With little fanfare, last week a circuit court judge threw out “interfering with a police officer” (IPO) charges against a local cameraman. Somewhat like martial law, an IPO allows an officer to ticket a person for an otherwise legal activity–like walking on a sidewalk or questioning an officer’s motivation for shaking down a citizen. It […]
Phil Busse
Posted inNews
True Stories Of Near Drowning
Not The Best Third Date
Pinned against a tree that had fallen across the Sandy River, I suddenly realized that this date was not going so well. With hundreds of gallons pounding against my back, I wasn’t able to push back and escape. I was stuck. Shit, I was going to drown. We had only been on two dates before […]
Posted inNews
Mean and Green
After Hiatus, Direct Action Environmentalism Poised to Return
A month ago, Greenpeace suddenly showed up with a cluster of tents in the Kelsey-Whiskey forest in Southern Oregon. They were hoping to bring attention to proposed clearcuts and to Bush Administration policies that have disseminated federal forest protection plans. At first, the Bureau of Land Management tolerated them, even considering a long-term permit allowing […]
Posted inNews
The Truth Hurts
The Mercury‘s Department of WW Corrections
Last week, the Willamette Week reported that the Portland Police were “largely withdrawing from the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force.” The news item was included in the paper’s “Murmurs” section, and had it been true, would have been huge news. For the past few years, activists have been concerned about the power and scope of […]
Posted inMovies & TV
Mercury Video Picks
LET FREEDOM RING! Yes, President Ronald Reagan gave the world so much. Including, of course, freedom. But everything has a cost. And with the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of the Soviet Union, movie-goers have been robbed of some of the finest protagonists in the free world: The Soviet defectors who cannot […]
Posted inNews
Sit or Lie As You Please
Judge Knocks Down Ordinance As Unconstitutional
Just a day after U.S. forces began bombing in Iraq, a scruffy group of activists began a vigil against the war. All summer long, they lounged across the street from city hall, shook anti-war signs, and played a cat-and-mouse game with the police who tried to chase them from the spot. Soon, what began as […]
Posted inNews
Republicans for Ralph
Conservatives Want Nader on Ballot
Ralph Nader already has a legacy. Referring to the act of siphoning away votes, he has a political force named after him: “the Nader effect.” But last Saturday, the longtime consumer advocate tried once more to earn his way into history books for a more noble cause. Apparently, Nader still believes that he can be […]
Posted inNews
The Truth About Hobo Teens
Policies for street youth are based on the idea that these teens are dangerous and menacing. But what if those assumptions are wrong?
Zack’s cardboard sign reads: “I want your money.” From underneath a dark hoodie, he stares at shoppers and businesspeople strolling near Pioneer Square. Most ignore him; a few people take the long way around. It’s warm outside, but he wears a black sweatshirt and heavy boots. His eyebrow and lip are pierced. He scowls, looking […]
Posted inNews
Maybe He’s Rich Enough Already?
Francesconi Passes Up a Pay Increase
When Jim Francesconi made a motion at city council last week to exclude himself and other elected officials from a proposed pay increase, the silence was almost palatable. The pay increase proposal was tucked in amongst a list of other simple business matters–approving city contracts, granting a street closure permit, foreclosing a property for use […]
Posted inNews
A Deadly Game of Déjà Vu
A Familiar Pattern of Police Shooting Emerges
“A change must come, not later but now,” said Reverend LeRoy Haynes, sitting in front of city council on Wednesday. As part of the Albina Ministerial Alliance (AMA) Ad Hoc Committee for Community Justice, Rev. Haynes has been calling for new, improved police training mandates ever since the shooting of Kendra James more than a […]
Posted inMovies & TV
Water Wars
Thirst Gushes With Warnings About Multinationals
Thirst dir. Snitow and Kaufman Opens Fri June 18 Clinton Street Theater Think water rates in Portland are obscene? Over the past decade, our city’s water and sewage rates have doubled–but our mini-drama is a molehill compared to the three stories documented in Thirst, a surprisingly captivating film about the privatization of water suppliers. The […]
Posted inNews
Dog Goneit!
Is the City Kowtowing to the Crybabies?
Jessie has taken her dog to Laurelhurst Park for years–but not anymore. Two weeks ago, she was walking her dog near the park’s bathroom when, she claims, four women jumped out of the bushes. The women were park rangers and county animal control officers. Jessie had her dog off-leash and was immediately ticketed. “It used […]