Sunrise Movement PDX sent an open letter to Governor Kate Brown last week, detailing the environmental group’s demands for the Oregon Department of Transportation to move the state towards decarbonizing our transportation system:
Youth Vs. ODOT and Sunrise hubs around Oregon worked on a letter this week to Governor Brown. We discussed her leadership, our demands, and more. We will be watching. Read below! pic.twitter.com/PjmfeWk5j3
— Sunrise Movement PDX 🌅 (@SunrisePDX) December 3, 2021
The letter includes a request for a more rigorous environmental study of the Rose Quarter Improvement Project, as well as a call to direct federal infrastructure funds towards carbon-reducing projects. The group has held protests outside of ODOT’s Portland headquarters every other Wednesday since April. The 18th straight protest is scheduled for Wednesday, December 22, at 4:30 p.m.
Former legislative equity officer Nate Monson is threatening to sue the Oregon legislature after leaving his job fielding sexual harassment complaints for that organization. When Monson quit this summer after two months in the job, he released a memo laying out the many failures in the legislature’s sexual harassment complaint process, including failure to fully investigate claims. Since quitting, Monson says he has faced retaliation. His position has not been filled, leaving the state legislature without a point person for harassment and retaliation complaints. The position of equity officer was created in 2019 after a series of allegations of sexual misconduct in the Oregon legislature, some of which were resolved with a $1.3 million settlement.
The City of Portland is facing a new lawsuit stemming from police violence during the George Floyd uprising. Liv Vasquez, a resident of the Buckman neighborhood, was exposed to tear gas in her home and during walks in her neighborhood. She experienced health impacts, including irregular periods and painful menstrual cramping. Vasquez is seeking compensation of $10,000 and a judgement that the city of Portland was negligent in using tear gas. Police Commissioner Ted Wheeler (who also serves as Portland’s mayor) changed policies to restrict the Portland Police Bureau’s use of tear gas in June 2020, but did not enforce the policy as PPB continued to threaten the use chemical weapons against protestors as recently as November 2021. The city of Portland was also found in contempt of a federal order limiting the use of tear gas and other munitions in December 2020.
