Update and jumped, 3:59pm: Here’s a comment from the Attorney General’s office: “We have reviewed the assertions in in Mr. Soto’s letter and concluded that neither the Department of Justice nor the Ethics Commission has the legal authority to investigate an alleged violation of the Portland City Code.” Update, 12:07 The complaint is after the […]
Matt Davis
Matt Davis was news editor of the Mercury from 2009 to May 2010.
Posted inBlogs
Things I Will Always Remember About The Mercury #1: Blowing Shit Up
This was a lot of fun.
Posted inBlogs
Taking The Next Step
I’m taking the next step in my career after four fantastic years with the Mercury. I’m sorry to say that I’m moving on. This is the best newspaper in Oregon, and I’ve loved working here. Steve Humphrey has stood up for me when nobody else would, and he’s given me room to develop my strengths […]
Posted inNews
Mayor’s Budget Cuts Mounted Patrol, Jobs In His Office, And The Symphony Ain’t Going To New York
Mayor Sam Adams has released his brutal budget this morning at city hall. Permitting, arts and the police bureau have taken brutal cuts. In total, 115 positions will be cut at the city. ADAMS: FACED THE MU$IC The mayor plans to cut 50 jobs from the police bureau over the next two years—mainly back office […]
Posted inNews
Sit-Lie In Council
Amanda Fritz has indeed brought forward her amendment—dropping a “free speech exception” to the sit-lie law, because…well…I’m going to let her explain it: “Anybody can stand in the pedestrian zone,” said Fritz. “The key thing is, if anybody wants to sit to do a freedom of expression, they do so in the other area.” I’m […]
Posted inElection 2010
British Election Watch Part Two
The first exit poll suggests there’s going to be a hung parliament. What does that mean? It means that while the toff-ish Conservatives might win more votes than any other party, they won’t have a majority, and they’ll struggle to win any votes in the house. Here’s a good explanation at the BBC’s website. Here’s […]
Posted inNews
Read The Goddamn News…And Vote, Goddamnit
KPOJ, 8am, every Thursday. How many more times do I need to remind you? It’s The Cheater’s Ballot We’ve Done the Hard Work—All You Have to Do Is Vote! We also covered Saltzmangate again for the benefit of our readers who can’t work the internets, and Sarah has a fascinating In The Shadows about Portland’s […]
Posted inNews
Fritz Will Propose Amendment On Sit-Lie: Drop Free Speech Exception
City Commissioner Amanda Fritz plans to file an amendment to the new sit-lie ordinance before this afternoon’s vote—to remove a freedom of speech exception to the law. Until now, the law has allowed two feet nearest the curb for people to sit down. Then there’s a six foot pedestrian through zone from the building out […]
Posted inElection 2010
Volm: Saltzman Shut Me Out Of Campaign Event
Mary Volm says the Lloyd District Community Association has reneged on a pledge to invite her to a campaign forum today, at the Red Lion Hotel in the Lloyd District. Instead, they invited City Commissioner Dan Saltzman to speak to them on an exclusive basis, leaving Volm outside…in the parking lot… Volm spoke to the […]
Posted inElection 2010
Saltzmangate: Oregonian Endorses Dan 4 Mayor!
Even I did not see this coming. I mean, someone told me about it, but I couldn’t find it on the paper’s website despite Googling “Saltzman” and “Mayor” alongside the words “Shitty Website Oregonlive.” So, even when it came, I did not see it coming. But here’s the scanned version. “He only might run to […]
Posted inMedia
Portland’s Former Bishop Makes NYT
PEDO-BISH: ONCE A PORTLAND BISH I like to think there’s an angel singing a song in heaven, every time the New York Times covers something other than Portland’s sustainable vegan rug weaving scene. It’s been a good few weeks for negative East Coast coverage in general, what with the Reed College hoo-ha over Renn Fayre, […]
Posted inElection 2010
British Election Watch Part One
One of my least fond childhood memories is distributing fliers for the local Liberal candidate because my mum had a crush on him. Me and my brother had this box of thousands of yellow bits of paper, and we had to go round the nasty bits of Croydon, shoving them through people’s front doors. That’s […]