Reviving Downtown Portland Requires Stronger Medicine
By John A. Charles, Jr. Last week Gov. Tina Kotek released the recommendations…
Read Blog DetailYear: 2023
Pennsylvania’s Christmas Gift to K-12 Students
By Kathryn Hickok Christmas came early for children and parents in Pennsylvania when…
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Why 2023 Is the “Year of Universal School Choice”
By Kathryn Hickok Nationwide polling this year revealed seventy-one percent of voters say…
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Student-Focused Solutions Can Address Pandemic Learning Losses
By Kathryn Hickok The New York Times published an editorial November 18 regarding…
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Cascade Quarterly Fall 2023
Download the full PDF here
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Why More Money Won’t Solve the Problems in Portland Public Schools
By John A. Charles, Jr. At the Portland Public Schools board meeting last…
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Re: Adoption of RTP and HCT Plan
November 29, 20323 Metro Council600 NE Grand AvenuePortland, OR 97232 Re: Adoption of…
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TriMet’s Existential Crisis
By John A. Charles, Jr. For those of us who came of age…
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Quantifying the Unreliability of Wind and Solar Power in the Northwest
By Eric Fruits, Ph.D. Executive Summary Over the next decade, Oregon and much…
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Taxpayers Have Been Generous to Portland Schools
By John A. Charles, Jr. In any prolonged strike, it is usually assumed…
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Oklahoma’s Education Tax Credit Puts Families First
By Kathryn Hickok Oklahoma’s Parental Choice Tax Credit Program is the first universal,…
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What The New Homeschool Demographic Means For School Choice
By Mia Tiwana The homeschool landscape is changing. Our approach to school funding…
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It’s Time to End Home Equity Theft in Oregon
By Mia Tiwana It’s time to end home equity theft in Oregon. In…
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Oregon’s Assault on the Grid
By John A. Charles, Jr. In 2000, the electricity grid was named the…
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School Choice Programs Don’t Cause Tuition Inflation
By Kathryn Hickok A long-standing question about taxpayer-funded school choice programs like vouchers,…
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Policy Picnic – Oregon’s Disappearing Electricity Supply
Please join Cascade Policy Institute for our Policy Picnic featuring CEO John Charles…
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North Carolina Becomes the 9th State to Offer Students Universal School Choice
By Kathryn Hickok North Carolina has become the ninth state to enact universal…
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Offshore Wind Takes a Blow
By Joshua Schutte Lawmakers and activists across the country continue to push for…
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Metro Gives Up on Reducing Traffic Congestion
By John A. Charles, Jr. For the past 30 years, opinion polls have…
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Testimony of Eric Fruits, Ph.D. Submitted to Portland City Council
September 19, 2023 Re: Agenda Item 798—Portland Clean Energy Community Benefits Fund (PCEF)…
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Portland’s $750 million climate slush fund
By John A. Charles, Jr. In 2018, local voters approved the creation of…
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It’s Time to Bring Transit into the Twenty-First Century
By Mia Tiwana Portland’s TriMet transit agency and the Metro regional government have…
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Portland Students Could Strike Out Because of Teachers’ Union
By Mia Tiwana Have you heard of “No-School November”? Portland Public School (PPS)…
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Press Release: Cascade Policy Institute Report Recommends Ways TriMet Can Modernize Transit Service for the 21st Century
September 14, 2023 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Cascade Policy Institute4850 SW Scholls Ferry Rd.,…
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TriMet in the Twenty-First Century
By Randal O’Toole Executive Summary The pandemic has made it painfully clear that…
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Westside MAX, Still a Dream at 25
By John A. Charles, Jr. TriMet’s Blue rail line to Hillsboro opened on…
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Parents Say They Want More School Options for Their Children
By Kathryn Hickok As K-12 students return to school, about four-fifths of them…
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2023 – An Outstanding Year for School Choice
By Kathryn Hickok 2023 has been an outstanding year for school choice. Utah,…
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RealClear Opinion Poll Shows 71% of Registered Voters Support School Choice
By Kathryn Hickok A June 2023 RealClear Opinion Research survey of registered voters…
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Oregon Should Let Voters Reconsider Clean Nuclear Power
By Micah DeSilva For over 40 years, Oregon has outlawed the construction of…
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Let Oregon Voters Reconsider Nuclear Power
By Micah DeSilva Earlier this year, Oregon lawmakers proposed legislation allowing voters to reconsider their 1980 decision to effectively ban construction of new nuclear…
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Making Driving More Expensive Won’t Fix Oregon’s Congested Roads
By Micah DeSilva Metro is the regional government of the greater Portland region….
