We continue to break record temperatures and hurtle toward disaster, but there have been some notable victories, too The water that runs through the canals of Venice is clear, clearer than it has been in decades. It apparently just needed a vacation from ...
17 Sep 2020 - Tom Henderson
Is the state poised to abandon Tom McCall’s environmental legacy? Oregon schoolchildren once regularly saw a documentary about the growing climate crisis in their state. “Clean water and clear air are imperatives of life itself,” narrator Richard Ross beg ...
15 Sep 2020 - Tom Henderson
Top Oregon Democrats refused to send the recommendation to the floor for a vote. The governor may still have executive authority to move forward with closures. Many prison reform activists wonder if Oregon lawmakers care more about preserving jobs than sa ...
14 Aug 2020 - Tom Henderson
A small patch of Portland looks like a war zone, but it’s the federal agents who are aggressive, an activist says The unrest in Portland is “worse than Afghanistan,” President Donald Trump said this week to justify using federal forces against protesters. ...
24 Jul 2020 - Tom Henderson
In June, the Legislature relaxed some barriers to operating shelters. More bills addressing homelessness could be on the agenda if another special session is called. Life on the street offers few advantages, but Armando Saldivar said one of them is living ...
8 Jul 2020 - Tom Henderson
Check back for updates on the status of these important pieces of legislation The Oregon Legislature adjourned its special session late Friday, June 26. Bills specifically addressing homelessness — an issue Speaker of the House Tina Kotek wanted to decla ...
26 Jun 2020 - Tom Henderson
Vulnerable Oregonians take center stage during Legislature's emergency session, likely to extend into next week He went to the hospital in Corvallis with pneumonia, but the physician who saw him thought the 64-year-old quadriplegic man with developme ...
26 Jun 2020 - Tom Henderson
Oregon lawmakers will head back to Salem this week to address police accountability and pandemic mitigation, including legislation on evictions and homelessness Oregon’s moratoriums on residential and commercial evictions expire at the end of the month, a ...
23 Jun 2020 - Tom Henderson
Whether the Legislature will convene to provide relief remains uncertain, and the Employment Department's director has been replaced in response to a massive backlog Kelsi Morrison’s livelihood abruptly ended when she closed the doors of Hair Bar 47, ...
4 Jun 2020 - Tom Henderson
To others, the reprieve from hugging and hand-shaking is satisfying Editor's note: People living alone during the coronavirus pandemic were interviewed for this story. We took the unusual step of granting anonymity upon request in order to obtain aut ...
24 May 2020 - Tom Henderson