Skip to main content
GoLocalPDX, the Rhode Island-based news website, made a big splash when it arrived in Portland in 2014, raising hundreds of thousands of dollars from local businesspeople, including tech investor Debi Coleman and hotelier Gordon Sondland.
Now there are signs of distress at the news website.
Byron Beck, the site's former lifestyle editor and biggest name, filed a complaint Oct. 9 with the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries, saying GoLocal CEO Josh Fenton didn't give him his last two paychecks, totaling $3,000.
Beck, a former WW columnist, says he and Fenton fell out over pay.
"My former employer wouldn't respond to my requests to pay me my final two checks," Beck says.
Two sources tell WW that GoLocalPDX no longer has any staff in its Portland office.
Fenton says Beck's last paycheck isn't due yet, and promises more changes at GoLocalPDX.
"We are definitely moving away from Party Pictures," he says, "and putting more resources to enterprise journalism."
Willamette Week