Sherwood, Ore . – One person was killed and another seriously injured in a multi-vehicle crash Wednesday morning on Highway 99, about two miles north of Sherwood, the Washington County Sheriff’s Office reported.
The crash involved a large truck and two passenger vehicles, according to Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue. All lanes of Highway 99 are closed between Southwest Cipole Road and Southwest Langer Farms Parkway. The Oregon Department of Transportation advised drivers to use alternate routes as the closure is expected to be lengthy.
Witnesses who have not yet spoken to investigators are asked to contact WCSO at 503-629-0111, referencing case number 50-24-13419.
Members of Portland bands Ten Million Lights and Kallai worked together to organize two-day music fest Dreamgaze PDX.
When I was in preschool, my mom took a writing class at the local community college. Then she took it again. And again. The whole time I was growing up, she was taking some iteration of the class. Her writing crew was an eclectic bunch, very different from the goody two-shoes that she hung out with during her regular social life. She was proud of the fact that they were banned from the local Dennys for being too rowdy. The instructor—an extremely prolific freelance writer with a butterfly tattooed on her face—was less about driving people to generate publishable material (although that certainly happened) and more about throwing out writing prompts like: “Kill someone, and dispose of the body” just to see what happened.
Witnessing this was a valuable education in art as a counterpoint to the grind of day-to-day life, both the paid kind (my mom’s jobs usually had “analyst” somewhere in the title and involved a lot of spreadsheets and office politics) and the unpaid kind (everything to do with family). Writers’ group was a bulwark against the scope creep of day-to-day existence.
Making a living off of art is demonstrably hard. Making art once you’ve figured out how to make a living doing something else is, if not always easy, a hell of a lot more sustainable. Community colleges like PCC and Mt. Hood are good places to start since they’re often the most affordable option, especially for studio classes like pottery, but Portland is full of arts organizations that may be more convenient to where you live and when you’re available.
If you’re making art to help build a career, you’ve got to think about what you’re good at, what’s going to impress people, and how to fit all the weird things you do into a coherent story and trajectory. Remove “career” from the equation and the question of what kind of art to make becomes simpler—less “am I transcendent and in service to the muse?” and more “what do I actually feel like doing at 6 pm on a Tuesday?”
So what do you actually feel like doing? Not sure? Here are a few suggestions.
WRITING
Pros: No fancy equipment required. Writing is an inherently revealing act, and you will learn truly wild things about how people see the world that you would probably never learn about otherwise.
Cons : The window into how other people perceive the world, that writing classes can provide, has a bad side as well as a good one. There’s a particular kind of person who shows up at writing groups or classes looking for a captive audience—like the edgelord who responds to every assignment with porny descriptions of murder. Sourcing an instructor is key, since a good one will serve as both aesthetic and emotional bouncer.
Goes well with: Any job that doesn’t already involve writing or spending time with people’s feelings. One exception: If you do write for a living, you may get something out of studying a form that is different from what you do.
A few places to take classes IPRC, 318 SE Main, iprc.org; Literary Arts, 925 SW Washington, literary-arts.org; Corporeal Writing, 510 SW 3rd, corporealwriting.com
POTTERY
Pros: Pottery is the touch grass of the creative arts. It’s so satisfying and tactile that—as the kinds of jobs that a person can make a living with have grown more disembodied—pottery studios have proliferated in the way of third-wave coffee shops, forming a kind of clay-industrial complex. Wedging clay to get out air bubbles is like the earthy equivalent of a rage room.
Cons: You will quickly overwhelm yourself and your friends with all of your little mugs and pots and dishes. Eventually, you will have to start smashing.
Goes well with: Any job that makes you forget that you have a body.
A few places to take classes:The Mud Room, 2011 SE 10th & 1831 N Killingsworth, themudroompdx.com; Radius Clay Studio, 2324 SE Belmont, radiusstudio.org; St. John’s Clay, 6635 North Baltimore, stjohnsclay.com
METALWORKING
Pros: There are very few things more satisfying than banging stuff on an anvil.
Cons: Not many places where you can actually take classes. Will anyone actually wear the jewelry you make them?
Goes well with: Any job that makes you long for physical activity, but leaves you with enough cognitive wherewithal to follow proper safety procedures.
Pros: You get to move your body in space. Lots of standing & yelling. Can inadvertently make you better at other aspects of your life by making you more comfortable speaking in front of (and with) other people.
Cons: Most forms of live performance turn out to be more fun to do than to watch. Your friends will live in fear that you will ask them to come and see your shows. You get so deep into theater and rehearsing that your performance friends replace your old friends. You get so good at saying “yes, and…” that your very boundaries of self dissolve into the theatrical whole.
Goes well with: Any job where nobody ever says “yes, and… .”
Pros: Ideal art form if you enjoy alternating between being really engaged with people and totally disassociating to becoming one with a camera.
Cons: Can lead to a lot of computer post-production work. The equipment can get really expensive. Many of the other photographers that you meet will be guys who want to compare lenses. Friends will ask you to take their wedding photos.
Goes well with: Any job that makes enough money to buy all of those fancy lenses.
