Gov. Kate Brown

Two of Oregon Gov. Kate Brown’s top priorities are on a collision course. Earlier this month, the Portland Housing Bureau announced public financing for the latest in a series of record-setting wooden skyscrapers. …That announcement marks a success for Brown: During the past two years, she has invested considerable energy and state resources into promoting the development of a product called cross-laminated timber, which will be used to build the Framework. … At the same time, Brown has also pursued an aggressive environmental agenda. In February, after a yearlong process, Brown’s Department of Environmental Quality will seek legislative approval and funding for Cleaner Air Oregon, an initiative aimed at making Oregon’s air quality standards the nation’s highest. The problem: Observers say Cleaner Air Oregon could gut the nascent cross-laminated timber industry, which as part of its manufacturing process produces exactly the kind of emissions Cleaner Air Oregon proposes to limit.