Dirk VanderHart Multnomah County has piled onto a lawsuit against a North Carolina bridge materials company, adding heft to allegations new decking on the Morrison Bridge is faulty and should’ve never been installed. Earlier this month, a Multnomah County Circuit Court judge formally approved a motion by the county to toss in its lot with […]
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
Death from Above
A New Crematory Has Montavilla Neighbors Fuming
A new crematory has Montavilla neighbors fuming.
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Do Not Touch
County Juvenile Worker Faces Sexual Assault Lawsuit
A lawsuit claims a county juvenile worker sexually assaulted a coworker.
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Hales: City Will Probably Push Legislation to Shift Sidewalk Laws
Mayor Charlie Hales—who stood officially mum as the Portland Business Alliance (PBA) attempted to revive a controversial sidewalk ordinance in this year’s legislative session—signaled for the first time this morning he’ll probably help lead a similar push come February. “I intend for us in the city council to talk about this issue as we begin […]
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Is Siltronic Buying Up Domain Names for Water District Supporters?
UPDATE, September 12, 4:30 pm: Aaaaaaand www.portlandersforwaterreform.com now leads to this very post. UPDATE, 11:37 am: Tom Fahey, vice president of operations for Siltronic, says he has no idea why the domain would go to his company’s home page. Fahey says he thinks the petition committee’s eventual website will actually be found at www.waterreform.org, but […]
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Good Morrow, News!
And a very fine morrow to all of you! It’s going to be a pleasant day of diversions for me—I think Marjorie has convinced me to attend a cat show—but that can wait. The news barrels grimly on. With President Obama getting ready to give us the hard sell on Syrian intervention this Tuesday, the […]
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Water District Supporters Get a Hefty Cash Infusion from Portland Bottling
The exact language voters will parse in the upcoming battle for Portland’s water and sewer systems hasn’t been ironed out—it’s currently before a judge. But the first notion of who’s bankrolling the effort became public today, as organizers for a proposed Portland Public Water District have filed the first batch of fundraising transactions with Oregon […]
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Pioneer Square Neighbors Are NOT Pleased With MFNW
Tim Root We at the Mercury like us some MusicFestNW. At least, most of it. But then, we’re not the monied, irascible attorneys and bigwigs whose offices overlook Pioneer Courthouse Square. They aren’t pleased. “They managed yesterday to get the ire of probably the largest number of complainants we’ve had about Pioneer Square,” City of […]
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Broadway Cab Facing Steep Fines for Driver’s Alleged Homophobia
It’s been a busy couple weeks for the Oregon Equality Act of 2007, and a rough patch for an allegedly homophobic Broadway Cab driver. Ahmed Egal already had his taxi license pulled for allegedly kicking a lesbian couple from his cab on the side of Interstate 84. Now, Broadway Cab faces an investigation from the […]
Posted inFood and Drink
Quartet Owner Hasn’t Paid for Almost $15,000 in Magazine Ads, Suits Say
www.quartetpdx.com Quartet There are more signs management behind the opulent waterfront restaurant Quartet isn’t satisfying agreements with its creditors. Namely, one of its creditors is saying so. In two separate small claims suits filed last month, local publisher SagaCity Media Inc. says Taylor Hospitality Group—the management company behind Quartet and downtown steakhouse Portland Prime—owes almost […]
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Hold the Phone
Why Is Multnomah County Funding Two Suicide Hotlines?
Why is Multnomah County funding two suicide hotlines?
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Good Morning, News!
Hey, everyone. Feeling more demoralized than I anticipated coming back from the lovely Labor Day break. I’ve also completely checked out from world occurrences for the last three days, so let’s discover what’s what as a team this morning. Who knows what we’ll find? Oh, hey! We still haven’t attacked Syria, though the conversation has […]