Blair Stenvick

Progress Many members of Portland’s queer community are feeling on edge after a week of widely shared social media reports of anti-LGBTQ violence in the area. Posts first started circulating early last week, after a transgender woman was allegedly assaulted in the Buckman neighborhood of Southeast Portland during the early morning hours of Sunday, Feb […]

DOMINIC DEVENUTA The mic was cut off before students Isabel Mace-McLatchie and Sarah Steele had a chance to finish speaking. The two Jefferson High School (JHS) seniors were delivering public comment at the December 11 meeting of the board of directors of Portland Public Schools (PPS), urging the board to delay a vote on a […]

BLAIR STENVICK Portland activists are calling on Mayor Ted Wheeler to step down as police commissioner, and for Police Chief Danielle Outlaw to resign or be fired, after Willamette Week and the Mercury reported on newly released text messages between the Portland Police Bureau and far-right Patriot Prayer founder Joey Gibson on Thursday. A coalition […]

DOUG BROWN On Thursday, Willamette Week and the Mercury reported on text messages between a police officer and Joey Gibson, founder of the Vancouver, Washington alt-right group Patriot Prayer. Portland elected leaders, nonprofits, and the Portland Police Bureau (PPB) have all responded to the texts, which reveal a protective relationship between PPB and Gibson. The […]

The mic was cut off before students Isabel Mace-McLatchie and Sarah Steele had a chance to finish speaking. The two Jefferson High School (JHS) seniors were delivering public comment at the December 11 meeting of the board of directors of Portland Public Schools (PPS), urging the board to delay a vote on a formalized agreement […]

CSA IMAGES / GETTY IMAGES A progressive political action committee faces a steep fine for failing to turn in about 100 ballots on time in November’s election. Defend Oregon, the political campaign arm of non-profit Our Oregon, collected voters’ ballots as part of its get-out-the-vote effort in last year’s election on Nov 6. But the […]

Lisa Lake / Getty images Twelve years. That’s how long we have until the devastating effects of climate change become irreversible, according to the fourth National Climate Assessment released in November. It isn’t a lot of time, especially when viewed through the lens of politics and bureaucracy. Especially when the political party that controls most […]

castillodominici / GETTY IMAGES Protections for atheists and agnostics might soon be written into Portland city code. This Wednesday, the Portland City Council will hold a hearing about an ordinance that would add “non-religion”—atheism, agnosticism, and general lack of belief—to the list of protected classes in the city’s civil rights code. “Portland has a large […]

COSMONAUT / GETTY IMAGES The Portland City Council voted unanimously Thursday afternoon to reject white nationalism, white supremacy, and alt-right hate groups. “I am extremely proud of this city council,” Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty said before voting in favor of the resolution. “Anybody that grew up during the civil rights movement understands what happens when […]