AltWeeklies Wire
An Opaque Revolving Doornew
Multnomah County hires Willamette Week news boss Hank Stern without an interview.
The Portland Mercury |
Matt Davis |
04-22-2011 |
Politics
Tags: Hank Stern, Willamette Week
Changing the Cop Culture that Led to the Death of Aaron Campbellnew
Portlanders remain outraged over Aaron Campbell's death. A day after the police chief's radio appearance, a group of 50 people carpooled to Salem to meet with legislators. Reverend Renee Ward wants prevent the further "murder" of young men like Campbell, she says.
The Portland Mercury |
Matt Davis |
03-04-2010 |
Crime & Justice
Oregon's Jails Are its Biggest Providers of Mental Health Servicesnew
The jail spends half of its annual $600,000 drug budget on psychiatric medications for the inmates who will consent to taking them. But jails can't force the inmates. Far from solving our state's mental health problems, the current situation is probably making them worse.
The Portland Mercury |
Matt Davis |
01-14-2010 |
Crime & Justice
Road to Somewhere: David Byrne's Energizing 'Bicycle Diaries'new
The underlying message here is that while bicycling may be a political movement, it can also be liberating and fun at the same time. I'm hoping Byrne's book now heralds bicycling's offbeat entry into the American mainstream, just as his wacky persona hit the big time thanks to our parents' taste in pop music.
The Portland Mercury |
Matt Davis |
09-25-2009 |
Nonfiction
Saving Shaolin: Portland Film Geek Unearths Grindhouse Goldminenew
Dan Halsted started Portland's Grindhouse Film Festival in 2004. Since then, he has developed the festival into a monthly showcase of genre cinema that pits the sordid pulp of films like The Toolbox Murders against the antiseptic blandness of contemporary multiplexes.
The Portland Mercury |
Matt Davis |
09-10-2009 |
Movies
Stop Sign Law Goes Back for Amendmentsnew
Oregon's proposed Idaho Stop Sign Law got its first hearing before the House Transportation Committee in Salem last week, and appears to be becoming a political lightning rod for tension between bicyclists and car drivers.
The Portland Mercury |
Matt Davis |
03-26-2009 |
Policy Issues
Portland's New Accounting System Costs Extra $3 Millionnew
A delay in the implementation of a new payroll system could cost the City of Portland an extra $3 million, in a year when budgets are being slashed across the board and the city is struggling to pay for even basic services.
The Portland Mercury |
Matt Davis |
03-26-2009 |
Policy Issues
Portland City Hall's Popularity Contest Has Been Shaken Up by the Adams Scandalnew
Portland City Hall is as fraught with popularity anxiety as a Hollywood high school prom. And it seems to be going through a curious reorientation in social pecking order following revelations that our metaphorical football captain, Mayor Sam Adams, kissed 17-year-old Beau Breedlove in the building's second floor restroom.
The Portland Mercury |
Matt Davis |
02-05-2009 |
Politics
Portland Mayor's Sex Scandal Strikes Backnew
Two weeks to the day after taking his oath of office as Portland's first gay mayor, Sam Adams admitted that he'd lied about the nature of his sexual relationship with teenage legislative intern Beau Breedlove, and that he had coached Breedlove to lie about it on his behalf.
The Portland Mercury |
Matt Davis |
01-22-2009 |
Politics
'The Dart League King' is Surprising and Compellingnew
Keith Lee Morris' second book takes place entirely at a championship darts match on a single night in Idaho, in June of 2007. Surprisingly for such a narrowly focused work, it is as compelling a novel as I've read all year.
The Portland Mercury |
Matt Davis |
11-14-2008 |
Fiction
Man Registering Minority Voters Excluded from TriMetnew
"I don't want to say it's because I'm black," says David Rush, when asked why he thinks he was issued a 30-day exclusion from TriMet property while registering minority voters at the Beaverton Transit Center late last month. "But honestly--what else am I supposed to think?"
The Portland Mercury |
Matt Davis |
07-17-2008 |
Race & Class
Mental Health Services Threatened in Portland Areanew
Mental health provider Cascadia is in deep financial trouble, and patients could end up paying the price.
The Portland Mercury |
Matt Davis |
06-05-2008 |
Policy Issues
Meet a Professional Rat Catchernew
Tim TenBrink has run Critter Control in Portland for 10 years. He moved here from Michigan, after deciding he didn't want to teach high school science there any more because the job wasn't as fulfilling as he'd expected. So he got a part-time job in Portland doing pest control, and stayed.
The Portland Mercury |
Matt Davis |
05-29-2008 |
Business & Labor
Homeless Protest Stretches on in Portlandnew
On May 13, with the homeless protesters in front of city hall facing enforcement of the city's camping ordinance, five representatives sat down with Mayor Tom Potter. The meeting did not go so well.
The Portland Mercury |
Amy J. Ruiz and Matt Davis |
05-15-2008 |
Housing & Development
Portland to Get Pilot Mental Health Courtnew
Three qualified mental health professionals will work with a dedicated judge, with a goal of hooking mentally ill people up with medication and counseling instead of prosecuting them for low-level crimes.
The Portland Mercury |
Matt Davis |
05-01-2008 |
Crime & Justice
