News
Walled In podcast | ‘It was a nightmare’: Prison violence and its lasting toll
Walled In is a podcast co-produced by Street Roots and The Exiled Voice. In each episode, co-hosts Emily Green and Joshua Wright explore a different, lesser-known aspect of what it means to be incarcerated in America. Audio editing and music by Bryan Miller. This episode of the Walled In podcast explores the lasting impact of violence exposure in prison. In the…
Tennis star Naomi Osaka brings a global lens to social justice advocacy
It’s no small feat to become one of the best athletes in the world by age 23. And yet tennis champion Naomi Osaka has accomplished just that and quickly learned how to wield the sizable platform that comes with it. As of this interview, she had won three Grand Slams and was preparing for the…
Mingus Mapps is focused on keeping people in their homes during and after the pandemic
Portland City Commissioner Mingus Mapps may be a newly elected official, but he’s not new to city government. The former political science professor challenged his former boss, Chloe Eudaly, and won her seat. She oversaw the Office of Community & Civic Life when he worked there, leading the city’s crime prevention program. He was terminated…
Vendor Profiles
Street Roots vendor profile | Conquering his fears
Two years ago, Vern was a smiling face around the Street Roots office, but he only sold papers across the street at Starbucks. That’s because Vern hadn’t left the block on Northwest Davis Street, where he lives, since 2013. Then one day, Street Roots Vendor Program Manager DeVon Pouncey suggested Vern take the regular post…
Culture
Tennis star Naomi Osaka brings a global lens to social justice advocacy
It’s no small feat to become one of the best athletes in the world by age 23. And yet tennis champion Naomi Osaka has accomplished just that and quickly learned how to wield the sizable platform that comes with it. As of this interview, she had won three Grand Slams and was preparing for the…
Housing
A judge struck down Grants Pass’ anti-camping policy, but campers are still told to ‘move along’
This story is part of a series examining housing and homelessness issues in Southern Oregon’s Josephine County. Gloria “Sue” Johnson, 70, has lived in the Southern Oregon town of Grants Pass since 2007. When she was unable to find affordable housing five years ago, Johnson, a retired nurse living on Social Security, became homeless and took to living…
When militance works in housing activism
Protest signs remain outside the Red House on Mississippi Avenue in North Portland on Jan. 9, 2021. About this series As the current housing crisis deepens, groups of unhoused people and other activists around the country have increasingly taken a militant approach in the fight for housing for all. Street Roots is investigating this phenomenon…
Editorial | When property comes before people, a crisis boils over in Southern Oregon
Grants Pass, the hub of Southern Oregon’s Josephine County, just saw its plan for a short-term homeless shelter collapse under the pressure of community opposition. Had it materialized, it would have been the only low-barrier shelter in the county. Street Roots editorials represent the opinion of the Street Roots organization and editorial board. Street Roots…
Plans for Josephine County’s only low-barrier shelter back on track after being quashed amid opposition
Read Street Roots' news series examining housing and homelessness issues in Southern Oregon’s Josephine County. Update April 7: On April 5, Rogue Retreat announced it would not open a shelter in Grants Pass, after the city flip-flopped several times on the matter. The Medford-based organization had overcome pushback from neighbors to gain a conditional-use permit from the Grants Pass City Council,…
Environment
Environmental groups call on Oregon’s congressional delegates to stop post-fire logging
Federal land managers are working to auction 10,000 acres of fire-affected public forest for timber sale in Oregon, but environmentalists are pushing back. A coalition made up of 38 national and regional environmental advocacy groups, including Oregon Wild and the Sierra Club, sent a letter to Oregon’s congressional delegates on Feb. 1, asking them to…
Opinion
Editorial | When property comes before people, a crisis boils over in Southern Oregon
Grants Pass, the hub of Southern Oregon’s Josephine County, just saw its plan for a short-term homeless shelter collapse under the pressure of community opposition. Had it materialized, it would have been the only low-barrier shelter in the county. Street Roots editorials represent the opinion of the Street Roots organization and editorial board. Street Roots…
