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…
Category: News & Current Events
Aaron Campbell’s Death: Six Years on from the Turning Point for Portland Police Accountability
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A vigil attended by over 50 people was held on January 29 at the AME Zion Church on North Vancouver Avenue to remember Aaron Campbell, the young Black man killed exactly six years earlier by Portland Police Officer Ron Frashour. A further significant aspect of the event was the opportunity to reflect upon Campbell’s death…
Activists Convene Community Discussion on Continuing Housing Crisis
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Story and photos by Pete Shaw As a debilitating housing crisis continues to plague Portland, those people most affected are organizing against landlords and the laws that work to benefit them at the expense of tenants. On Wednesday December 16, Know Your City (KYC) and Portland Tenants United (PTU) hosted a community dialogue titled “The…
Recreation Workers Pushing for City to Support Living Wage
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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,”…
Black Friday Actions Bring Justice Activists Together in Common Cause
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Story and photos by Pete Shaw Over 300 supporters of Don’t Shoot Portland and the Black Lives Matter movement gathered in Holladay Park on Friday November 27, making demands ranging from police reform to the abolition of capitalism that has created a system where Black lives do not matter. The rally also included a boisterous…
Portland Activists Hold Vigil to Mark First Anniversary of Child Killed by Cleveland Police
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Story and photos by Pete Shaw Exactly one year after 12 year old Tamir Rice was fatally shot by Cleveland police officer Timothy Loehmann in a public playground on November 22, 2014, 50 people gathered in Portland near the corner of SE Madison and 11th for a vigil in Rice’s memory and to demand justice…
Immigrant Rights Vigil Casts Wide Net by Including Refugees from Many Cultures
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Story and photos by Pete Shaw Voz and the Portland Immigrant Rights Coalition (PIRC) held a candlelight vigil on the night of November 19, calling for an end to the detentions and deportations that have torn apart many immigrant families and communities. The action was part of a national week of action promoted by immigrant…
Portland City Council Passes First of Two Climate Action Resolutions Challenging Regional Fossil Fuel Transport
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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…
Eritrean Refugee and 33-Year Portland Resident in Fourth Year of Detention, Faces Deportation
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Story and photos by Pete Shaw The Center for Intercultural Organizing (CIO) and the Portland Immigrant Rights Coalition held a rally in front of Portland’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) prison on Wednesday October 7 calling for the release of Thomas Amanuel, an Eritrean refugee. Amanuel, 38, has lived in Portland for 33 years. He…
Housing State of Emergency Formalized in Portland; Renters Insist Urgency of Problem Demands Greater Action
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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…