News
Death row inmates sue over who, what is going to kill them
The first of 11 death-row inmates with scheduled execution dates in Tennessee did not meet the executioner as planned on Oct. 7. The Tennessee Supreme Court ruled Sept. 25 to postpone Billy Ray Irick’s execution as he and the other 10 death-row inmates with scheduled execution dates are in the middle of a complex lawsuit…
George Packer on The Divided States of America
It’s hard to say just when it began, the unravelling of the American Dream. Did it start in the ’70s, with the slow dismantling of industrial jobs in the Midwest? Can it be traced to the era of Reaganomics, that time period in the ’80s of reduced government spending on social programs, slashed income taxes…
‘Doing it’ — your own way
Sarah Mirk decided to write her book “Sex From Scratch” because, in her words, the majority of what she found in the dating section of her local bookstore “sucked.” Mirk set out to write a book that, rather than offering a series of rules to follow, offers insight and real experiences from people navigating different…
From pole dancer to Ph.D.: one woman’s empowering memoir
Early in her life, author Lacy M. Johnson was made aware of her good looks. When she was only 7 years old, her mother entered her lovely blonde daughter into a beauty pageant: “In the pictures, I don’t look like a child of 7. I walk in that sashaying pageantry way I’ve learned from watching…
All-star performers to rock benefit for Street Roots supporter
Join Street Roots and others in supporting Kate Cox and family with a night of music and fun. The event will go to support Kate and her family as they navigate Kate’s treatment for breast cancer and the costs incurred with her recovery. The following all-star group of women will perform on Sunday, November 23:…
The new normal? Nearly 20,000 homeless students in Oregon
When Oregon’s education department releases its K-12 homeless student count later this month, the report will show a disturbing trend: their numbers aren’t coming back down from peak recession levels. Nearly 20,000 students in Oregon’s schools were considered homeless during the 2013-14 school year, the latest state records show. Federal education guidelines define homelessness as…
Opinion
Student debt a social problem demanding federal action
Election Day has sadly become a reminder to us all that we are a deeply divided country that doesn’t agree on much. We differ on Democrats vs. Republicans, trickle-down economics vs. a more redistributive approach, a more active and aggressive foreign policy vs. a more reserved and isolationist, rich vs. poor, SuperPACs vs. the people,…
The blue wall of silence continues in Portland
Police make up a peculiar subculture in society. Often they have their own moral code of behavior, an “us against them” attitude, and a history of standing shoulder-to-shoulder behind a “blue wall of silence.” On Oct. 22, Mayor Charlie Hales and the City Council opted to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the Portland Police Bureau behind that…
City should swallow the pill of additional police oversight
Portland City Council recently voted to appeal U.S. District Judge Michael Simon’s order requiring hearings with the judge, advocates and the city on the progress in maintaining the police reforms settlement with the Department of Justice (DOJ). In voting to appeal Judge Simon’s ruling — Mayor Charlie Hales and the City Council are more or…
