Portland
- Salesforce to close Portland office, asks employees to relocate or take severancewww.businessinsider.com Salesforce to close Portland office, asks employees to relocate or take severance
Salesforce is closing its office in Hillsboro, Oregon, and asking employees to relocate or take a severance package.
"In virtual meetings Thursday afternoon, the cloud software giant notified staffers who report to its Hillsboro office, thirty minutes outside of Portland, of its decision. Customer-success employees, who account for much of the Hillsboro office's staff, were given until November 26 to decide whether to take a severance package or relocate to Indianapolis, Atlanta, or Seattle, where Salesforce also has offices. Other employees were told they could continue to work for Salesforce remotely."
- Powell's Books donates portions of banned book sales to lawsuits fighting book ban lawswww.kgw.com Powell's Books donates portions of banned book sales to lawsuits fighting book ban laws
Between Sept. 22-28, for any book bought from Powell's Banned Book list, 20% of the sale will be donated to help fund ongoing lawsuits against book ban laws.
Between Sept. 22-28, for any book bought from Powell's Banned Book list, 20% of the sale will be donated. There are over 150 books on the list available to be purchased, including book titles such as "Hunger Games," "1984," "Heartstopper" and "The Color Purple."
Also applies to www.powells.com
https://powells.com/banned-books
- Strange odor reportedly wafting south along I-5 corridor toward Portlandwww.opb.org Strange odor reportedly wafting south along I-5 corridor toward Portland
People along the Interstate 5 corridor, from Cowlitz County to the Portland metro area, reported a mysterious and pungent odor in the air starting Tuesday night.
- Portland man accused of killing 3 in random attacks had violated release conditions 30 times, suit sayswww.oregonlive.com Portland man accused of killing 3 in random attacks had violated release conditions 30 times, suit says
The estate of one of the men killed has filed a negligence suit against the U.S. Probation Office.
- 33 arrested in East Portland drug mission, police say; fentanyl, heroin, cocaine and meth seizedwww.oregonlive.com 33 arrested in East Portland drug mission, police say; fentanyl, heroin, cocaine and meth seized
Officers targeted areas around Southeast 122nd Avenue and East Burnside Street, as well as Southeast 148th Avenue and Burnside.
"Members of the Multnomah County District Attorney Access Program also were on the scene, police said. They directed three people toward “deflection” – drug treatment. Two accepted."
33 arrested, 3 qualified for deflection, one would rather be arrested.
- Oregon Measure 118 - $1,600 for every Oregonian, paid for by giant corps who mostly pay less taxes than you do.www.yesonmeasure118.com Vote Yes! on Measure 118, the Oregon Rebate
Vote Yes! on Measure 118 to get yearly rebates of $1,600 for yourself and every Oregonian, kids included. A four person household will get over $6,400 every year. Paid for by making giant corporations pay their fair share.
I posted about this 3 months ago and it was $750--glad to see the measure is going for it. The $1,600 is per person, not household. Minors count.
Large corps ($25m in revenue minimum) pay.
- Carmen Rubio loses mayoral endorsements following driving record reports
"Portland mayoral hopeful Carmen Rubio has lost her second endorsement following a reported incident involving a Tesla days after reporting emerged on her driving record.
Rubio, who is currently a Portland City Commissioner, has accrued 150 parking and driving tickets since 1994, with the most recent being a municipal parking ticket for blocking a loading zone in July 2024, court records show."
- Clothing stores for a Gothic Vampire Masquarade (better than costume quality)
I’m attending a Gothic Vampire Masquerade themed wedding. I need an outfit that is appropriate, but better than costume quality. A suit of some kind. More “Interview with a Vampire” and less “Hot Topic”
Any suggestions?
- Fuck PGE, the PUC who rubber-stamp their ridiculous rate increases.
19% YOY usage drop last month, 3.6% bill increase. It's been like this for months. Even if you're trying to limit your usage and save money, you get fucked. Such bullshit. Meanwhile the PUC came out and said they don't want to not approve these large increases PGE has requested every year because "it would set a bad precedent". Talk about in another world.
Their "why are my electricity charges higher" are also incorrect on weather, actually the exact opposite--the same page notes the period was 1 degree cooler than last year.
- ‘Exceedingly close call’ of illegality in Gonzalez’s Wikipedia edits, Portland auditor says; calls for state investigationwww.oregonlive.com ‘Exceedingly close call’ of illegality in Gonzalez’s Wikipedia edits, Portland auditor says; calls for state investigation
Commissioner Rene Gonzalez, widely considered a top candidate in the mayoral race, spent $6,400 to "refresh" his Wikipedia page.
