Jennifer Ilett This is bad. The Portland Police Bureau had a suspect for a 2011 rape shortly after it occurred, along with DNA evidence that could link him to the crime. It didn’t test that evidence for five years. We wrote last year about the PPB’s issues with rape kits. Well, great. The man who […]
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
A Suspicious Device At Hollywood Transit Center Prompts Evacuations, Road Closures
A memorial at Hollywood Transit Center following a double murder nearby on May 26. Police have evacuated the area today because of a “suspicious device.” Doug Brown Update, 3:20 pm: Police are taking steps to reopen all roads and the Hollywood Transit Center, after determining the device poses no threat. Original post:A “suspicious device” at […]
Posted inNewsblast!
Good Morning, News: More Overt Racism, a Militia-Cop Love Fest, and Comey Killed It
Things not going great in the Rose City, folks. An unhinged caricature of a racist threat landed at the headquarters of the Good in the Hood festival on Wednesday, upsetting organizers of the 25-year-old multicultural event and prompting police and federal officials to investigate. Meanwhile, reports of men yelling racial slurs at a Middle School […]
Posted inUncategorized
Following Dispute, Portland’s Final Budget Has $1.4 Million More For Homelessness
There was more money for Portland’s homeless crisis, after all. When Portland City Council formally adopts Mayor Ted Wheeler’s first budget this afternoon, it will contain a big boost in funding for the city/county Joint Office of Homeless Services (JOHS): $1.4 million more than was included when council approved a draft of the budget last […]
Posted in?!?!?
Authorities Investigating Racist Threats Against North Portland Festival
goodinthehood.org WARNING: This post contains offensive language and racially based threats. The organizers of a long-time North Portland multicultural festival are working with local and federal authorities, after being sent a virulently racist and threatening letter on Wednesday. The all-caps letter, sent to the offices of the Northeast Coalition of Neighborhoods, includes threats of violence […]
Posted inNews
Police Chief Mike Marshman Stayed Home During Sunday’s Tense Rallies
An anti-hate demonstration outside City Hall on Sunday—one of three rallies in response to a “free speech” rally at Terry Schrunk Plaza. Dirk VanderHart When Police Chief Mike Marshman incorrectly told OPB yesterday that his officers hadn’t demanded pictures of demonstrators’ IDs in order to release them from a police “kettle” on Sunday, it raised […]
Posted inNews
Jeremy Christian, In Second Court Appearance, Shouts Self Defense Claim
Accused murdered Jeremy Christian appears in court this morning. POOL PHOTO BY Stephanie Yao Long/THE OREGONIAN/OREGONLIVE For the second time since he allegedly murdered two men and seriously wounded a third May 26, Jeremy Christian interrupted a court hearing with shouts this morning. “Not guilty of anything but defending myself against violent aggression by Micah […]
Posted inNews
Hall Monitor: Hold the Phone!
Portland’s 911 Stats Have Been Lowballed Since 2004. We Should Have Been Told.
Portland’s 911 stats have been lowballed since 2004. We should have been told.
Posted inNews
Report: Portland Has Inaccurately Reported 911 Wait Times For Years, But Hasn’t Told the Public
THE DIRECTOR of the city’s 911 system had good, if inexplicable, news for Portland City Council this past January. Despite being understaffed and having a hard time holding onto existing workers, Bureau of Emergency Communications (BOEC) Director Lisa Turley wrote in a budget memo, “call performance measures have been met in recent years through the […]
Posted inNews
For the Record, Yes Portland Police DID Demand Photos of Demonstrator IDs on Sunday
Antifa demonstrators opposing a right-wing “free speech” rally on Sunday. Some of these folks were later caught up in a police kettle. Aaron Lee Portland Police Chief Mike Marshman appeared on OPB’s Think Out Loud this afternoon to discuss police response to Sunday’s largely peaceful convergence of rallies in downtown Portland. Marshman didn’t appear totally […]
Posted inNews
The Accused TriMet Killer Was A Fixture at Portland Saturday Market
Among the “rogue” vendors at Portland Saturday Market on Sunday: A boy playing an electric piano. Dirk VanderHart It seems no one wants to talk about Jeremy Christian at Portland Saturday Market. Some vendors simply don’t recall seeing the man—a vocal white supremacist and now infamous accused double murderer—posted up near Skidmore Fountain weekend after […]
Posted inNews
Here’s a Better Look At Sunday’s Clash Between Police and Antifa Demonstrators
Chapman Square on Sunday afternoon, not long before police shut things down. Dirk VanderHart Yesterday’s four rallies in downtown Portland were spread far enough apart—and the police presence was sufficiently tight—that by the time things got heated in Chapman Square, many members of the media found themselves blocked off from a closer look. The clash […]