A few places to take classes:Pro Photo Supply, 1112 NW 19th, prophotosupply.com
DRAWING / PAINTING
Pros: Can be extremely tactile and satisfying. Classes with live models make you feel like you’re in an old-timey movie about art.
Cons: The learning curve can be pretty steep, and it can take a long time to make anything that you actually feel comfortable showing to anyone. The aesthetic tropes of life drawing class mean you can wind up with a lot of media depicting rumpled sheets, fruit, spheres, and the pubic regions of strangers.
Pros: Perfect for people who look upon the process of art making and wish that it had more repetitive physical motion and opportunities to obsess over mesh count, ink extenders, and squeegee durometer.
Cons: Screeen printing is among the most conflict-prone of the arts in shared studio spaces. Whose turn is it to use the sink? Who didn’t clean all the ink off the last time they used it? Who touched the very expensive paper with their smudgey fingers? The practice attracts those with dreams of merch and craft fair glory. If you get good at it, your reward will be friends trying to get you to screen print tote bags for their wedding.
Goes well with: Any job that has enough chaos to make you long for order and obsessive repetition.
A few places to take classes:IPRC, 318 SE Main, iprc.org; Multnomah Arts Center, 7688 SW Capitol Hwy, multnomahartscenter.org
Illustration by Sam Buttrick
CHOIR
Pros: Like pottery, singing with other people can be satisfying on an almost cellular level. There’s a reason all the cultiest religions have a lot of singing.
Cons: With the exception of drop-in groups like Low Bar Chorale, committing to a musical group means showing up for practice, every single time, no matter how inconvenient. You skip at your peril, and you’d better not be off-key.
Goes well with: Any job where you need to be reminded that it’s actually possible to enjoy working with other people.
Thanks to a charter reform measure passed by voters in 2022, Portland is getting a new form of government, and it will come with a brand new districting system. In November 2024, Portlanders will vote for City Council members in one of four districts across the city, with three councilors per district.
Here’s who’s running in District 3, which is located primarily in inner Southeast Portland but includes some Northeast neighborhoods as well. (Find the list of candidates in District 1 here, District 2 here, and District 4 here.)
The city is using staggered terms for the new council, meaning half the districts will see their councilors elected to two-year terms, while the other half will serve four-year terms. District 3 councilors will serve two-year terms.
The following list contains candidates that have filed notice of intent to run, or have been qualified by the City Elections office to be on the ballot.
District 3 Candidates
Matthew Anderson
Matthew Anderson
Matthew Anderson, 56, is an Air Force veteran with a mechanical engineering and IT background, currently wrapping up a master of teaching program at Warner Pacific University. Anderson lives with his family, including two children, in Portland’s Madison South neighborhood. He previously taught algebra at McDaniel High School and before that, he ran a small candy business for three years, selling his Andy Adams unique concoctions at the Portland Saturday Market.
Anderson says he became a parent late in life, and it informed his perspective and outlook on the future and city leadership.
“I believe all parents feel connected to the future. Coming to parenthood late in life, I believe I truly recognize how close the future really is,” Anderson says. “Portland has tremendous issues, problems, and opportunities which must be addressed. In order to make progress, we must recognize that the road to ‘hell’ is paved with good intentions, misunderstanding, and mistakes. And in that recognition, find mutual respect and enough common ground to move forward.”
Anderson says his diverse background, which has seen him travel and live all over the world, allows him to “see the good intention in all people” and overcome misunderstandings and differences.
He cites the redevelopment of 82nd Avenue as a top concern.
“Portland as a whole, and the 3rd District in particular, needs to be more than a sum of [its] parts,” Anderson says. “I intend to do the hard work and put in the hours – and shoe leather – it’s going to take to weave all the existing people, experiences, and interests of the 3rd District into a coherent polity, able to make decisions and affect change. The same is true for the new city as a whole.”
Anderson says he’d strive to build coalitions, both within the district and across districts, “even if politics aren’t aligned.”
Sandeep Bali
Sandeep Bali
Sandeep Bali is a pharmacist who lives in Portland’s Laurelhurst neighborhood. He ran for City Council in 2022 against current Commissioner Dan Ryan.
Bali founded nonprofit Next Level, which provides scholarships to Pacific University students seeking a career in health care. Bali faults current Portland leadership for “ubiquitous homelessness, record-breaking violence and crime,” as well as “shuttered businesses and piles of trash” that he says have come to embody Portland. The District 3 candidate says the current Council hasn’t been tough enough on homelessness and drug use, despite recent policies that seek to criminalize both.
Melodie Beirwagen is a local musician, mom, and political newcomer. A longtime resident of Portland’s Mt. Scott-Arleta neighborhood, she raised three kids and now works as a guitar equipment wizard (repair technician) at a Southeast Portland gear repair shop.
Beirwagen says the city needs to be a better champion for small businesses and their employees.
“My motivation to run began as it became clear there was nobody running who was representing me and my community,” Beirwagen says. “I love this city and want to see us prioritize the needs of hard-working Portlanders and small businesses. As it is now, the City of Portland doesn’t seem willing, or able, to help.”
