An Oregon paper was repeatedly denied public records. Its fight for transparency ended in a major victory.

In 2017, the announcement of a major project caught the attention of Les Zaitz, the publisher and editor of the Malheur Enterprise.

“We were watching this rail center project pretty closely, because of the amount of money and the promise for Malheur County, which is one of the poorest counties in Oregon. So, an industrial development bringing a bunch of promised jobs is big news and good news, right?”

The project could have been life-changing for the residents of Malheur County, 14.9% of which live in poverty — more than any other county in Oregon.

Click here to read more.