In the waning hours of the state legislative session, a bill was quietly—but frantically—being worked that would have made it easier for employers to fire workers with medical marijuana cards, even if they’re never impaired at work. It died with a whimper, but the fallout could upend this week’s House leadership elections. The bill, Senate […]
Scott Moore
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Hall Monitor
Play Ball!
Ahhhh, summer. The sun’s out, the birds are chirping, babies are smiling, wildfires are roaring, and the entire city is out playing some damn game or another—mostly, softball. Lots and lots of softball. So much softball, in fact, that the Portland Metro Softball Association (PMSA), which hosts league play at East Delta Park, is, according […]
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Hall Monitor
Booooo!
Next time there’s a federal holiday in the middle of the week, try this line on your boss: “You know, we’re taking off Wednesday anyway, which makes the rest of the week kind of pointless, so let’s just take off the whole week.” Let me know how that turns out, but I imagine your employer […]
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Ka-BOOM!
Does Randy Leonard Want to Blow Up Linnton?
Some may see biodiesel as the answer to America’s dependence on foreign oil, but residents of NW Portland’s tiny Linnton neighborhood see it bringing only death and destruction—and with a side of toxic fumes. Developers are currently in talks to build a biodiesel plant on the defunct Linnton Plywood Mill site, which has been sitting […]
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So Long, Clowns
Alberta Clown House Packs it In
Part-vaudeville, part Burning Man, part bike repair shop, part hostel, and all-freak show, the Alberta Clown House has been an icon of North and Northeast Portland for years. But at the end of August, the assorted clowns and tall-bike riders will be packing up and moving on, victims of soaring property values. A year ago, […]
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Look Out! It’s the Mercury‘s Summer DANGER Guide!
There’s no getting around it—summer makes people stupid. And stupid people quickly become dead people. Do you want to be both stupid AND dead? We didn’t think so. That’s why you’re going to be SMART, and read the Mercury‘s Summer Danger Guide: the city’s only complete compilation of EVERYTHING that will cause or contribute to […]
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Hall Monitor
Gas pains
For the past week, Transportation Commissioner Sam Adams has been out campaigning—errrr, I mean, holding town halls, to collect public opinion on paying for street maintenance, like repaving, filling potholes, and replacing street signs. It’s a curious political endeavor—”filling potholes” (literally and symbolically) ranks near the top among things Portlanders want from their city government, […]
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Giant Slayer
Mike Jones: The Man Who Took Down Ted Haggard
Last fall, just days before the mid-term elections, Mike Jones, a Denver-based masseuse and escort, shocked the country with a call to the press. He revealed that Ted Haggard—the president of the National Association of Evangelicals, head pastor of the New Life Church in Colorado Springs, and arguably one of the most powerful leaders of […]
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Arrested Development
Planning Commission: For Pros Only?
Around city hall, appointments to commissions are usually routine matters: The mayor or council members nominate someone, and can usually bank on unanimous support from the rest of council. Last week, though, a nomination to the Planning Commission raised red flags, and ended with questions like who, exactly, qualifies as a developer, and are they […]
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Oversight, Overlooked
My, how history repeats itself! Last year, at the request of Mayor Tom Potter, city council voted to renew the city’s controversial Drug- and Prostitution-Free Zones (DFZs) for one year—but only because the mayor promised to establish an oversight committee to study the racial fairness and effectiveness of the policy. But then—oh no!—that year quickly […]
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Whose Streets?
Randy Leonard Fights for Portland’s Sidewalks
City Commissioner Randy Leonard may have gained much attention last week by calling for a ban on people taping their parade spots on the sidewalk, but he’s also engaged this week in a more important fight for the rights of Portland’s homeless. The mayor’s Street Access for Everyone (SAFE) committee—comprised of homeless advocates and representatives […]
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Hall Monitor
Tale of the Tape
To hear the media (hey there, KATU) and Mayor Tom Potter tell it, last Friday night’s tape removal party—or, as I’ve now dubbed it, the Pre-Parade Route Beautification and Equalization of Viewing Opportunity Hoedown™—was the precursor to some kind of Grand Floral apocalypse. In an interview with KGW outside his third floor city hall office […]