- PPS bans "political or personal" classroom displays - union pushes back.www.oregonlive.com Portland Public Schools quietly adopts rule barring teachers from ‘political or personal’ classroom displays
The Portland Association of Teachers immediately pushes back.
Whatever way you take this:
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- A way to be able to remove anything that is deemed "offensive", "unpopular", or "unpalatable" and a good option
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- A way to ensure conversations critical of entrenched interests and dominant practices are censored and don't take place
It seems hopelessly broad attempt to shape discourse and thought. Even giving administrators the benefit of the doubt and saying this policy was created so if someone puts a swastika on their door they can take it down, it also means that anything someone claims is political could be removed. As we've seen in the last 10 years, is there anything that can't be politicized with enough money thrown at it? With this policy, if a history or biology teacher put "vaccines save lives" poster on their door, someone could say it's political and offensive. Giving extremists the opening to say something is "political" means that they could say, "Oh your LGBTQ poster is offensive and political to me", and it would be hard to make a case that would stand up under this crap policy that sexuality hasn't been politicized and that is should stay up to support diverse students. Hasn't diversity itself been politicized? The administrator's comment that "LGBTQ flags are ok because they support groups that have been marginalized" is 100% correct, but I don't think they're really working through how "political" and "personal" are so broad anything could be attacked and claimed "offensive", "political", or "personal". What if there was an educational poster about climate change? Economics? History? How, in any universe, could you have those discussions without broaching potentially "political" items?
TLDR; policy thought up by 5-year-olds who apparently haven't been watching the attacks on school boards, policies, postings and education elsewhere to understand where it will lead. Support your teacher's unions, the administrators leading them are scared of conflict and open dialogue and we can't educate without them.
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- Portland union withdraws endorsement of mayoral candidate over unparalleled record of parking, driving ticketswww.oregonlive.com Portland union withdraws endorsement of mayoral candidate over unparalleled record of parking, driving tickets
"Our Local was shocked by the information that came out."
- Oregon secretary of state opens investigation into Portland City Council candidates who traded contributionswww.oregonlive.com Oregon secretary of state opens investigation into Portland City Council candidates who traded contributions
The announcement comes two months away from Election Day.
The candidates who agreed to trade contributions include District 1 candidates Cayle Tern and Thomas Shervey; District 2 candidates William Mespelt and Sam Sachs; District 3 Candidates Kelly Janes, Luke Zak and Harrison Kass; and District 4 candidates Chad Lykins, Michael Trimble, Michael DiNapoli, Eric Zimmerman and Bob Weinstein. Willamette Week reported that District 4 candidate Ben Hufford also agreed to trade contributions.
Liv Osthus is the only mayoral candidate that The Oregonian/OregonLive obtained records showing she’d agreed to trade donations.
- Another dead resident found in Portland transitional housing building: Investigationkatu.com Another resident found dead in Portland transitional housing unit, police investigating
Portland Police are investigating another death at Central City Concern’s Shoreline apartments, a Portland transitional housing site where at least two victims
- Carmen Rubio, a leading candidate for Portland mayor, racked up 150 parking, traffic violations, 6 driver’s license suspensionswww.oregonlive.com Carmen Rubio, a leading candidate for Portland mayor, racked up 150 parking, traffic violations, 6 driver’s license suspensions
Multnomah County courts also referred Rubio’s unpaid parking tickets to a collection agency at least 100 times, records reviewed by The Oregonian/OregonLive show.
- A missing newlywed nurse has been found dead – and her neighbor charged with her murderwww.cnn.com A missing newlywed nurse has been found dead – and her neighbor arrested | CNN
Three days after a just-married Oregon nurse was reported missing, she has been found dead and police have arrested one of her neighbors.
Three days after a just-married Oregon nurse was reported missing, she has been found dead and police have arrested one of her neighbors.
Melissa Jubane, 32, was reported missing on Wednesday after she didn’t arrive for her morning shift as a nurse at Providence St. Vincent Center in Portland, “raising concerns among her coworkers, friends, and family,” the Beaverton Police Department said in a Saturday morning Facebook post.
- Documentary explores Portland’s reputation as the ‘strip club capital of America’www.oregonlive.com Documentary explores Portland’s reputation as the ‘strip club capital of America’
Local filmmaker Megan Ashley Alan says that in filming "Cheers! Portland, The Strip Club Capital of America," she tried to eliminate any preconceived notions she had about strippers or strip clubs.
