News Most of the City of Portland's contracts with its unions expire today, June 30. And as city officials work to settle those contract negotiations, one big-bucks issue bubbled to the surface in City Hall this morning. On the agenda was City Council's tentative agreement with Laborers Local 483. Local 483 is the first City of Portland labor group to reach a settlement, and Local 483's contract ...   More

News Our newspaper neighbor to the north, The Columbian, has an account today of Commissioner Randy Leonard's last-ditch effort to keep the Beavers in Portland, now that PGE Park is being refashioned for Major League Soccer. Vancouver and Clark County had been mentioned before as possible new spots for the minor-league baseball team once PGE Park gets remodeled to the exclusion of baseball. But Leonard's ...   More

News Rejoice, small-bladdered people—you soon will have another pot to piss in when you're out and about downtown. Portland will open its second loo with an inaugural flush this Wednesday, Aug. 11. The Portland Loo project installed its first 24-hour public restroom on Northwest 5th Avenue and Glisan Street on Dec. 8, 2008. The second solar-powered round-the-clock bathroom opens at 12:30 pm ...   More

News The state agency that trains cops has thrown more water on City Commissioner Randy Leonard's ongoing efforts to give greater police powers to security officers for the Portland Water Bureau. When last we reported on the issue, Leonard was exploring using an obscure state law that lets water bureaus form special police forces. The goal is to arm the bureau's security guards and give them power ...   More

News First comes Christmas in July. Now we have Valentine's Day in October. Commissioner Randy Leonard is in Scotland this week, but he blogged from abroad to give big props to Mayor Sam Adams for "getting the most out of Portlanders' tax dollars." He's referring to the financial deal detailed in The Oregonian this morning regarding funding for the Sellwood Bridge and Milwaukie Light Rail. Leonard's ...   More

News Remember last winter, when City Commissioner Randy Leonard managed to piss off the People's Republic of China by pushing a City Council proclamation "to reaffirm the independence of Tibet?" A visit from the Chinese Consulate in San Francisco—and veiled threats in the Chinese media to cut broadcasts of Trail Blazers games—apparently didn't quash Leonard's devotion to the Tibetan cause. ...   More