She holds a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Portland State University and has been active in Portland’s music scene for more than 30 years, playing in several punk-influenced rock bands.
“I bring a can-do, private sector perspective that seems under-represented among candidates for City Council,” Beirwagen says. “I have no political experience and I’ve never worked in the non-profit or government sectors. I have always worked for small businesses in Portland and I view this as a strength.”
Rex Burkholder
Rex Burkholder
Burkholder is a longtime Portlander who lives in the Sunnyside neighborhood and is a strategist with The Oxalis Group.
Burkholder previously served on the Metro Council for more than a decade. He’s got deep roots in nonprofits and coalitions, having started Portland based nonprofits like the Bicycle Transportation Alliance and the Coalition for a Livable Future. He currently serves on the Oregon Sustainability Board, as well as the boards of Unite Oregon, which organizes and trains leaders in immigrant and refugee communities, and the Mt. St. Helens Institute, which offers environmental education and science-based adventures.
“Being engaged in my community for 40 years, I was lucky to work with many fine and visionary leaders,” Burkholder says. “They helped me find my own way to contribute. I am most proud of helping found and lead the Bicycle Transportation Alliance, successfully launching the bicycle revolution in Portland (which sorely needs resurrecting), bringing climate change and equity into regional decision making at Metro, winning funding to restore Outdoor School for All in Oregon (and Washington), and helping great organizations get better and getting good people elected to office.”
Burkholder says he’s keen on collaboration, which will be essential for Portland’s new district-based City Council, and says the city’s next council “has the potential to provide the leadership and accountability we need to overcome our current challenges.”
Brian Conley
Brian Conley is a journalist who lives in Portland’s Montavilla neighborhood.
Brian Conley
He holds a master’s degree in nonprofit management and spent years covering international conflicts and their impacts on those regions, including Iraq and Afghanistan.
His news reporting project, Alive in Baghdad, was hailed as a candid, albeit painful look inside the war-torn region at a time when many journalists deemed the conflict too dangerous to cover.
Conley says his work in “difficult places, with diverse communities, and low resources” while still implementing programs and overseeing projects would serve the city well.
Like every candidate in the upcoming Portland City Council race, Conley sees room for improvement, but he’s especially interested in initiatives that serve the whole city.
“Portland needs to do better at investing in local businesses and neighborhoods, particularly those that have historically been marginalized, including East and North Portland,” Conley tells the Mercury. “We need more than the Central City Plan, even the inclusion of the Central Eastside isn’t sufficient to support residents in District 3, and we need to continue to invest in programs that deal with the root causes of violence.”
He also cites dangerous, “half-finished” infrastructure and safety projects, as well as the council’s recent move to ignore some of the recommendations from the Police Accountability Commission as failings of the current city government.
The Southeast Portlander also wants to see all city bureaus and budgets align with the city’s climate action plan, Vision Zero, and racial justice and equity policies.
“I believe that my skills as a journalist and experience working in conflict areas and developing countries make me uniquely skilled to work with the city council, constituents, and all city bureaus to ensure we increase efficiencies and continue to bring the voices of citizens to the council.”
Jesse Cornett
Jesse Cornett
Cornett has run for office before and worked on the last two presidential campaigns for Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders. State records show Cornett previously worked for ADP, a payroll software company. He’s also worked as the interim policy and advocacy director for Oregon Recovers-an organization he’s worked with in several capacities.
Cornett has also served as an adjunct instructor at Portland State University, teaching political science courses, and is on the board of addiction recovery nonprofit Oregon Recovers.
Cornett points to what he calls a disjointed relationship between the city and county and says building stronger social safety nets for those in need is key to fixing Portland’s addiction and homelessness crises.
Daniel DeMelo (formerly Daniel Vogel) 26, lives in Kerns and chairs the Joint Office of Homeless Services community budget advisory committee, as well as the county’s main budget advisory committee. DeMelo refers to himself as a “queer, car-free” Portlander who was raised in the city and became politically and civically engaged at a young age.
“I’m of the lockdown generation, the mass shooting generation, the generation that can’t afford a home in which we might choke on the smoke of a burning planet,” DeMelo says. “I aim to be the youngest ever elected to the Portland City Council, not for the achievement, but because, for far too long, the voices of young Portlanders have been sidelined while our political establishment has made our city unclean, unsafe and unengaged.”
DeMelo says he’s inspired by the fervor of Gen Z on issues like the climate crisis and racial justice. While this is his first run for office, DeMelo says his work on county budget committees led to calls for the county to prioritize public input on the its overall budget and greater oversight of county spending in the Joint Office of Homeless Services. DeMelo has publicly called for more effective management of taxpayer money at JOHS, which he says the county failed to provide a roadmap for.
“While Portland prides itself on being ‘The City That Works,” my neighbors in District 3 too often see it as ‘The City That’s Working On It. Enough is enough,” DeMelo says. “I’m ready to take decisive action to end homelessness, resolve our housing affordability crisis, and commit to ensuring our streets and other public places are clean and safe. I’m committed to ensuring we make real progress on our progressive commitments.”
