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News This week's cover story about the business of marijuana included a source who has five years' experience growing weed for the black market. The man we called Dan Beaumont recently stopped growing, harvesting his last crop out of his Northeast Portland home in October. As noted in the story, Beaumont is starting a family and says he is set to graduate from Portland State University this spring. But ...   More

News More grim numbers about how the recession has hit Oregon: The state's poverty rate rose from 12.9 percent in 2007 to 13.6 percent in 2008 during the recession, according to figures released (PDF) today by the American Community Survey. That makes Oregon — and our estimated 506,000 people living in poverty — one of just eight states that saw an increase in their poverty rate from ...   More

News Muddy Waters Community House says it's going to shut down at week's end unless it can raise $10,000 to help pay the bills. A notice sent out by the non-profit, employee-owned organization —home to Muddy Waters Coffee House on SE 29th and Belmont— cites the recession as the main factor in putting them in this do-or-die situation. To help raise cash, Muddy Waters will hold events every ...   More

News Almost a year after announcing drastic layoffs, the City of Portland's Bureau of Development Services is making more personnel cuts. This morning bureau director Paul Scarlett told the 160 remaining workers in an all-staff meeting that he would need to eliminate 15 to 18 more jobs immediately. At this time last year, the bureau had 300 people on the payroll. The cuts come as revenue from construction ...   More