Though the weather was warm and not a single raindrop fell all weekend long, a group of homeless activists claim they’ve proven their point. They wanted to show how difficult it is to live on Portland’s streets. It’s not the months of rainy weather, they insisted, but rather a bevy of city ordinances and a […]
Phil Busse
Posted inNews
Dam City Council
Demonstrators Float Idea for Voter Initiative
For the second time in eight months, roughly 700 residents took time from their Sunday afternoons to express disbelief that the city council still refuses to listen to them. They linked hands and formed a circle around the Mt. Tabor reservoir, the large water tank at the center of a fight between neighborhood associations and […]
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Oh, Grow Up!
Underage Musicians Fight Back Against OLCC
The list of clubs and club owners suing the Oregon Liquor Control Commission (OLCC) reads like a who’s who of downtown entertainment. In late August the ACLU filed a lawsuit on behalf of a group including everyone from the owner of the Greek Cuisina, to the American Federation of Musicians. Without mincing words, the lawsuit […]
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Keg Party Crackdown
Tackling Students, Writing Tickets and Kicking Down Doors: When it Comes to Controlling Campus Drinking, it’s all in a Day’s Work for the Cops and the OLCC
Jake, a senior at the University of Portland, turned 21 years old a few months ago–a milestone he thought would give him particular immunity against being hassled by the cops for drinking. But recently, he was enjoying a beer on his front lawn in North Portland, adjacent to the normally quiet campus. There was a […]
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Me For Mayor!
Another Rant From Mayoral Candidate Phil Busse
To read The Oregonian‘s take on the political races, one might mistakenly think the size of a campaign’s bank account measures a candidate’s worth. Even Democratic frontrunner Howard Dean, who has ridden a wave of populist support, has fallen into this trap. When President Bush gathered up $1 million in contributions over a recent weekend, […]
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Unwilling to Forget
Community Forum Demands Better Police Investigations
“While we are not professionals, we are quite well versed in common sense,” Rev. A.A. Wells told a full house at Maranatha Church on Saturday. Standing in front of 250 concerned residents, Wells led a forum looking into a police shooting of a young African American woman five months ago. In that incident, 21-year-old Kendra […]
Posted inMovies & TV
Haven’t We Seen This Already?
Matchstick Men Fails To Ignite
Matchstick Men dir. Scott Opens Fri Sept 12 Various Theaters In truth, Nicholas Cage could have been airlifted from any number of his films and dropped into the middle of Matchstick Men, a film about a nervous con man, his odd-couple partner (played by Sam Rockwell) and his estranged 14-year-old daughter. Rambling to his shrink […]
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Water Over the Damned
Council Kisses Up to Business, Pisses Off Residents
Once again shrugging off public dissent, last week city council plunged forward with their plan to cover the water reservoirs at Mt Tabor. A year ago, without public input, city council suddenly approved a plan to cover the water tanks with large landscaped lids. Last Wednesday, in front of packed chambers, city council unanimously voted […]
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Me For Mayor!
Another Rant From Mayoral Candidate Phil Busse
Last week, the Police Assessment Resource Center, a LA-based non-profit, released a 222-page report looking at 32 deadly police shootings by Portland police over a three year period from 1997 to 2000. Ultimately, the report lambastes police policies that have let these officers go largely unpunished. Last week, seemingly using that report as a springboard, […]
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Exit Stage Left
Kroeker Gets Cut, Katz Stays Quiet
The Rose Room on the third floor of City Hall was packed on Tuesday morning, even though the press conference had been hastily announced. At the end of business on Friday, Police Chief Mark Kroeker announced his sudden resignation. He gave no explanation. Late on Labor Day, Vera Katz’s office announced the mayor would host […]
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It’s Good to Be King
Protesters Make Pretty Signs, Bush Ignores Them
Last March, when President Bush dismissed anti-war marches with a simple shrug of his shoulders, he gave us perhaps the most clear-eyed look into his mind and administration. At the time, the White House was bullying the United Nations into storming Iraq and deposing Saddam Hussein. In response, from Paris to Portland, more than 5 […]
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We Won’t Stand For It!
Mayor Katz Toughens Up Sit-Lie Rules–Again
For seven months, a ragtag group of activists have camped out across the street from City Hall. Calling themselves the Portland Peaceful Encampment (PPE), they originally threw down their stakes to bring attention to the war in Iraq and the plight of thousands of its civilians. However, as public attention waned from military maneuvers in […]