When Gov. Tina Kotek convened the first meeting of her newly named Prosperity Council on Jan. 22, she told the 16-member panel what she hoped to achieve.

Crook County’s public library may soon restrict use of its meeting rooms to normal operating hours after staff raised concerns about after-hours security problems, building access issues, and facility misuse.

The Oregon Supreme Court’s recent right-to-counsel decision has resulted in the dismissal of nearly 1,500 criminal cases statewide, but no such dismissals have been reported in Crook County.

A local contractor with longstanding government ties and a history of ethics concerns involving federal contracts, used taxpayer funds to attend conferences at luxury resorts and to pay for meals for its governing board members.

Oregon lawmakers are currently wrestling in Salem with federal cuts for health care and food assistance programs.