With the sausage-making still on hold in Salem, some other stories that might typically been ignored during a legislative session are now getting some deserved attention.  Among them, a successful effort to honor the families of Oregon servicemembers killed on duty.  As Gary Warner reports, Gov. Kotek on Friday signed legislation to designate U.S. Highway 30 to honor families who have lost members in military service as Oregon Gold Star Families Memorial Highway.

The effort, which will include markers along the 477-mile route from Astoria to Ontario, also includes a push for the other states  between Oregon and Atlantic City, the eastern end of the highway, to do the same. You can learn more about the Oregon man leading the charge in Kevin Harden’s profile of 88-year-old Dick Tobias, of Bend. 

And, Oregon’s odd weather is creating some good news/less good news in many areas facing longtime drought conditions. As George Plaven reports, most major water basins in Oregon continue to have above-average mountain snowpack, which is cause for optimism. But some of those snowy areas are melting out at a record pace following several weeks of unseasonably warm weather. 

Finally, a year after being ousted in the Democratic primary, former Oregon state lawmaker and Congressman Kurt Schrader has landed a job with a lobbying firm. Get the details in Dick Hughes weekly tally of who’s who in Oregon politics. 

John Schrag is executive editor of the Pamplin Media Group. He tag-teams the OCI newsletter with Julie Johnson, city editor of the The Bulletin.