arda savaşcıoğulları/ Getty Images Plus The city’s long war with HomeAway appears to be at an end. After a dispute that included three separate lawsuits and forced City Hall to ask voters for a change to the Portland charter, the city announced this afternoon it’s reached a settlement with the short-term rental provider. That settlement […]
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 inHousing
In Texts to Business Lobby, Mayor’s Office Pledged to Dramatically Increase Portland’s No-Sit Sidewalks
“Whatever It Takes,” Mayor Ted Wheeler Wrote Last Year, After Columbia Threatened to Pull Out of Downtown
“Whatever it takes,” Mayor Ted Wheeler wrote last year, after Columbia threatened to pull out of downtown.
Posted inHousing
Hall Monitor: The Housing Bureau Goes Fishing
As Apartment Projects Slow, Can the City Convince Developers to Offer Cheap Units?
As apartment projects slow, can the city entice developers to offer cheap units?
Posted inNewsblast!
Good Morning, News: Snow Hell Descends, Inside Portland’s Troubled Family Shelter, and New Allegations Against Charles McGee
Hard to capture all the god damn snow that is falling. Stop it. Dirk VanderHart BRACE YOURSELF. It is snowing as I write this. It was not supposed to snow yet. It is supposed to keep snowing. Your PM commute isn’t looking great, folks. The past two nights have been cold enough that the county’s […]
Posted inHousing
Wheeler’s Change of Heart on Renter Protections Has Property Managers Ditching a City Committee
COSMONAUT / GETTY IMAGES Mayor Ted Wheeler made it official on February 9. Appearing before an advisory committee that’s been studying fixes to Portland’s law requiring relocation payments to renters, Wheeler announced he’d support closing a controversial loophole in the policy. Now, members of a separate but similar committee are quitting in protest. Since Wheeler’s […]
Posted inNews
Portland Might Become the Latest City to Sue Over the Opioid Crisis
COSMONAUT / GETTY IMAGES The City of Portland is about to jump into the fight against opioid manufacturers. A resolution set to come before Portland City Council next week will authorize the City Attorney’s office to join hundreds of other jurisdictions around the country—including Multnomah County—that are suing drugmakers for what they say were irresponsible […]
Posted inNews
Portland’s 10-Cent Gas Tax Raked in Almost $4 Million More than Expected in 2017
Shawn DiCriscio Did you hear? Portland’s roads are congested. That’s terrible news for your car commute, but decent news for the city, which now has millions more than expected to fix roads and make safety fixes on city streets. In its first full year, Portland’s 10-cent gas tax hauled in nearly $20 million, well over […]
Posted inNewsblast!
Good Morning, News: Congress Won’t Enact Gun Controls, Oregon Might, and a New Trump Affair
iStock / Getty Images Plus “Republicans called for prayers, but argued that no single fix to the nation’s gun laws would deter a shooting like the one on Wednesday in Parkland, Fla.” Do I even need to spend time writing that the political response to Wednesday’s massacre at a Florida high school is the same […]
Posted inNews
With the Florida Massacre Still Fresh, the Oregon House Just Approved New Gun Controls
AEDKA STUDIO/SHUTTERSTOCK In a country (and state) that’s grown used to refrains of “too soon” after the massacres that occur at regular intervals, a vote in Oregon’s House of Representatives this afternoon came at a poignant time. A day after 17 people were gunned down at a Florida high school, Oregon representatives took up a […]
Posted inNews
Did Prosecutors Go Too Far in Clearing a Cop in a 2014 Killing? (An Audit Says Yes)
UGLY DETAILS Chains in the back of Kelly Swoboda’s minivan. CLACKAMAS COUNTY SHERIFF OFFICE AFTER KELLY SWOBODA was killed by Portland police four years ago, news outlets across the country shared the lurid details of his van. Swoboda, whom local cops confronted in March 2014 after reports that he was acting suspiciously around teenage girls, […]
Posted inNews
Hall Monitor: Waffle House
After a Reversal, Has Mayor Ted Wheeler Made Up His Mind on Renter Relocation Fees?
After a reversal, has Ted Wheeler made up his mind on renter relocation fees?
Posted inNews
Did Prosecutors Go Too Far in Clearing a Cop in a 2014 Killing?
A New Audit of Police Shootings Says Yes
A new audit of police shootings says yes.