Chris Flanary
Chris Flanary
Chris Flanary lives in the Montavilla neighborhood and is a longtime staffer at the Portland Housing Bureau. Flanary is also the elected organizer for AFSCME Local 189, the union representing Portland’s municipal employees.
Flanary cites a “people first” policy approach that emphasizes livability and affordability, with a mission to ensure living wages, and to encourage small business entrepreneurship.
Daniel Gilk lives with his wife, newborn daughter and two cats in the Hosford-Abernethy neighborhood of Southeast Portland. Gilk, 36, is a software engineer who says he’s re-focusing his priorities.
“Most recently, I was working on “Trust and Safety” products at a company formerly known as Twitter until our team was canned by Elon,” Gilk says. “Since then I have taken some time away from the tech world to be a dedicated husband and father (and cat-father), and it has really given me perspective on the more important things in life.”
This marks Gilk’s first run for public office. When asked what motivated him to run for council, Gilk cited the birth of his daughter and more broadly, the desire to build a better world for her and future generations.
“Portland has an amazing track record of thinking big and solving difficult problems, yet I see certain areas where the city has failed us,” Gilk says. “We need to urgently address housing availability, urban encampments, police response times, and the opioid epidemic on our streets, and I simply don’t see these problems getting better under current leadership.”
Gilk believes Portland can be “a true thought-leader” as the city tackles climate change, economic disruption driven by the pandemic and work from home models, as well as AI and what Gilk calls “a general deterioration of the social fabric.”
He’s not a fan of the Portland Arts Tax, and has other ideas on property taxes and zoning.
Kelly Janes
More information to come.
Philippe Knab
Philippe Knabb
Philippe Knab has a robust background in law and community organizing. Knab, 44, lists a resume that includes stints as a trial lawyer, civil rights prosecutor, and program manager, as well as a community organizer. He previously worked as the supervising attorney for New York City’s Human Rights Commission. He says his work is “all fueled by a deep commitment to equity, justice, and the idea that government should be a force for good.”
“I began my legal career as an attorney representing tenants facing eviction and substandard housing conditions, and later in public defense,” Knab says. “These roles provided me with a deep understanding of the systemic challenges disproportionately affecting vulnerable populations.”
Knab was born in Mexico, before his family moved to New York when he was a young child. He currently works as the reentry and eviction defense program manager for Washington’s Office of Civil Legal Aid. He lives in the Laurelhurst neighborhood with his wife and two children.
Tiffany Koyama Lane
Koyama Lane
Tiffany Koyama Lane, or “Teacher Tiffany” as she’s known to her students, is a Portland Public Schools teacher and union organizer who currently lives in the Sunnyside neighborhood. Koyama Lane, 37, has two children and says public schools are a “mirror for our society,” noting existing disparities are painfully clear.
“Working in public schools quickly reveals who has access to food, clothing, housing, transportation, medical care, mental health support and more,” Koyama Lane says. “The role of an educator expands beyond academics and far beyond the classroom walls. In a classroom, you can’t pick favorites. Everyone who walks through the door deserves to be there, and you have to find solutions that work for everyone and center the dignity of all. In education, there are no disposable people.”
That approach is one that’s needed in city government, Koyama Lane says.
The school teacher has spent her entire professional career in education, earning her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in education at the University of Oregon.
Outside of her time in the classroom, she’s organized for the local teachers union, having served on the Portland Association of Teachers bargaining committee, and also canvassed and collected signatures for Measure 26-214, Multnomah County’s Preschool for All measure passed by voters in 2020. She’s also a founder and administrator of Raising Anti-racist Kids PDX, a local community group.
Koyama Lane says she’s running for Portland City Council to ensure a just future for all Portlanders.
“My ‘why’ is connected to the importance of dignity for all. I am Yonsei, a fourth-generation Japanese American, and my family members were forced into the WWII Japanese incarceration camps,” Koyama Lane told the Mercury. “My grandparents and great grandparents had their lives upended as their privacy, dignity and rights were taken from them during this time in history. This history lives within me and grounds me in one of my most foundational values: dignity. Through public policy, we show our community who is deserving of dignity. We need city councilors who are willing to fight for dignity as a basic human right for every single Portlander.”
Kent Landgraver– information to come
Angelita Morillo
Angelita Morillo
Angelita Morillo, 27, lives in the Buckman neighborhood and works as a policy advocate for Partners For a Hunger-Free Oregon. Morillo also serves on the city’s Rental Services Commission. She previously worked for former Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty.
Morillo moved to the United States from Paraguay as a young child and grew up in Portland, attending Lincoln High School before studying political science at Portland State University. She was homeless for a brief stint and says her lived experience motivated her to run for office.
“The day that Portland City Council approved extremely expensive and inefficient mass encampments when houseless advocates told them how dangerous those encampments would be, I knew we needed new leadership,” Morillo says. “As someone who has been homeless myself, I just thought that this cruel, costly, and inefficient system cannot possibly be the only way.”
Morillo also denounced the council’s “sabotage of successful programs” like Portland Street Response (PSR), and Commissioner Rene Gonzalez’s policy decisions to halt the distribution of tarps and tents in February, right before a snow storm.
