News The Portland City Council this morning delayed a vote on Commissioner Sam Adams' proposed $464 million transportation tax package, after amending the plan to satisfy concerns from the Oregon Petroleum Association. In a statement read by Adams, OPA rep Paul Romain—who had gotten into testy debates with Adams and Commissioner Randy Leonard at previous hearings, at one point threatening to strip ...   More

News Wednesday morning's Portland City Council agenda contains a few noteworthy expenditures. * $200,000 for the VOZ Workers Rights Education Project to manage the controversial day-labor site backed by Mayor Tom Potter. The Church of Saint Francis of Assisi will handle the money until VOZ gets its tax-exempt status approved by the IRS. The director of the day labor will have a salary of $35,000, which ...   More

News Historically, Oregon's primary hasn't mattered much. This year's unusually tight Democratic race, however, means that our 65 delegates from the May 20 primary could determine who will get the nomination. And there are only 52 days left to register to vote (April 29 is the deadline). Registration is not as easy as it should be—you can't do it online—but it's not too hard. You must ...   More

News [Packy activist and Voodoo Doughnuts co-owner Tres Shannon protests Packy's demolition at Mercy Corps' new heaquarters.] Demolition began today at the site of Portland-based nonprofit Mercy Corps' new global headquarters in Old Town's Skidmore Fountain Building (28 SW 1st Avenue, just off West Burnside Street). And when contractors Marsh Construction Co. began taking down the upper sections ...   More

News Ahh, May Day in Portland. Nothing new for our fair city to see protests and strikes on International Labor Day, but something new today was who was walking out of work and why. As part of coordinated actions up and down the West Coast to protest the war in Iraq, the Portland chapter of the 25,000-member International Longshoremen Workers Union (ILWU 8) took part in a port shut-down today. About ...   More

News Rolling out at high noon May 3, the Ninth Annual Million Marijuana March smoked through downtown Portland as part of Oregon NORML's protest of pot prohibition and to support the use of medicinal marijuana through Oregon's sometimes controversial Medical Marijuana Act. Cops gathered on Broadway. Lights were flashing. Signs were waving. A cool drizzle was settling in. “Relax it and tax it,” ...   More

News After this morning's Hillary Clinton show at OHSU's children's hospital, her Oregon campaign steering committee chair, Josh Kardon, tried to make me feel guilty. "You can say whatever snide, cynical stuff you want about the Clinton campaign, but don't say it about this event," said Kardon, standing next to a large teddy bear, carefully placed for the occasion. Cynical? OK, on most days, I'd cop to ...   More

News In a space no bigger than a school bus, about 30 Oregon Democrats staged an anti-McCain protest outside of the Sheraton Portland Airport Hotel Monday afternoon. Demonstrators, who were nearly outnumbered by Portland Police, were told they had to remain in the "Free Speech Area" while carrying signs or banners (funny, we thought that that "area" was the whole country). Led by Frank Dixon, ...   More

News What a double bill! In a benefit for the organization MOVE, controversial political activists Ramona Africa and Craig Rosebraugh are scheduled to discuss police repression faced by activists in the United States along with the necessity of direct political action to protect human rights and the natural environment this Wednesday, May 14, 7:00 p.m. at the Clinton Street Theater. Sounds good ...   More

News Let's take a deep breath, OK? The One True b!X writes that Mayor Tom Potter, previously accused of "Gestapo tactics" in dealing with the homeless protest outside City Hall, violated the Portland city charter today. Oh, gawd, do we really have to talk about the latest chapter in this endless and ineffectual protest? I can't take much more. Let's walk through the morning to see how we got to this ...   More