Oversight committee begins first review of Portland-area supportive housing program

Your browser does not support the audio element. Two years ago, the Oregon legislature approved the sale of $15 million in lottery bonds to help pay for a community center in Woodburn. Last year, the Department of Administrative Services decided against selling the bonds. The city of Woodburn filed suit. We talk to Woodburn mayor Frank Lonergan about what the community center would mean for the city, how much it will cost and what the lawsuit means for the future of the project.

More than 600 Portland city employees are prepared to strike Thursday after nearly a year of contract negotiations ground to a halt. The strike could broadly impact city operations, as Laborers Local 483 includes workers in the Portland Bureau of Transportation, the Bureau of Environmental Services, and Portland Parks and Recreation. Those employees are responsible for addressing sewage leaks, removing debris from city streets, cleaning biohazard waste dumped at city parks, and clearing streets of ice and snow, among other tasks.

Your browser does not support the audio element. Earlier this month, Oregon City officials penned an open letter, published by the Portland Tribune, to the Oregon Department of Transportation. The letter states that the city commission is “adamantly opposed to any application of tolling in the region.”. It also...

Your browser does not support the audio element. More than 600 Portland city workers have walked off the job. Workers represented by the union Laborers Local 483 officially went on strike early Thursday after nearly a year of negotiations. The workers have been without a contract since June 2022, and negotiations over a new four-year deal broke down in December over wages.

Your browser does not support the audio element. It is a Salem tradition as reliable as cherry blossoms on the Capitol Mall. Each year as the legislative session begins, a number of lawmakers arrive at the statehouse with family members in tow. For the weeks or months that follow, these...

Your browser does not support the audio element. Last week, the first ever tri-county point-in-time count began, which was largely coordinated by Portland State University. Volunteers, service providers and outreach workers from Multnomah, Washington and Clackamas County surveyed people without adequate shelter to formulate updated data on what homelessness looks like in the region. The count finished yesterday. We’ll hear from two Portlanders who volunteered for this count for the first time. Marianne Nelson and Richard Gibson share why they chose to participate and what they heard from people they surveyed.

There have been several shootings outside schools in the Portland area recently. There have also been traffic incidents leading to injury or death. Students, parents, school districts, and the city are talking about what they can do to keep kids safe. We hear from three high school students: Byronie McMahon, Danny Cage and Lana Rachielug. We also hear from two parents: Heidi Schultz and Leslie Kosoff.

Oregon Department of Transportation leaders are looking to implement tolling on Interstate 205 over the Abernethy and Tualatin River Bridges. The first toll could go into effect as early as next year. The state agency also plans to use a program of congestion pricing, where tolls are higher during the busiest times of the day. new revenue will pay for highway and bridge improvements, including seismic upgrades, and relieve congestion.

In Portland Public Schools’ adopted budget for this school year, continuing the Online Learning Academy was highlighted as one of the district’s efforts to “increase learning opportunities for every student.”. The state’s largest district opened the Online Learning Academy, or OLA, in 2021 to serve students in...

A labor arbitrator reinstated disgraced former Portland police officer Brian Hunzeker to the police force, according to a report filed Tuesday with the Oregon Employment Relations Board. Hunzeker was the president of the Portland Police Association last spring when he was fired by mayor Ted Wheeler for leaking allegations that...

Your browser does not support the audio element. Oregon lawmakers are exempt from the state law barring public officials from hiring family members. Now an influential Democratic lawmaker wants to change that. On this week’s show, OPB political reporters Lauren Dake and Dirk VanderHart explain why this proposal to ban...

The Portland Winter Light Festival is a city-wide event that illuminates what is often the darkest month of the year with art installations that can truly be called “lit.” The Willamette Light Brigade, a non-profit arts organization, launched the free event nearly a decade ago at the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry. It quickly spread across the Willamette River into downtown and now features light-based art pieces and performances in neighborhoods all over the city. This year’s theme is “The Light of Stars.”