Story and photos by Pete Shaw A year ago, as I began composing our Thanksgiving article, I was in the pits. I was in the middle of a 4 month bout with a foot infection that found me largely lying on the couch, keeping the foot elevated, and feeling frustrated at not being able to…
Story and photos by Pete Shaw The commerce surrounding the Winter holidays seems to begin a little earlier every year. When I was growing up in the 1970s, it commenced sometime after Thanksgiving, although without the madness now associated with the day after. However, about a month ago I was in a big chain hardware…
Story and photos by Pete Shaw “We will always see ourselves as a sanctuary city and we will continue to be welcome to everyone,” said Ted Wheeler after he was elected mayor. His words were given official imprimatur in late March when the City Council declared Portland a sanctuary city. It was a symbolic gesture,…
Story and photos by Pete Shaw There are some combinations that seem so natural, it is hard to imagine a world without them. Pizza and beer, burgers and fries, Lennon and McCartney, and Donald Trump and Nazis quickly come to mind. Now you can add to the list, Burgerville workers and the Community Alliance of…
Story and photos by Pete Shaw When my better 99% and I moved out here from Chicago on Labor Day weekend, 2000, the last leg was a doozy. We began somewhere around Billings, Montana. It would be a long haul. And it only got longer when our cat, Natasha, twice got loose when we stopped…
Story by Pete Shaw Since the white supremacy rally in Charlottesville, Virginia in mid-August that saw the murder of one anti-fascist and numerous injuries to other opponents of white supremacy, people throughout the country have stepped up at similar gatherings to tell white supremacists that they are not welcome. In Boston, thousands of people…
Story and photos by Pete Shaw Time was not so long ago when a hand-delivered letter meant something. For the composer of the missive, whether something as beautiful as handwritten lines expressing tender and missed love or more mundane items such as a business letter, it showed the importance of what lay within the envelope.…
Story and photos by Pete Shaw Kelly Baur and Jeremy Ibarra, who were arrested during the police crackdown on anti-fascism activists following the June 4 white supremacy rally in Terry Schrunk Plaza, both entered pleas of not guilty on August 17 to the charges brought against them. In doing so, they rejected a plea deal…
Story and photos by Pete Shaw Postal workers and customers rallied on Wednesday July 26 at the Main Post Office on Northwest Hoyt Street in Portland to protest cuts in jobs at the United States Postal Service (USPS). The results of this downsizing has included reductions in service to the public, including longer lines and…
Story and photos by Pete Shaw The shakes–blackberry, chocolate hazelnut, and pumpkin spice–come and go. So do the Walla Walla onion rings, waffle fries, and asparagus. But since April of last year, solidarity has always been in season at Burgerville. Since its formation 15 months ago, the Burgerville Workers Union (BVWU)–which is supported by the…
