Illustration by Jess Smart Smiley Commissioner Dan Saltzman was plainspoken this morning when standing apart from his Portland City Council colleagues—all of whom had enthusiastically backed Commissioner Amanda Fritz’s new plan to spend more of the city’s excess cash on painfully deferred maintenance. “We’re setting ourselves up to be criticized,” the veteran commissioner said not […]
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
After Her Husband’s Death, Amanda Fritz Sadly Allows that “Things Have Changed”: She Plans to Run Again in 2016
Enjoy the following sneak preview from today’s Mercury—an early-bird and augmented version of our Hall Monitor column. Remember to read our whole news section once we hit newsstands later today! *** WHETHER SHE WON or lost in 2012—the latter briefly seeming possible in her bitter fight against then-State Representative Mary Nolan—Commissioner Amanda Fritz was adamant […]
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Police Watchdog to Probe Cops’ Commitment to Outing Dishonest Officers
illustration by neil perry The US Constitution is painfully clear when it comes to cops and prosecutors’ responsibility upon finding evidence that might prove helpful, instead of damaging, for a defendant: Before a case goes to trial, cops must share whatever “exculpatory” evidence they might possess with prosecutors, and prosecutors are then supposed to do […]
Posted inPortland
Trader Joe’s Fallout: Housing Bureau Posts Plan for $20 Million in Anti-Gentrification Cash
Four months after hosting forums on the past and future of gentrification in North and Northeast Portland—and nearly a year after the churn and controversy of an aborted attempt to plop a Trader Joe’s at NE MLK and Alberta—city officials late Friday finally fleshed out a long-promised plan to redirect $20 million in urban renewal […]
Posted inNewsblast!
Good Morning, News!
Snap to, vape fiends! Multnomah County commissioners are mulling over putting some new restrictions on your e-cigarette-type flavored tobacco juice vaporizers—maybe banning them in hospitals and certain outdoor spots—out of concern over findings (like in this study from Portland State turning up evidence of formaldehyde) that the vapor’s not as healthy as devotees argue. Another […]
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Making Infrastructure Sizzle? Fritz Sells Colleagues on New Plan to Spend City Surpluses
Illustration by Jess Smart Smiley Portland City Council’s oft-ignored policies on infrastructure spending and maintenance are about to be refreshed, and with great fanfare—another sign of the weird political times we’re living in almost a year after Mayor Charlie Hales and Commissioner Steve Novick embarked on a troubled campaign to raise millions in new transportation […]
Posted inNewsblast!
Good Morning, News: Presented by the Doomsday Clock, WASP Nicknames, and Human-Caused Climate Change
The Doomsday Clock—a Cold War relic that’s weirdly (and sadly) retained minor relevance) has hovered at five minutes to midnight for the past three years. Everyone expects that to change today—putting us closer to annihilation. Nuclear warheads, climate change, fanaticism, our continued heartless stupidity as a species… they can all take a bow, if they’d […]
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Another Sudden Detour
The Road to a Portland Street Fee Now Runs Through Salem
The road to a Portland street fee now runs through Salem.
Posted inNews
No Riot Here
Fritz Presses Hales on Protest Policing
Commissioner Fritz presses the mayor on better protecting protesters.
Posted inNews
Hall Monitor
The Trouble with History
In 2004, a bid to ease sewer and water bills sliced money for paving instead. Or did it?
Posted inNews
Prominent Street Fee Critic Was Recently Elected Head of the Multnomah County Republican Party
via Twitter Eric Fruits An Oregonian story this morning on the beleaguered state Republican Party’s leadership and fundraising struggles included a familiar name—alongside an unfamiliar title—for anyone following the months-long story over Commissioner Steve Novick and Mayor Charlie Hales’ struggles to raise new transportation revenue. It identified economist and professor Eric Fruits, one of the […]
Posted inNewsblast!
Good Morning, News: Oregon’s Endangered GOP, Target Practice with Black Men, and the Hot, Melty End of the World
Identifying as a Republican in Oregon is an increasingly lonely affair. The party’s share of registered voters has hit a new low—just 30 percent. And after another bad election cycle, in which the party’s fundraising was arguably more anemic than its vote totals, state Republicans are once more looking for a new leader. The street […]