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Cascade Policy Institute’s Bill Expanding Access to the GED Exam Is Signed into Law
By Kathryn Hickok During the 2023 session, the Oregon Legislature passed Cascade Policy…
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The Ghost Train
By Sam Herrin Metro’s 2023 Regional Transportation Plan calls for expanding many different…
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Metro Nature Parks: Inaccessible by Design
By John A. Charles, Jr. Last month Metro auditor Brian Evans released an…
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Cascade Quarterly Spring 2023
Download the full PDF here
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The Memory Problem of Portland Public Schools
By Ethan Rohrbach For decades, Portland Public Schools (PPS) has tried to close…
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Oregon’s 2040 Electric Utility Mandates Rely on Future Technology–or Buying Electricity from Other States
By Micah DeSilva Two years ago, the Oregon Legislature passed House Bill 2021,…
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Metro Nature Parks are Hidden by Design
By John A. Charles, Jr. In June the elected Auditor for Metro published…
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Portland Needs More Than a Small Tax Break
By Sam Herrin Two weeks ago, Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler announced plans to…
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Comments on Urban Mobility Strategy Finance Plan
John A. Charles, Jr.Cascade Policy Institute Submitted to theOregon Transportation CommissionJune 27, 2023…
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Politicians Should Stick to Politics and Leave Technology Alone
By John A. Charles, Jr. Just four days before legislative adjournment, House Bill…
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School Choice States Open Doors of Opportunity for Generations of Children
By Kathryn Hickok Three states recently expanded education options for K-12 students through…
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A Nightmare Waiting to Happen: Parking at 3000 SE Powell
By Ethan Rohrbach “3000 SE Powell Boulevard” is the name of Home Forward’s…
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The Oregon Senate has been shut down for a month. Does anyone care?
By John A. Charles, Jr. Most Republican members of the Oregon Senate have…
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More Money, Same Result
By Sam Herrin “More money, same result” is what Oregon’s Senate voted for…
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A Failure of Political Leadership
By John A. Charles, Jr. The Oregon Senate has come to a standstill…
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Replacing the I-5 Interstate Bridge Is Not a Solution for Anything
By John A. Charles, Jr. Over the next four weeks, the Oregon legislature…
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Money for Nothing
By John A. Charles, Jr. Over the next five weeks, the Oregon legislature…
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Testimony of Eric Fruits, Ph.D. Before the Oregon Senate Committee on Education
Eric Fruits, Ph.D.Cascade Policy Institute Support for HB 3068: Award high school diploma…
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Learning from Great Teachers Is a Privilege, Not a Right
By James Swyter In 2015, representatives from Portland Public Schools (PPS) gave a…
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With New Laws in Florida and Indiana, 7 States Have Universal School Choice
By Kathryn Hickok Two more states recently expanded their school choice programs, bringing…
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Homeowners, Business Owners, and Retirees: Multnomah County is Coming for Your Life Savings
By Eric Fruits, Ph.D. If you’re a Multnomah County homeowner, business owner, or…
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Oregon Needs More Temporary Shelter and the Means to Encourage People to Use It
By Eric Fruits, Ph.D. Elected officials across the state are scrambling to do…
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Oregon’s Last Mask Mandate Has Been Lifted, But State Policy Guarantees More Lockdowns in the Next Pandemic
By Eric Fruits, Ph.D. Earlier this month, Oregon lifted its mask mandate for…
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Time to Sound-Off on ODOT’s Tolling Proposal
By Eric Fruits, Ph.D. In about 18 months, Portland-area drivers will be paying…
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Oregon Legislature Lines Up a Spending Blow-Out
By Eric Fruits, Ph.D. While Oregonians are filling out their tax returns, their…
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Comments on I-205 Toll Project Environmental Assessment
Eric Fruits, Ph.D.Cascade Policy Institute Submitted to theOregon Department of TransportationApril 6, 2023…
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Portlanders Are Voting with Their Feet
By Eric Fruits, Ph.D. Oregon’s economic engine is losing steam. For the second…
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ODOT Admits Its Tolls Will Make Oregonians Worse Off
By Eric Fruits, Ph.D. In about 18 months, Portland-area drivers will be paying…
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A Misplaced Moral Panic Over Teen Vaping
By Eric Fruits, Ph.D. The moral crisis over vaping has hit the Oregon…
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Rose Quarter Highway Project Should Focus on Congestion and Traffic Safety. Period.