- 118 candidates running for city office in Portlandwww.oregonlive.com 118 candidates running for city office in Portland
The mayor’s race will include 19 candidates, while a whopping 98 candidates will compete for 12 seats on an expanded City Council.
- Cooling Centers in Portland and Gresham to Open Thursday as Heat Returns
Multnomah County has announced it’s going to open two cooling shelters, at Portland Covenant Church and Cook Plaza in Gresham.
They will be open from noon until 9 pm.
- Blood bank serving western Oregon pleads for donors - oregonlive.comwww.oregonlive.com Blood bank serving western Oregon pleads for donors
Bloodworks Northwest says it needs 1,000 donors a day to meet demand in western Oregon and Washington.
- U.S. Bank to leave Portland’s Big Pink skyscraperwww.oregonlive.com U.S. Bank to leave Portland’s Big Pink skyscraper
The bank communicated the decision to employees Wednesday.
- Day one of new Portland drug law leads to arrests and deflectionswww.katu.com Day one of new Portland drug law leads to arrests and deflections
Portland police arrested several people after a drug operation on Sunday.Portland Police Bureau’s Central Bike Squad says this mission in five arrest and two d
"Four people, who had outstanding charges or were out on probation, were arrested and taken to jail. Two qualified for deflection and accepted services. One was issued a citation in lieu of an arrest."
So it's already getting more people into treatment than 110 did... who would have thought? "Get treatment or go to jail" is more effective than "Get treatment or here's a $100 ticket you can safely ignore."
- Record-breaking heat is coming for Portland this weekwww.oregonlive.com Record-breaking heat is coming for Portland this week
While Tuesday’s temperature in Portland is expected to stay under 80 degrees, things are about to heat way up starting Wednesday.
“Thursday and Friday are going to be the hottest days of the week,” said Noah Alviz, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Portland, on Tuesday morning.
“Across the Willamette Valley, we could see temperatures up to 100 degrees or even 102 degrees,” he said.
- How will Portland City Council’s first-in-the-nation voting system work?www.oregonlive.com How will Portland City Council’s first-in-the-nation voting system work?
In November, when Portland voters elect three City Council members from each of four large districts, they will do so with a version of ranked-choice voting not used in any other U.S. city.
- A private equity firm saved beloved Portland restaurants from bankruptcy. Then it stopped paying its billswww.opb.org A private equity firm saved beloved Portland restaurants from bankruptcy. Then it stopped paying its bills
The company that owns Sizzle Pie, Rudy’s Barbershop, See See Motor Coffee Co. and Bamboo Sushi is facing evictions and lawsuits.
- Free breakfast, lunch for all students at Portland Public Schoolswww.kgw.com Portland Public Schools to provide free breakfast and lunch for all students
Every PPS student is enrolled automatically in the program, the district said. Families won't need to submit an application for free or reduced-price meals.
cross-posted from: https://lemm.ee/post/41181185
- Drug possession is a crime again in Oregon. Here’s what you need to knowwww.opb.org Drug possession is a crime again in Oregon. Here’s what you need to know
Oregon has ended its experiment with drug decriminalization. Starting Sept. 1, possession of small amounts of illicit substances are once again considered a misdemeanor crime.
- Portland building once famous for its purple octopus and code violations will become music venue and jazz clubwww.oregonlive.com Portland building once famous for its purple octopus and code violations will become music venue and jazz club
These will be the first ventures to open at 404 S.W. Washington St. since Greek Cusina closed there in 2010.
Hard to believe the Greek Cuisina has been closed for 14 years now... glad to see the space being revived.
Last I heard, the octopus ended up on a pizza joint on Barbur, but I don't know what happened to it now.
- Price gouging, worker and customer safety, and even less choice; Kroger Albertson's takeover bid and why it's awful for everyone except monopolists.
Kroger wants to buy Albertsons, a major competitor, who also owns Safeway, which Albertsons somehow was approved to buy 3-4 years ago. The attached is a good representation of what “choice” would look like if the merger were approved by the FTC for SE metro area of Portland; 6/10 larger grocers would be run by Kroger (WinCo, Costco, Grocery Outlet and New Seasons the only exception).
