Blair Stenvick

Students at Portland State University occupied the steps outside the Campus Public Safety Office in September. ANDREW JANKOWSKI Portland State University’s (PSU) student union is tired of waiting for campus police reform in the wake of Jason Washington’s death. Washington, a 45-year-old Black Navy veteran, died after being shot by PSU police officers James Dewey […]

K. MARIE A police chase that occurred Tuesday night led to an awful commute for many Portland drivers on Wednesday morning. At 7:30 last night, the Portland Police Bureau (PPB) joined the Vancouver Police Department in pursuing a suspect involved in a Kelso, Washington shooting last month, OPB reports. That chase included an officer-involved shooting […]

MIKE FORCE Last night saw temperatures well below freezing, and Portlanders woke up to a city blanketed in snow. With the temperature expected to drop as low as 26 degrees tonight, Multnomah County will once again open three extra homeless shelters Tuesday evening to ensure no one is left out in the cold. This is […]

CITY OF PORTLAND According to the US Census, Portland’s 82nd Avenue travels through the most racially diverse neighborhood in the state. It’s home to Portland Community College’s southeast campus, growing neighborhoods like the Jade District, and the 72 bus line, one of TriMet’s busiest routes. But as the communities around 82nd grow and change, the […]

ALLISON KEREK The Oregon Supreme Court handed criminal justice reform advocates a victory Thursday—and potentially saved the state from having to build a new prison. In 2017, the Oregon State Legislature passed a law that eased sentencing rules around property theft. By shortening the length of sentences for those convicted of theft, the bill aimed […]

Oregon’s 2019 legislative session is upon us. With a supermajority in both the House and Senate chambers, Oregon Democrats are poised to pass a landslide of progressive bills that in the past might have been scuttled by conservative lawmakers. As the session rolls forward, lawmakers will be looking to local advocacy groups to find out […]

YARYGIN / GETTY IMAGES Senator Lew Frederick didn’t ask for his cannabis-related bill in the Oregon State Legislature to be named Senate Bill 420. No, really, he didn’t. “I wish I could say I was that prescient, but it was totally a coincidence,” Frederick told the Mercury about the number for his bill, which aims […]

The Portland Public Schools board of directors voted Tuesday evening to rescind an agreement to pay Portland Police Bureau for school resource officers. BLAIR STENVICK After nearly two months of student activism, the Portland Public Schools (PPS) board of directors voted Tuesday evening to suspend and reassess its agreement to pay the Portland Police Bureau […]

TRIMET People who regularly vote in the Portland metro area use their car to get around much more often than they use public transportation or ride a bike. This fact will likely have an impact on how Metro, the regional governing body for Multnomah, Clackamas, and Washington counties, shapes a major transportation funding measure headed […]