Dirk Vanderhart Since 2017, Portland landlords who increase a tenant’s rent by 10 percent or more have been required to cover the cost of renter relocation—that is, if the tenant decides to move because they can no longer afford rent. The program requires rent-hiking landlords to pay between $2,900 to $4,500 in relocation fees, depending […]
Coronavirus
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Unemployed Portlanders Are Still Struggling With State and Federal Benefits
Ada Yokota / Getty images As the Oregon Employment Department (OED) continues to be overwhelmed with unemployment benefit claims, and the federal government quibbles over renewing coronavirus relief funds, Portlanders who lost work back in March are still struggling to get by—and full of questions about their futures. In early May, the Mercury interviewed five […]
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Multnomah County Jail Staff Still Aren’t Wearing Masks, Despite County Orders
Multnomah County Jail is located on the top floors of the downtown Justice Center. Doug Brown It’s been six weeks since Multnomah County made it mandatory for all county jail staff to wear face coverings to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Yet jail employees, medical staff, public defenders, and incarcerated people say that the majority […]
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Lawsuit Claims Contractor Faked Thermometer Readings to Keep Sick Employees Working During COVID-19
CasarsaGuru / Getty images When Katrina Bryant took a job at a construction site in Eastern Oregon in April, she expected her main duty to be making the job site safe during the COVID-19 pandemic. Bryant was hired by Gray’s Construction, through a temp agency, to monitor employees as they entered the construction site for […]
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City Council Considers a $114 Million COVID-19 Relief Proposal
Cosmonaut / Getty Images Portland City Council previewed a plan Wednesday to distribute $114 million in federal COVID-19 relief funds across city programs that support businesses, renters, and communities disproportionately impacted by the pandemic. The funding from the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act was granted to the city in late April, […]
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Legislature Approves $200 Million in COVID Relief for Small Businesses and Financially Burdened Oregonians
Oregon state legislature approves COVID funding for small businesses, venues, and the Black community. 4KODIAK / GETTY IMAGES The state’s legislative emergency board took a step today to lessen the financial woes of Oregonians, by approving more than $200 million in funds that will go to those who have been suffering from the COVID-19 pandemic’s […]
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Oregon Health Authority Predicts “Exponential” Growth in COVID-19 Cases
d3sign / Getty Images Facing an expected “exponential” surge in COVID-19 cases, Oregon’s top health experts are recommending—but not mandating—measures to curb transmission. In a Friday media call, Oregon Health Authority OHA) Director Patrick Allen said he’s asking Oregonians to voluntarily avoid indoor social gatherings where more than ten people are in attendance. Until today, […]
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What Was Accomplished During Oregon’s Whirlwind Special Legislative Session?
4kodiak / Getty Images Blink and you may have missed it: It took less than 72 hours for the Oregon Legislature to begin and end its special legislative session last week. The whirlwind session was initially planned to address the immediate economic fallout from COVID-19. That focus was expanded, however, after the killing of George […]
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Council Votes to Extend Current Police Union Contract Due to COVID-19 Delays
Demonstrators during 2016’s PPA negotiations. DIRK VANDERHART Portland City Council has voted to extend its current contract with the Portland Police Association (PPA)—the city’s rank-and-file police union—by one year. The current contract, approved in 2016 was set to expire June 30. But, due to COVID-19’s physical distancing restrictions, the city and PPA’s bargaining teams were […]
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Gov. Kate Brown Extends State of Emergency to Sept. 4
MOTOYA NAKAMURA / MULTNOMAH COUNTY Governor Kate Brown has (again) extended the state’s COVID-19 emergency declaration by an additional two months. The emergency declaration that Oregon’s currently operating under is set to expire on July 6. This new order, signed Tuesday, extends the declaration to September 4. Brown first declared a state of emergency due […]
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Enchanted Forest Amusement Park Is Reopening—With Extensive COVID Rules
Mercury Staff Beloved and long-running Oregon amusement park Enchanted Forest has announced they are reopening to the public starting this afternoon—and with a lot of new rules for those looking for fun in the midst of a deadly statewide coronavirus surge. In fact, the conditions for entering the park (located just south of Salem) are […]
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“We were told to lie”: Q&A with State Worker Processing Unemployment Claims
Reza Estakhrian / Getty Images Oregon is in the midst of an unemployment crisis. Not only has COVID-19 forced thousands out of work, but the state’s overburdened employment agency has left many of those Oregonians waiting months for their unemployment benefits to kick in. While the Oregon Employment Department (OED) has made recent progress unclogging […]