Blair Stenvick

NITO100 / GETTY IMAGES Like many domestic violence shelters, Henderson House in McMinnville receives federal funding through the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), the act passed in 1994 to ensure funding to help women who are escaping domestic violence or have experienced sexual assault. Jan 31 is a major quarterly deadline for submitting VAWA financial […]

GEO PIATT / GETTY IMAGES Portland Public Schools (PPS) spends less of its budget on student instruction than other school districts, and suffers from a large achievement gap between its white and Black students. Those are the two key takeaways from an audit released by Oregon Secretary of State Dennis Richardson on Wednesday. The audit […]

Unite Oregon hosted a packed hate crime listening session with Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum Monday evening. BLAIR STENVICK Portlanders have no shortage of experience when it comes to racism, religious prejudice, and xenophobia. That was evident Monday evening, when Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum visited Portland to hear residents’ stories of hate crimes and discrimination. […]

Coffee Creek Correctional Facility is the only women’s prison in the state. GOOGLE MAPS At any given time, there are between 1,200 and 1,300 women detained in Coffee Creek Correctional Facility (CCCF), the only women’s prison in Oregon. About twelve percent of those women are serving prison terms dictated by a state law that local […]

NAACP Portland chapter President E. D. Mondainé speaks at a rally outside Portland City Hall Saturday morning. BLAIR STENVICK A coalition led by the Portland chapter of the NAACP held a rally outside Portland City Hall Saturday morning to draw attention to an ordinance that requires older brick buildings to be labeled as not earthquake-safe. […]

Near the intersection of NE 82nd and NE Wasco, in the Montavilla neighborhood. GOOGLE MAPS Members of a confrontational community group are, allegedly, taking the law into their own hands. According a Facebook event created by the group, the Montavilla Initiative, members will be patrolling homeless camps for stolen bike parts with a police officer […]

Elizabeth Warren ASTRID RIECKEN / GETTY IMAGES The Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries (BOLI) released a 52-page report Thursday detailing the failure of leaders in the Oregon State Legislature to properly address reports of sexual harassment and misconduct, with a specific focus on sexual misconduct perpetrated by former Sen. Jeff Kruse. The report contains […]

DOUG BROWN Wednesday morning was police reform activist Jo Ann Hardesty’s first day on Portland City Council. But, as Hardesty was being sworn in inside Portland City Hall, a group of Portland Public Schools (PPS) students gathered outside to draw attention to a cause that Hardesty campaigned on: Police reform. The students met on the […]