Portland Mercury

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Police Review Board Strongly Urged "Termination" for Four Portland Cops, All...

January 15, 2015, 12:28 pm

by Denis C. Theriault illustration by neil perryA police bureau advisory panel charged with reviewing officer misconduct strongly recommended four Portland cops lose their jobs over accusations...

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Whiplash! Now the Street Fee Advisory Vote's on "Pause" While State Officials...

January 15, 2015, 4:58 pm

by Denis C. Theriault Illustration by Jess Smart SmileyAhead of a deadline at 5 tonight to put a street fee advisory vote on next week's council agenda, Mayor Charlie Hales and Commissioner Steve...

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Good Morning, News: Oregon's Endangered GOP, Target Practice with Black Men,...

January 16, 2015, 9:24 am

by Denis C. Theriault Identifying as a Republican in Oregon is an increasingly lonely affair. The party's share of registered voters has hit a new low—just 30 percent. And after another bad election...

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Prominent Street Fee Critic Was Recently Elected Head of the Multnomah County...

January 16, 2015, 2:44 pm

by Denis C. Theriault via TwitterEric FruitsAn Oregonian story this morning on the beleaguered state Republican Party's leadership and fundraising struggles included a familiar name—alongside an...

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Hall Monitor

January 21, 2015, 4:20 pm

In 2004, a bid to ease sewer and water bills sliced money for paving instead. Or did it? by Denis C. Theriault HISTORY LESSONS have abounded in Portland City Hall over the past months, ever since...

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No Riot Here

January 21, 2015, 4:20 pm

Commissioner Fritz presses the mayor on better protecting protesters. by Denis C. Theriault MAYOR CHARLIE HALES has suggested he'd be open to setting more limits on when Portland cops can show up at...

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Another Sudden Detour

January 21, 2015, 4:20 pm

The road to a Portland street fee now runs through Salem. by Denis C. Theriault IT DIDN'T MATTER that the call came in the middle of a Portland City Council meeting. Governor John Kitzhaber and House...

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Good Morning, News: Presented by the Doomsday Clock, WASP Nicknames, and...

January 22, 2015, 9:30 am

by Denis C. Theriault The Doomsday Clock—a Cold War relic that's weirdly (and sadly) retained minor relevance) has hovered at five minutes to midnight for the past three years. Everyone expects that...

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Making Infrastructure Sizzle? Fritz Sells Colleagues on New Plan to Spend...

January 22, 2015, 3:30 pm

by Denis C. Theriault Illustration by Jess Smart SmileyPortland City Council's oft-ignored policies on infrastructure spending and maintenance are about to be refreshed, and with great fanfare—another...

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Good Morning, News!

January 23, 2015, 9:26 am

by Denis C. Theriault Snap to, vape fiends! Multnomah County commissioners are mulling over putting some new restrictions on your e-cigarette-type flavored tobacco juice vaporizers—maybe banning them...

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Trader Joe's Fallout: Housing Bureau Posts Plan for $20 Million in...

January 26, 2015, 11:29 am

by Denis C. Theriault Four months after hosting forums on the past and future of gentrification in North and Northeast Portland—and nearly a year after the churn and controversy of an aborted attempt...

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Police Watchdog to Probe Cops' Commitment to Outing Dishonest Officers

January 27, 2015, 6:00 am

by Denis C. Theriault illustration by neil perryThe US Constitution is painfully clear when it comes to cops and prosecutors' responsibility upon finding evidence that might prove helpful, instead of...

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After Her Husband's Death, Amanda Fritz Sadly Allows that "Things Have...

January 28, 2015, 6:00 am

by Denis C. Theriault Enjoy the following sneak preview from today's Mercury—an early-bird and augmented version of our Hall Monitor column. Remember to read our whole news section once we hit...

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Saltzman Forecasts Broken Promises, Votes Against New Infrastructure Spending...

January 28, 2015, 2:34 pm

by Denis C. Theriault Illustration by Jess Smart SmileyCommissioner Dan Saltzman was plainspoken this morning when standing apart from his Portland City Council colleagues—all of whom had...

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Blue Line, Gray Area

January 28, 2015, 4:20 pm

A Portland cop's Facebook posts raise questions about lack of a social media policy. by Denis C. Theriault A PORTLAND COP flagged for poking at police accountability protesters on Facebook was briefly...

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Hall Monitor

January 28, 2015, 4:20 pm

Commissioner Amanda Fritz will be a far stronger incumbent in 2016 than she was in 2012. by Denis C. Theriault WHETHER SHE WON or lost in 2012—the latter briefly seeming possible in her bitter fight...

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Good Morning, News: KOIN Kills Kommenting! Cops Make Dubious Arrests! Cuba...

January 29, 2015, 9:29 am

by Denis C. Theriault Look at little ol' KOIN! They've killed the comments on their website and declared "it’s time to be honest about what comment boards have morphed into over the years": For every...

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Good Morning, News: Goodbye, Affordable Housing? Good Riddance, Willard...