“He later tweeted that it was an acceptable loss that Portlanders living on the streets could lose fingers because of frostbite,” Morillo said. “During a moment of crisis, this is how our City Council responded to the needs of Portlanders.”
Morillo says the city needs leaders with policy knowledge and “people who know how to convene community and listen to them, not people who hold backroom meetings with wealthy donors and decide for everyone else what needs to be done.”
Steve Novick
Steve Novick with “Barley”
Novick, 60, lives in the Sellwood neighborhood. He served on Portland City Council from 2013 to 2017. He lost his reelection bid to Chloe Eudaly in November 2016.
Novick, an environmental attorney who worked for the US Department of Justice and the Oregon Attorney General’s Office, wants to return Portland to its glory days.
The former politician has a familiar refrain: he’s among the dozens of council candidates eager to restore the city to a version that feels lost to many residents.
“It’s been a rough few years in Portland, but we can’t give up on our city,” Novick said in a campaign announcement. “I’ll work like a dog to help bring Portland back.”
“We won’t truly solve the homelessness crisis until we solve the affordable housing crisis. As long as we have tens of thousands fewer affordable units than we need, there will be some people who can’t find homes at all,” Novick says. “But that doesn’t mean we need to allow unlimited, unregulated camping until we have built all those affordable units, which will take years. We need to get people off the streets and into places that are safe, even if they aren’t permanent homes. Places like the sleeping pods in the Safe Rest Villages.”
Ahlam Osman is the youngest person in the District 3 race so far. Osman, 22, is a young Somali American who says she envisions “a more equitable and sustainable future for Portland.”
“Our neighborhoods and their diverse communities deserve livable built environments that are healthy, safe, and thriving,” Osman says. “As a daughter of Somali refugees and native Portlander, I’ve witnessed the profound effects of underrepresentation in our current leadership and local decision-making.”
Osman is a senior at Portland State University majoring in community development- a first of its kind degree program that uses social sciences to address societal challenges. She also works as an environmental and housing coordinator with the nonprofit Somali Empowerment Circle. On top of that, she also recently helped launch a small business she co-owns, Above GRND (ground) Coffee.
Prior to launching her bid for office, Osman served on the Multnomah Youth Commission. She also interned with Metro’s Waste Prevention and Environmental Services department.
The candidate says she’s motivated by a passion for environmental justice.
“I have been working on building an environmental justice and advocacy program with a specific focus on collecting data and conducting research with the Black and African populations in East and SE Portland and their relationship with the environment,” she says, noting she’s working in partnership with Portland Harbor Community Coalition (PHCC) to engage youth of color and families impacted by the Portland Harbor EPA SuperFund Site.
Prior to launching her bid for office, Osman served on the Multnomah Youth Commission. She also interned with Metro’s Waste Prevention and Environmental Services department.
Terry Parker
Terry Parker is a lifelong Oregonian. Parker, 74, spent most of his life working in customer relations and marketing roles.
“Most of my career was in the yellow page industry as a national account representative working with customer marketing representatives hired by national corporations to place advertising in up to 300 yellow page directories,” Parker tells the Mercury. “I have also held positions in automotive related fields, as a customer relations manager and as a supply center manager for a three-state savings and loan.”
In the ’80s, Parker served as vice president of the Pacific Northwest chapter of the National Railway Historical Society and later served on the board of directors.
These days, he serves on the board of his neighborhood association and on the association’s land use and transportation committee.
Parker says his primary goal is “to bring our city back to life by implementing tough love coupled with compassionate camping ban enforcement so Portland’s street scene and notoriety is not that of tents and trash.”
He wants to see the city hire more police and crack down on crime, while providing “a hand up towards self-sufficiency for our homeless population instead of everlasting handouts that have become the norm, and wrap-around services possibly coupled with internships of employment that can demonstrate results to prepare people for independence before finding permanent housing.”
Asked about District 3 issues, Parker’s main gripe is with the Portland Bureau of Transportation, which he says doesn’t consider the voices or needs of drivers enough in its decisions.
He’s previously spoken out against the city adding bike lines to roads, and says the streets are already too narrow for large trucks towing wide trailers to navigate. Parker opposed a greenway in his neighborhood last year and has suggested bicyclists should pay into road improvement funds the same way motorists do.
Theo Hathaway Saner
Theo Hathaway Saner is a property manager who works for Portland Community Reinvestment Initiatives (PCRI). Hathaway Saner, 46, works with low-income tax credit properties, developed for low-income residents. He’s also on the board of directors for WeShine, a Portland-based nonprofit that builds and manages micro villages as transitional housing to get people off the streets and eventually, into stable housing.
Hathaway Saner lists affordable housing, homelessness, mental health and addiction as top priorities.
Theo Hathaway Saner
He says he was motivated to run for a council seat largely due to “the urgent need to address the growing number of houseless people camping around our city and the lack of effective solutions from our current government.”
“In my work in property management, I’ve seen firsthand how easily someone can end up living outside due to a series of uncontrollable events,” Hathaway Saner says. “It’s shocking to me that so many in our community can ignore such a significant crisis.”
