery organizations and representatives of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. Her administration also included the Medford area within Oregon’s extended homelessness emergency and deployed state resources during fires threatening Southern Oregon communities. Those actions establish a record of involvement, but they have not resolved the region’s persistent shortages in housing, addiction treatment, medical care, transportation funding and wildfire protection. Nor have they eliminated the familiar Southern Oregon grievance that decisions made in Salem often arrive here as mandates, restrictions or expenses long before they arrive as durable solutions. The Medford debate will therefore carry more significance than its place on the campaign calendar suggests. It will be the encounter where both candidates must answer to a region accustomed to receiving statewide attention only after the smoke thickens, the hospital beds disappear, the highway deteriorates or another rural employer closes.

The substance of that debate will depend upon whether the candidates are pressed beyond rehearsed statewide themes and required to address homeowners losing insurance after repeated fire seasons, failing emergency radio infrastructure, Interstate 5 and rural road maintenance, hospital capacity, behavioral health staffing, addiction treatment, forest management, timber employment and the widening distance between wages and housing costs. Southern Oregon cannot offer either campaign Portland’s audience, donor network or enormous reservoir of votes. It can offer nearly 450,000 registered voters whose ballots carry exactly the same legal weight as those cast in Multnomah County. Kotek and Drazan may continue contesting Portland studios, moderators and invitations. Southern Oregon’s demand is more elemental: fewer voters must not become a license for less attention, thinner policy or another four years of discovering the region only when catastrophe or campaign arithmetic makes the trip politically necessary.

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Wednesday, September 23, 2026

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OREGON

Wildlife Directive Reshapes Legal Ground for Logging and Development

From page 1

Should the directive withstand legal challenges, some timber operators may encounter fewer federal enforcement risks when protected wildlife is killed unintentionally. The policy could also weaken the incentive for certain landowners to obtain incidental-take permits or undertake conservation measures extending beyond Oregon’s forestry requirements. It does not, however, unlock federal forests or dissolve existing restrictions. Federal timber sales remain governed by land-management plans, environmental review, agency consultation and other provisions of the Endangered Species Act. State regulations, approved conservation agreements and contractual obligations remain intact. Across Josephine, Jackson, Douglas, Coos, Curry and Klamath counties, the consequences could reach well beyond the timber industry. These counties contain a dense convergence of commercial forestland, federal acreage, salmon-bearing streams and communities seeking additional housing and economic development. Roads, bridges, utility corridors, mines and construction sites frequently cross land or water supporting protected species. Private projects without federal funding, federal permits or a federal land connection could experience the most pronounced change. The Endangered Species Act’s prohibition against an unauthorized take has historically provided one of Washington’s strongest enforcement mechanisms over activities conducted on private property. Limiting that prohibition to conduct aimed directly at wildlife could give developers more latitude when incidental deaths accompany otherwise lawful work. Projects carrying a federal connection remain subject to another powerful section of the law.

Federal agencies must continue consulting with wildlife authorities when an authorized, financed or conducted project could jeopardize a protected species or damage designated critical habitat. Oregon transportation work involving federal highway dollars, bridge replacements, culverts or construction near waterways would continue moving through established environmental reviews. The Rogue, Illinois, Applegate, Umpqua, Coquille and Klamath river systems add another legal boundary to the policy’s Oregon reach. These watersheds support salmon and steelhead populations vulnerable to sediment, elevated water temperatures, dams, culverts, water withdrawals and streamside construction. Most federally protected Oregon salmon and steelhead fall under NOAA Fisheries rather than the Fish and Wildlife Service. Nesvik’s directive governs his agency and does not independently dictate how NOAA will investigate the unauthorized death of protected fish. Federal consultation and incidental-take requirements administered by NOAA therefore remain central to projects affecting Southern Oregon waterways. The September order follows a broader federal regulation finalized in July that removed significant habitat modification from the regulatory definition of harm. The earlier standard allowed federal authorities to treat habitat destruction as prohibited harm when it disrupted breeding, feeding or shelter and consequently killed or injured protected wildlife. The July regulation narrowed the definition of harm. The September directive carried the change directly into enforcement by concentrating on the actor’s purpose. Together, the measures could make federal cases arising from habitat destruction and incidental wildlife deaths considerably

