Article by Euripides Q. Steinfelt In an unforeseen move, Mayor Charlie Hales, who oversees the Portland police, announced this morning that all officers will have a video camera on their persons that records their every move while in uniform. The move was inspired by Rialto, California whose 66 police all wear cameras mounted on their…
Tag: City Hall
The Fight for $15 Finally Comes to Portland
• 0 Comments
By Shamus Cooke Like the Occupy movement before it, the “fight for $15” came to Portland as a transplant. Portland activists watched events in Seattle with a skeptical eye, but Seattle’s “fantasy” of $15 was transformed into an emerging reality, now replete with the support of the Mayor and City Council who are working on a plan to…
Portland Houseless Storms Show No Sign of Abating
• 2 Comments
Story by Pete Shaw Troy, a person without housing who sleeps outside near St. Francis Church on SE 12th Avenue, was assaulted on the night of March 2. “Last night I was sleeping in my sleeping bag. Had been there for a few hours when suddenly I hear someone say, ‘Hey, wake up. Get up’,”…
Justice For All? Public Demands Police Accountability
• 1 Comment
Story by Pete Shaw A TALE OF TWO PORTLANDS TAKE ONE On Tuesday February 18th Federal Judge Michael Simon began hearing testimony regarding the proposed settlement agreement between the Department of Justice (DoJ) and the City of Portland. The agreement concerns the DOJ finding that the Police Bureau (PPB) “engaged in an unconstitutional pattern…
Will R2DToo Come in from the Cold? City Council Deliberates Financial Option
• 0 Comments
Story and photo by Pete Shaw A few steps forward, one back. That was again the story for Right 2 Dream Too (R2DToo), the rest area for people without housing that has been located at the corner of Burnside and NW 4th for over two years. At a City Council meeting on February 12, it…
Portland Trade Union Nixes City Proposal; Holding Out for Deal That Works
• 0 Comments
Story and photos by Pete Shaw The members of the unions making up Portland’s District Council of Trade Unions (DCTU) have soundly rejected the contract tentatively agreed to between the City of Portland and the DCTU bargaining team. In doing so, they have sent a message to both the City as well as the leaders…
Court to Judge “Fairness” of Department of Justice Settlement Agreement with City of Portland
• 1 Comment
Story by Pete Shaw • Photos by Bette Lee A “Fairness Hearing” about the Settlement Agreement resolving the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) lawsuit against the City of Portland is scheduled for February 18th. The agreement arose out the the DOJ’s yearlong investigation that found the Portland Police Bureau (PPB) had “engaged in an unconstitutional pattern…
Looming Worker Strikes Spell Need for Strengthening Solidarity Across Community
• 0 Comments
Story and photos by Pete Shaw When workers are fighting for their rights and dignity–and they are always fighting for those–the three most important words are solidarity, solidarity, and solidarity. With the possibility of at least three major strikes hitting Portland in the next few months, speakers at a recent Strikes on the Horizon forum…
Government Workers Face Erasure by For-Profit Companies
• 0 Comments
Story by Pete Shaw Photos by Farrell Richartz The first item on the agenda as City Council went into session on Wednesday October 30th was a remembrance of Nohad Toulan, the founder of Portland State University’s School of Urban Studies and Planning, and his wife, who died on Monday. During the memorial, Councilman Nick Fish…
Portland Tax Dollars Supporting For-Profit Prisons; Group Demands Divestment
• 1 Comment
Story and photos by Pete Shaw On Tuesday October 15th about 40 people gathered outside the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) building on NW Broadway demanding that the City of Portland divest from the for-profit prison industry, and as well that Sheriff Staton drop the ICE Hold on Oregon Dream Activist Manny Perez. The rally,…