Digest: Thursday, April 14, 2022

Youth camp swept; threatened with further sweeps The City of Portland used police officers and Rapid Response Bio Clean to sweep an encampment of homeless youth on Tuesday and, after the campers relocated to another location, posted a sweep notice at their new site. Confirmed reports from anonymous sources say the sweep started around 7:00… Continue reading Digest: Thursday, April 14, 2022

Digest: Tuesday, April 12, 2022

Surprise snow: the details On Monday night, snow fell on Portland — more snow than has ever fallen on the city in April, according to the National Weather Service. Exactly how much fell depended on location, but many folks shared social media updates noting two to three inches of snow, with up to five inches in some… Continue reading Digest: Tuesday, April 12, 2022

Digest: Thursday, April 7, 2022

Fires at Voz and SJAC The Voz Worker Center is indefinitely closed after a fire at their Parkrose building early Wednesday morning. A mini-bus recently purchased by Voz to transport people to their jobs was also destroyed. The center is operated by the Voz Workers’ Rights Education Project. Voz only recently moved into the location and was in the… Continue reading Digest: Thursday, April 7, 2022

Digest: Tuesday, April 5, 2022

Portland city charter commission proposes new government structures The commissioners responsible for updating Portland’s city charter held a preliminary vote on March 31 on changes to city government. All twenty members of the Portland City Charter Review Commission voted in favor of the moderate changes, including: Using ranked choice voting in city elections, which will allow voters to rank candidates in… Continue reading Digest: Tuesday, April 5, 2022

Digest: Thursday, March 31

Students protest Reed College’s response to viral video of professor Reed College students held a protest to push the school to fire a professor who was filmed demanding to know if employees at a Portland business were “illegal immigrants.” The professor, Paul Currie, teaches psychology at Reed College. Protesters first gathered at Reed’s Psychology building, then… Continue reading Digest: Thursday, March 31

Digest: Tuesday, March 29, 2022

Portland Street Response expands Portland’s unarmed street response team has expanded their coverage across the city as of yesterday. Portland Street Response can now take 911 calls without needing to check a map. The program responds to calls about crises that don’t involve criminal activity, usually related to an individual’s mental health. Team members also build… Continue reading Digest: Tuesday, March 29, 2022

Digest: Thursday, March 24, 2022

Normandale Park shooter booked into jail system Ben Smith was relocated from OHSU and booked into the Multnomah County jail system yesterday. Smith was identified as the shooter responsible for killing June Knightly and injuring four other protesters at Normandale on February 19. A grand jury indicted Smith on nine charges last week: one count of murder in the… Continue reading Digest: Thursday, March 24, 2022

Digest: Tuesday, March 22, 2022

Fire at Warm Springs water treatment facility A fire destroyed a transformer at the Warm Springs Water Treatment Plant last Friday, leaving the facility without power and unable to treat water. The transformer is outside of the plant and no damage occurred inside of the facility. According to Chico Holliday, the general manager of public… Continue reading Digest: Tuesday, March 22, 2022

Digest: Thursday, March 17, 2022

Emergency rental assistance deadline extended The Oregon Emergency Rental Assistance Program will accept applications through midnight on March 21. Applications were previously scheduled to close on March 14. The extension is due to new funding from the U.S. Department of Treasury that came through late on March 14. That funding will likely cover an additional 2,200 households. Renters in Oregon… Continue reading Digest: Thursday, March 17, 2022