Latest Oregon Headlines

All the headlines from our Oregon Topic Page, ordered by recency.

Oregon Organic Farmer Warns of Genetic Contamination

Nov 3 2008 // An organic farmer from Philomath, Ore., says he plans a legal challenge to genetically modified crops because he fears contamination.Frank Morton says he is concerned about modified sugar beet seeds that scientists with...

Oregon Insurance Division Administrator Kipper Steps Down

Nov 2 2008 // Oregon’s Department of Consumer and Business Services (DCBS) announced that Scott Kipper, administrator of the Insurance Division, left his position on Oct. 31, 2008, to pursue other interests. Yet before he left,...

Northwest Could Learn From 2004 Indonesian Tsunami

Oct 31 2008 // The tsunami that killed 230,000 people in 2004 was the biggest in the Indian Ocean in some 600 years, and it has lessons for the Pacific Northwest, geologists said.Geologists say the long gap between tsunamis in the Indian...

Oregon Proposes Sharing Wildfire Costs

Oct 22 2008 // The only sure things about wildfires is that they will cost more to put out than they used to and that they remain as unpredictable as ever.Hotter, drier summers, rising labor and equipment costs, buildup of forest fuels...

Oregon Insurance Division Administrator Kipper Stepping Down

Oct 21 2008 // The Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services (DCBS) announced that Scott Kipper, administrator of the Insurance Division, will be leaving his position effective Oct. 31, 2008, to pursue other...

Oregon Launches Web site for Finance Questions

Oct 14 2008 // The Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services has launched a Web site to help address concerns about the security of personal finances.The Web page addresses common questions about insurance policies, bank and...

Oregon Revokes Insurance Agent License

Sep 24 2008 // The Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services (DCBS) recently revoked the licenses of a Portland insurance agent and her agency, and fined the agent $43,714 for misappropriating clients’ premium money,...

Oregon Workers’ Compensation Costs To Decrease About 6%

Sep 15 2008 // Employers in Oregon will pay nearly 6 percent less on average for workers’ compensation coverage in 2009, the Department of Consumer and Business Services announced.The reduction in the workers’ compensation...

Liberty Northwest Returns More Than $3.7 Million To Oregon Restaurateurs

Aug 28 2008 // Portland, Ore.-based Liberty Northwest, a Liberty Mutual Agency Markets regional company, announced strong return results for its Liberty Northwest/Oregon Restaurant Association (LNW/ORA) workers’ compensation...

Oregon Doctors Upset Over Change in Workers’ Comp Rules

Aug 25 2008 // Health care providers all over Oregon say they’ll have to drop workers’ compensation cases, after a change in how they are paid to care for those injured on the job.The temporary rule, imposed July 7, 2008,...

Oregon Adopts Declaration of Emergency Order Rules

Aug 21 2008 // The Oregon Insurance Division recently adopted rules implementing legislation (HB 3605) enacted in the 2008 special session, which authorized the Director of the Department of Consumer and Business Services, in the event...

Brown & Brown Acquires Oregon-based Fullerton & Company

Aug 1 2008 // Florida-based Brown & Brown Inc. announced the stock acquisition of and Fullerton & Company Inc., of Portland, Ore. Fullerton & Company has annualized revenues of approximately $9.3 million, the announcement...

Oregon Insurance Division Offers Industry Training

Jul 30 2008 // Oregon Insurance Division – Rates & Forms unit is hosting an industry training day on Sept. 15, 2008. The discussion will include current legislative changes, filing requirements and helpful filing tips....

Liberty Northwest Declares Dividend For Oregon Restaurant Program Participants

Jul 24 2008 // The Liberty Northwest Board of Directors recently declared a 10 percent dividend of premiums earned for restaurants participating in the Oregon Restaurant Association (ORA) Safety Group Dividend Property & Liability...

Finding Doctor Tougher With Oregon Ruling

Jul 18 2008 // A new workers’ compensation ruling by the state may make it a little toughter to find a doctor to treat injuries on the job.Doctors, physical therapists and other medical providers have been firing e-mails at the...

Pennsylvania Senate Finally Approves Ario as Insurance Commissioner

Jul 7 2008 // The Pennsylvania Senate in a July 3 roll call vote unanimously approved Joel S. Ario to become the state’s insurance commissioner, a year after Gov. Ed Rendell first nominated the former chief insurance regulator in...

Unitrin Specialty & Red Shield Insurance Company Form Marketing Venture

Jul 3 2008 // July 3 2008 – Unitrin Specialty and Red Shield Insurance Company announced today that the two companies have formed a marketing relationship that will benefit both company’s appointed agents in Oregon and...

Oregon Publishes Annual Insurance Complaint Statistics

Jun 24 2008 // Oregon’s Department of Consumer and Business Services Insurance Division has published the 2007 Annual Complaint Statistics, ranking major insurers based on their complaint records in six common lines of insurance:...

Oregon Amends Licensing Examination Fee Rules

Jun 16 2008 // The Oregon Insurance Division has amended rules to reduce fees for license examinations and reexaminations for insurance producers, adjusters and insurance consultants, and to change the biennial renewal date for...

Oregon/Idaho Profesional Insurance Agents Association Elects Officers

Jun 13 2008 // The Professional Insurance Agents of Oregon/Idaho Gary Steffen, vice president of Safe and Sound Insurance in Gladstone, Ore., and Amigos Aseguranzas in Portland, Ore., as the association president. He will serve as the...