Opinion
Rape’s relentless toll: Krakauer’s ‘Missoula’ examines sexual assault in a Montana college town
It was non-stranger rape. It was a non-stranger rape of a college student by a classmate she had known from first grade, her neighbor growing up who referred to her as his “little sister,” a person she trusted deeply. The physical and psychological injuries to University of Montana student Allison Huguet, “little sister” of Beau…
Unified message for Oregon: Reinvest in justice
On May 14, Oregon’s Office of Economic Analysis released its March 2015 quarterly review of the state’s economic health.(You can read the entire report, a 63-page PDF, at http://www.oregon.gov/DAS/OEA/docs/economic/forecast0315.pdf.) Oregon is demonstrating strong economic growth, recovering from the recession at a faster pace than the national economy. That is good news for most Oregonians (although rural counties aren’t…
A fare for ‘dishonored’ citizens
TriMet, yet again, is proposing a fare hike. This time, it is a “special” fare hike targeted toward a specific rider segment: seniors and disabled folks only. Kind of a “Dis-Honored Citizen” fare hike. Transit Riders Union, along with our growing coalition against the fare hike (which includes Portland Jobs with Justice, Human Solutions, Sisters of…
Walking Dan’s last retreat
I remember my first encounter with Walking Dan. It was one of the first nights I was serving as Nightwatch’s Executive Director, almost eight years ago. I was standing on the sidewalk outside the door of Julia West House, and he came up and introduced himself. “You’re the new director?” he said warmly. “I’m Walking…
Director’s Desk: Investing in the love of Street Roots
People ask me, why should I invest in Street Roots?
We believe in people. We work to give hundreds of people a hand up on a weekly basis. In fact, each year we give nearly 400 people experiencing homelessness and poverty an alternative income through sales of the newspaper. Vendors make between $200 and…
News
Paddlers protest Shell in Seattle
Activists protest the Shell Oil Company’s drilling rig Polar Pioneer which is parked at Terminal 5 at the Port of Seattle, Wash., May 16, 2015. Hundreds of activists in kayaks and small boats fanned out on a Seattle bay on Saturday to protest plans by Royal Dutch Shell to resume oil exploration in the Arctic…
Gillian Anderson: Gender inequality in Hollywood? ‘It is still alive and well.’
The truth may be out there but Gillian Anderson isn't interested. Best known for her role as skeptical (and smoldering) FBI Special Agent Dana Scully in The X-Files, a worldwide hit through most of the 1990s and now confirmed for a six-part comeback, people still want to share their supernatural experiences with her today. "It's…
Tori Abernathy: the Portland Renters’ Assembly is now in session
In February, local artist and activist Tori Abernathy decided to use her latest installation piece “Make Yourself at Home”— exploring ideas of home, construction and placemaking— as the first venue for a new series of gatherings she called the Portland Renters’ Assembly. Part presentations by local housing advocates, part group story-sharing and brainstorming, the Portland…
Line in the sand
When the City of Portland pulled West Hayden Island from its list of lands to be developed over the next 20 years, it inadvertently created a problem for the Port of Portland. West Hayden Island is the port’s preferred dumpsite for dredging sediment — essentially a storage plot for contaminated waste. For Hayden Island residents…
