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Abe Asher

Abe Asher covers city news, politics, and soccer for the Portland Mercury. His reporting has appeared in The Nation, VICE News, Sahan Journal, and other outlets.
Posted inFall Arts 2024

A Look at Portland’s Arts Funding Upheavals, One Year In

Portland no longer runs its arts grants program exclusively through the Regional Arts and Culture Council (RACC); here’s what’s changed.
Avatar photo Abe Asher

For nearly three decades, the city of Portland ran its grant program for artists and arts organizations exclusively through a well known non-profit, the Regional Arts and Culture Council (RACC). Last summer, however, the city decided to change course.  Commissioner Dan Ryan’s office—which oversaw arts programs at the time—announced that the city would not renew […]

Posted inNews

Lack of Oversight in Police Training Seminars Raises Alarms

Two law enforcement training conferences in Oregon will feature Dave Grossman, a self-proclaimed expert in “killology” who teaches preparation for combat.
Avatar photo Abe Asher

Lt. Col. Dave Grossman is among the most high-profile police trainers in the United States. He’s also one of the most controversial. Grossman is currently scheduled to deliver presentations to law enforcement officers at an FBI National Academy Associates (FBINAA) retraining conference in Redmond in September, then at the annual Oregon Peace Officers Association (OPOA) […]

Posted inNews

Advocates Say Portland is Overdue For a Tenant Bill of Rights

After the defeat of an eviction defense measure in 2023, organizers aren’t done pushing for renters’ protections
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Over the last 10 months, following the overwhelming defeat of a ballot measure that sought to secure universal eviction representation in Portland in 2023, a group of door knockers from the Portland chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) resumed their canvassing efforts. They weren’t organizing around a campaign. Instead, they were simply trying […]

Posted inNews

City Commissioner Receives Frosty Reception at County Democrats Event

Rene Gonzalez’s campaign for Portland mayor highlights rifts among local Democrats. Some say the party’s politics have diversified.
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On a warm early evening at Red Sunset Park in Gresham earlier this month, the Multnomah County Democratic Party gathered for its annual picnic with a number of aspiring political candidates in attendance.  At the beginning of the event, county party chair Salomé Chimuku read out the names of the candidates present. One got a […]

Posted inNews

How a Super PAC Upended Portland’s 3rd Congressional District Race

Polling shows candidate Susheela Jayapal had an impressive lead in spring, before AIPAC spent big money to help Maxine Dexter defeat her.
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On April 10, less than six weeks before the primary election that would decide who would replace retiring Rep. Earl Blumenauer in Congress, former Multnomah County Commissioner Susheela Jayapal’s campaign sent out a memo on the state of the race.  In it, the campaign cited internal polling conducted by the Washington, D.C.-based political strategy firm […]

Posted inTimbers

Keeping the Faith: Dairon Asprilla Leaves Portland as a Legend

The Timbers’ second-longest tenured player is returning to Colombia after nearly a decade in the Rose City.
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Dairon Asprilla is gone now, heading back to Atlético Nacional, the famous Medellín club he left to join Portland a decade ago.  Asprilla, 32 years old now, is going home to Colombia for the next, and possibly final chapter of his career. He’ll likely spend his first days savoring what happened on Saturday night, in […]

Posted inNews

Providence Nurses Say They’ve Been Barred From Work By Management Following Strike

Meanwhile, the Oregon Health Authority is overwhelmed by staffing complaints from health care workers across the state
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Providence nurses across the state remain on the picket line today, claiming the hospital system is illegally locking them out of work following the conclusion of their three-day strike yesterday.  According to the Oregon Nurses Association (ONA), nurses striking at six hospitals across Oregon provided notice to Providence that they would return to work at […]

Posted inNews

Update: Providence Nurses Locked Out After Three-Day Strike

Nurses say Providence broke state law, prevented them from returning to work Friday after a strike
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Update June 21: Providence nurses at six hospitals across Oregon say they were barred from returning to work Friday in what’s called a “lockout” after taking part in a three-day strike over stalled labor negotiations.  Nurses are now picketing in front of Providence facilities Friday and Saturday. According to the Oregon Nurses Association (ONA), the […]

Posted inQueer Guide 2024

Q Marks the Spot

For two decades, the Q Center has been a safe haven for the LGBTQ2SIA+ community—and they have even bigger dreams for the future.
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[Find the Mercury‘s Queer Guide in print—available in more than 500 spots citywide!—eds.] Even though it’s currently only open by appointment at its longtime home on North Mississippi, the Q Center’s building, shuttered for two years during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, is full of life.  The LGBTQ2SIA+ community center, which is celebrating its […]

Posted inNews

May Primary Will Test Portlanders’ Tolerance For Outside Spending On Local Elections

Portland voters have tried to get big money out of local politics for years, but it has poured into Congressional races this spring.
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The final weeks of the campaign to replace Rep. Earl Blumeaneur in Congress have been dominated by reporting on a single issue: the millions of dollars of outside spending that have flooded in to try to stop the candidacy of former Multnomah County Commissioner Susheela Jayapal.  The money, as The Intercept and other outlets have […]

Posted inNews

What Multnomah County Voters Could Learn From Others Who Ousted Progressive DAs

Voters’ fears over crime and safety often fuel election outcomes. Evidence shows prosecutors have little impact on crime rates.
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When Mike Schmidt was elected as Multnomah County District Attorney in 2020, it was in a landslide: Schmidt won with more than 76 percent of the vote, promising in the first months of the COVID-19 pandemic to revamp the county’s approach to criminal justice.  Schmidt’s election didn’t happen in a vacuum. It came instead as […]

Posted inDrugs

Measure 110 Was Short-Lived in Oregon, but Its Legacy Could Live on Elsewhere

Oregon has long been on the cutting edge of drug policy, but the latest effort fell victim to state-level stumbles and misinformation.
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It was at a Drug Policy Alliance conference in Phoenix last October that Tera Hurst, executive director at Health Justice Recovery Alliance, got a feel for the impact Measure 110 was having outside of Oregon.  Hurst was on a panel with a presenter from the Philippines, who, to Hurst’s surprise, focused a significant amount of […]

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