Opinion
Dizzy Dan’s Hologram: Part I — ER
Dan Newth is a Street Roots vendor and periodic writer. This is the first of three columns, told through his perception of events surrounding his recent attempted suicide and recovery. Diarrhea dribbled down my leg. I fell onto the toilet with my underwear still on. The 50-60 sleeping pills I had taken were making me…
Oregonian series an opportunity to seize the moment
A lot people in the housing community, for better or worse, are worked up over Anna Griffin’s ongoing series on homelessness in The Oregonian. Get used to it. A new story will come out every Friday for the next six weeks. Wait, does this mean I’m promoting The Oregonian’s series in Street Roots? I suppose…
County should preserve in-person visitation
In a time when prison reform looks to be gaining momentum in Oregon and around the country, Multnomah County, one of the nation’s most liberal counties, is headed in the wrong direction. As reported by Street Roots earlier this month (“Captive consumers,” Street Roots, Jan. 2), and in this week’s edition (Revisiting visitation, Jan. 23),…
News
Children of the core; Jesse Hagopian discusses his new book on the drawbacks of standardized testing
If you’re not in some way involved with public schools, you may not be aware of the explosion of standardized testing in schools over the past 10 years. Preparing for and taking these tests has significantly affected teaching and learning on all levels in classrooms across the country. Jesse Hagopian, a history teacher at Seattle’s…
Mult. Co. Sheriff to preserve in-person visitations
This story was updated on March 3, 2015. Multnomah County Sheriff Dan Staton says he will continue in-person, “through the glass” visiting for visitors to Multnomah County jails, bowing to pressure from public concerns over replacing all visits with video kiosks. In a press release sent out early this afternoon, the sheriff’s office said the contract…
Dr. David Labby: How to approach health care, homelessness and housing
Earlier this month, the City Club of Portland released a report – based on a thorough review of academic research, media reports and interviews with stakeholders – concluding what homeless advocates have been saying for more than 20 years: housing is health care. The report recommended doctors receive better training in how to work with…
Mexico City to launch new street paper
Among the colorful markets, historic plazas and grand cathedrals of Mexico City, there are tens of thousands of homeless people living on the streets. Many live their whole lives without ever having a place to call their own. Some are the third generation of their family to be born into homelessness. Opportunities to escape the…
Black healing power; new book examines the Black Panthers’ fight against medical discrimination
The award-winning author Alondra Nelson is a professor of sociology at Columbia University and the author of books addressing health, race and sociology. In “Body and Soul,” she skillfully details — in five chapters, between an introduction and conclusion — not only the founding history of the Black Panther Party in 1966, but also topics…
Vendor Profiles
Vendor Profile: Robert Egan
Now that Robert Egan has a full-time job, the only time he and I see each other these days are very early on Saturday mornings. Hence, our interview occurs at the Street Roots front desk during the excitement and hubbub of an early morning Saturday of a now weekly Street Roots. “I’m a dollar short…
