Vendor Profiles
Street Roots vendor profile: Bill Whicher
Bill Whicher has a career that reads like the economic headlines, only more personal. He was born in Portsmouth, N.H., and grew up racing sailboats and water-skiing at the family lake house. Bill attended University of New Hampshire for two years, enlisted with the Navy for six months and was honorably discharged for a medical…
Opinion
Measure 11 makes no sense for youths
In 2011, Partnership for Safety and Justice and the Campaign for Youth Justice published “Misguided Measures.” We examined Oregon’s Ballot Measure 11 (1994) and how, by exposing youths to the adult criminal justice system and extreme mandatory minimum sentences, it has caused avoidable harm and degraded our system of justice. Today, this more than 20-year…
Street Roots editorial: Enough with juvenile Measure 11 charges
We know too much, and have seen enough evidence of the consequences, to continue punishing juvenile offenders as adults. We know too well the research explaining the development stages of a young brain to say that the actions of a 16-year-old are derived from the same comprehension as those of a grown man or woman. …
Eight myths about Portland’s new tree code
Since Portland’s new “citywide” tree code (Title 11) went into effect last year, myths and rumors abound about its impact, its implementation and how to improve it. What follows are some of the common myths and why they are not true. Myth 1: Portland’s new tree code weakened safeguards for trees. This rumor circulated after…
Director’s Desk: Let’s make dream of safe, affordable housing a reality
People ask me if the homeless and housing emergency in Multnomah County is working. The short answer is, yes. The long answer is, we’ve got a long way to go. The most visible aspect of the homeless emergency is having the mayor’s office more or less legalize tent camping. A lot of people have doubted…
News
Youths branded by Measure 11
When administrators summoned 15-year-old Keeshawn Bullitt to the main office at Grant High School on Feb. 9 to ask him about the armed robbery he committed, he said he had no idea what they were talking about. But there was no mistake, and Portland police arrested the soft-spoken sophomore at the Northeast Portland school the…
Author Shaka Senghor ‘writes his wrongs,’ offers inspiration to inmates
Shaka Senghor describes his younger self as a “young drug dealer with a quick temper and a semi-automatic pistol.” Senghor grew up inner-city Detroit during the 1980s and early 1990s. He lived a rough life as a teenager – he hustled drugs, lived on the street, was beaten and shot at three times, and saw…
Filmmaker: How right-wing media brainwashed my dad
Jen Senko acknowledges that brainwashing is a strong term, but it’s the one she thinks best describes what happened to her father. After growing up with Walter Cronkite telling it how it was, Senko’s father switched allegiance to the new brand of media, heralded in by Rush Limbaugh and Fox News. And with that transition,…
