News Lillian Shirley, the director of the Multnomah County Health Department, was arrested on Monday for alleged domestic violence.Shirley was booked at the Justice Center but her husband, the alleged victim, declined to press charges.Shirley, 65, is one of the highest ranking officials in county government. Her department employs just under 1,000 people, which is more than any other county department. ...   More

Food & Drink Tanuki owner and chef Janice "Janis" Martin has always insisted her shop is not a restaurant.Now we know why.The Montavilla izakaya closed Wednesday, March 20, one day before an anticipated positive Oregonian review. Owner and chef Janis Martin said she didn't want the additional restaurant business. "As I begged a prominent local paper," wrote Martin on her Facebook page, "to not review ...   More

News African-American students across Multnomah County are being suspended and expelled from middle and high schools at nearly 3.5 times the rate of white students, according to a report released Jan. 10 by the Multnomah County Commission on Children, Families & Community.The report finds disparity among the treatment of Hispanic and Native American students as well—a trend that's been also been found ...   More

News Proponents of a potential ballot measure to put a once-cent-per-ounce wholesale tax on sugared soft drinks in Multnomah County say the tax will help curb childhood obesity, since studies have conclusively shown drinking sugared beverages increases a child’s likelihood of being fat.But the most recent study to come out of Yale University’s Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity suggests the tax ...   More

News Supporters of a proposed ballot measure that would place a one-cent-per-ounce tax on sugar-added drinks sold in Multnomah County have added another use for the expected $35 million in revenue: Outdoor School.The proposed measure, spearheaded by Portland physician Gregg Coodley, would funnel tax proceeds through Multnomah County to pay for after-school and P.E. programs administered by school districts, ...   More

News Soda pop, energy drinks and even some juice mixes will get more expensive in Multnomah County if voters approve a new tax proposal bound for the November ballot. As first reported Jan. 9 at ww   More

News Multnomah County voters could see a measure to tax soda pop, energy drinks and other sugar-added beverages at one cent per ounce on their November ballots. The measure is an effort spearheaded by Portland doctor Gregg Coodley to raise money for kids' health programs. About half of the estimated $35 million per year the tax would raise for Multnomah County government would be set aside for to after-school ...   More

News Mayor Sam Adams and other local leaders want to attract renewed attention to growing economic disparities across the city (“Equally Confused,” WW, Aug. 31, 2011). There’s one gap they may pr   More

News Award-winning reporter Melissa Navas will leave The Oregonian to join Multnomah County's communications staff in mid-September. She joins a long list of journalists going to work for government PR offices, as WW has shown. Newsroom cutbacks and changing priorities have sent many veteran reporters out of their newsrooms and into the arms of public agencies. Our May investigation found that eight local ...   More