The candidate also sees the potential for more action and solutions, with stronger support from city hall.
Hathaway Saner, who studied community development and urban development at Portland State University, says if elected, he’ll prioritize those who face the most hurdles.
“As a gay, progressive newcomer to politics, I am deeply committed to ensuring we care for the most vulnerable members of our community,” he says. “Allowing individuals in need to fall through the cracks is a disservice to our society and an unacceptable failure. Together, we can build a Portland that uplifts everyone, leaving no one behind.”
Jaclyn Smith-Moore
Jaclyn Smith-Moore has a background in tech and a mission to diversify Portland City Council while making progress on solutions.
Jaclyn Smith-Moore
Smith-Moore, 41, currently works as a senior developer who makes websites and web navigation accessible to people with visual, auditory, cognitive and motor impairments.
“Working in accessibility has taught me to continually assess how design and policy impact individuals with experiences different from my own,” Smith-Moore tells the Mercury. “Moreover, my experiences as a transgender person, a child of a Midwest blue-collar family, and an avid tech nerd provide me with a unique and valuable perspective that would benefit the City Council. I believe that having diverse perspectives in government is crucial.”
They cite affordable housing, homelessness, hard drugs, safety and “ineffective government” as the biggest issues the Rose City needs to tackle.
“Our city has struggled to implement effective policies in recent history, often letting ‘perfect be the enemy of good.’ This has hindered our progress on many issues,” Smith-Moore says. “I believe we need to prioritize effective policies, even if they are imperfect. We can refine them as we go, but we need to get the ball rolling now.”
If elected, they say it would bring much needed representation for Portland’s transgender residents, who rarely see themselves reflected in government.
“Portland has never had a transgender individual elected to office, which is surprising for a city committed to diversity. Trans representation is essential in the current hostile political climate. We need someone at the table to effectively advocate for our community’s needs.”
Jonathan Walker
Despite a name that conjures up high end scotch whisky, Jonathan Walker, 40, describes himself as “the most boring man in Portland.”
Jonathan Walker
Walker considers that a good thing.
“I believe we need to make Portland’s new city government boring. In other words, it should be so boring you never really need to think about it,” Walker says.
He boasts a masters degree in public policy from Portland State University and a robust background in the public sector.
“For the past two years I have worked as the policy analyst at the Oregon Health Authority’s Office of Actuarial and Financial Analytics where I perform financial oversight for some of the largest organizations in the state,” Walker says. “What I love about Portland voters is they never lack for good intentions or generosity. However, our local government has had problems turning those good ideas into reality. What I feel the city needs is someone with a deep understanding of policy design to focus on implementation. I don’t intend to offer big flashy ideas, but to work to fix the city. I picture my role on the council as a sort of systematic performance auditor, making sure our budget and programs align with our goals.”
Kezia Wanner
Kezia Wanner is no stranger to city government. Wanner previously served as deputy director at Portland Fire & Rescue for nearly three years before leaving in May. Before that she worked at the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office, also in a deputy director position. Wanner also briefly served as an assistant city manager for the city of Newberg. She currently works for the Oregon Department of Emergency Management.
Kezia Wanner
Wanner, 55, lives in the Woodstock neighborhood. She’s called Portland home for roughly 25 years. She cites funding for police and firefighters as a top priority–which isn’t surprising given her professional background–along with homelessness, financial stewardship, and focusing on “core city services” that residents expect.
She also touts her work to develop Portland’s derelict RV program, which was largely responsible for towing abandoned, broken down, and/or dilapidated RVs, which have become a primary mode of shelter for many unhoused residents.
“I have worked in service of the City of Portland and Multnomah County for two decades, in public safety, transportation, budget and policy,” Wanner says of her background skills and experience. My operations and leadership experience with both of these intertwined organizations provides me with perspective, knowledge and relationships to be effective as a Portland City Councilor on day 1 in office. I understand how things get done at the City and County, what is not working, and how to find solutions.”
Wanner is a fairly late entry into the District 3 race, but says she’s tapping her “broad network of relationships” (largely within the region’s public safety sphere) and canvassing her district to engage with voters over the next month.
Wanner has picked up endorsements from City Commissioner and candidate for mayor, Rene Gonzalez, Multnomah County Sheriff Nicole Morrisey O’Donnell, incoming District Attorney Nathan Vasquez, and Portland’s police and fire unions.
Luke Zak
Luke Zak
Luke Zak, 31, is a Minnesota transplant who’s relatively new to Portland. Zak cites housing and homelessness, public safety, addiction, and transportation as top political priorities. Zak’s campaign is driven by the desire for “a future Portland that is livable and equitable for all.”
This is his first run for office, though he cites prior stints caucusing with Minnesota’s Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party and campaigning for democratic and progressive candidates like Raphael Warnock and John Ossoff as part of a larger Showing Up For Racial Justice campaign in 2021.
Zak says he’s “energized by Portland’s city charter reform and our once-in-a-generation opportunity to elect a representational and responsive government.”
