Opinion
It’s time we fundamentally change how we view policing
A wise friend of mine once gave me advice on coping with a paralyzing sense of helplessness. Gordon said, “Find a starting point that seems right to you, settle on a plan and stick with it.” He was talking about fly-fishing, but it is advice that has proven its worth over and over again in…
Food pantry manager Stephanie Opoka creates order out of chaos
It’s 4:45 on a Wednesday afternoon, and St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church at Southwest 13th Avenue and Clay Street hums with activity. A young woman carries a 10-pound sack of ground coffee from a cramped storeroom down a narrow hall to the kitchen where five young people, arms covered in tattoos, are in various stages of…
Director’s Desk: Springwater Corridor challenges community’s will
The Springwater Corridor is a 21-mile multiuse path and trail that runs through both Clackamas and Multnomah County, traveling through both Gresham and Portland. The path follows the beautiful Johnson Creek watershed, a critical drainage basin for the region. Its paved trail provides a healthy transportation option for thousands of pedestrians and bikers on a…
News
Marlon James: ‘Escape for me was writing’
It’s been nine months since Marlon James became the first Jamaican writer to win the Man Booker Prize, the large bags under his eyes and the mumbled, monosyllabic greeting are testament to the relentless cycle of travel, festival appearances, interviews and store signings that come with taking home literature’s most prestigious award. “I don’t want…
The multibillion-dollar immigrant detention industry
In April, members of the immigrant advocacy group Enlace rallied on the doorsteps of U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden’s Portland office. They were there to encourage the senator, whom they see as an ally, to introduce legislation that would stop private prisons from qualifying for Real Estate Investment Trust status, which allows the for-profit companies to…
Vendor Profiles
Street Roots vendor profile: A friendly traveler and his best friend
When he’s not selling Street Roots, Stephen can sometimes be glimpsed slaloming his longboard down the street at high speed like a water skier. His service dog, Dallas, plays the speedboat. Dallas is a mix of pit bull, German shepherd and Labrador retriever. She’s compact and solidly built, like a pit bull. “She’s like an…
