More pro-diversity renaming is afoot in Northeast Portland! US
Representative Earl Blumenauer introduced a bill this week with
the support of the other six Oregon reps to rename the post office on
Killingsworth the official Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Post
Office. Unlike previous controversial renaming efforts, however,
the post office idea originated from the people who actually use the
space. Two postal carriers, Isham Harris and Jamie Partridge, started
collecting signatures to rename the post office (from its current bland
title “Piedmont Post Office”) back in 2007. Two years later, the
grassroots campaign has picked up top-tier support from Blumenauer and
seems likely to pass. SARAH MIRK
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Circuit Court Judge Stephen Bushong ruled that Portland’s sit-lie
ordinance is unconstitutional on Friday, June 19. Bushong
ruled in favor of defendant Katherine Perkins, who argued that the
ordinance is “unconstitutionally vague and overbroad, and that it is
unconstitutional because it is preempted by state law.” Different
aspects of the law have been ruled constitutional and unconstitutional
by different Multnomah County judges over the two years since the
ordinance first came to light, but Bushong’s ruling appears to be
the most sweeping yet. “We haven’t had a chance to read the
decision and have a discussion with the city attorney yet,” says Tom
Bizeau, chief of staff for City Commissioner Amanda Fritz, who
is conducting outreach during a controversial six-month extension of
the law. “But I’m glad this kind of scrutiny is occurring.” Bushong did
not return the Mercury‘s calls for comment by press time. MATT
DAVIS