![MORE THAN A GAME. With two diving catches in the outfield, the Lions showed up defensively, aiding in their victory over the Pacers. One catch was made by Atwood, and the other by McGraw. Throughout the game, the Lions knew that it wasn’t just about their victory today. “I think [playing for cancer] makes it bigger than just a game,” McGraw said. “Knowing that you have a bigger impact in this world than just who you are as one person.”](https://wlhsnow.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/I70A1454-1-1200x800.jpg)
![Students in the National Art Honor Society work on the Mount Hood mural on the window of SouthLake Church. The students brought a variety of paints and mixed their own custom colors. “Instead of brushstrokes, we’re doing more dabbing, because it gives [a] better impression of tree foliage, rather than looking like actual brush strokes, because if we’re painting trees, we need it to look like trees,” Crawford said.](https://wlhsnow.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/IMG_2397-1200x900.jpg)
According to CBS, inflation is on the rise, meaning that wages need to increase to ensure all people can live sufficiently, even with the value of the dollar going down.
As the cost of living increases and inflation continues to rise, some people may struggle to afford a decent standard of living, CBS explains in another article. This issue comes from the fact that minimum wage isn’t enough to pay for basic necessities.
The federal minimum wage, currently set at $7.25 per hour, has not changed since 2009, as stated by NPR. States are forced to meet this minimum, but it is up to each one individually if they would like to increase from that number. In 20 states, such as Idaho and Wyoming, minimum wage is set at $7.25, while the other 30 have increased minimum wage to a higher amount.
21 states are adjusting their minimum wage this year, according to The HR Digest, including Oregon.
Oregon has a specific system for minimum wage, according to the Oregon Government website, with three tiers. Back in 2016, the minimum wage was decided per county based on the consumer price index (CPI), which is the index of the variation in prices paid by typical consumers for retail goods and other items. Oregon is not the only state whose minimum wage is based on counties, though not all are based on the CPI.
This CPI also determines if the minimum wage across all counties increases each year on July 1, and is solely dependent on the price index reported by Visaverge.
The highest of those three tiers is the Portland Metro Area, which is an area that isn’t rural or metro, and the lowest is rural Oregon. Each of these areas has a different minimum wage.
The increase in minimum wage was put into motion as of July 1, with an increase of 35 cents.
The minimum wage before July 1 for the Portland Metro Area was $15.95, and is now $16.30. For rural areas, it was originally $13.70 and is now $14.05, and for the remaining counties inOregon, it went from $14.70 to $15.05.
It is an increase for people working 40 hours a week; it could add $728 to one’s salary in 2025. Grant Gunsaulis, junior, is a crew member for McDonald’s.
“[The] minimum wage increase allows for more people to have more money, which allows people to want to work more,” Gunsaulis said.
At McDonald’s, they now make above minimum wage by 70 cents, but their wages still increase when the minimum wage goes up. Henry Weisensee, junior, is an instructor at Youth Music Project and notes the potentially negative effects of this increase.
“Businesses aren’t making enough to increase it that much, and inflation is only going to get worse,” Weisenee said.
Inflation causes change, having high inflation can raise wages and lower consumerism, whereas very low inflation can indicate economic weaknesses. It can be both a positive and negative thing for a country.
