CIA Scandal Spreads: As General Petraeus has quit his post after revelation of an affair, his top commander in Afghanistan is now accused of sending an inappropriate number of emails to a woman involved in the case. Obama is already considering a replacement for Petraeus—John Kerry. Meanwhile, it appears everyone in this investigation may be […]
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 inBuild Out
What Happens When You Build Housing With No Parking?
Portland’s progressive parking policy has taken a beating recently. Under city code, developers are allowed to build some types of buildings in areas with frequent public transit without any parking. Developers love it (parking is extremely expensive to build), car-free renters love it (because they’re not paying the added cost of a parking every month), […]
Posted inTech
Apple iPhone Hoarders in the Middle of the Night
I was downtown past midnight recently and was surprised to see this eerie line of empty chairs outside the Pioneer Place mall. What was this? A Rose Parade flashback? No, said a friendly security guard doing his patrol, this was people waiting for the Apple store to open in the morning. The line has been […]
Posted inNews
Portland Business Owner Complains Yelp Skews Reviews
Swan Island’s only new restaurant, Tilt, has a Yelp problem. Tilt breakfast sandwich: Unfiltered deliciousness. Although professional reviews of the “handcrafted food” diner have been positive, the first Google hit for the fledgling restaurant is their Yelp page, where the reviews are not great—mostly, they complain about the place’s price. That’s frustrating for Tilt owner […]
Posted inSexual Politics
Can the Republican Party Become Less Bigoted?
I spent election night this year among the Republicans, stationed out at a bland Embassy Suites for the Oregon Republican’s party, snacking on NOBAMA 100 Grand candy bars. The people in charge of the election party had started out the night streaming CBS, then switched over to FOX (which prompted cheering), then when even the […]
Posted inTransportation
Death to Light Rail!
While Oregon and Washington turned out to support left-leaning politicians, same-sex marriage, and marijuana during this election, one progressive issue went down hard: Light rail. The MAX is popular in Portland, but light rail projects are very controversial in the city’s suburbs. Vancouver, Washington, weighed a proposal that was crucial to funding the Columbia River […]
Posted inPolitics
What Will it Take to Legalize Marijuana in Oregon?
Today, after years of opposition to marijuana legalization, the Oregonian editorial board took the plunge: They say the time has come for Oregon legislators to consider marijuana reform. They make a logical, pro-business pitch for pot, since Washington passed I-502 this week: If business booms at Washington’s pot shops, as expected? Our neighbor to the […]
Posted inBikes
Three New Portland-Penned Bike Books Make Their Debut
Three pocket-size bike books by Portland writers have made their debut in the past six months, and they’re all worth checking out. The first, April Streeter’s Women on Wheels was published last May by A Serious Press. It’s a well-designed, dense primer city biking and though “women” is in the title, it’s composed of practical […]
Posted inSexual Politics
These Vintage Anti-Suffrage Postcards are the Best
This week is the 100th anniversary of women voting in Oregon. It’s hard to imagine what sort of anti-women-voting campaign suffragists were up against, but this collection of anti-suffrage postcards on Sociological Images now seem hilarious. A couple more postcards below the cut. There is also a large collection of Oregon suffrage ephemera online here, […]
Posted inNews
Good Morning News!
Sorry About Your Several Million Dollars: The presidential race overall cost six billion dollars. That’s a waste for everyone, really, but the people with the least to show for their millions in donations are Karl Rove’s big-money Republican friends. FIRE HIM. What is Karl Rove’s job on Fox News, exactly? Who Will Be the New […]
Posted inLGBTQIA+
It’s Official: Same-Sex Marriage Wins in Washington!
Seattle designer Corianton Hale‘s adorable marriage will finally be legal. The nail-biter of a race for Washington’s Referendum 74 has been called: It’s a win for equality! The race came down to 52 percent of Washington voters approving the referendum that upholds the same-sex marriage law passed by Washington’s legislature last year and 48 percent […]
Posted inElection 2012
14,660 Portlanders Wrote In Their Choice for Mayor
The Halesees, announcing victory last night. It looks like Denis wasn’t the only person who wanted to send Charlie Hales a message by writing in someone for the mayor’s race. As I noted this morning, 7.7 percent of voting Portlanders wrote in someone for mayor. That’s 14,660 people. I was interested in how that compares […]