In the past year, the Portland metro area has seen at least 976 apartment units converted into condos, an increase of 48 percent over last year’s roughly 659 units—and in more cases than not, the rental tenants have been unceremoniously dumped out. Currently, landlords are required to give tenants a 120-day notice of a condo […]
Randy Leonard
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Hall Monitor
Big Willie Style
Detractors of Commissioner Randy Leonard’s plan to flood the city with biodiesel will have to choke on some bio-exhaust on July 6, when none other than Willie Nelson swings through town to help Portland kick off its hot new biodiesel policy. You may not know this, but the Red-Headed Stranger has his own biodiesel company […]
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The Sign of Signs to Come
Court Ruling May Set Murals Free
In an unexpected victory for local artists, a circuit court judge ruled on May 8 that Portland could conceivably produce more wall murals—without having to allow for more commercial billboards. For years, Portland muralists have been held hostage by the city’s strict commercial sign code, which was designed to limit the number of billboards inside […]
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Wake Up!
Rent-a-Cops Paid to Harass Homeless
Downtown’s Portland Patrol, Inc. (PPI) private security guards are contractually obliged to “wake up all individuals who use [the] sidewalk, and business doorways, as sleeping locations,” and to “stop offensive conduct wherever possible,” according to their contract with the Portland Business Alliance—information which has been kept under wraps until last week. PPI guards have come […]
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Civil War
Will City Workers Get Screwed?
Last week, Portlanders voted to change the way some city employees are treated in Portland’s charter, but the ambiguity of the change means the fate of city workers is still up in the air. The ballot measure, 26-90, removes civil service protections from bureau employees who help come up with policies—in lay terms, it means […]
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How You Should Vote
Thinking for Yourself Is Overrated. Let the Mercury Editorial Board Make Difficult Decisions for You!
Any day now, you’ll be getting a ballot in the mail. Surprise! It’s an off-year springtime election, and there’s an awfully good chance you haven’t been paying as much attention to the issues as you usually do. And the issues on this oddly timed ballot are doozies—one measure could completely rearrange our entire form of […]
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Standing Up to the Man
Homeless Unite Against Mayor’s Sit-Lie Law
Just days after the first city council vote on the mayor’s new sit-lie ordinance, homeless advocates are already mobilizing to establish an independent complaint process for people who have been mistreated under the new ruling. Street Roots Director Israel Bayer says he is working with other downtown activist groups, like Sisters of the Road, on […]
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Hall Monitor
The Digital Divide
These days, I can’t carelessly swing a ball-peen hammer without injuring some bespectacled moppet spouting off about the importance of the “netroots” and the emerging power of “digital politics.” At least, I think that’s what they’re saying—it’s hard to hear a coherent thought through the flood of “LOL” and “OMG” (and let’s not forget the […]
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Hall Monitor
The Price of Access
Last week, as part of his campaign to change the city’s form of government, Mayor Tom Potter called Portland the city that works “for insiders.” The implication: Regular citizens don’t know how to access city commissioners, while powerful special interests know exactly how to work the system. Waddaya know? Turns out he’s right. The day […]
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Hall Monitor
For The Children
After much debate, Portland’s Drug- and Prostitution-Free Zones (DFZs) got a six-month reprieve last week—the extension was needed because someone forgot to glance at the calendar and notice they expired last weekend. Whoops! Since it was an “emergency” vote, it needed unanimous support in order to go into effect immediately. That put Commissioner Erik Sten […]
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Hall Monitor
CIty Hall Goes Hollyweird
As if we need any more proof that Hollywood is advancing a communist/homosexual/anti-America agenda, representatives from “Little Babylon” have joined forces with the elected leaders of “Little Beirut” to make a film… about an FBI agent? Untraceable, the Diane Lane movie that’s been filming around town, came to city hall last week to do some […]
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Hall Monitor
disagree to agree
Last Friday, March 23, the county elections division released all of the voters pamphlet arguments for this May’s “special” election on changing the city’s charter. The good news: If you’re facing down a hail of gunfire, you can use the crushing volume of paperwork to stop a bullet. The pamphlet will cover all four looming […]