He holds a Master’s of Business Administration (MBA) degree from the University of Oregon, with a focus on advanced strategy and leadership. He also cites more than a decade of experience working with nonprofits, most recently, as a sports destination sales executive for the Washington County Visitors Association.
“This election will be immensely consequential to the lives of Portlanders for years to come and it is imperative that we get it right,” Zak tells the Mercury. “I will prioritize fostering a functional and cooperative government that is fit to take on our city’s most pressing issues, from climate resilience and economic development to the interwoven housing, addiction, and public safety crises.”
Based on a company letter sent to customers, the 1927 S’mores Company and its Portland S’mores Bar will be closed until further notice.
PORTLAND, Ore. — A quirky business in downtown Portland, known for creating fancier versions of classic campfire s’mores is closed for business.
Based on a company letter sent to customers, the 1927 S’mores Company and its Portland S’mores Bar will be closed until further notice.
Several brides who booked the business for their upcoming weddings were shocked to receive an email on Sept. 13 from the former chief operating officer at the business, Rod Patterson, informing them their orders were canceled.
“My fiancé is really into sweets,” explained Shanndi Bywater, a bride who had a pre-wedding taste test at the S’mores Bar two weeks ago. “He loves ice cream, and this was something we can compromise and agree on. We love s’mores. We thought it would be perfect for our wedding.”
Bywater and her fiancé Vijay Parthasarathy thought everything was arranged for their Sept. 2025 wedding. Bywater likes to be organized early, but she says she feels awful for several other brides who posted on Facebook, saying they are scrambling to find another option before their weddings in the coming weeks.
“It leaves me with a rock in my stomach for future planning,” said Bywater. “Should I go with something smaller, or something bigger? Go corporate, I guess?”
Bywater and Parthasarathy are out $300 at this point, which was their deposit.
Another bride, Ashley Fisher from Bend is out $450 but says others are out even more.
“My thing, I’m just angry,” said Fisher. “I feel we’ve been duped, and now we’re stepping backward, and they’re saying we now have to look for a vender again. It’s put me on edge about working with other vendors. Is this going to happen again?”
The company owner, James Kelly, did not return calls to KGW but sent an email with his company logo, but no signature.
The email includes this bold statement: “…we are further saddened to share that at this moment in time we don’t have the ability to perform events or reimburse deposits.”
The company’s former COO in Portland, Rod Patterson, who lost his job, told KGW there were signs as long as a couple months ago that the company was having some troubles.
“Once we started to see red flags, and I asked if we should stop booking, and they said yes,” said Patterson. “So, that’s when I reached out to new bookings and those inquiries, and say we are not taking new bookings currently.”
“This team and I, myself, care so much,” said Patterson. “It’s the worst possible outcome.”
In the company’s email to customers, shared with KGW by Bywater, the author says the company will have to raise enough money to relaunch the business. The email, which was not signed by the owner, included assurances customers would be kept informed of the progress.
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — The professional sports landscape in Portland is expected to expand when the WNBA announces a new team is coming to the Rose City.
KOIN 6 Sports received an email that the Bhathal family will hold a celebration of the future of women’s pro sports in Portland at 2:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Moda Center.
KOIN 6 News will be at that event and have more information as it develops.
In late August, Sean Highkin of The Rose Garden Report said the official announcement will reveal the Bhathal family, the owners of the Portland Thorns, as the WNBA team’s owners. The Bhathal family also has a pre-existing relationship with the NBA as Raj Bhathal is the principal co-owner of the Sacramento Kings and serves as majority owner Vivek Ranadive’s alternate on the Board of Governors.
The Portland team would begin playing in the WNBA in the 2026 season. It’s not known if it will assume the previous team nickname of Fire.
The WNBA recently announced two new expansion teams, the Golden State Valkyries and a currently-unnamed team in Toronto.
An ambulance carries wounded people whose handheld pager exploded, in Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
BEIRUT (AP) — Hundreds of handheld pagers exploded near simultaneously in parts of Lebanon and Syria, killing at least nine people — including members of the militant group Hezbollah and a young girl.
Officials in Lebanon say more than 2,700 were wounded on Tuesday, 200 critically.
Hezbollah officials tell The Associated Press that the explosions affected a new brand of pagers used by the militant group.
The explosions occurred in the suburbs of Beirut and in other areas that are Hezbollah strongholds.
Hezbollah blamed the explosions on Israel.
AP has reached out to the Israeli military, which declined to comment.
NEW YORK (AP) — Sean “Diddy” Combs pleaded not guilty Tuesday to federal sex trafficking and racketeering charges. An indictment says the music mogul “engaged in a persistent and pervasive pattern of abuse toward women and other individuals.”
Combs was arrested late Monday in Manhattan, roughly six months after federal authorities conducting a sex trafficking investigation raided his luxurious homes in Los Angeles and Miami.
Over the past year, Combs has been sued by people who say he subjected them to physical or sexual abuse. He has denied many of those allegations, and his lawyer, Marc Agnifilo, said outside the courthouse Tuesday morning that Combs, 54, would plead not guilty and that he would “fight like hell” to get his client released from custody.
