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Opinion
Posted inStreet View

STREET VIEW: Public Transit Safety Concerns Deserve a Thoughtful Response

We can’t just sweep violence under the rug. But a punitive approach to public safety isn’t the way, either.
Avatar photo Taylor Griggs

Last Friday evening, Michael Brady boarded an eastbound MAX train downtown. Tragically, he wouldn’t make it off the train alive. After being stabbed on the train near the 82nd Avenue station, Brady succumbed to his injuries. The suspected killer, Shondel Larkin, told police he had been hearing voices and was apparently afraid that Brady was […]

Posted inOpinion

STREET VIEW: Soho House and Portland’s Disappearing Public Spaces

The meaning of public space is being tarnished and sanitized for the rich.
Avatar photo Taylor Griggs

Need a new place to hang out? Look no further than Soho House, which just opened in Portland’s Central Eastside: A combination community workspace, gym, restaurant, social club, and solution to any isolation you may feel. We all know about the demise of American public gathering places—what could be better than a local Soho House […]

Posted inStreet View

STREET VIEW: “The Bike Lanes That Drive Everybody Crazy”

Portland needs a more clear-eyed vision for transportation.
Avatar photo Taylor Griggs

People who advocate for bike transportation improvements are very familiar with the tactical deployment of the phrase “avid cyclist” by someone on a crusade against bike infrastructure.  “I’m an avid cyclist,” the person will say, “but taking away space from cars is ridiculous. People need to drive. You crazy bike people are never going to […]

Posted inOpinion

Dear Ancestry.com, Black People Shouldn’t Have to Pay to Learn Our Heritage

The world’s largest genetic bank charges a small fortune to uncover stolen histories — but should they?
Avatar photo Donovan Scribes (fka Donovan Smith)

“I think it’s fucked up to live in America, where they stole you from your homeland then sell your ancestry back to you. Like yeah, you know for $100 I’ll show you where we stole you from!” –  DL Hughley, Contrarian (2018). “We’re going to do a family crest exploration project,” Ms. Womack shared with […]

Posted inTimbers

With Phil Neville, Timbers Make Controversial Pick for New Manager

The choice of Neville as the Timbers’ newest head coach is another finger in the eye for fans.
Avatar photo Abe Asher

The Portland Timbers announced Monday they have hired Phil Neville as their new manager, despite the outcry of supporters who have objected to his history of sexist tweets and lack of managerial success.  It’s a decision that is at once shocking and not surprising. Of all the candidates the Timbers could have chosen for their […]

Posted inOpinion

The Problem with Proving, Again and Again, That Portland and Seattle Are Not Dying

Debates continue while the real causes of the homeless crisis are never addressed.
Avatar photo Charles Mudede

[While we are deathly allergic to out-of-town hot takes on Portland’s current troubles—special “hello” to Nicholas Kristof and his weirdly obsessive pals at the New York Times—this piece published by our sister paper, The Stranger, hits the nail on the head and is definitely worth your time.—eds] The story has been this: Portland’s downtown is […]

Posted inOpinion

City Council Is Trying to Sabotage Charter Reform—Which Is Exactly Why We Need Charter Reform

The Council’s latest attempt to sow distrust in the voter-approved charter reform process reveals who they’re really working for. (Hint: It’s not you.)
Avatar photo Wm. Steven Humphrey

Portlanders have had enough of our city’s clearly dysfunctional form of government, which is why they voted by a large margin (nearly 60 percent) to reform the city’s charter.  So why is the current City Council so intent on trying to sabotage charter reform? Deep behind the scenes, city commissioners (particularly Gonzalez and Ryan, and […]

Posted inOpinion

Guest Editorial: Oregon Is at a Crossroads for Trans Rights

Why it’s important to be an active, vocal supporter of trans rights and gender-affirming care in Oregon.
Avatar photo Blair Stenvick

I can tell you this firsthand: Gender-affirming care changes lives. Since going through puberty, I’ve always felt weird about my chest. Seeing photos or studying myself in the mirror, I would zero in on that area, trying to reconcile it with the version of myself I innately had in my head. During the height of […]

Posted inOpinion

Hall Monitor: Soft on Crime

What happens when a police accountability group inherently trusts law enforcement?
Avatar photo Alex Zielinski

Hall Monitor is semi-regular column on issues related to Portland City Hall and its influence on the community it serves.  ———   What is volunteer-led police oversight expected to look like? What happens when a police accountability group inherently trusts law enforcement? These are the questions at the center of a discussion headed to City […]

Posted inCity Hall

Hall Monitor: The Changing Symbolism of Portland’s Elk Statue

Avatar photo Alex Zielinski

The Thompson Elk, photographed in June 2020. Alex Zielinski When Portlanders flooded downtown streets in the early summer of 2020 to protest the murder of George Floyd and other examples of police violence against Black Americans, they were joined by a triumphant elk. Specifically, the Thompson Elk, a 120-year-old slender bronze elk statue perched atop […]

Posted inCity Hall

Hall Monitor: Why Homelessness Experts Have Rejected Mayor’s Shelter Plan

Avatar photo Alex Zielinski

Shelter beds at Portland’s Wy’East Shelter. Motoya Nakamura / Multnomah County Portland’s homeless shelter providers will be the first to tell you that building more shelters is not the solution to ending the city’s homelessness crisis. “It doesn’t end homelessness. It relocates it,” says Andy Miller, director of nonprofit shelter provider Human Solutions. “We always […]

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