This is a big deal because:
- Kroger has already been price gouging like crazy since the pandemic as we all knew but has been recently confirmed by Kroger themselves (https://www.newsweek.com/kroger-executive-admits-company-gouged-prices-above-inflation-1945742)
- This would make bullet #1 above worse with that scale of market dominance
- Kroger was among the most appalling for worker and customer safety during the pandemic. They had sneeze guards up in their 172nd location in May of 2021, a full 1.5 years after the pandemic started, never enforced masking and refused to take any returns during the pandemic for any reason, but mainly to pad their bottom line.
- Kroger’s local workers are currently on strike for the crap wages and conditions they have endured. A larger corporate entity would only grow the awful employment and labor practices Kroger has.
- Pharmacy services are already under-served and with Rite-aid and Walgreens closing hundreds of locations nationwide, it would force more medically dependent customers to Kroger, who demonstrated its absolute indifference to worker and customer safety before, during and after the pandemic.
If you want to slow grocery price gouging, support better conditions for customers and employees, be able to choose other companies when one isn’t meeting your needs, I highly recommend sharing your thoughts with the FTC and boycotting Kroger/Safeway/Albertsons as much as you can.
- New Seasons workers plan 1-day strike at 10 Portland-area locationswww.oregonlive.com New Seasons workers plan 1-day strike at 10 Portland-area locations
The New Seasons Labor Union, which said it represents 1,100 employees at 11 locations, characterized the action as a “warnings strike."
"The New Seasons Labor Union, which said it represents 1,100 employees at 11 locations, characterized the action as a “warning strike,” accusing New Seasons of bargaining in bad faith in the months since employees first voted to form a union."
- Workers at Portland-area Fred Meyer stores to go on strike starting Wednesday morningwww.opb.org Workers at Portland-area Fred Meyer stores to go on strike starting Wednesday morning
The workers are represented by the United Food and Commercial -Workers union, local 555. The union says the strike will last through Labor Day until Tuesday morning, unless a deal is reached before then.
The union says the strike will last until the morning of Sept. 3 unless a deal is reached before then. Store executives say stores will remain open.
- Looks like Fred Meyers getting desperate
From https://www.reddit.com/r/antiwork/comments/1f1jeum/all_of_our_states_fred_meyers_are_unionized_this/
- Portland police disband property crimes unit, sparking alarm among grocers, retail crime investigatorswww.oregonlive.com Portland police disband property crimes unit, sparking alarm among grocers, retail crime investigators
Police Chief Bob Day said the bureau is evaluating how to best use its resources with current staffing levels.
Over the last month, Portland police leaders have moved to disband a unit that investigated reports of burglaries, identity theft, embezzlement and organized retail crime.
- Portland City Elections Megathread!
I was tempted to do one post for each of the new city council districts + the mayoral race, but that seemed like A LOT, so here's one post to rule them all!
District 1 City Council Candidates: https://www.portlandmercury.com/city-council-race-2024/2023/11/21/46766358/meet-the-portland-city-council-candidates-district-1
District 2 City Council Candidates: https://www.portlandmercury.com/city-council-race-2024/2023/11/21/46784692/meet-the-portland-city-council-candidates-district-2
District 3 City Council Candidates: https://www.portlandmercury.com/city-council-race-2024/2024/06/05/46784698/meet-the-portland-city-council-candidates-district-3
District 4 City Council Candidates: https://www.portlandmercury.com/city-council-race-2024/2024/06/06/46784736/meet-the-portland-city-council-candidates-district-4
Mayoral Candidates: https://www.portlandmercury.com/city-council-race-2024/2024/07/01/46784738/meet-your-portland-2024-mayoral-candidates
- Giraffe-themed house near Mount Tabor will soon be open for public tourswww.kgw.com Giraffe-themed house near Mount Tabor will soon be open for public tours
The giant giraffe sculptures turn heads as people pass the house near Mount Tabor. They'll soon get to see the thousands of giraffe-themed treasures on the inside.
- Portland man followed home, stabbed 15 times after winning lottery at barkatu.com Portland man followed home, stabbed 15 times after winning lottery at bar
Surveillance footage reportedly showed Figueroa following behind the man several paces until reaching his apartment door.
- Portland police arrest man seen on video repeatedly abusing dogwww.kgw.com Portland police arrest man seen on video repeatedly abusing dog
Thanks to community tips, police said, detectives were able to find and arrest the suspect caught on camera repeatedly abusing a dog in early August.
"During the interview, Justham refused to provide information about the dog's whereabouts and was booked into the Multnomah County Detention Center on three felony counts of first-degree aggravated animal abuse and multiple outstanding warrants."
