Story by Pete Shaw Thanks to Commissioners Jo Ann Hardesty, Amanda Fritz, and Chloe Eudaly, the Portland City Council voted on Wednesday, February 13 to remove Portland from the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF). The 3-2 decision marks the second time Portland has decided the risks of using its police in cooperation with the…
Story and photos by John G. Mellor In a shocking turn of events late yesterday, Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler announced that he would be taking steps to abolish the Portland Police Bureau and called upon Portland’s citizens of conscience to burn down the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) prison on Southwest Macadam Avenue. Speaking before…
Story by Pete Shaw Let’s skip the formalities and conventions and get right to the point: Mayor Charlie Hales, Commissioner Nick Fish, and Commissioner Amanda Fritz are racists. They are dangerous racists whose recent support for the new police contract shows a complete disregard for the lives of people of color–particularly Black people–and an equally…
Story by Pete Shaw After several months of deliberation and community input, the Socially Responsible Investments Committee (SRIC) voted unanimously to recommend that the City of Portland divest its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company due to the company’s financing of for-profit prisons and “morally bankrupt” lending practices. The City currently holds $40 million in…
Story by Pete Shaw After nearly two-and-a-half years of negotiations, town halls, council meetings, and testimony, Right 2 Dream Too (R2DToo) is moving to a new home near the Tilikum Crossing. In a 4-1 vote on February 24, the City Council approved a resolution whereby the rest area for people without housing will relocate across…
Story by Pete Shaw Right 2 Dream Too (R2DToo), the rest area for people without housing currently located at the corner of Burnside and NW 4th, must wait until Wednesday to find out if it will have a new home in Southeast Portland. After four hours of deliberation on February 18 the City Council…
Story and photos by Pete Shaw A petition signed by over 350 Recreation employees was presented the Portland City Council on December 2, asking for a $15 an hour minimum wage, benefits, and more opportunity for year-round jobs. “I’ve seen excellent employees struggle with low wages and a lack of access to full time work,”…
Story and photos by Pete Shaw The late, great Townes Van Zandt once said, “Aloneness is a state of being whereas loneliness is a feeling. It’s like being broke and being poor.” Thanksgiving is a day that begins a six or so week stretch that reminds many of their aloneness more painfully than usual. So…
Story and photos by Pete Shaw A resolution opposing projects in Portland, Vancouver, and the Columbia River Gorge that would increase the number of oil trains passing through the region was approved by Portland City Council on November 4 by a vote of 4-0. A second resolution which would declare the City’s opposition to the…
Story and photos by Pete Shaw The Portland City Council unanimously passed an ordinance declaring a housing state of emergency in the city on Wednesday. The ordinance theoretically paves the way for steps to ease the housing crisis affecting a large swathe of people who rent housing, as well as those experiencing houselessness, stating in…
