Portland State University pauses connections to Boeing due to companies ties to Israel opb.org/article/2024/0…

Records confirm a narrative out of Gov. Kotek's office that my colleagues have followed for weeks: That ethical questions around the first lady's power splintered Kotek's office:

opb.org/article/2024/0…

Apropos of nothing:

At this week's council hearing on public camping, commissioners asked how it would impact a protest encampment (like 2011's Occupy Portland). City atty said it wouldn't apply.

But he added that the city is currently 'not equipped for an Occupy event.'

Portland city council rejected Cm Gonzalez's camping proposal last night, advancing Mayor Wheeler's plan to regulate camping on public property. opb.org/article/2024/0…

It's one of those Very Fun city council hearings today where amendments are being updated just hours before the mtg -- and it's unclear if the public (or electeds!) will truly know what they're giving testimony on. Democracy!

What's it look like to advocate for people who use drugs in a part of Oregon where such people are routinely villainized and pushed to the fringes? It's not easy work. opb.org/article/2024/0…

“Unfortunately, the Supreme Court is not going to answer for us, how do we establish shelter and who pays?” - Grants Pass Mayor Sara Bristol
opb.org/article/2024/0…

We're hiring a full-time labor reporter! Please help spread the word! nwlaborpress.org/now-hiring/

Homelessness in Oregon is in the national spotlight today with the #GrantsPassVJohnson case.

For a primer on the origins of Oregon's homeless crisis and possible solutions, here's something I pulled together last year:

opb.org/article/2023/1…

I am at the US Supreme Court where Grants Pass v. Johnson is scheduled for oral arguments today. Demonstrators have gathered to stage a “lie in” representing the cruelty of criminalizing the basic necessities needed to survive homelessness.

Reporting for Street Roots / OPB

News: Adam Becenti, Diné, will be the city of Portland's new Tribal Relations Program manager. After the city's tribal relations office sat empty for months, Becenti will lead a downsized office of two underscore.news/reporting/city… by Nika Bartoo-Smith & Jarrette Werk

Good morning to this headline from my hometown:

GET DOWN, EARTH FLAG: City of Arcata Issues Extensive Press Release Explaining Why it Will Comply With a Judge’s Ruling to Fly the Earth Flag Lower Down the Flag Pole, Rather Than At the Top

lostcoastoutpost.com/2024/apr/18/ge…

Portland’s regional homeless response agency prides itself on making the path out of homelessness easy to navigate.

But the city’s first audit of the eight-year-old Joint Office of Homeless Services tells a different story:

opb.org/article/2024/0…

Chris Fick, who was recently appointed to lead Multnomah County's new homelessness plan, resigned today.

Chair Vega Pederson requested Fick resign amidst a WW investigation on allegations that Fick had a pattern of bullying women staffers.
wweek.com/news/2024/04/1…

Nathan Vasquez, a leading candidate for Multnomah County district attorney, faces a bar complaint over comments attributed to him in the voters pamphlet. opb.org/article/2024/0…