Vendor Profiles
Starting over with renewed dignity
Wyman Wilson began selling Street Roots two years ago to support his habit, but his first stint with the vendor program didn’t last long. He had his badge pulled when he couldn’t remain sober enough to sell the paper. It’s not the first job he’s lost due to his addiction, nor is it the first…
News
Safe to swim? What the experts have to say about the risks of taking a dip in the Willamette River
Since the completion of the Big Pipe project in 2011, which stopped Portland’s sewage from spilling into the Willamette River during rainstorms, there’s been a movement led by Human Access Project to change the public’s perception about swimming in the river. Events promoted by the nonprofit, like the annual Big Float and the opening of…
This land is your land … The efforts to make Portland’s brownfields viable
They’re everywhere, but often go unnoticed — the empty lots and vacant buildings that dot many of Portland’s thoroughfares and neighborhoods. Overgrown with innumerable weeds or concealed by a layer of asphalt, they hardly catch the eye. But in a city that projects a population growth of 200,000 people over the next 20 years, the…
They’re baack! Cult filmmaker, Silent Bob, Kevin Smith on his latest project
“Who knew, dude?” exclaims director Kevin Smith, as he talks about the small cameo role he gave himself in his 1994 debut feature “Clerks.” “I had no idea I was punching my ticket for the next 20 years.” Silent Bob, the mute character he is most recognisable for, has gone on to become one half…
For the Record: Aug 15-28, 2014
-Number of farmers markets in the Oregon Famers Market Association: 160 -Estimated annual amount farmers markets contribute to Oregon’s farm product sales: $50 million -The year the Oregon Farmers Markets Association was established: 1987 -Oregon’s ranking in 2014 Strolling of the Heifers Locavore Index: 4 -Number of years Portland Saturday Market has been operating: 41…
Jackie Kashian of “The Dork Forest” talks about her addiction to standup
Jackie Kashian makes no bones about where she stands on people and politics. It’s the backbone of her comedic presence. “I’m an Anarchic Socialist,” she says. “I don’t think anyone would be surprised to find out what my politics are. I am clearly a supporter of the common man.” Kashian’s a nationally touring comic who…
Drivers’ card debate revs up for fall ballot
Mayra Martinez is never certain that she’ll get to class on time, if at all. Martinez, a 20-year-old Portland State University student, lives on a rural farm near Beaverton with her family, five miles from a TriMet bus stop. Uncomfortable biking or walking on the narrow road, Martinez depends on her mother—the only one in…
Portland-based film “American Winter” gets Emmy nod
“American Winter,” the documentary film about the trauma of modern poverty through the eyes of eight Portland families, has been nominated for an Emmy. The film originally aired on HBO, but it has been shown in theaters across the country and continues to leverage community discussions about poverty, homelessness and what co-director and producer Joe…
Opinion
All fall down: Is the United States the next Third World?
At last count, the U.S. had more than 500 military bases in other countries. It spends as much on its armed forces as the rest of the world combined. According to author John Michael Greer, that’s because the United States is an empire and its military dominance is in the service of maintaining that empire.…
A reminder of the connections as necessary as housing
In this edition, Colleen Sinsky shines a light on an element of homelessness few people outside of the field truly understand. That being homeless often means being alone, in the most extreme sense under the most extreme conditions. It becomes tangible for Sinsky when, as a retention worker for the nonprofit JOIN, she becomes filed…
Let’s give people something to believe in
It’s time to embrace the idea of organized camping and the Tiny House Movement in Portland for people experiencing poverty. We are now three decades into to the rise of massive homelessness in the United States. During that time we’ve seen tens of billions of dollars decrease from our housing stock — only to see…
Interrupting Isolation
My heart breaks each time I am listed as the sole “emergency contact” above a blank “next of kin” line on an apartment application. It is sadly not uncommon for people who have been homeless to lack even that basic human need: a reliable person to call when things go wrong. Of course I am…
