News
Street Roots vendors get ready for their close-up
If you’re a regular reader of Street Roots, you’re familiar with the gorgeous portraits of vendors we feature each week on Page 2. The man behind the camera is Alan Borrud, a career photojournalist with three decades of experience. Several years ago, he joined the Street Roots team to create these personal portraits of vendors. …
Environmentalist Carol Van Strum: Do not believe anything they tell you
Carol Van Strum, 78, still lives in the forest she fought to protect. She moved with her family to Five Rivers in Oregon’s Siuslaw National Forest in the 1970s, and soon after, her farm was sprayed from overhead with a compound found in Agent Orange. Her family got sick, and animals in the area were…
Sisters Of The Road marks 40 years of home cooking and hospitality
“It is only by feeling your love that the poor will forgive you for the gifts of bread.” That quote, attributed to St. Vincent DePaul, is a favorite of Genevieve “Genny” Nelson. It means to recognize that the act of charity without love can be demeaning, but when the act is done out of love…
Spanish-language conference – a first for Oregon OSHA – reveals gaps in training, safety
On Nov. 19, about 200 workers filed into a conference hall at the Oregon State Fairgrounds in Salem. As the room started to fill up, the Spanish in the air became more audible – co-workers chatting over a cup of coffee, attendees asking questions of exhibitors, conference organizers mingling with the crowd. Everyone was there…
Brains, trains and homelessness: How public transit can respond to neuroscience
Several weeks ago, Street Roots vendor Mark Rodriguez made headlines for getting a $175 ticket for forgetting to tap his pass to activate the fare to ride a TriMet MAX. After hearing the story, neuroscientist Bill Griesar picked up the phone and called TriMet. Griesar is a co-founder of the nonprofit neuroscience outreach group NW…
Invest our abundance in those who truly need it
The woman and a man – in their 20s, with big eyes and gentle smiles – stood next to a red sedan. People often come knocking at their car window, the woman told me, because they are told this is a safe place to sleep. With little else, the couple do have the car they…
Environment
Environmentalist Carol Van Strum: Do not believe anything they tell you
Carol Van Strum, 78, still lives in the forest she fought to protect. She moved with her family to Five Rivers in Oregon’s Siuslaw National Forest in the 1970s, and soon after, her farm was sprayed from overhead with a compound found in Agent Orange. Her family got sick, and animals in the area were…
Housing
Sisters Of The Road marks 40 years of home cooking and hospitality
“It is only by feeling your love that the poor will forgive you for the gifts of bread.” That quote, attributed to St. Vincent DePaul, is a favorite of Genevieve “Genny” Nelson. It means to recognize that the act of charity without love can be demeaning, but when the act is done out of love…
Opinion
Invest our abundance in those who truly need it
The woman and a man – in their 20s, with big eyes and gentle smiles – stood next to a red sedan. People often come knocking at their car window, the woman told me, because they are told this is a safe place to sleep. With little else, the couple do have the car they…
