A hasty insult has taken some pressure off Commissioner Loretta Smith.
Posted inNews
Hall Monitor: After the B-Word
A Hasty Insult Has Taken Some Pressure Off Commissioner Loretta Smith
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
Prominent Tenant Activist Margot Black is Stepping Down, As Allegations of Racism Roil Her Organization
Portland Tenants United, co-founded by Margot Black, was a central force in getting the city to pass new renter protections last year. Dirk VanderHart One of Portland’s most-visible tenants’ rights activists is stepping down, a week after another well-known activist accused her organization of having a “serious race problem.” While disputing many of the claims, […]
Posted inGossip
Breathe Easy, Portland. That Pigeon Has Been Sprung From a Downtown Building
FREE @pdx_resistance on Twitter A certain faction of Portland Twitter’s been coalescing today around the plight of a pigeon apparently imprisoned in a vacant downtown building. After protest group Portland’s Resistance tweeted a picture of the bird’s precarious circumstance—and insinuated breaking windows might be in order—an outpouring of support ushered forth. Apparently, this bird has […]
Posted inNewsblast!
Good Morning, News: Bundys Go Free (Again), Mueller Could Interview Trump, and Football Is Stupid
Two sage grouses (grice?) at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge evince their disappointment that the Bundys went free again. RONSAN4D/ Getty Images Plus THEY DID IT AGAIN: Somehow the Bundys have escaped federal consequences for a second time. A judge dismissed with prejudice a Nevada-based case against Cliven Bundy and his sons yesterday, finding that […]
Posted inNews
The Mayor Has a Second Home—But Has Been Reporting the Wrong Address to the State for Years
Sunset in beautiful Arch Cape, where Mayor Ted Wheeler owns a second home. iStock / Getty Images Plus Mayor Ted Wheeler is fortunate enough to own a second home—a 2,790-square-foot Arch Cape getaway with sweeping views of the Pacific Ocean. But if you’d like to send mail or pay a visit, maybe don’t rely on […]
Posted inNewsblast!
Good Morning, News: Sessions Attacks Legal Weed, Portland Can Ban Fuel Terminals, and Does Fire and Fury Matter?
MORRISON1977 / ALEX WONG / GETTY IMAGES SO MUCH went down on Thursday, so let’s recap. Attorney General Jeff Sessions went to war on pot: In a move that was long hinted, Sessions rescinded a government policy that allowed states to operate legal marijuana programs, earning the Trump administration backlash from even some of its […]
Posted inCannabis
Oregon’s US Attorney Suggests He Won’t Step Up Marijuana Enforcement
Gov. Kate Brown says Oregon is going to move forward with legal pot. Dirk VanderHart It’s not much, but US Attorney for Oregon Billy Williams’ first public statement after the Trump administration signaled a crackdown on legal cannabis programs suggests Oregon will stay the course. In a brief statement this afternoon, Williams said his office […]
Posted inNews
Portland’s Unique Ban on New Fuel Terminals Isn’t Unconstitutional, After All
But the City Still Needs to Do Work Before It Goes Into Place
FRANÇOIS VIGNEAULT Portland’s push to ban new fossil fuel terminals within city limits isn’t unconstitutional after all, the Oregon Court of Appeals says. In a decision that’s warmed the hearts of environmental groups, the court today swatted aside conclusions of a state board that helped put Portland’s innovative and strict policy on ice. Proponents say […]
Posted inNews
Jeff Sessions Has Rescinded a Legal Pot Road Map Oregon and Others Rely On
That Would Put Lots of Power in the Hands of Trump’s Pick for Oregon’s US Attorney
Jeff Sessions, during a September visit to Portland. Dirk VanderHart Oregon’s Interim US Attorney Billy Williams recently got a vote of confidence from Donald Trump to continue at his post. Now Williams might have an outsize say in whether a pot crackdown favored by Trump’s attorney general moves forward in Oregon. This morning, the Associated […]
Posted inNews
The Best Tweets to @TedWheeler
This Mayor Doesn’t Transcribe Voicemails. You Found a Way to Be Heard Anyway
This mayor doesn’t transcribe voicemails. You found a way to be heard anyway.
Posted inNews
Deborah Kafoury Apologizes to County Employees For Calling Another Leader a “Bitch”
Multnomah County Communications After calling County Commissioner Loretta Smith a “bitch” amid a heated exchange on December 21, Multnomah County Chair Deborah Kafoury isn’t just apologizing to Smith. On Friday, she apologized to all of the county’s employees, too. “At last week’s board meeting, I lost my cool and made a regrettable comment to Commissioner […]
Posted inNewsblast!
Good Morning, News: Welcome to the Stolid Bleakness of a New Year, Portland!
At least the sunrise was nice. Dirk VanderHart UGH. Welcome, Portland, to the dread day when the leaden winter sky loses any hint of holiday levity and becomes instead a constant weight on your chest. Welcome to the day when all the cares you’d put off in the name of yuletide cheer rise up to […]