Category: Essays & Letters

Parachutes and Sea Shells

Story by Pete Shaw I was recently on a train from Denville, New Jersey to Pennsylvania Station (Penn Station as the locals have it) in New York City (The City as those same fellas have it), my balance bent. I grew up in New Jersey, not far from The City, and at least once I…

The System Fiddles While We Burn

Story and photos by Pete Shaw The Fennica has left Portland despite the noble and courageous efforts of the kayaktivists and Greenpeace climbers whose blockade cost Shell Oil two days of profits. But while ultimately failing to keep the boat moored in Portland, they showed people that they can stand up to the large energy…

Sweetness and Light

by Peter Shaw May Day, 2015, 2:12 AM   Let us sing songs of remembrance Let us praise great people Not the ones in the great books But the ones of the great stories The stories we tell The stories we write The stories we create and re-create   My Friend Greg does not have…

Portland Mayor’s Abrupt Resignation Tipped by Housing, Police Injustice Issues

Story by Raymond D. Davies Shocking the Portland political establishment, Mayor Charlie Hales announced today his resignation, effective immediately. Hales was expected to run for reelection in 2016, but citing his “frustration with certain elements of city governance, particularly the lack of effectiveness in dealing with the police and people without housing,” he has decided to…

East Coast Roads Take Me Home

  Story and Photos by Pete Shaw Every so often, when mentioning that I write for this publication, I get asked whatever happened to the Occupy Movement. The question often confuses me because it implies a singularity where I see linearity or even a sort of feedback loop that links past with present and constantly…

Caleb or Saltzman?

By Pete Hybertsen For the first time in too long, Portland voters have a viable, independent candidate to support in this election. Nicholas Caleb’s campaign has tapped into a well of discontent with Portland’s current leadership. In just a few weeks, his campaign has turned a few thousand dollars and the energy of volunteers into…

What a Disgrace

by Daryl Turner, President, Portland Police Association Perhaps you have been following the horrible treatment of the Portland Police Bureau while the fair city that we serve has been negotiating a “settlement” with the Department of Justice about the levels of violence we police are accused of using against people with mental problems as well…

ILWU Strength Imperiled by Dangerous Course

Story and photos by Pete Shaw A crowd of over 200 Longshore workers, other union members, and community supporters rallied at Esther Short Park in Vancouver, WA, on March 8 in support of ILWU Local 4 grain handlers locked out of their jobs by United Grain Corporation in late February. After some speeches, the assembly,…

Movements and Mobilizations: Reflections on N3

By Kari Koch There were several critical successes of N3—the November 3rd Solidarity Against Austerity mobilization—including mobilizing 1200 people in the streets, putting the concept of austerity into mainstream conversation in Portland as a program of an economic system that is fundamentally flawed, engaging dozens of new folks in mobilization organizing, and building working relationships…

Labor’s Call to Action: The Grand Bargain Betrayal

By Shamus Cooke The labor movement is in terminal crisis. After decades of declining membership the union movement has been targeted for destruction: private sector union membership is near eradication, and now the corporations are on a public-sector mopping up mission, using the city, state, and federal budget deficits as an excuse to target public…