Category: Headlines

Immigrants Rally to Keep Their Families Together

Story and photos by Pete Shaw Gathered around pairs of shoes representing fathers and father figures who have been detained and deported, over 70 people assembled in front of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Office at 511 NW Broadway on Monday June 17th to demand Congress and President Obama create and pass immigration legislation…

Protesters Target Postal Privatization, Demand Corporate Mail Theft End

Story by Jamie Partridge • Photos by Jerry Atkin Over forty demonstrators, ten of whom blocked the entrance to the Portland Air Cargo Center (US Postal Service), declared victory against “postal privatizers”  today.  According to postal service managers, several morning mail runs by subcontractor Dill Star trucking were disrupted by the protest. ”Postal truckers, mail…

Housing Justice Advocates Land Trial Date

Story and photos by Pete Shaw Local housing justice activists will go on trial in June for their attempts to help keep a foreclosed family in their home during an eviction in which police used pepper spray against protesters. In October 2012, deputies from the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) and Portland police evicted Patricia…

Big Grain Shuts Out Longshoremen Struggling for Workplace Equity

Story and photos by Pete Shaw Columbia Grain locked out ILWU Local 8’s grain handlers on May 4 in Portland, accusing them of “engaging in inside game’ tactics, including slowdowns, work-to-rule, and demands for repeated inspections of the same equipment – all designed to negatively impact Columbia Grain’s operations.” Late the next day, twenty of…

Local High School Students Stand Against Standardized Testing

Story and photos by Pete Shaw Joining the growing ranks of students and teachers protesting standardized testing, over 60 Grover Cleveland High School students walked out of their classes on Thursday April 18. The students, who are members of the Portland Student Union (PSU) see the tests as an unreliable way to evaluate their actual…

Portland Water Fluoridation Debate Flows On

Story and photo by Pete Shaw The Portland City Council unleashed a torrent of community activism last September when it unanimously voted to fluoridate Portland’s drinking water. Within a month, anti-fluoridation group Clean Water Portland delivered more than twice the necessary signatures to refer the issue to the ballot, where, on three previous occasions, Portland…