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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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New Poll Shows Drazan With Slight Lead in Governor’s Race
By Nigel Jaquiss, Oregon Journalism Project With less than two months until the Nov. 3 general election, a new poll shows the Republican nominee, state Sen. Christine Drazan (R-Canby), with a slender lead over incumbent Gov. Tina Kotek, a Democrat. The Sept. 11 poll, conducted by DHM Research of Portland for the business-backed group Grow…
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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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James John School, partners add more nature to the playground
By Barbara Quinn There was a time when the playground at James John Elementary school in the heart of St. Johns town center was a bleak expanse of hot blacktop surrounded by nondescript chainlink fence. Happily that is no more. Improvements such as decorative fencing and planted areas created by the nonprofit Depave have been…
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District 2 Councilors push for Rose Quarter redevelopment despite ODOT funding woes
The three District 2 city councilors have made progress on redeveloping the Rose Quarter, even as the State of Oregon warned it cannot currently fund its share of the overall project. Elana Pirtle-Guiney, Sameer Kanal, and Dan Ryan sponsored a resolution to allow the Albina Vision Trust (AVT) to redevelop six city-owned acres near the…
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Roosevelt debaters win national prep tournament at Harvard
Roosevelt High School’s speech and debate team has soared in recent years, yet never as high as when they recently won a National Urban Debate Championship at Harvard University in Massachusetts. Policy speakers Everett Murray and Lexi Diaz Arbor won the multi-day invitational competition, vying against top high schools on April 13 from Boston, Chicago,…
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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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Public safety budget cuts could hit St. Johns especially hard
By KGW-TV News St. Johns could be hit hardest by public safety cuts in Mayor Keith Wilson’s proposed budget for the next fiscal year, according to KGW-TV News. Wilson has promised to not close any fire stations or police precincts to help eliminate a projected $163 million budget shortfall. But Channel 8 is reporting that…
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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…
