Category: Headlines

Portland Renter State of Emergency Called in Wake of Runaway Real Estate Market

Story and photos by Pete Shaw The Community Alliance of Tenants (CAT) declared a renter state of emergency in Portland at a September 15 press conference in Peninsula Park. The CAT–a grassroots, tenant-controlled, tenants rights organization that educates, organizes, and develops the leadership of low-income tenants–called on local officials and landlords to agree to immediate…

Vigil Organizers See Hope in Large Turnout for Transgender Women of Color Violence Victims and Survivors

Story and photos by Pete Shaw Say their names. Lamia Beard. Keyshia Blige. Kandis Capri. Say their names because their lives mattered. London Chanel. India Clarke. Taja DeJesus. Tamara Dominguez. Say their names for their memories and for their friends, families, and lovers. Papi Edwards. K.C. Haggard. Mya Hall. Amber Monroe. Say their names because they…

Ahjamu Umi’s “The Courage Equation” Probes Race, Violence

By Pete Shaw Frederick Douglass once stated that power concedes nothing without a struggle, and history certainly bears that out. The struggle to wrest power away from those who hoard it in vast disproportion is a story that is given short shrift in US history textbooks, the preferred narrative being a combination of the myth…

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…