TSJ: Why is state selling a forest without competitive bids?

In August 2015, the Oregon Land Board — Gov. Kate Brown, Secretary of State Jeanne Atkins and Treasurer Ted Wheeler — voted to sell roughly 82,450 acres of “Common School Trust Lands” within the Elliott State Forest because the state was losing money on those lands. --Under Oregon law, School Trust Lands are supposed to make money for schools. --Given the ongoing losses, the board reached the correct decision. Unfortunately, the sale protocol adopted by the Board is bizarre. The board will establish a price for the land based on appraisals, and that will be the only price accepted. If you dare to offer $1 more, your offer will be declared “non-responsive.”
Read more at The Statesman Journal

Related:
In late 2014, Cascade Policy Institute questioned the Oregon Land Board's management of the Elliott State Forest. Read More......

Kate Brown: Oregon will keep accepting Syrian refugees

Gov. Kate Brown broke her silence on the controversy over resettling Syrian refugees Tuesday, saying that Oregon will "open the doors of opportunity" for displaced people.
"Clearly, Oregon will continue to accept refugees," Brown tweeted. "They seek safe haven and we will continue to open the doors of opportunity for them."
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Top official in Kate Brown administration launches criminal probe of Kitzhaber email leak

A top official in Gov. Kate Brown's administration has launched a criminal investigation searching for the person who leaked former Gov. John Kitzhaber's personal emails.

Meanwhile, two high-ranking state managers were placed on administrative leave on Friday pending a personnel investigation that is separate from the criminal one. One, Michael Rodgers, is the same manager who blocked a well-publicized effort by Kitzhaber's staff to delete copies of his personal emails stored in state archives.

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