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Jonathan Shapiro
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Tears, Cheers, and Beers

A Recap of Tuesday Night’s Election Results by the Mercury‘s Election Squad
Avatar photoAvatar photoAvatar photoAvatar photoAvatar photoAvatar photoAvatar photoAvatar photoAvatar photoAvatar photoAvatar photo Amy J. Ruiz, Matt Davis, Wm. Steven Humphrey, Marjorie Skinner, Alison Hallett, Erik Henriksen, Courtney Ferguson, Ned Lannamann, Patrick Alan Coleman, Jonathan Shapiro, and Drew Gemmer

IT WAS A PRIMARY ELECTION season marked, from the Democratic presidential contest on down, by excruciatingly close races—at least according to the pre-election day polls and punditry. According to poll numbers, Sho Dozono was holding Sam Adams under the 50 percent mark in the race for Portland mayor, and Steve Novick was consistently neck and […]

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Streetwalker Holiday

Neighbors Note Prostitution Spike Along 82nd
Avatar photo Jonathan Shapiro

RECENTLY, neighbors in the Montavilla neighborhood have noticed a sharp increase in the number of sex workers along 82nd Avenue between SE Powell and NE Sandy. Most residents attribute the influx to one thing: the end of Portland’s Prostitute-Free Zones (PFZs). Together with Drug-Free Zones (DFZs), the “free zones” gave police the authority to “exclude” […]

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An Unexpected Stop

City-Funded Day Laborer Site Delayed
Avatar photo Jonathan Shapiro

The launch date for the controversial day laborer site on NE MLK and Everett has been pushed back nearly six weeks to June 16. Romeo Sosa, director of VOZ, the organization in charge of running the center, had said as recently as last week that the original May 6 opening day, which VOZ has been […]

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Teed Off

NE Neighbors Battle Golf Course Rezoning
Avatar photo Jonathan Shapiro

AFTER WEEKS of contentious testimony from area residents, Bureau of Development Services (BDS) Hearings Officer Gregory Frank is in the last phase of making his recommendation to city hall over controversial plans to switch the zoning designation of an 80-year-old golf course in Northeast Portland. The owners of Colwood National Golf Course—which is currently designated […]

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Setting the Agenda

Oregon’s Democrats Make a Game Plan
Avatar photo Jonathan Shapiro

THIS PAST WEEKEND, as Chelsea Clinton cavorted through Oregon to campaign on her mom’s behalf, Democrats from across the state gathered in the Eugene Hilton and quietly hammered out a legislative agenda for the next two years. Laboring over ideas and organizational strategy, nearly 300 state delegates attended the biennial platform convention. In small groups […]

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Not in Our Backyard!

Businesses Bemoan Lack of Outreach
Avatar photo Jonathan Shapiro

ON MONDAY MORNING, Resolutions Northwest, a mediation group contracted by the city, hosted a meeting with local business owners to draft a Good Neighbor Agreement (GNA) over the proposed day laborer site on NE Martin Luther King Jr. and Everett Street. Many of the business owners directly adjacent to the site, however, expressed anger and […]

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Dead in the Water

City’s WiFi Cloud Headed toward Evaporation
Avatar photo Jonathan Shapiro

Remember that WiFi cloud that was supposed to blanket Portland by the end of 2008? Most residents of Portland are familiar with the story. In the summer of 2006, the city partnered with Silicon Valley start-up MetroFi and launched a free wireless internet service. The WiFi network was supposed to cover 95 percent of the […]

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Another Round

OLCC Reconsiders All-Ages Rules
Avatar photo Jonathan Shapiro

Last Friday, February 22, the Oregon Liquor Control Commission (OLCC) heard testimony over new measures that would give music venues greater flexibility in allowing minors to attend events where alcohol is served. Currently, Oregon bars and clubs are prohibited from serving beer or alcohol at all-ages music shows. In December, the committee voted 3-2 against […]

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