By John A. Charles, Jr. In 2017, when the Oregon Legislature authorized a…
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Educational Freedom: A Tale of Two Governors
By John A. Charles, Jr. Last November, voters in Arkansas elected Republican Sarah…
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HB 3068 Allows Students to Take the GED for a High School Diploma
By Eric Fruits, Ph.D. Cascade Policy Institute’s bill to make it easier for…
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Snowstorm Shows Taxpayers the City of Portland’s Dystopian Side
By Eric Fruits, Ph.D. Last week’s snowstorm was more than a snow-pocalypse, it…
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Letter to Senate Committee on Environment and Energy
February 27, 2023 Senate Committee on Environment and EnergyOregon LegislatureSalem, Oregon Dear Committee…
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ODOT Says Households Will Pay $575 a Year in Its First Round of Tolls
By Eric Fruits, Ph.D. This next week is going to be a big…
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Cascade Policy Institute Research Finds School Choice Programs Can Boost Public School Performance
February 16, 2023 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Cascade Policy Institute4850 SW Scholls Ferry Rd.,…
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Cascade Policy Institute Research Finds School Choice Programs Can Improve Participants’ Academic Performance and Educational Attainment
February 15, 2023 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Cascade Policy Institute4850 SW Scholls Ferry Rd.,…
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When the State Stays Silent, It’s Easy to Assume the Worst
By Eric Fruits, Ph.D. What do spy balloons, a state liquor scandal, and…
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Testimony of Eric Fruits Before the House Committee on Climate, Energy, and Environment in Support of HB 3002
Eric Fruits, Ph.D.Vice President of ResearchCascade Policy Institute Support for HB 3002 re:…
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Press Release: Cascade Policy Institute Research Shows Education Savings Accounts Can Foster School Choice While Boosting Per-Student Funding
February 9, 2023 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Cascade Policy Institute4850 SW Scholls Ferry Rd.,…
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Oregon Must Stop Outsourcing Policymaking to California’s Unelected Bureaucrats
By Eric Fruits, Ph.D. At the end of last year, the Oregon Environmental…
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Report shows ESA programs can give students the options they need, while increasing per-student funding for those remaining in district schools
By Kathryn Hickok Cascade Policy Institute has released a new report evaluating the…
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Small Steps Toward Solving Oregon’s Education Crisis
By Eric Fruits, Ph.D. This year marks the 20th anniversary of the “Doonesbury”…
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Education Savings Accounts Would Make Oregon Students Better Off
By Kathryn Hickok This is National School Choice Week, an annual celebration of…
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3 Ways Oregon Legislators Can Expand Options for K-12 Students Today
By Kathryn Hickok January 22-28 is National School Choice Week, a celebration of…
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Oregon Environmental Policy Now Controlled by California
By John A. Charles, Jr. On December 19, Oregon’s Environmental Quality Commission voted…
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Small Steps Toward the Stone Age: Biden’s Gas Stove Ban
By Eric Fruits, Ph.D. My, how time flies. Just last month, I warned…
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ODOT’s In A Tolling Hole, And It Needs To Stop Digging
Comments from Cascade Policy InstituteEric Fruits, Ph.D., Vice President of Research Oregon Department…
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ODOT Is Gassed Up and Ready to Go on Tolling: But They Don’t Know Where They’re Going
By Eric Fruits, Ph.D. “We got a full tank of gas, half a…
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