The effort was initiated by the Oregon Legislature, which earlier this year voted to speed up the process of replacing offensive place names. Also included are places with names offensive for people of Mexican, Asian, Mediterranean and Romani descent, as well as white people. The Oregon Geographic Names Board will then go through a long review process that includes research and consulting landowners, historians, tribes and other parties. Names that make it through the process will be recommended to the United States Board on Geographic Names, which has final say. “That’s the only way we can and should operate.”Still, their job of renaming Oregon places carries deep meaning, he said.