Photo by Paul Cone Despite protests and a lawsuit, Multnomah County Sheriff Dan Stanton says the county will keep enforcing the policies of federal deportation program Secure Communities. We’ve documented the many local complaints about Secure Communities since its implementation in 2010: The program is supposed to target “high level” criminals who are in the […]
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
How Unsafe it is to Text While Walking?
Researchers watched hundreds of pedestrians in Seattle and came up with some hard numbers on the dangers of texting and walking. According to the newly published University of Washington study, nearly 30 percent of pedestrians are involved in some sort of “distracting activity” (like listening to music, talking on the phone, or texting) while crossing […]
Posted inPolitics
Oregon is Denying Drivers’ Licenses to Immigrant Kids
Here’s what Alejandra Nicholas, a Tigard 20-year-old, has to say about the Oregon DMV and Governor John KItzhaber: “I’m pretty disappointed in the state. I have so many hopes and dreams. They are doing a pretty good job of crushing them.” Quoted in The Oregonian, Nicholas is caught up in a frustrating situation. Last spring, […]
Posted inNews
Good Morning News!
“This Time, the Words Need to Lead to Action.” Obama promises to push concrete gun control reforms. Many Gun Owners Say… gun control doesn’t stand a chance. NYSE 4 SALE: The New York Stock Exchange is sold to an Atlanta company which promises to make it more high-tech. First Lady: South Korea elects its first […]
Posted inBooks
Multnomah County Library Has Cute Free Presents for Check Out
I like this cute idea at Multnomah County Library: Staff chose out books on certain topics (like “comics for teens”) and wrapped them up in mystery packages. You can check out the packages, gift them, then the giftee can tear them open, read the books, and drop ’em off back at the library. A good […]
Posted inNews
Oregon Legislator: To Prevent School Shootings, Arm All the Teachers
Somehow I missed last week when Central Point Republican Representative Dennis Richardson had an extremely poor response to the shooting at Sandy Hook school: Emailing the superintendents of his local school district to let them know that if he’d personally been on the scene in Connecticut, things would have gone differently. From the Mail Tribune: […]
Posted inNews
Thanks for Nothing!
The Last Installment of Angry Voicemails for Mayor Sam Adams
The last installment of angry voicemails for Mayor Sam Adams.
Posted inNews
Good Morning News!
SNOW!! Who cares about the rest of the news, it’s snowing! Weather report says there could be light snow all day, though it could switch to rain. Okay, there actually is a lot of important non-snow news. Now is the Time: In the wake of the Newtown shooting, the NRA will face the first real […]
Posted inNews
How to be an Asshole.
Step One: Rake in $2.8 billion in four months. Step Two: Refuse to pay your employees for time they took off when their store was closed because someone opened fire in the mall. Step Three: Also dock their performance-based pay because they weren’t able to make any sales while the mall was on lockdown. Step […]
Posted inPolitics
Legislature Inks Special Tax Deal With Nike
In case you missed the news on Friday, the Oregon legislature met for a special one-day session and signed off on the governor’s special tax deal that lets him write tax agreements with expanding companies, namely Nike. The legislature secured some tweaks to the bill that East Portland Representative Jefferson Smith (back for one last […]
Posted inNews
Sixteen Mass Shootings in America This Year Killed 88 People
It’s one of those days that makes me wish I could believe in God. Instead, I spent the lunch hour crying into my sandwich. This morning’s shooting had an exceptionally high death toll, but from The Nation comes this heart-stopping list of all the other mass shootings in the United States this year. In some […]