more difficult to pursue. Legal certainty remains elusive for industries that might benefit from the policy. Habitat-conservation plans and incidental-take permits provide formal protection for approved activities, while an internal directive can be withdrawn, replaced or rejected in court. Companies abandoning established protections could face liability if the federal interpretation is later overturned. Oregon’s own environmental laws continue operating independently. State-listed fish and wildlife remain protected under Oregon statutes and administrative rules. Listed plants on nonfederal public land retain protections that can require consultation with the Oregon Department of Agriculture before ground disturbance begins. Forestry regulations, water-quality standards, removal-fill permits and local land-use requirements continue to govern projects regardless of Washington’s en-

forcement position. The conflict is already before the federal courts. Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield joined other states in lawsuits filed September 9 challenging the removal of habitat protections and related changes involving threatened species and critical-habitat designations. The Fish and Wildlife Service issued its enforcement directive five days later, opening another potential front in the litigation. The administration’s position also confronts a 1995 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that upheld federal authority to classify habitat modification as harm when it kills or injures protected wildlife. The new interpretation follows reasoning closer to the dissent in that case, leaving its durability for federal judges to decide. No immediate wave of logging approvals or construction permits will follow from the directive alone. Existing forest plans will not disappear, salmon consultations will continue and Oregon agencies will retain their authority. Its influence will instead surface project by project, as regulators decide whether to investigate, companies reconsider the protections they purchase and courts determine how far the federal government may narrow a law enacted to prevent extinction. For Southern Oregon, the dispute reaches into two economic and ecological foundations of the region: its forests and its rivers. Timber producers and developers could gain greater freedom from federal liability, while state agencies and conservation organizations may turn more aggressively toward Oregon law and the courts. Until the litigation is resolved, communities pursuing jobs, housing and infrastructure will operate across a landscape where the wildlife remains protected, but the legal meaning of killing it has fundamentally changed.

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Wednesday, September 23, 2026

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COMMUNITY Grants Pass DMV Gets Express Kiosk as Oregon Tests a New Location for Self-Service By John Oliver An express kiosk is coming to the Grants Pass DMV, where customers will be able to complete common vehicle registration transactions and leave with their paperwork and license plate stickers in hand. Oregon DMV is moving the machine from a Fred Meyer store in Oak Grove to test how customers use it inside a field office. The kiosk renews vehicle registrations, prints copies of registrations, and replaces registration cards and stickers. Customers can complete the transactions in English or Spanish without waiting for a service counter. The machine prints the documents and stickers as soon as a transaction is complete. Customers renewing a registration will need an Oregon driver’s license, permit or identification card, insurance information, their license plate number, and either a renewal notice or current registration card. Vehicles subject to emissions testing must pass before a kiosk renewal can be completed. The machine does not issue driver’s licenses or identification cards. The Grants Pass kiosk will accept credit and debit cards, along with contactless payments such as Apple Pay, Google Pay and Samsung Pay. It will not accept cash; cus-

tomers paying cash can use the DMV service counter. Each kiosk transaction carries a $4.95 vendor fee on top of the applicable DMV charge. Oregon DMV says it receives none of that fee.

Stickers printed at a kiosk bear the vehicle’s license plate number. Stickers obtained by mail or at a DMV counter instead carry an inventory number. According to the information provided for the Grants Pass installation, the kiosk does not retain customer information after a transaction. Oregon began installing express kiosks in December 2024, placing its first 10 machines in Fred Meyer stores. Moving the Oak Grove machine to Grants Pass gives DMV a chance to compare its use in an office with its use at a grocery store. The agency has not released a timeline for evaluating the pilot. Southern Oregon drivers can also use a kiosk at the Medford Fred Meyer, 2424 Crater Lake Highway. Other listed Fred Meyer locations are in Beaverton, Bend, Eugene, Happy Valley, Hillsboro, Portland, Salem and Tualatin. Five of the state’s kiosks accept cash, including the machine in Medford. The Grants Pass kiosk will be available during office hours at 162 NE Beacon Drive, Suite 127: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday. The office closes on statewide holidays. DMV has not provided an opening date for the machine.

