Author

Lucille McNamara

Lucille McNamara is a Daily Tidings reporter with 27 years of journalism experience, covering Oregon public safety, crime and courts, plus statewide policy and community impact stories including housing, education, health, and immigration. She previously worked at The Star.
Contact: [email protected]

News

West Coast Alliance Issues Unified Vaccine Recommendations as Oregon Leaders Warn Politics Threatens…

Lucille McNamara Sep 18, 2025

The West Coast Health Alliance (WCHA) yesterday (Wednesday) issued unified, science-based vaccine recommendations ahead of the winter virus season. Trump Administration Politicized Science The four-state WCHA, incorporating…

News

Portland’s Downtown Revival Gains Momentum With Crowds Returning but Offices Still Half Empty

Lucille McNamara Sep 18, 2025

PORTLAND, Ore. — A cleaner and safer downtown Portland has seen pedestrian traffic increase by 22% in January. A Great Post-Pandemic Turnaround This is a great turnaround for a city that has experienced a steadily declining…

Crime & Courts

Portland Fentanyl Ring Leaders Extradited From Honduras to Face Federal Trial in Oregon

Lucille McNamara Sep 17, 2025

Two Honduran nationals appeared in federal court in Portland yesterday (Tuesday), after their extradition from their homeland to the U.S. for conspiring to distribute fentanyl in Oregon. According to court documents, at the beginning of…

Politics & Elections

Oregon Senate Votes Today on Funding Bill That Could Raise Gas Prices and Save ODOT Jobs

Lucille McNamara Sep 17, 2025

UPDATE: The Oregon Senate postponed a key vote on a $4.3 billion transportation bill—originally scheduled for September 17—until September 29 because a crucial Democratic senator, Chris Gorsek, remains hospitalized and unable to attend.…

News

Nearly Half a Century Later Oregon Detectives Finally Solve the Mystery of the Wolf Creek Remains

Lucille McNamara Sep 17, 2025

The skeletal remains found in the Wolf Creek area near Swamp Mountain in Linn County 49 years ago have been identified as those of Marion Vinetta Nagle McWhorter (21), last seen alive in a Tigard shopping mall in 1974. Moss…

Crime & Courts

Portland Police Recover $200,000 in Stolen Goods, Arrest Suspect in Retail Theft Ring

Lucille McNamara Sep 16, 2025

On Sunday, the Portland Police Bureau’s Neighborhood Response Team (NRT) recovered $200,000 in stolen merchandise and seized $32,000 in cash in a fencing operation targeting numerous retailers. Working in collaboration with the Gresham…

Crime & Courts

Florida Man Flew Into the Tampa International Airport from Oregon Carrying 64 Pounds of Marijuana

Lucille McNamara Sep 16, 2025

Phillip Michael Valeriani, who flew into the Tampa International Airport from Medford, Oregon, with 64 pounds of marijuana inside three suitcases on May 12, 2024, could spend 75 years in a federal prison. Guilty of Possessing…

Education

Oregon Universities Caught in National Backlash as Federal Minority-Serving Grants Are Canceled

Lucille McNamara Sep 15, 2025

The U.S. Department of Education’s withdrawal of $350 million in funding to several Minority-Serving Institutions (MSI) has impacted Western Oregon University and Portland State University. Western Oregon University became the first…

Aging Oregonians and Falling Birthrates Leave Immigration as the State’s Lifeline

Lucille McNamara Sep 15, 2025

As the Trump administration makes it increasingly difficult for immigrants to enter the U.S., Oregon remains heavily dependent on that influx to swell its dwindling population. Oregon’s Population is Older Than Most other States…

Environment

Oregon Rivers Hit Record Lows as State Faces Fourth Driest Season in 130 Years

Lucille McNamara Sep 14, 2025

Oregon had its fourth driest season between April and July since 1895, when rainfall figures first began being recorded, according to state climatologist Larry O’Neill. Almost 80% of the Northwest Has Been Declared a Drought…

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