The Examiner says: In a surprising move, Christian conservative and Republican leader Mike Huckabee is encouraging churches to give up their tax exempt status. Huckabee issued the following call for churches to unilaterally give up their tax-exempt status via Twitter on June 11: “It’s time for churches to reject tax exempt status completely; freedom is […]
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Posted inNews
Okay, Seriously this Time: Arts Tax Due Today!
The city didn’t send out any hasty press releases this morning or over the weekend, so it looks like the oft-extended deadline for Portland’s Arts Tax might actually stand today, after all. The hapless tax—which still faces legal challenges—has been pushed back again and again, first because of imprecise language, then because of problems with […]
Posted inCrafty
Product of the Week: One-Wipe Charlies
Long ago, during the dawn of the internet, I introduced you to the Dollar Shave Club—which is basically a subscription service for razor blades. “Fun idea!” I thought, and promptly forgot about it… UNTIL NOW. The funny brain behind the very legit Dollar Shave Club company is back with a new product: One-Wipe Charlies. Apparently, […]
Posted inMedia
Who’s Right? Who’s Wrong?: Netflix vs. NYT
It’s time to play… WHO’S RIGHT? WHO’S WRONG? The new game in which we present two sides of an argument, and you, the public, decide… WHO’S RIGHT? WHO’S WRONG? Our contestants today are Netflix—a “streaming” entertainment company that specializes in a lot of shows and movies that eventually get yanked from their site, leaving a […]
Posted inReligion
Scientology’s Shiny New Church/Giftshop
If you haven’t noticed, the Scientologists have a brand new storefront in downtown Portland and it’s awesome. If you’d like to watch promotional DVDs while feeling like the men in suits who watch your every move might murder you, then this is definitely the place for you. The Portland branch of the Church of Scientology—from […]
Posted inNews
Revealed at Last: The Vast Sums We Made Off of Fluoride
Alex Despain It’s been a reliable refrain since the Mercury came out in favor of water fluoridation: anti-fluoride folks insist we must’ve been paid off. “Maybe you are on HKHP’s list of people and orgs who were bought? Disgusted with you and I will boycott you forever and a day,” said commenter CleanWaterMan. “It is […]
Posted inMusic
Where Your Money from Those Very Expensive Prince Tickets Went
image via Rogers & Cowan Prince in Vancouver, a few nights before the April 21 Portland shows. As NME reported last week and OPB reposted yesterday, Prince used part of the proceeds from those very expensive tickets to his two April 21 shows at the Roseland to help send Portland-area high school jazz students on […]
Posted inNews
Former Powell’s Union Treasurer Faces Embezzlement Charges
Thomas James A former treasurer for the Powell’s employee union has been formally indicted on federal embezzlement charges, more than a year after members of International Longshore Warehouse Union Local 5 noticed accounting irregularities. In late March, Britta Duncan was charged [PDF] in US District Court with embezzlement and theft, falsification of records and failure […]
Posted inNews
That Was Fast: Facebook Campaign Ready to “Save the Mounted Patrol”
Based on hints he dropped during his State of the City speech last Friday, it was pretty clear Mayor Charlie Hales had the Portland Police Bureau’s mounted patrol unit in his fiscal cross-hairs. And it was completely unsurprising this morning when Hales, in unveiling his proposed budget, said he wanted to cut the division and […]
Posted inNews
Mayor’s Budget Unveiled: Here’s Our Live Blog
Joseph Harmon Mayor Charlie Hales is unveiling his stab at a budget plan meant to close a $21.5 million deficit right now. It’s filled with major job cuts—182.5 positions, including 55 police officers and almost 42 fire bureau positions.. And it would get rid of the police bureau’s mounted patrol, Buckman Pool and funding for […]
Posted inNews
How Diverse Are the Cops on Portland’s Layoff Chopping Block?
We reported last week about a tentative plan to keep the Portland Police Bureau—facing the prospect of losing more than two-dozen officers because of budget cuts—from having to lay off its most junior cops. That’s no small feat, because those new hires, thanks to improved recruiting in recent years, happen to be some of the […]
Posted inArtsy
“Did You Mean: Afghanistan’s Drug Industry?”
“Did you mean: Afghanistan’s drug industry” That’s what Google asked me when I plugged in the phrase “Afghanistan’s rug industry.” Um, no Google, rugs not drugs. And hugs. Anyhow, it’s some kind of dismal indicator that the industry that is second only to agriculture in providing income to people in cities like Kunduz has been […]