In a recent City Hall forum, the three leading Portland mayoral candidates—Eileen Brady, Charlie Hales and Jefferson Smith—all promised a more open government. Each, in their own way, committed to improving transparency within their prospective administrations.
If you’ve been living under a rock for the last few weeks and haven’t heard these two names, here’s a quick recap.
On March 5, a U.S. based advocacy organization, Invisible Children, released a video called “Kony 2012” that sparked an avalanche of controversy. The goal of the video was to raise awareness about a Ugandan war criminal, Joseph Kony, and the atrocities he has carried out against children as the leader of the Lord’s Resistance Army.
Mayor Sam Adams gave his last State of the City address on March 2, and predictably, it featured his many accomplishments and the legacy he leaves the “incredible” city of Portland. We got the usual run down on how our streets are safer, our roads more bike-friendly, our jobs increasing and, best of all, our food is more compostable!
The Oregon State Board of Higher Education really wants to get guns off campuses. A hotly contested topic in the legislature, the debate for and against firearm control has seen many twists and turns. One such twist was the Oregon Court of Appeals ruling last September that the board did not have administrative authority to regulate guns on campuses. And recently, the State Senate rejected a bill banning guns on school and university campuses.
Another report has just been released by the Coalition of Communities of Color and Portland State (their previous reports had addressed the state of Latinos and Native Americans in Multnomah County). This time, the CCC looked at the situation of Asians and Pacific Islanders in the county. Once again, the statistics are hard to swallow. In fact, the preface warns, “This is an early notice to the readers of this report: it is a tough read.” No kidding.
Another report has just been released by the Coalition of Communities of Color and Portland State (their previous reports had addressed the state of Latinos and Native Americans in Multnomah County). This time, the CCC looked at the situation of Asians and Pacific Islanders in the county. Once again, the statistics are hard to swallow. In fact, the preface warns, “This is an early notice to the readers of this report: it is a tough read.” No kidding.
Rabbi Joshua Stampfer began teaching Jewish history and religion courses to a handful of students at Portland State in the dynamic era of the 1960s and maintained a significant presence at the university as an adjunct until 2001. Today, at the age of 90, he is on the verge of seeing the culmination of his years of commitment to the study of the Jewish culture, people and language, as PSU plans for a major development—literally.
Don’t you just love when billionaires talk about what’s good for the American people—us common folk—and especially when they talk about those “inexpensive,” petty issues we deal with? Like, say, contraception!
Coffee and power: everything you need to take over the world. Or, at the very least, a coffee shop in Portland. Freelancers, artists, creative minds and artisans can now stop holding their collective breath—the time has come. The office that’s not an office has finally moved into town—a coffee shop workplace especially for you!
So, it’s the world’s oldest profession. Therefore, it must be the world’s oldest argument. What to do about prostitution? You’d think that, by now, we’d have come up with some answers to this centuries-old question. But, if anything, the conversation continues to get more muddy and complicated. So complicated that now we have schools about it!
Once upon a time young, boys and girls graduated college, got a job in their degree field, launched into careers, made enough money to start a family, raised 2.5 children, sent them off to school and then peacefully retired.