January 30, 2015, 9:31 am

by Denis C. Theriault In a mistakenly sent email griping about our "overly political mayor," the Zidell family's public relations guru lays out a plan for stepping away from a development deal with...

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LIVE BLOG! State of the City 2015! Will the Real Charlie Hales Please Stand Up?

January 30, 2015, 12:12 pm

by Denis C. Theriault ILLUSTRATION BY JOSEPH HARMONBEFORE YOU DIVE IN, HERE'S A RECAP:• Hales wants $15 an hour for all full-time city workers.• Hales has promised housing for all homeless veterans by...

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Heartburn in Portland City Hall over Hales' Call to Give (Some) City Workers...

February 2, 2015, 10:37 am

by Denis C. Theriault Mayor Charlie Hales' office forecast a "great debate" over living wages in city hall this year, after the Mercury's Dirk VanderHart last month examined the likely sizable cost of...

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Good Morning, News: Food Cart Pants Meat! Measles Politics! Long Live the...

February 3, 2015, 8:59 am

by Denis C. Theriault "Some of the people shoplifting would steal meat, shove it down their pants, leave the store, and ultimately sell it to a food cart. They're using it for food and selling it to...

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Housing Bureau Boldly Demands Almost All of City's Remaining Surplus Cash

February 3, 2015, 6:05 pm

by Denis C. Theriault Portland City Hall's annual budget dance has kicked off pretty much on schedule—after the budget office this afternoon posted long-awaited 2015-16 funding wish lists from the...

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Sponge Out of Gas

February 4, 2015, 4:20 pm

SpongeBob still exists. Let's pretend he doesn't. by Denis C. Theriault MY FAVORITE THING about SpongeBob SquarePants is knowing that the guy who voices SpongeBob's fat and dimwitted best friend,...

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Hall Monitor

February 4, 2015, 4:20 pm

In his State of the City speech, Charlie Hales pitches woo at the labor movement. by Denis C. Theriault TOM CHAMBERLAIN, the head of the Oregon AFL-CIO and an occasionally rumored political candidate,...

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John Kitzhaber Should Resign as Governor, Says the Oregonian Editorial Board

February 4, 2015, 4:55 pm

by Denis C. Theriault The Oregonian's editorial board, the opinion arm of the state's largest daily paper, called on Governor John Kitzhaber to resign this afternoon—unable to stomach the latest burst...

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Good Morning, News: Erik Lukens Vs. John Kitzhaber! Mississippi's Good at...

February 5, 2015, 9:24 am

by Denis C. Theriault So... I guess we're paging Governor Kate Brown now? The ongoing ethics scandal swamping Governor John Kitzhaber's office—over the blurred lines between his fiancée's private...

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ACLU Sues Two Years After Gresham Transit Officer Forcibly Seizes, Searches...

February 10, 2015, 7:42 pm

by Denis C. Theriault More than two years after a Gresham transit officer grabbed hold of a police accountability advocate filming the aftermath of a man's arrest in downtown Portland—seizing her...

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Governor Kate Brown? Kitzhaber Resignation Rumors Hit Fever Pitch

February 11, 2015, 12:17 pm

by Denis C. Theriault All hail Governor Kate Brown?After MSNBC tweeted this morning that the secretary of state, who would replace Governor John Kitzhaber in the event of a resignation, had suddenly...

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Oregon's Governor? It's Still John Kitzhaber, Says John Kitzhaber

February 11, 2015, 3:02 pm

by Denis C. Theriault Governor John Kitzhaber's attorney had already told the Oregonian, using fuzzy words like "hope and expect" in the face of today's sudden flurry of resignation rumors, that...

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Hall Monitor

February 11, 2015, 4:20 pm

Getting back together with the feds won't save us from terror attacks. by Denis C. Theriault PRETTY MUCH EVERYONE in Portland City Hall agrees that our cops' current casual relationship with the FBI's...

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Good Morning, News: Kitzhaber's Resignation Switcheroo! "Peace" with Putin!...

February 12, 2015, 7:35 am

by Denis C. Theriault Governor John Kitzhaber really WAS going to quit yesterday, according to several of the Oregonian's sources, who went into remarkably deep, keen, and insightful detail about the...

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Kate Brown Just Sent a Damningly Strange Email About Governor Kitzhaber

February 12, 2015, 11:45 am

by Denis C. Theriault Yesterday's weirdness over Governor John Kitzhaber's increasingly shaky handling of the ethics scandal swamping his career—he changed his mind about resigning? after calling...

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After Top Democrats Demand His Resignation, the End Appears Nigh for Governor...

February 12, 2015, 1:45 pm

by Denis C. Theriault The scandal-fed political vise squeezing Governor John Kitzhaber in recent weeks has tightened untenably over the past few hours.The state's treasurer, Ted Wheeler, and two top...

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Good Morning, News: Laptop Wars! LGBT Bigotry! The Continuing Saga of John...

