News
Author Mark Lilla reflects on how identity politics fractures the Left
I had thought the malaise of relentlessly focusing on identity was just me. That only I was feeling like an ant under a magnifying glass in the sun, and occasionally like the person holding the glass. That gaining a robust understanding of what it means to be the race, gender, age, economic status I am,…
Restoring pride: Coos County residents want to make a better first impression
Charles Buki wasn’t in Coos County to placate its residents. “You need to get your shit together,” he told a banquet room full of locals at their highly-anticipated housing summit on April 26. The Virginia-based consultant and his business partner, Thomas Eddington, had just spent the previous hour explaining to the audience that Coos County’s…
An ugly truth persists under the Hawthorne Bridge
Growing up in Portland, I never expected to live underneath the Hawthorne Bridge. But now, in the morning, 5:30 a.m., I look through the dark window north on the on-ramp of the Hawthorne Bridge, the majestic gateway to all things. So cool, so Portland. But we look through the window from the underside, dripping with…
Benedict Cumberbatch’s Patrick Melrose ‘cuts to the heart of a rotten class system’
Benedict Cumberbatch’s recent achievements are quite dazzling when spoken out loud. Saving (or potentially destroying) half the universe as Doctor Strange in Marvel’s record-breaking box office smash Avengers: Infinity War, finishing Sherlock – for now at least, getting an Oscar nomination for The Imitation Game, starring in a sell-out run of Hamlet at the Barbican,…
Poetry & Art
Author Mark Lilla reflects on how identity politics fractures the Left
I had thought the malaise of relentlessly focusing on identity was just me. That only I was feeling like an ant under a magnifying glass in the sun, and occasionally like the person holding the glass. That gaining a robust understanding of what it means to be the race, gender, age, economic status I am,…
Housing
Restoring pride: Coos County residents want to make a better first impression
Charles Buki wasn’t in Coos County to placate its residents. “You need to get your shit together,” he told a banquet room full of locals at their highly-anticipated housing summit on April 26. The Virginia-based consultant and his business partner, Thomas Eddington, had just spent the previous hour explaining to the audience that Coos County’s…
Portland’s homeless villages use restorative justice to inform self-governance
There are many reasons someone experiencing homelessness avoids shelters. They come with myriad rules around pets and staying with a partner, among others. And for people with PTSD, anxiety disorders or mental health issues, a crowded shelter can actually aggravate a person’s condition. The alternative for many people are tents. There are many tent camps…
An ugly truth persists under the Hawthorne Bridge
Growing up in Portland, I never expected to live underneath the Hawthorne Bridge. But now, in the morning, 5:30 a.m., I look through the dark window north on the on-ramp of the Hawthorne Bridge, the majestic gateway to all things. So cool, so Portland. But we look through the window from the underside, dripping with…
Director’s Desk: Every day at Street Roots, strangers become kin
Six months have passed since I joined Street Roots as executive director, and I learn each and every day. I will keep sharing what I learn with you, and I am grateful when I hear your stories from street corners all around the city. I suspect this work will always feel transformative, a bit phoenix-like…
Opinion
Portland’s homeless villages use restorative justice to inform self-governance
There are many reasons someone experiencing homelessness avoids shelters. They come with myriad rules around pets and staying with a partner, among others. And for people with PTSD, anxiety disorders or mental health issues, a crowded shelter can actually aggravate a person’s condition. The alternative for many people are tents. There are many tent camps…
An economic trauma: Capitalism says food waste is OK
There is plenty of food to feed everyone in this country. At the same time, millions of people go hungry every day. One factor that contributes to this contradiction is food waste. In the United States, close to 40 percent of food that is perfectly good and edible is wasted throughout the food supply chain.…
Director’s Desk: Every day at Street Roots, strangers become kin
Six months have passed since I joined Street Roots as executive director, and I learn each and every day. I will keep sharing what I learn with you, and I am grateful when I hear your stories from street corners all around the city. I suspect this work will always feel transformative, a bit phoenix-like…
Vendor Profiles
Street Roots vendor profile: Say hello to Nathaniel
Nathaniel’s friendly, booming voice has brightened the front desk vendor office almost daily since January. He sells Street Roots outside the Hillsdale Library. “Street Roots gives me bus tickets to go to work,” he said. “I have to go to work. People know me there.” Nathaniel was born and raised in Southeast Portland. He is…
Culture
Benedict Cumberbatch’s Patrick Melrose ‘cuts to the heart of a rotten class system’
Benedict Cumberbatch’s recent achievements are quite dazzling when spoken out loud. Saving (or potentially destroying) half the universe as Doctor Strange in Marvel’s record-breaking box office smash Avengers: Infinity War, finishing Sherlock – for now at least, getting an Oscar nomination for The Imitation Game, starring in a sell-out run of Hamlet at the Barbican,…
