First of all, I don’t believe in capital punishment. All right, now that we’ve got that out of the way: Dzhokhar Tsarnaev—convicted on 30 counts for his role in the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing—was just sentenced to death. SO THEN WHY THE FUCK DID WE KEEP HIM ALIVE TO PUT HIM ON TRIAL? Why’d they […]
Shelby R. King
Posted inNews
Firefighters Don’t Like Exploding Oil Trains Either
Activist and laborer Tim Norgren protesting fossil fuel exporting Nobody likes exploding trains, but Americans can’t yet seem to quit their unhealthy relationship with fossil fuels, and so we get exploding trains. Five this year, as a matter of fact. You know who really doesn’t like exploding trains? Firefighters. Emergency responders are among the first […]
Posted inBikes
“Dead Red” Gets the Go-Ahead
Photo courtesy of the Oregon Department of Transportation Good news: If you’re on a bicycle or motorcycle and a red light won’t change for you, you can run it! Oregon bicycle and motorcycle riders on Wednesday won the right to go on a “dead red” light following the unanimous passage of Senate Bill 533. The […]
Posted inNewsblast!
Good Morning, News!: Boo-ing City Council, Boo-ing Floyd Mayweather, and Berating Jeb Bush
You’ve almost made it through the week! Amid a chorus of “boooooo”s (that sounded, over the live stream on my computer, more like “mooooooo”s) Portland City Council on Wednesday voted to go ahead with the planned demolition two Washington Park reservoirs. Mayor Charlie Hales shut the show down for the second time in three weeks […]
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Port Director Reaffirms He’s Mad at Fossil Fuel Charlie
Photo courtesy of Bob Sallinger Port of Portland Commission Executive Director Bill Wyatt opened today’s regular commission meeting by telling the audience—which was largely made up of activists sporting “NO TERMINAL” signs—how disappointed he is that Mayor Charlie Hales pulled the plug on a $500 million propane terminal project in North Portland. “I think it’s […]
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Protesters Block Tracks to Block Fossil Fuel Exports
Portland Rising Tide activists celebrated a victory this morning in true activist fashion: with a protest! Tim Norgren, a member of Teamsters Local 320, has himself chained to a cement-filled 55-gallon drum and is blockading the train tracks on Arc Logistics’ property, protesting the export of fossil fuels out of the Port of Portland. “We […]
Posted inNewsblast!
Good Morning, News!: Tigers, Torture, and Weed
Tiger! Moustache! Good morning, Thursday! See that guy up there? That’s his tiger, and he’s got other exotic animals. They got out, but now they’re home. Don’t worry, it was in Oklahoma. Remember all that spying the National Security Agency did? Yeah, it was illegal. Obama’s coming today to raise some money! Portland newspapers have […]
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A Thirsty Company and a Hungry Town
Pure Water Is Pure Gold for Cascade Locks, but Nestlé’s Rep Is Muddy
Nestlé wants Oregon water, but does Oregon want Nestlé?
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Peaceful Protesting and Pepper Spray
Portland’s May Day marches were loud and mostly peaceful, as reported yesterday by the Tribune. Protesters were agitated and rowdy, but they weren’t violent. Yet, we got pepper sprayed. Some marchers got hit with flashbangs. The clash with the cops began when marchers tried to take the Burnside Bridge. A wall of bicycle cops blocked […]
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Good Morning, News!: Flashbangs, Undersea Eruptions, and Royal Babies
They really do. It’s Saturday! Bacon and waffles for breakfast! Who went protesting for May Day yesterday? These guys! There was pepper spray; there were flashbangs; it was a veritable smorgasbord of unrest. Typical day in Portland. More atypically, six Baltimore police officers yesterday were charged in the April death of Freddie Gray. Pssssssst, 10 […]
Posted inPortland
It’s May Day: Let’s Protest!
Photo from 15Now PDX protest in April Today is International Workers Day! In countries across Europe (It’s an official holiday over there—what’s wrong with us, America? No metric system and no International Workers Day? What gives?) and also in the US, thousands take to the streets every May Day to protest for things like workers’ […]
Posted inBikes
Split Opinions on Motorcycle Lane-Splitting
Oregon Department of Transportation Motorcycles riding between lanes on a highway during heavy traffic For six months last year, daily motorcycle commuter and downtown Portland resident Patrick Leyshock worked in Hillsboro. As a dedicated all-weather rider, Leyshock rode Highway 26 in morning and evening rush hour traffic five days a week, putting along in the […]