Bruce Warner, executive director of the Portland Development Commission, first broke the news to his staff this morning, and then to a handful of reporters at a news conference attended by Mayor Sam Adams: After five and a half years helming the city’s primary economic development agency, Warner will step down next year and “move […]
Denis C. Theriault
Denis C. Theriault is the Portland Mercury's News Editor. He writes stories about City Hall and the Portland Police Bureau, focusing on issues like homelessness, police oversight, insider politics, and civil liberties. Before arriving in Portland, Denis wrote and edited for the San Jose Mercury News, covering the California Legislature and Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, as well as the city of San Jose—a real-live million-person town.
Posted inNews
Good Morning, News!
Trading rich folks’ tax “cuts” for unemployment relief: Mitch McConnell, don of the Senate Republicans, appears to have gotten what he wanted—billions for the people who need it least—after holding a gun to Democrats’ heads. Frank Rich of the NYT has some thoughts about all this. The Very Serious Plot to Blow Up Pioneer Courthouse […]
Posted inHomo
Portland Rescue Mission Responds to “Gay Coat-Gate”
Yesterday’s post about the Portland Rescue Mission’s decision not to sponsor a queer-themed Christmas event has ricocheted around local media outlets over the past 24 hours. From Just Out to KATU to a gay-rights blog, even out to St. Louis, Mo. (And, you’ve seen, we’re helping with our own Queer Coat Drive.) After playing phone […]
Posted inCharity Auction
Mercury Charity Auction Item(s) of the Day: Backyard Chicken Farming, Starring Mayor Sam Adams
As you all know, our annual charity auction is currently online. There are tons of incredible items available for bidding, with all proceeds benefiting the kind souls at the nonprofit Raphael House, a place that provides shelter and solace for victims of domestic violence and their families. But with hundreds of varied items in the […]
Posted inCity Hall
Dan Saltzman: On Second Thought, What the Mayor Said…
Back on Monday, fresh in the hysteria over the Pioneer Courthouse Square bomb plot, Commissioner Dan Saltzman was fervently devoted to the notion that the Portland City Council should vote RIGHT EFFING NOW on whether to rejoin the Joint Terrorism Task Force. Now? Not so much. Let’s follow the bouncing ball. The first blow came […]
Posted inHomo
Portland Rescue Mission Doesn’t Want Gay Coats?
Update 5:23pm: Good news! Local activist Reverend Chuck Currie reports that he called Portland Rescue Mission this afternoon and suggested they meet with LGBT advocacy group Basic Rights Oregon to understand “why this might be hurtful the gay and lesbian community.” The Rescue Mission agreed—so maybe they’re one big step closer to accepting the gay […]
Posted inNews
Good Morning, News!
WikiLeaks Day Four: Russia is a corrupt “mafia state,” and Canadians are jealous of Americans. Authorities are reportedly closing in on Julian Assange, and some say US media haven’t been as forthcoming about the leaks as their international counterparts have been. Oh, and Amazon.com, thanks to Sen. Joe Lieberman, has hypocritically booted WikiLeaks.org from its […]
Posted inCity Hall
Randy Leonard Strikes Blow in Terror Task Force Debate
Mohamed Osman Mohamud’s car bomb was a (government-constructed) dud. But that teeny little fact hasn’t kept shockwaves from coursing through City Hall in the aftermath of the bogus attack. One of the biggest has been whether Portland should rejoin the FBI-led Joint Terrorism Task Force it withdrew from five years ago. Dan Saltzman, seizing the […]
Posted inNews
Hall Monitor
The Politics of Public Safety
Does Portland need to rejoin a federal terrorism task force to feel safe? Let’s hope not.
Posted inNews
No One Was Going to Die
Defense Emerges in Bomb Plot: Entrapment
Can you call it terrorism if our tax dollars helped pay for it?
Posted inCrime
City Council Adopts Sam Adams’ Gun Control Laws
With all the earnest debate coming at a public hearing two weeks ago, the Portland City Council this morning quietly and quickly approved a controversial package of gun-control laws that critics complain would either infringe on gun owners’ rights or lead to racial profiling in African-American neighborhoods. But that wasn’t how the council saw it. […]
Posted inNews
A Dip in the Courtroom Pool: Mohamud Pleads Not Guilty
If you’ve been reading our coverage of the FBI-assisted Pioneer Courthouse Square bomb plot, you know we’ve been airing an interesting discussion about whether all the federal help given to Mohamed Osman Mohamud was good police work—a sting that ensnared a committed extremist—or something else: entrapment. Well, no surprises here, but just like in FBI […]