Three Ribbon Cuttings Bring Recreation, Public Space and New Business Into Focus By Bryce Robinson Three locations, two Fridays and one closely scheduled downtown afternoon will make up the latest round of ribbon-cutting ceremonies organized by the Grants Pass and Josephine County Chamber of Commerce. The upcoming events will recognize the reopening of the renovated pool at the Grants Pass Family YMCA, the completion of work at the Owl Parking Lot and the opening of The Way Pottery on Sixth Street. The first ceremony is scheduled for Friday, September 25, followed by two more on Friday, October 2. The Chamber will begin at 11 a.m. September 25 at the Grants Pass Family YMCA, 1000 Redwood Avenue. The ceremony will commemorate the completion of renovations to the YMCA’s indoor pool and its reopening for community use. YMCA staff, Chamber representatives and community members will gather at the Redwood Avenue facility for the formal ribbon cutting. The completed renovation returns the pool to the organization’s recreational schedule shortly before a new session of youth swimming lessons begins September 28. The pool has long supported aquatic recreation and swimming instruction for children, adults and families. Its reopening continues the work of an organization that has served Grants Pass since 1983 through health, fitness, youth and educational programs. The Chamber’s next two ceremonies will take place one week later in downtown Grants Pass, with only one hour separating the events. The October 2 schedule will begin at 4

p.m. at the Owl Parking Lot, located at the corner of Fifth and H streets. The ribbon cutting will celebrate the reopening of the renovated downtown property and recognize its new ability to function as both a public parking area and a setting for community activities. The familiar parking location has been reintroduced as Owl Plaza, creating a place that can continue serving downtown motorists while also accommodating scheduled gatherings. The ceremony will formally mark the completion of the site’s transformation and welcome the property into its expanded community role. Following the 4 p.m. gathering, the Chamber will move to The Way Pottery at 413 SE Sixth Street for a second ribbon cutting at 5 p.m. The ceremony will welcome The Way Pottery as a new member of the Grants Pass and Josephine County Chamber of Commerce and celebrate the business’s opening in the

downtown commercial district. The Way Pottery occupies a storefront along Sixth Street, placing the new business within walking distance of the Owl Parking Lot ceremony. The address was previously associated with The Music Shop, a longtime Grants Pass business that operated from the location for decades. Scheduling the two downtown ceremonies consecutively will allow attendees to participate in both gatherings, beginning at Fifth and H streets before continuing to Sixth Street. The events will bring Chamber members and residents together first for the opening of a renovated public property and then for the welcome of a new downtown business. The Chamber’s three-event schedule opens at 11 a.m. Friday, September 25, at the Grants Pass Family YMCA. It continues Friday, October 2, at 4 p.m. at the Owl Parking Lot and concludes at 5 p.m. at The Way Pottery.

GRANTS PASS WEATHER 5 DAY OUTLOOK SOURCE: WEATHER.COM

WEDNESDAY Partly cloudy 82/48

THURSDAY

Mostly cloudy 82/54

FRIDAY Rain 68/43

SATURDAY Partly cloudy 74/46

SUNDAY Mostly sunny 76/44

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Wednesday, September 23, 2026

GRANTS PASS TRIBUNE

EVENTS

Daytime Lane Closure on Crater Lake Avenue to Affect Medford Commutes September 23–25 By Bryce Robinson Drivers commuting from Grants Pass to Medford should expect a slower trip through part of Crater Lake Avenue later this week. Pacific Power repair work will reduce northbound traffic to one lane between Grand Avenue and Johnson Street from Wednesday, September 23, through Friday, September 25. The lane restriction is scheduled from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. each day. It falls within the workday for many people who travel between the two cities, including commuters heading to appointments, making deliveries or driving across Medford after arriving from Grants Pass. Motorists who use that stretch of Crater Lake Avenue should allow for delays as northbound traffic moves through a single lane. The City of Medford’s notice applies specifically to Crater Lake Avenue between Grand Avenue and Johnson Street. It does not announce a closure of Interstate 5, nor does it say that all lanes of Crater

