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Good morning, Northwest.

The invasive emerald ash borer has continued its path of destruction in the Willamette Valley, now confirmed in three more cities.

OPB’s Riley Martinez reports on where the beetle has been found so far and how people can prevent its spread. His story starts today’s newsletter.

In other news, unhoused residents who sued Pendleton have reached a settlement agreement with the city.

Here’s your First Look at Wednesday’s news.

— Bradley W. Parks

Top story

Tree-killing emerald ash borer confirmed in 3 more towns in Willamette Valley

The emerald ash borer, an invasive tree-killing beetle, was confirmed in three more Willamette Valley cities this month, the Oregon Department of Forestry announced yesterday.

According to the agency, residents in Silverton, Tualatin and Newberg recently reported seeing signs of emerald ash borer infestation in ash trees to the Oregon Invasive Species Hotline. State officials have now confirmed those reports.

The infestations were all found within an emerald ash borer quarantine zone. The state agriculture department has ordered tree material from ash, olive and white fringe trees — including firewood from any hardwood tree — to stay within that quarantine zone to prevent spreading the invasive beetle.

Forestry officials have said Oregon could eventually lose almost all of its ash trees to the invasive pest. (Riley Martinez)

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3 things to know

• Eight months after five unhoused residents sued the city of Pendleton over laws restricting where they could rest in public, the city has reached a settlement agreement to invest in homeless services. (Antonio Sierra)
• The fight over data centers in Hillsboro has now reached Oregon courts. A lawsuit filed Monday seeks to nullify tax breaks that Hillsboro and Washington County recently granted for data center developments. (Holly Bartholomew)
• A program that raises millions of salmon in hatcheries on the Lower Columbia River each year is in financial peril after the federal agency that covers most of its costs said it’s cutting off funding effective Sept. 30. (Courtney Sherwood)

Northwest headlines

• Trail Blazers hire Minnesota assistant Micah Nori as next head coach (OPB staff)
• Northwest potentially in for ‘one of the strongest El Niños we’ve had,’ climatologists say (Alex Baumhardt, Oregon Capital Chronicle)
• Eugene Pride cancels rally and march; festival to continue (Julia Boboc, KLCC)
• Oregon hasn’t seen uptick in tick activity despite national trend (Justin Higginbottom, JPR)
• Postal Service skips hearing with Washington lawmakers on mail-in ballot rules (Jake Goldstein-Street, Washington State Standard)
• 4 takeaways from the Washington Democratic Party convention (Jerry Cornfield, Washington State Standard)
• Oregon reaches $7 million settlement with property management company for hiking rent prices (Mia Maldonado, Oregon Capital Chronicle)

Listen in on OPB’s daily conversation

“Think Out Loud” airs at noon and 8 p.m. weekdays on OPB Radio, opb.org and the OPB News app. Today’s planned topics (subject to change):

• Former World’s Strongest Man winner and Camas resident traveled world for feats of ‘Strength Unknown’

• Portland-born Menopunks movement advocates for better menopause care

• How lack of free mail delivery service is affecting White Salmon residents

One more look

St. Vincent de Paul of Lane County takes on fast fashion, diverting clothing from landfills

A clothing warehouse in west Eugene is the epicenter of a major recycling operation in the Willamette Valley combatting “fast fashion” waste.

It’s a sprawling space with lines of tables stacked 10 feet high with every kind of clothing imaginable. Forklifts buzz around, loading and unloading massive shipping boxes.

Fast fashion is clothing that is cheaply made and quickly produced to follow the latest trends. Consumers are encouraged to buy more — and discard faster — sometimes after only a few wears.

Research shows fast fashion pollutes waterways, releases greenhouse gases and spreads microplastics.

But here in Oregon, one charitable nonprofit is intercepting that waste stream — one piece of clothing at a time. (Tiffany Eckert, KLCC)

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News Source : https://www.opb.org/article/2026/06/24/emerald-ash-borer-first-look/