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Oregon News
Readers respond: Ready to move from Portland
The Oregonian | Letter to the Editor
We returned home after two weeks away and noticed construction across the street in a building on the corner of Southeast 20th Avenue and Belmont Street. Apparently, the building and the real estate office beside it have been sold and will become a sober shelter.
The sidewalk and street parking area around Colonel Summers Park and the Century Link building are already magnets for crime, drug dealing, drug use, fires, dirty campsites and more.
The other day, when my neighbor looked around the corner of our building due to a loud disturbance, a camper whose tent was against our building threw a knife into a wooden light post just above my neighbor’s head.
We can’t take it anymore. We don’t feel safe in our own home. I’ve lived in Portland for 25 years and had always felt this was one of the safest cities in the United States. Now I am doubting this, and plan to sell our home as soon as possible.
How will the city ensure that there is safety in our neighborhoods while still supporting the homeless? Building these large shelters in previously calm, safe neighborhoods without security is dangerous if they want to maintain the property tax revenue that pays for these shelters, (“Editorial: Neighborhoods need more support amid Wilson’s shelter expansions,” Oct. 26).
To top it off, we just received our property tax bill. It is the largest single increase in any year since I’ve lived in Portland. Truly, how soon can we move?
POLITICS
Labor advocate appointed to serve remainder of Oregon Rep. Hòa Nguyễn’s term
Oregon Capital Chronicle | By Mia Maldonado
County commissioners in Multnomah and Clackamas counties in a joint meeting on Wednesday appointed labor advocate Lamar Wise to finish the remainder of the late Rep. Hòa Nguyễn’s term.
Oregon voters support existing school taxes; reject increases
OPB | By Rob Manning
Construction bond renewals are passing in Lake Oswego and West Linn-Wilsonville school districts, but increases in Oregon Trail and Athena-Weston are falling short.
Secretary of State to hold public hearing on Oregon campaign finance changes
Statesman Journal | Anastasia Mason
Oregonians can weigh in on upcoming campaign finance changes at 11 a.m. Nov. 7.
The Oregon Secretary of State Elections Division will hold virtual public hearings for several proposed rules that would implement a 2024 campaign finance reform law, House Bill 4024.
‘Dangerous sex offender’ released years too early, Oregon official says
KOIN 6 | By Jashayla Pettigrew
The Oregon Department of Corrections is under fire over claims that the agency prematurely released a “dangerous sex offender” from custody.
Kotek allocates $1M to Oregon tribes for food security amidst federal shutdown
KPTV
Governor Tina Kotek has directed $1 million in emergency assistance to Oregon’s nine federally recognized Tribes to address food security concerns due to the ongoing federal government shutdown and uncertain SNAP funding.
TRUMP ADMIN VS. OREGON
PPS Secures North Portland Schools Amid Reports of ICE Activity
Willamette Week | By Joanna Hou
Portland Public Schools has secured two of its North Portland schools amid reports of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity in the broader community, a Thursday morning message to families and staff reads.
DHS speeds rule that could permit more fines and arrests of protesters at federal buildings
Oregon Capital Chronicle | By James Brooks
As masked and costumed protesters demonstrate outside federal immigration facilities nationwide, the federal government has sped up the start of a new rule that may expose those protesters to fines and additional penalties.
BUSINESS & ECONOMY
Readers respond: Oregon needs new economic playbook
The Oregonian | Letter to the Editor
The economic playbook Oregon built in the 1990s was smart and effective, aligning land use, infrastructure and industry in ways that made Oregon a leader in advanced manufacturing and trade. But the world has changed, and Oregon hasn’t kept up.
We can no longer coast on a dated economic strategy. Metro’s 2024 Urban Growth Report projects slowing population and manufacturing growth—signaling that, without a new strategy, our economic trajectory will flatten just as peer states accelerate. If we accept that forecast, we are choosing stagnation.
Oregon needs a new playbook—one that treats growth as essential to funding public services, not as a threat to be managed. We need large, infrastructure-ready sites, predictable permitting, modern incentives and leadership committed to proactive economic growth. Our values of stewardship and livability remain strengths, but without a modern strategy, they’ll rest on a shrinking economy. Growth, done right, is not the problem. It’s the solution.
EDUCATION
Oregon schools expect significant midyear budget shortfall from federal policies
Oregon Capital Chronicle | By Alex Baumhardt
Oregon schools could face rare multi-million dollar losses and budget cuts in the middle of the school year because of new federal tax policies.
NATURAL RESOURCES & WILDFIRE
PacifiCorp Warns of Financial Squeeze
Willamette Week | By Jeff Manning
In a Nov. 3 quarterly earnings statement, the company said it faces a potential “liquidity crisis” stemming from its role in the 2020 Labor Day wildfires. The utility warned that it could be swamped by legal liabilities stemming from the conflagration.
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