Portland
GOVERNMENT
Portland service providers respond to California governor’s executive order to remove all homeless camps
PORTLAND, Ore. — As a homeless man by choice, Donovan knows what he needs to survive. That includes a large pile of scrap metal filled with aluminum scaffolding pipes, old vacuums and a used electrical board. Donovan says he collected it all from nearby dumpsters sat at one end of his homeless encampment in an industrial part of Northwest Portland.
Amid ‘childless cat ladies’ controversy, an Oregon city ranks high in cat ownership, report says
Cats have been Internet stars for years, with endless videos, photos, memes and so on turning up on Facebook, Instagram, and elsewhere, inspiring users to make “Awww!” comments, and shower the cute kitty images with likes and shares. This week, however, cats have also been all over the...
My opinion: This Democratic presidential contest will not employ ranked choice voting; let’s pretend it does
Let’s play a game. Let’s pretend that readers of this publication get to pick the Democratic nominee for president, and did so via Portland's new ranked choice voting system, which will see its debut this fall. In November, Portlanders will use a new type of election to select a mayor, auditor and city councilors. Rather than vote for one candidate, they'll rank their preferences from a list of candidates. This...
City contractors post sweep notifications for homeless encampments amid heat wave
As Portland experienced deadly, record-breaking heat in early July and hundreds flocked to emergency cooling shelters, the city ordered its private contractors to post over 120 homeless encampments with sweep notifications. Advocates say the city potentially put lives at risk by doing so, as the county medical examiner suspects the near-triple-digit heat killed at least six Multnomah County residents of undetermined housing statuses.
Excited for the locks to reopen? It’s fun to think about, but still a ways off
Imagine kayaking with friends on the Willamette River between Wilsonville and Portland. Right now, you can only daydream about the adventure because it has not actually been possible since the Willamette Falls Locks closed in 2011. But the Willamette Falls Locks Authority hopes this type of activity could soon be a reality once again. Since it was formed by the Oregon Legislature in 2021, the authority has worked with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the longtime owner and operator of the locks, to repair...
'It’s useless': Parents of Portland's homeless respond to Multnomah County's planned deflection program
PORTLAND, Ore. — As a father, Tim Hattan spent years piecing together his daughter’s life. As a young girl, Michaela — who is now 30 years old, addicted to fentanyl and living on the streets of Portland — found her stride in an Oregon City horse arena.
Multnomah County, AMR will end mediation over ambulance response time crisis next week
MULTNOMAH COUNTY, Ore. — Multnomah County has set a deadline of next Wednesday to find an agreement or settle with ambulance provider American Medical Response (AMR) in its long-running saga of the county’s ambulance response crisis. County commissioners in a public meeting discussing poor ambulance response times implied...
The Willamette River has a trash problem. Homeless camp removals could be making it worse
On a cloudy late May afternoon, Rebecca Van Zandt’s fishing line snagged on something, dragging beneath her canoe. “Am I stuck or do I got a fish? Nope, I’m stuck. That’s all right,” she said with a resigned shrug, settling back into the boat with her two dogs.
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