February 13, 2015, 8:48 am

by Denis C. Theriault The suddenly invisible Governor John Kitzhaber sure had a horrible day yesterday. An agonizingly public yoyo bounce over his resignation in the face of steadily building...

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The John Kitzhaber and Cylvia Hayes Scandal: A Handy Primer

February 13, 2015, 1:23 pm

by Denis C. Theriault This was originally posted at 10 am yesterday. It's been updated to reflect developments since then that culminated in the announcement this morning that Governor John Kitzhaber...

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Charlie Hales Has Begun Raising Serious Campaign Cash—from a Longtime...

February 13, 2015, 3:00 pm

by Denis C. Theriault It's been 16 years or so—the end of Vera Katz's second term—since Portland's had an incumbent mayor running for re-election. Put that way, it seems like an astounding amount of...

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The Chairman of the Multnomah County GOP Has a Novel (Dick Joke) Take on...

February 13, 2015, 3:40 pm

by Denis C. Theriault What's that saying, "Don't stick your ___ in crazy?" Yeah, looks like @GovKitz broke that rule.— Eric Fruits, Ph.D. (@ericfruits) February 13, 2015

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New World Oregon

February 18, 2015, 4:20 pm

Who's mostly to blame for Governor John Kitzhaber's resignation? John Kitzhaber. by Denis C. Theriault THE ONLY DRAMA left for Governor John Albert Kitzhaber, in the final hours of a historic fourth...

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Hall Monitor

February 18, 2015, 4:20 pm

Hales' plans for the Central Eastside would benefit a major campaign donor. by Denis C. Theriault MAYOR CHARLIE HALES might have timed things a little bit better, given what's become of John...

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Good Morning, News: Jerome Kersey Has Died, You Can't Smoke in Parks, and...

February 19, 2015, 8:52 am

by Denis C. Theriault Jerome Kersey, who famously wore No. 25 for the Portland Trail Blazers during what was arguably their apotheosis, was a legendary link to the Portland that lived and grunted...

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Hales, with "Reluctant" Vote, Swings Portland Back into FBI Anti-Terror Task...

February 19, 2015, 4:44 pm

by Denis C. Theriault denis c. theriaultChief Larry O'Dea, left, sits benignly. Across the room, activist Joe Walsh turns his back to the council.It was so much easier back in 2001, almost a...

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Good Morning, News: Filthy Airport Carpet, Another Ground War in Iraq, and...

February 20, 2015, 9:07 am

by Denis C. Theriault It was a blood clot. Jerome Kersey died because of a blood clot. If you missed it yesterday, Mercury columnist Ian Karmel wrote a fine essay about maybe the most beloved, and...

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Hall Monitor

February 25, 2015, 4:20 pm

In explaining his JTTF reversal, the mayor zings a rumored re-election rival: Mike Reese. by Denis C. Theriault ANY REAL DRAMA over Portland City Hall's looming vote on whether to embrace—but...

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Good Morning, News: Bike Thieves Beware! Donald Trump! A Crack-Scandal Tie!

February 26, 2015, 9:29 am

by Denis C. Theriault They're among the most unassailable laws (of a certain prevailing segment) of Portland: If your bicycle hasn't been stolen, it will be. And even if you've been lucky, someone you...

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Required Reading: Amanda Fritz's Speech on Why Portland Should Have Kept Out...

February 26, 2015, 10:46 am

by Denis C. Theriault denis c. theriaultLast week's hearing on rejoining a federal ant-terrorism task force.Commissioner Amanda Fritz was perfectly clear last week when explaining her vote against...

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Good Morning, News: Goodbye, Leonard Nimoy. LLAP.

February 27, 2015, 9:31 am

by Denis C. Theriault Spock is dead. Leonard Nimoy had warned us a year ago that it wouldn't be long, after he announced having chronic pulmonary disease—a byproduct of his long relationship with...

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Is $20 Million Enough to Reverse Gentrification?

March 4, 2015, 2:14 pm

by Denis C. Theriault Illustration: EatchoTHIS TIME, the smartly dressed Bishop Steven Holt wasn't presiding onstage, clutching a mic the way you might imagine him leading a sermon.Instead, he was...

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Hall Monitor

March 4, 2015, 4:20 pm

If Charlie Hales is vulnerable ahead of 2016, it's his own fault. by Denis C. Theriault I'M ALL DONE with this column after this week. Maybe you remember reading that or hearing it. But probably...

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A Leap of Faith

March 4, 2015, 4:20 pm

Is $20 million enough to defy history, fight gentrification, and revive the black Portland that was? by Denis C. Theriault THIS TIME, the smartly dressed Bishop Steven Holt wasn't presiding onstage,...

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Don't Call It a Comeback

March 18, 2015, 4:20 pm

Want publicly funded elections back in Portland? You're out of luck for now. by Denis C. Theriault WHEN HE TOOK ON Commissioner Dan Saltzman for a city council seat last year, Concordia University...

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