News Following up on our story about business owners' efforts to clean up the nightlife in downtown Portland: The city is set turn one block of Southwest Ankeny Street into a car-free zone with outdoor tables for diners.The City Council is set June 15 to consider a proposal from...   More

Politics Earlier this month, Metro had some good news to get out. The Portland-area regional government was turning 100 acres in Happy Valley into the Scouter Mountain Natural Area—a Boy Scout camp and ad   More

News  Our ongoing investigation of government spending on public relations contin...   More

News  Our post yesterday detailing WW's survey of PR staffs at public agencies in Portland lacked a complete list for one entity: Portland State University.PSU today sent the names and salaries for 16 communications staffers at the school (an off...   More

News We know times are tough for government agencies. They’re cutting services—and sometimes trying to raise taxes—because of the recession. But a study by WW reveals there’s one sector of government that seems to be not only surviving, but thriving: public relations.

Public agencies of all kinds have communication offices that employ squadrons of spokespeople who sometimes outnumber th...   More

News While ballots are still being counted in Tuesday's election, one high-profile local politician is already looking to the future.Multnomah County Chair Jeff Cogen told WW earlier this week that he was waiting until after the election to begin seriously exploring whether to run for Portland mayor in 2012. Besides running the county, Cogen had also been working on the campaign to pass the Portland Pu...   More

News Portlanders need no introduction to New Seasons, a local grocery chain with a near-fanatical following. One key to the company’s success    More

News  Longtime Portland marijuana activist Paul Stanford today pleaded guilty in Marion County Circuit Court to one count of Oregon personal income-tax evasion. Stanford agreed to a sentence of 18 months' probation and 160 hours of community service.The charge stems from Stanford's failure to file a 2009 tax return. He was also accused of failing to file his 2008 return when he was    More

News  Today's Murmurs column notes that state Sen. Mark Hass (D-Raleigh Hills) believes his bill to make Oregon the first state to ban plastic ...   More

News A contract dispute over a downtown nude-dancing parlor has led to allegations against the owner of several Portland-area erotic shops. Centerfold Suites, on the third floor above Dante’s
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