News
An Unexpected Leader: Marissa Madrigal chairs Multnomah County through changing times
Marissa Madrigal remembers the first time a television camera was thrust in her face. She remembers a reporter coming to her house. She remembers the day the spotlight was shone on her and a hefty responsibility thrust on her shoulders. She never thought she would see this day, but she embraced it. In September, Multnomah…
Crowd Control: Journalist Alan Weisman talks about the need to curb the global population
On Oct. 29 at 4 p.m. PST, the global population was 7.12 billion people, and our population keeps growing. Every four-and-a-half days, one million more children are born. UN officials predict that by 2100, there may be 10.9 billion of us. That would be world record. Alan Weisman thinks it would be imprudent to hit…
Poverty issues to mostly take a back seat in Salem
When legislators convene in Salem for the Legislature’s month-long session, scheduled to begin Feb. 3, they are likely to focus on economic development, job growth, continuing to fund and reform education, and pass legislation that didn’t quite make it during the 2013 session. The short, month-long session allows lawmakers to adjust the state’s budget and…
For the Record: January 3-16, 2014
Number of lights at ZooLights in 2013: 1.5 million Number of acres the Oregon Department of Forestry owns: 16 million Largest donation given through the 2013 Willamette Week Give!Guide: $20,000 Number of organizations receiving donations through 2013 Willamette Week Give!Guide: 130 Number of donors Under 35 who gave at the Willamette Week Give!Guide: 2,065 Total…
Poetry & Art
O’Keefe Sober
In September 2012 the snazzy new Blanchet House opened, leaving the original three-story brick building alongside looking forlorn. Over the 60 years that the Catholic Worker-inspired program operated there, at the corner of NW 4th and Glisan, nearly 16 million meals were served and countless men given shelter and hope when life looked most grim.…
Opinion
Salem needs to deliver small, but critical bump for housing
The latest Street Roots reports that “when legislators convene in Salem for the Legislature’s month-long session, scheduled to begin Feb. 3, they are likely to focus on economic development, job growth, continuing to fund and reform education, and pass legislation that didn’t quite make it during the 2013 session.” (See, “Poverty issues to mostly take…
With the new year comes a chance to reflect and change
Leonard Cohen sang, “It’s four in the morning/the end of December/I’m writing you now/Just to see if you’re better…” in the mournful ‘70s tune “Famous Blue Raincoat”. Actually, here in the last embers of 2013, it’s more like late afternoon, and we—Ramona, her father Marshall and I—are ready to do better in 2014. The really…
Oregon state taxes: What’s fair, what’s not
There is one thing everyone in Oregon agrees on: the state tax system is a mess and something needs to be done. And that is where agreement ends. Everyone has a different solution, and nobody likes anyone else’s. Why are taxes so controversial? Every one of us can find something the state is buying…
Vendor Profiles
‘A closed mouth’s not gonna get fed’
When I meet with Louis (pronounced loo-ey, not loo-iss) at the Street Roots office on a Saturday morning, he can hardly keep his tired, red eyes open. Late night partiers kept him up, and when the streets were empty, what he called the “road noises” began. “I’d love to take a nap, but you know,…
