News
Frank Deford: The legendary sports curmudgeon talks stand-up guys, naughty boys and the scourge that is the NCAA
In sports journalism, there are few as legendary as writer and commentator Frank Deford. His transformative and fruitful career has thus far spanned six decades; his stories reaching audiences via radio, television, books, movies and magazines. As GQ simply put it, he is “the world’s greatest sportswriter.” Deford’s been awarded an Emmy, a Peabody and…
Our wilderness shortage: Oregon lags behind neighboring states’ wilderness protections
It’s been 50 years since President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Wilderness Act into law, and Oregon is coming up short. When compared with bordering states, Oregon is dead last in terms of designated wilderness acreage. Additionally, while many western states were able to attach big wilderness provisions to the massive defense bill passed last…
In memoriam: Remembering vendors and friends we lost this year.
Bob EckersonBob was a part of Street Roots for many years. He was a big-hearted guy who always supplied his regular customers with a paper, a laugh and a conversation. A regular vendor at the Sellwood QFC and the Beaverton Farmer’s Market, Bob has left big shoes to fill for the vendors who follow. Terrence…
Notable and Quotable: insight from some of our most interesting interviews of 2014
When you realize the unique scale of not just American poverty, but American inequality in the 21st century, the fact that France doesn’t have it, Germany doesn’t have it, Canada doesn’t, Australia doesn’t. Even England, which is the closest to us in terms of economic models. Even the United Kingdom doesn’t have the levels of…
State records show problems with payee services, oversight
The complaint describes a desperate situation: The institution charged with managing almost all of your financial decisions won’t give you enough of your own money to pay rent. “My rent is $380. So I know I had more monies available,” reads a handwritten consumer complaint filed with the Oregon Attorney General’s Office against Integrity Plus,…
Second chances: 25 years of Outside In’s needle exchange program
Bridget didn’t want to buy syringes at the pharmacy. It was too humiliating an ordeal for the champion gymnast turned heroin addict to go through. Not too long ago she was doing well in high school, never dreaming she would be a junkie within a few years’ time. Now, nearing the bottom of her downward…
Weekly is right around the corner!
As many of you know, Street Roots is going weekly this Friday, January 2nd. Going weekly is big, really big. It has everything to do with you! “Going weekly will bring more customers, better dialogues, better relationships, more money for vendors,” says Bettjo who sells the newspaper at Alberta Food Cooperative. “My customers mean the…
Seasons greetings and many thanks from vendors
“I’d like to thank my customers at Hillsdale shopping center, especially those on the first Saturday of the month — America’s best educated cleaning crew.” — John Brown“Thanks for being nice to me and helping me out. You all are really nice folks. Merry Christmas to you all.” — John Munro “Thank you to all my customers…
Opinion
Partnership for Safety and Justice: Pulling the arc toward justice
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” President Obama added, “But it does not do so on its own. It does so because there are hands of ordinary people doing extraordinary things every single day and they pull that arc in the direction…
Needle Exchange: 25 years later
I remember thinking there is so much in the world that is so dire and about which I can do nothing. In the mid 1980s HIV was one of those dire things and back then nearly always meant death. It was happening here in my city, my community, but unlike many diseases, it was preventable,…
At the end of the day, all you need is love
It’s a busy time of year. I’ll be brief. We know readers are very busy before the holidays. Lots to do. As the year winds down and a new year begins, Street Roots and vendors want to thank you for all of your love. Every day we hear story after story of readers being extremely…
Vendor Profiles
Hopes of housing for the new year
Allison Strange came to Portland to leave behind the old memories of her son, whom she lost to cancer, and to be with her boyfriend. She came looking for a fresh start in a new place. And that’s exactly what she found at Street Roots. “A better one than I actually expected,” she said. Allison’s…