Lake Avenue will be blocked. The city has identified Pacific Power repairs as the reason for the work but has not described the repairs in greater detail or announced an associated power outage. For daily commuters, the effect will depend on where the workday takes them after they reach Medford. Drivers whose route continues north on Crater Lake Avenue through the affected blocks will encounter the lane change during the posted hours. Those whose workplaces are elsewhere in the city should check their route before leaving, particularly if they normally cross that section on the way to work or on a midday trip. The city advises travelers to consider alternate routes and parking while the work is underway. Drivers should watch for the posted traffic controls as they approach the repair area, slow down through the work zone and use designated detours if any are posted. The notice does not identify a specific detour for this lane restriction. The schedule could change because of weather

or other conditions. That makes a check before each day’s drive useful for people traveling from Grants Pass throughout the three-day work period. Medford posts local closure updates through its traffic alerts, while the Oregon Department of Transportation provides current Interstate 5 and state highway condi-

tions through TripCheck and its 511 phone service. The planned restriction ends Friday, September 25. Until the repair work is complete, northbound Crater Lake Avenue between Grand Avenue and Johnson Street remains the portion of the Medford trip where drivers should plan for a possible delay.

Concerts, Theater, Cycling, Markets and Community Celebrations From page 1 to Talent, where Rogue Food Unites will operate a no-cost farmers market from 4 to 6 p.m. in the Medical Pharmacy parking lot at 49 Talent Avenue. The distribution is part of a regional effort to place fresh food within reach of residents who may face transportation or financial barriers. Thursday evening brings the second installment of touring folk music to Grants Pass, this time on a larger stage. The Rough & Tumble and Flagship Romance will present their Rough Romance concert from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Grants Pass Performing Arts Center. Hosted as a fundraiser for the Grants Pass Museum of Art, the performance will combine acoustic instrumentation, original songwriting, fourpart harmonies and the storytelling style that has carried both duos across the national folk circuit. Another branch of the evening’s roots-music lineup will unfold in Ashland, where the Ashland Folk Collective presents Mama’s Broke at 6 p.m. Canadian musicians Amy Lou Keeler and Lisa Maria draw from traditional folk, old-time music and contemporary songwriting, adding an international presence to an unusually strong week for acoustic music in Southern Oregon. Across the Oregon Shakespeare Festival campus, Thursday’s schedule begins with another Behind the Curtain tour at 9:30 a.m. Come From Away follows at 1:30 p.m., while the 8 p.m. schedule gives audiences a choice among A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Smote This and The Taming of the Shrew. The Illinois Valley steps into the week Friday when the Cave Junction Farmers Market opens from 4 to 7 p.m. at 24100 Redwood Highway in Kerby. Growers, food producers and craftspeople from the Cave Junction, Kerby and Selma areas will gather for an evening market carrying the produce and flavors of the early fall harvest. On the Ashland stage, Friday begins with the Oregon Shakespeare Festival’s 9:30 a.m. Behind the Curtain tour. Smote This and Yellow Face are scheduled for 1:30 p.m., followed by Come From Away at 8 p.m. Saturday brings the week’s largest concentration of activity, beginning along the Rogue River as cyclists assemble at Palmerton Park Arboretum, 300 West Evans Creek Road in Rogue River. Ride the Rogue will run from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., sending participants onto 20-, 40- and 61-mile routes through the Rogue Valley before returning them to the park for food and live music.

