Cyclists help pay for our roads, but that misses the point.
Dirk VanderHart
I'm a news reporter for the Mercury. I've spent a lot of the last decade in journalism — covering tragedy and chicanery in the hills of southwest Missouri, politics in Washington, D.C., and other matters elsewhere.
I've been in Portland three years, love it and want to help make it better. Let's keep it amicable!
Posted inNews
Nike Kicks More Than a Quarter Million to the Same-Sex Marriage Fight
If anyone’s got a few bucks to throw around, it’s Nike. Sometimes, that money goes toward appalling third-world abuses. Other times, toward human rights initiatives on the home front. Today, at least, the news involves the latter. Nike’s given $280,000 to Oregon United for Marriage, the group pushing a constitutional amendment legalizing same sex marriage […]
Posted inNews
Good Morning, News!
A very-possible agreement with Iran over rollbacks of its nuclear ambitions sounds like new and heartening progress, right? Not to Israel, which has repeatedly made the case getting the alienated nation to scale back its programs in exchange for loosened sanctions is “a mistake of historic proportions,” and “an exceedingly bad deal.” Speaking of Iran, […]
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The Police Tasered a Guy Friday, and They Want You To Know Why
It’s not incredibly rare in this town for a cop to deploy a Taser. Officers hit eight suspects with more than one cycle of the debilitating device from July through September alone, according to a recent report. Far rarer is a press release to explain a Tasering incident, which is what hit Portland’s collective media […]
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The Nerdy Bandit: A Bandit-Naming Shame
If you required further evidence the term “hipster” is bandied about too much these days, the Portland Police Bureau just sent it out in a press release. Cops are looking for a guy they’ve dubbed “The Nerdy Bandit,” but it’s a misnomer. He’d absolutely be a lead candidate for the title “The Hipster Bandit,” if […]
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A Study in Mayoral Twitter Stylings
Mayor Charlie Hales’ Twitter feed has always been a relatively dull, trickling contrast to that of his predecessor. Sam Adams made Twitter a part of his daily duties, posting reflections, chatting with citizens, and, occasionally, nearly breaking national news. Hales mostly posts short headlines with attached links—often to stories or press releases that have been […]
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Good Morning, News!
More of the frustrating same on the health care front, everybody. The Obamacare website’s a jerk, and the president’s reaching out to insurance companies to help him out with this whole “you can keep your health plan” mess. And Cover Oregon, our website, still hasn’t signed up a single person. But the worst part of […]
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Death of a Skate Spot
Google For weeks now, Portland’s skateboarding community has braced for the oncoming loss of the Brooklyn Street Skate Spot. The DIY, city-permitted skatepark underneath a footbridge in inner southeast had long been marked for death—a casualty of the Portland-Milwaukie Light Rail Project. Its end finally came this week, inspiring remembrances from local and national media […]
Posted inPoster of the Week
Why You Won’t Have Bob Ball to Kick Around Anymore
If you read our story about Portland’s increasingly alienated system of governance this week and found yourself hoping someone would step in and propose changes, don’t look at the last guy who tried. Portland developer Bob Ball made a push in 2002 to get Portland away from the antiquated “commission form” of government into something […]
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The New “Water Trust” Proposal Now Has Fancy Ballot Language
Water activists attempting to make city hall more accountable for Portland’s water system now have a notion how their proposal could read to voters. The Portland City Attorney’s Office yesterday released its crack at ballot language for a “water trust” proposal aimed for the November 2014 election. It’s not an easy task writing these things—city […]
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Let’s Have a Calm Discussion About How Cyclists Help Pay for Our Roads
The Bicycle Transportation Alliance yesterday unveiled an infographic about where Oregon Department of Transportation revenues come from. The organization’s very simple point: cyclists are paying into the system, too. Predictably, people over at Oregonlive.com went insane, and then I went insane trying to read their mostly dogmatic and unhelpful comments. But even if it was […]
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Odd City Out
Portland’s Government Is Unique. Is That a Problem?
Portland’s system of government is increasingly unique. That’s not necessarily a good thing.