News At the same time that the heavy wind and rain roll in to Portland, Multnomah County is announcing this year's plan to provide shelter for those caught in the fall and winter storms to come. Nearly 600 shelter beds are available year-round for families, adults, youth and those fleeing domestic violence. But up to 422 beds will be installed at local emergency shelters to provide more space for ...   More

News In what a news release terms his "first bold move" as interim Multnomah County sheriff, Dan Staton has asked the state agency that oversees police to make a probe of his agency top priority. The news comes after WW first reported last week on allegations that Chief Deputy Tim Moore falsified his training records to gain police certification. Staton, who was sworn in Nov. 5 to replace Sheriff ...   More

News Continuing a trend that started with his predecessor, interim Multnomah County Sheriff Dan Staton is refusing to reveal the names of people his office has licensed to carry a concealed handgun. The county attorney's office told WW this morning that Staton "has determined that the list of names requested is exempt from public disclosure" under the state's open-records law. Prior Multnomah ...   More

News Still nursing a nasty hangover from the disappointing Copenhagen climate summit? After Multnomah County last week added its second solar installation, here's another small pill that may provide a bit of relief. You may recall our coverage last spring of the Oregon Legislature's successful effort to ban a potentially toxic fire retardant in furniture. Despite hardball efforts by chemical lobbyists ...   More

News In the spirit of holiday giving extending to politics in Portland, we note today how supporters of Multnomah County Commissioner Jeff Cogen spent the season accelerating their contributions to his 2010 campaign. Cogen tells WW he plans on running for re-election to the county commission, despite rumors he may be aiming for city office. And just today Cogen recorded an influx of checks from ...   More

News As first reported this morning at Blue Oregon, Bruce McCain has withdrawn from the Multnomah County Sheriff's race. Below is part of McCain's explanation — taken from his comment to Blue Oregon's post, in which McCain certainly seems to believe interim Sheriff Dan Staton is now in the driver's seat to win a full term in the job. Congrats on your nightowl scoop. Yes, I have decided to ...   More

News An acrophobic delivery man allegedly trapped in a faulty Fox Tower elevator is suing the building manager and the elevator company for $81,000. According to a lawsuit filed Thursday in Multnomah County Circuit Court, 40-year-old Anthony Beaird of Troutdale took a defective elevator in Fox Tower on Sept. 30, 2009. The elevator "operated erratically and failed to stop where it was directed, ...   More

News For the record, Multnomah County Chairman Ted Wheeler filed today [PDF] for re-election to another four-year term. In terms of least surprising news, this ranks somewhere between the sun rising and the sun setting each day. But we note this to record the other following pieces of news: 1) Wheeler currently has one opponent, retired physicist James Lee [PDF], who ran in 2008 for mayor of Portland. 2) ...   More

News When the Legislature convenes for a special session next week, one of the bills with greatest potential local impact is Senate Bill 1042 [PDF]. The measure, sponsored by Sen. Laurie Monnes Anderson (D-Gresham), would allow individual counties to impose cigarette taxes. Multnomah County Commissioner Deborah Kafoury, the county's point person on the proposed tax, says the bill is a top legislative ...   More

News Since Multnomah County Commissioner Jeff Cogen launched his re-election bid last month, we'd like to point out that no one has filed to run against him. We'd also like to show you some hilarious photos (more on that in a sec). The lack of opponents is perhaps surprising, given all the political hopefuls who bubbled up out of the first-term county commissioner's North/Northeast Portland district ...   More