Kotek releases some emergency aid for homeless

Candidate Tina Kotek as she outlined her plans for dealing with homelessness at a news conference Oct. 17 in Marion Square Park in Salem. Gov. Kotek, three months to the day of her Jan. 10 executive order declaring a state of emergency, announced $80 million in allocations of state aid to the 10 counties most affected. Behind her is Eugene Mayor Lucy Vinis.

 pmg photo: Peter Wong

Gov. Tina Kotek announced specific amounts of state aid to help designated regions create more shelter beds and rehouse more people who are now without housing.

But in making her announcement Monday, April 10, she praised some regions for being specific about meeting end-of-the-year targets — but singled out Portland/Multnomah County and Clackamas County for shortcomings in the plans they submitted to the state.

Peter Wong covers Oregon politics for Pamplin Media Group.

Reporter

“When I decided to pursue reporting as a career five decades ago, I did so while living, learning and working in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. But aside from the fact that most young reporters do not get their start in those cities — at least back then — I felt something was missing. That was a more intimate connection with readers and audiences that cannot be acquired from working in large metro areas. So I’ve spent my entire reporting career with news organizations in smaller cities. “Pamplin Media Group is that rarity that combines local journalism in two dozen communities with the reach of a larger organization in a mid-sized metro area. Yes, I report on Oregon government and politics, but I do it with a sense of the readers living and working in our communities.”

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