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 The family of a 14-year-old girl from Northeast Portland who was hit by a falling rock while skiing is suing Mount Hood Meadows for negligence. According to a lawsuit filed Aug. 23 in Multnomah County Circuit Court, Abigail Nilan was skiing at the resort on Feb. 8, 2009, with her mother and father, Jill and Thomas Nilan. Toward the end of their run on Clark Canyon near Accordion Bowl, the ...   More

News The Portland Trail Blazers, City Commissioner Nick Fish and Mississippi Studios are among the big names pouring money into the race for a Multnomah County Board of Commissioners seat representing North and Northeast Portland. The latest round of campaign finance disclosures shows candidate Loretta Smith collecting $500 from Fish and $1,000 from the Trail Blazers. As previously reported in ...   More

News If you were wondering when the gun lobby would respond to Mayor Sam Adams' new effort to curb illegal firearms in Portland, wait no longer. As noted by KATU over the weekend, the Oregon Firearms Federation has, unsurprisingly, come out in strong opposition to Adams' five-point gun-control plan. The written announcement on the OFF's response gets personal, calling Adams a "disgraced mayor" ...   More

News Mayor Sam Adams' office has drafted five new proposals to control illegal handguns in Portland. The five-point plan comes on a week when police report investigating at least nine shootings that cops consider to be gang-related. "The illegal gun problem in Portland has been long-standing. I want Portland to be more assertive about accomplishing what we can locally," Adams tells WW. "This was ...   More

News Gov. Ted Kulongoski, Mayor Sam Adams and officials from Vestas, the Danish wind-power company, announced this afternoon that Vestas would keep its North American headquarters in Portland, despite rumors of its moving to Denver, according to the Portland Business Journal. The company also announced today it would move from its current location on Southwest Naito Parkway to the old Meier & ...   More

News Turns out those mystery-meat tacos may not be the only sketchy thing going on at Jack in the Box. Four Oregon residents who were employed by the San Diego-based fast-food chain have brought a federal class-action suit claiming the company rips off its workers. The lawsuit, filed Aug. 13 in U.S. District Court in Portland, alleges multiple violations of federal and state labor laws. The allegations ...   More

News Christian Kaylor is great at explaining what's wrong with Portland's economy. And he's also good at backing up those views with data. Kaylor, a workforce analyst for the Oregon Employment Department, sends out a monthly email with graphs on unemployment in the Portland metro region. The news is never cheery. Today's email from Kaylor shows Portland's unemployment rate in August at 10.2 percent. ...   More

News A special-ed student is suing Reynolds School District after several other students allegedly beat him up on a school bus last year. According to a lawsuit filed Sept. 17 in Multnomah County Circuit Court, the student at the Reynolds Alternative Middle School boarded a bus home after school on Jan. 22, 2009. He took a seat behind the bus driver, according to the lawsuit. Five of his fellow students ...   More

News Police Chief Mike Reese made an announcement today on discipline for two recent high-profile incidents. Reese said he found that Officer Christopher Humphreys' shooting of a 12-year-old girl with a beanbag gun last November was within police bureau policy. And Reese said the public will have to wait to hear his decision on discipline in the January fatal shooting of 25-year-old Aaron Campbell, ...   More