Riders must depart within 30 minutes of the official starting time assigned to their route to receive full access to rest stops and support services. With each course beginning and ending at Palmerton Park, the event combines organized recreation with a public gathering in one of the river corridor’s most distinctive community spaces. While cyclists move through the valley, downtown Grants Pass will settle into its familiar Saturday rhythm. The Grants Pass Growers Market will operate from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. near Fourth and F streets, carrying locally grown produce, plants, baked goods, specialty foods, herbs and handcrafted merchandise. Founded in 1980, the market remains one of the city’s longest-running weekly traditions. A different kind of community gathering will develop at Rogue Community College, where the Grants Pass campus will host its inaugural Educational Opportunities Powwow. Organized by RCC’s Diversity Programming Board in partnership with David West and the Southern Oregon Indian Center, the free afternoon and evening program will bring together tribal communities, students, families, educators and regional organizations. Traditional dancing, drumming and food will share the grounds with information about colleges, training programs and educational resources. The powwow is designed not only as a celebration of Native American culture, but also as a bridge connecting students and families with academic opportunities that may otherwise remain difficult to navigate.

Elsewhere in Grants Pass, the Family YMCA will mark two milestones at once. From 1 to 5 p.m., the organization will celebrate the reopening of its swimming pool and its 43rd birthday, returning an important recreational facility to service while recognizing more than four decades of YMCA programs in the community. Overdose prevention, treatment and recovery will receive regional attention Saturday during Southern Oregon Overdose Awareness Day in Grants Pass. More than 30 organizations are expected to participate, bringing service providers, affected families and community members together to share resources, remember lives lost and expand public understanding of substance-use recovery. The day’s entertainment continues in Medford, where The Roadsters will perform from 6 to 8 p.m. on the lawn at Walkabout Brewing Company. The group’s set crosses rock, country, pop and dance music. At 7 p.m., Dearheart will bring its album-release tour to another Medford stage. Conservation supporters will also gather Saturday evening for the 2026 KS Wild Annual Dinner, presented with Rogue Riverkeeper. Scheduled from 6 to 10 p.m., the annual fundraiser will unite food, community participation and environmental advocacy in support of Southern Oregon’s forests, rivers and public lands. In downtown Ashland, the Saturday market will fill the 100 block of Oak Street between Main Street and Lithia Way from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Rogue Val-

ley farms, food producers and artisans will set up within walking distance of Lithia Park, local restaurants and the city’s theater district. Saturday’s Oregon Shakespeare Festival schedule begins with a noon preface for A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Both A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Smote This begin at 1:30 p.m. The evening calendar expands to three 8 p.m. productions: Yellow Face, Emma and Smote This. After Saturday’s crowded schedule, Sunday shifts toward harvest gatherings, vineyard markets and afternoon music. Troon Vineyard and Farm, 1475 Kubli Road outside Grants Pass, will operate its Sunday Summer Market from noon to 4 p.m., bringing farm products and regional goods into the heart of Applegate Valley wine country. Farther into the Applegate, the Upper Applegate Grange will host a free Harvest Festival from 1 to 5 p.m. The gathering extends the valley’s seasonal celebrations into one of Southern Oregon’s rural agricultural communities. Music with a community purpose will take over Paschal Winery and Vineyard in Talent at 3 p.m. during the Jackson County Fuel Committee Folk Festival, Rise Up From the Ashes. The festival will support an organization that assists Jackson County residents facing heating and energy needs. The afternoon continues at RoxyAnn Winery in Medford, where Jeff Kloetzel will perform from 4 to 6 p.m. Dos Mariposas Vineyards will add Petty Thievery, a Tom Petty tribute band, to Sunday’s winery entertainment. Ashland audiences will have another opportunity to see Come From Away at 1:30 p.m. Sunday. At 8 p.m., the Oregon Shakespeare Festival will present A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Smote This and The Taming of the Shrew. A quieter Monday closes the six-day calendar, but the music does not disappear. Dos Mariposas Vineyards will welcome The Scottish Fish as the ensemble returns to Southern Oregon during its West Coast tour. Its Celtic and traditional acoustic sound will provide a fitting conclusion to a week shaped heavily by folk, Americana and roots music. Weather, venue capacity and organizer decisions may affect outdoor programs and performance schedules. Anyone traveling to a ticketed concert, cycling event, winery performance or theater production should confirm final times and availability before leaving home.

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