Category: Pete Shaw

A Competitive Race to the Lowest Wages

Story and photos by Pete Shaw “Protecting a competitive race to the lowest wages is crucial,” said Tom Chamberlain, President of the Oregon AFL-CIO. After a confused pause, Chamberlain restated himself, replacing “protecting” with “preventing.” It was a slightly awkward moment at this strange gathering billed as a “Listening Session on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP)”.…

Community Continues to Speak Out Against Coal Trains

Story and photos by Pete Shaw The Lombard Overpass of the railroad cut that bisects St. John’s – from the Willamette River to the Columbia Slough – was the site of an August 18 demonstration, with over 75 activists protesting and educating people about the proposed transportation of coal through Oregon and Washington. With faces…

Wells Fargo Makes Bank On The Big House

Story by Pete Shaw A swelling prison population is money in the bank for Wells Fargo, one of the top shareholders in Geo, the second largest prison company in the country. In their continued campaign to urge the company to divest from the for-profit prison industry — particularly Geo Group and Correction Corporation of America…

Metro Seasonal Employees Inhabit Unprotected Wilderness

Story and Photos by Pete Shaw Jeff Locke spent years in the Metro parks system and was by most standards an excellent worker. He was a volunteer roving naturalist at Oxbow Park for five seasons,  restored and maintained natural areas in Metro’s Open Space Program for two, and went on to Blue Lake Park for…

Unity in Community Land Liberation Following Arrest

Story and Photo By Pete Shaw Nearly 75 members of Portland’s Rapid Response Network (RRN) assembled outside Alicia Jackson’s home at noon today, within ten minutes of receiving a text message calling for their assistance. “The cops were acting fools in the front and backyard,” said Lobo, co-founder of the Blazing Arrow Organization (BAO). “We…

Block Party for New Community Center

by Pete Shaw On May Day, local housing rights activists, including many Occupiers, helped Alicia Jackson take back her NE Portland home. Next door to Jackson’s house a duplex was under construction, which – unbeknownst to many of those helping Jackson – was being built on land that also had belonged to her. At yesterday’s…

Targets of the FBI’s Portland Witch Hunt Speak Out, Urge Action

Report and Photos by Pete Shaw Dennison Williams and Leah-Lynne Plante, two citizens of Portland, have been subpoenaed to appear before a grand jury investigating anarchists in the Pacific Northwest. The grand jury is convening in Seattle, Washington, and Plante and Williams are scheduled to appear before it on Thursday, August 2nd. Williams stated at…

Community Groups In Solidarity Against FBI Raids

By Pete Shaw A growing number of groups, many of which are based in Portland, have signed on to a statement written by the Committee Against Political Repression condemning the FBI’s recent raids against activists in Portland, Olympia, and Seattle. During the raids the FBI seized computers, black clothing, and anarchist literature. The most recent…

The People Cook Up New Approaches to Global Warming

Story and photos by Pete Shaw If you’ve got the green, being green seems to be all the rage these days. You can hop in your Prius with some canvas shopping bags, head to the rainwater recycling, solar-powered supermarket, buy some Coca-Cola in a reduced plastic bottle and, while enjoying your caffeine high, feel good…