While Portland is wrangling with issues of police accountability, the university in the center of the city is dealing with police issues of its own. Portland State University has 29,703 students and only 17 security officers. This week, campus Director of Public Safety Phil Zerzan met with students to propose a big new idea: Forming […]
Sarah Shay Mirk
Sarah Shay Mirk reported on transportation, sex and gender issues, and politics at the Mercury from 2008-2013. They have gone on to make many things, including countless comics and several books.
Posted inNews
Idling Anger
Bus Drivers Join Neighbors in Protesting Woodlawn’s Stinky New TriMet Layover
TriMet cuts leave Northeast Portland neighbors angry and drivers without a place to pee.
Posted inNews
Fundraising Hell
Canvassers Accuse Progressive Nonprofit of Union-Busting
Workers accuse progressive canvassing nonprofit of union-busting.
Posted inTransportation
Bus Drivers and NE Portland Neighbors Push TriMet to Tweak Cuts
The city seems to be mostly quietly adjusting to the most recent round of public transit budget cuts. Rider grumbling hasn’t stopped the price of a TriMet ticket from jumping to $2.50 or brought free rail back to downtown. Except in one neighborhood, where outcry over September’s transit cuts is loud and clear and gathering […]
Posted inNews
Good Morning News!
Death Toll Rises in Gaza: Hils is headed to the Middle East as Israel continues aerial bombing of Gaza, aiming for militants. Egypt, meanwhile, is hoping to broker a truce. The Great Nativity Throw Down: Oh man, this is the best holiday story I’ve read in forever. A public park in Santa Monica traditionally displays […]
Posted inPolitics
Portland Canvassers Accuse Progressive Group of Union Busting
Many Portlanders who’ve taken a temporary job canvassing street corners or suburban streets with a clipboard will tell you the same thing: being a canvasser sucks. I worked for the Fund for Public Interest Research in Portland the summer after I graduated from high school and—though I appreciated the paychecks and hitting the streets to […]
Posted inFood and Drink
I Spent the Weekend in New England
And here is what I have to say: Their coffee sucks. You order a coffee regular and this is what it looks like. In all other ways, New England is excellent. They may have sunshine, colorful leaves, colonial cemeteries, idyllic farms, and convenient train travel, but we have drinkable coffee, dammit!
Posted inGreen
In the Future, You Have to Pay for Parking.
Let’s review the situation: Portland is in the midst of a no-parking building boom. In the past 18 months, the city has okayed permits for 32 multi-unit residential buildings with zero parking, ranging from projects with ten apartments to one with 130. Neighbors of the big new buildings—like the ecoFLATS apartments on North Williams, the […]
Posted inEvents
Go East! To 82nd Avenue! On a Tour This Saturday!
Portland is the whitest major city in America. That fact can obscure the reality that there are lots of non-white communities here and, especially as you head east in the city, cultures and people from all over the world who make Portland their home. This weekend, the Dill Pickle Club (an arts nonprofit I work […]
Posted inFeature
When Vegetables Roamed the Earth
Meatless Holiday Entrées That Aren’t Eggplant!
Meatless holiday entrées? Okay, I’ll bite.
Posted inNews
Parking the Problem
Portland’s Low-Car Building Boom Angers Neighbors
Welcome to Portland’s low-car building boom.
Posted inSexual Politics
This Patreaus Scandal is Crazy, But Let’s Steer Clear of Slut Shaming
We can all agree that the director of the CIA having an affair is not a great idea, since it could leave our security chief open to blackmail and security breaches. But you know what we can’t agree on? That the whole thing is the fault of the woman involved—Patricia Broadwell. To quote Jordan Baker, […]