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Editorial: Kotek is clear choice for N/NE Portland voters
Opinion by Mark Kirchmeier Just name an important issue. Whether standing up to the Trump administration, tackling homelessness, boosting Portland Public Schools, or funding the Oregon Health Plan, Governor Tina Kotek has been a skillful advocate for our city and state. Kotek has been a more effective governor than her predecessor Kate Brown, and, if…
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Oregon’s Left and Right unite against AI-powered Flock surveillance cameras
by Khushboo Rathore, Oregon Journalism Project Oregonians’ distrust of Flock cameras has intensified over the past year, with at least six cities and two counties canceling or curtailing contracts with the surveillance technology company across red and blue parts of the state. Republican and Democratic state lawmakers have also vowed to introduce legislation to ban…
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Singleton, Brim-Edwards, Meieran vie for county chair
No elective official in Oregon, except for the governor, has more power over homelessness than Multnomah County Chair Jessica Vega Pederson who controls the county’s $4 billion annual budget and manages all county departments. Vega Pederson isn’t seeking re-election this Nov. 3. County Commissioners Shannon Singleton, Julia Brim-Edwards and former Commissioner Sharon Meieran are running…
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Split City Council votes to save jobs, as Wilson casts tie-breaking vote
By Jim Redden The City Council compromised and finally voted to save dozens of jobs that had been cut from the new budget, but not without the squabbles that have characterized many previous hearings. On July 22, the 12-member council voted 10-2 to pass an ordinance restoring 30 jobs by adding $12 million to the…
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Pope Leo meets University of Portland president
University of Portland President Robert Kelly experienced the honor of a face-to-face meeting with Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican on June 3. Kelly was one of 22 leaders in U.S. Catholic higher education who attended the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities (ACCU) Rome Seminar, a five-day pilgrimage and conference highlighted by a private…
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City & County need grit in Trail Blazer negotiations
Opinion column by Mark Kirchmeier Most Portlanders deep down want the Trail Blazers to stay in Portland. The team’s arrival in 1971 was a landmark that helped place us on the national map and has reaped investment and tourism benefits ever since. But City of Portland and Multnomah County officials need to show muscle in…
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N/NE residents in sour mood over city service cuts
North and NE Portland constituents delivered an earful of complaints about the proposed city budget to District 2 councilors with two dominant themes: don’t cut St. Johns Fire Station 22 – and don’t give the Portland Trail Blazers a dime of city money for the $650 million Moda Center renovation. St. Johns resident Jenny Hoyt said…
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Portland Public School closures? Not so fast
Guest Editorial by Steve Buel Portland Public Schools is considering closing up to ten elementary schools next year. At first glance, it seems like a sensible thing to do with a budget shortfall of approximately $50 million. If you save a couple of million dollars at each school, then it would go a long way…
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Legislature must resolve key Portland bills before March 8 deadline
By Jim Redden Many important bills of interest to North and Northeast Portland residents have yet to pass the 2026 Oregon Legislature with just weeks to go. The session that started on Feb. 3 must end by March 8 under the terms of the Oregon Constitution. Regular sessions in even years can only last 35…
