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SENATE REJECTS UNEMPLOYMENT PAY FOR STRIKERS: A surprising vote on the Oregon Senate floor June 10 saw four Democrats side with Republicans to reject an amended version of Senate Bill 916, which would have granted striking workers unemployment benefits. The bill has been one of the most hotly debated in the Legislature this session. It’s amassed widespread support from unions, which say it would help even the playing field between employers and employees, and has broad opposition from employers, specifically those in the public sector who must reimburse unemployment benefits dollar for dollar. Two Democrats who previously opposed the bill, Sens. Janeen Sollman (D-Hillsboro) and Jeff Golden (D-Ashland), stuck with their “no” votes. They were joined by Sen. Mark Meek (D-Gladstone), who flipped his vote from yes to no. Sen. Courtney Neron Misslin (D-Wilsonville), who was appointed to the Senate in May to replace late Sen. Aaron Woods, also voted against the bill. The measure is not dead; with the rejection comes a requirement to form a concurrence committee to resolve differences between the two chambers’ versions of the bill. If it reaches Gov. Tina Kotek’s desk, the governor has thus far indicated she’d sign it. “She believes that Oregon workers cannot fully fight for a fair contract if doing so means jeopardizing their basic needs,” Elisabeth Shepard, Kotek’s spokeswoman, told WW on June 6.
FOUR ASYLUM SEEKERS IN ICE CUSTODY: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrested two more asylum seekers outside Portland Immigration Court on June 10, bringing the total arrests in the past week to four, according to federal court records. Within hours, U.S. District Judge Michael Simon ordered ICE not to remove the two detained people from the state of Oregon. The increase in courtroom arrests comes as President Donald Trump seeks a crackdown on immigration and as protests of deportations flare nationwide—most notably in Los Angeles, where Trump has sent in the Marines. The first person ICE arrested in Portland this month, a 24-year-old transgender woman from Michoacán, Mexico, is currently in solitary confinement in a Tacoma, Wash., detention facility because she would otherwise be housed with male detainees and feared for her safety, according to documents filed by her attorneys. In a response filed with U.S. District Judge Amy Baggio, federal immigration lawyers say the woman, identified as OJM, is receiving due process and that ICE is reviewing whether OJM has a credible fear of violence if she is deported. In a statement given to her attorneys, OJM says she fears she will be killed in Mexico. “I cannot believe this is happening to me,” she said. “I came to the United States to be safe and free. When I arrived to Oregon, it was the first time that I have felt that I belonged anywhere.”
PSU PLACES PROFESSOR ON ADMINISTRATIVE LEAVE: Portland State University president Ann Cudd placed a faculty member on administrative leave who was captured on video saying, “I am Hamas. We are all Hamas.” Cudd’s June 5 statement condemned the “reprehensible” video and said the university is actively investigating the incident. The university did not name the faculty member, but people familiar with the investigation tell WW she is Yasmeen Hanoosh, a professor of Arabic in the Department of World Languages and Literatures. It appears the video was taken at a rally to support a Beaverton School Board member who is under investigation after posting to a personal social media account that Israel should “stop the genocide” in Gaza. The video of the professor’s remarks comes as PSU, among four other universities, faces an ongoing investigation for antisemitism by the U.S. Department of Education, on orders from President Donald Trump. Those orders seem, in large part, to stem from nationwide college protests in spring 2024 demanding a ceasefire in Gaza. “PSU stands unequivocally against antisemitism, terrorism, and hate of any kind, including the statements made in this video,” Cudd wrote. “The statements made in this video are absolutely unacceptable.”
KANAL SEEKS INDEPENDENT COUNSEL FOR COUNCIL: Portland City Councilor Sameer Kanal wants the 12-member City Council to have its own legal counsel, separate from the City Attorney’s Office. Kanal’s proposal—to transfer $227,000 from the City Attorney’s Office to fund a lawyer that would advise members of the council separately—is just one of over 100 amendments put forth by councilors to Mayor Keith Wilson’s preliminary budget. Kanal’s proposal comes after a handful of councilors, including Kanal and Loretta Smith, have publicly questioned opinions offered by City Attorney Robert Taylor and his team of lawyers on various provisions of city code and the new charter—particularly as they concern separation of powers between the new council and the city administration.
HOUSING BUREAU BUYS BUILDINGS: The Portland Housing Bureau says it is helping developers buy three apartment buildings that will be turned into affordable housing through a rapid acquisition program designed to take advantage of favorable prices for multifamily buildings. The bureau advertised the funds’ availability to developers in August, promising to cover $100,000 per unit in buildings with at least 40 apartments. On June 10, the bureau announced it had spent, or would soon allocate, $26 million to three buildings and restrict most of the 226 total units to tenants making 50% or less of the area’s median income. “When market conditions are right, acquisition of existing buildings can be a critical tool in our affordable housing belt, allowing us to bring new affordable homes to the community with the urgency the moment demands,” Housing Bureau director Helmi Hisserich said in a statement. With help from the bureau, Home Forward bought the Goose Hollow Lofts, which has 61 units in the Goose Hollow neighborhood, for $11.2 million. Albina Vision Trust is paying $11 million for the 66-unit Paramount Apartments in Albina, and College Housing Northwest is set to purchase Acqua Apartments, a 100-unit building in the South Waterfront, for $23.4 million. The Housing Bureau ponied up about half the purchase price in each deal through “soft” loans that can be repaid from the buildings’ cash flow, as it becomes available. The cost per unit to the bureau across all three buildings was $115,000—about a quarter of what it spent per unit on a recent construction project.