Here is the Latest:
Combs enters a not guilty plea Sean “Diddy” Combs has pleaded not guilty to federal sex trafficking and racketeering charges.
Combs stood up to enter his plea in a New York courtroom Tuesday.
An indictment unsealed Tuesday alleges Combs presided over a sordid empire of sexual crimes, coercing and abusing women for years while using blackmail and shocking acts of violence to keep his victims in line.
Comb’s attorneys request Diddy’s release on $50M bond A motion for bail from Combs’ attorneys proposes he be released on a $50 million bond secured by his home in Miami.
The motion filed Tuesday also proposes his detention at home with GPS monitoring, with his travel restricted to federal districts in south Florida and southern New York.
The motion says Combs will turn over his passport and that he is attempting to sell his private jet. It says he has remained in the country even though there were no restrictions on his travel, and that his attorneys have kept authorities updated on his location.
It adds that “conditions at Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn are not fit for pre-trial detention.”
Prosecutors describe Combs’ alleged violence, including kidnapping and arson Prosecutors say Combs repeatedly engaged in violence towards his employees and others.
In a court filing Tuesday, prosecutors say Combs and an unidentified co-conspirator kidnapped someone at gunpoint a few days before Christmas in 2011 in order to facilitate a break-in at another person’s home. They say multiple witnesses, police reports and other records corroborate the incident.
The detention memo also says that two weeks later, Combs’ allies set fire to a vehicle by slicing open its convertible top and dropping a Molotov cocktail inside.
Prosecutors say police and fire department reports document the arson and that multiple witnesses heard Combs brag about his involvement.
Prosecutors say Combs is a flight risk Prosecutors say Combs should be denied bail because he is a serious flight risk.
In a detention memo filed in court, prosecutors say Combs has “seemingly limitless resources” to flee, pointing out that his net worth is close to $1 billion, including over $1 million in personal cash on hand as of last December.
They said he has had a personal plane for international travel since 2019, along with multiple vehicles in multiple locations.
The letter says Combs “has the money, manpower, and tools” to flee without detection.
Prosecutors urge court to deny Combs bail Prosecutors say the violence Combs exacted on his victims was so extreme that he should be denied bail.
In a detention letter written for the federal judge overseeing the music mogul’s case, prosecutors described how Combs would assault women, employees and others “by throwing objects at them, choking them, pushing them, kicking them, and slamming them against walls and on to the ground.”
The letter says the violence was sometimes spontaneous and sometimes premeditated, including “resorting to kidnapping and arson when the defendant’s power and control were threatened.”
Prosecutors say Combs’ “disposition to violence cannot be reasonably prevented through bail conditions.”
The letter also says Combs should be denied bail because he has already reached out to potential witnesses in the case and that further attempts at witness tampering are likely.
Prosecutor says Combs was enabled by staff in his alleged crimes U.S. Attorney Damian Williams says Combs did not act alone.
During a news conference Tuesday, Williams said Combs’ security and household staff, as well as operators high up in the music industry were complicit. Williams says they cleaned up damaged hotel rooms and “delivered large quantities of cash to Combs to pay for the commercial sex workers.”
Williams says the investigation is ongoing, and is urging “anyone with information about this case to come forward and to do it quickly.”
US Attorney says he wants Diddy detained ahead of trial U.S. Attorney Damian Williams, whose office is bringing the case against Sean “Diddy” Combs, says the music mogul led a criminal organization that carried out kidnapping, forced labor and sex trafficking, among other crimes.
Speaking at a news conference Tuesday, Williams said authorities will seek to have Combs detained while he awaits trial.
He spoke before a display board showing images of some of the items recovered in searches of Combs’ homes in Los Angeles and Miami in March, including AR-15s and a drum magazine containing dozens of rounds of ammunition. He says agents also seized electronic devices that contain images and videos of sexual encounters.
Williams says: “Combs led and participated in a racketeering conspiracy that used the business empire he controlled to carry out criminal activity, including sex trafficking, forced labor, kidnapping, arson, bribery, and the obstruction of justice.”
Combs’ lawyer, Marc Agnifilo, has said he will fight to keep his client free. He says Combs is innocent and will plead not guilty.
Cassie Ventura declines to comment on Combs’ indictment Comb’s former longtime girlfriend, whom he was seen attacking in a March 2016 security video, has declined to comment on the federal case against him.
Douglas Wigdor, an attorney for the singer Cassie Ventura, said in a statement released before Combs was due to appear in court Tuesday that neither he nor his client have anything to say on the matter.
Wigdor says: “We appreciate your understanding and if that changes, we will certainly let you know.”
Ventura reached a settlement with Combs last November, one day after filing a lawsuit containing allegations of beatings and abuse by the music producer.
Combs’ lawyer says Diddy is innocent Outside the Manhattan courthouse early Tuesday, Combs’ lawyer, noted that his client came to New York City voluntarily because they knew the charges were coming.
Marc Agnifilo said: “Not a lot of defendants do that. He came to New York to, to basically engage the court system and start the case.”
Though the indictment was not unsealed at the time of his comments, Agnifilo said they know what the charges will be and that Combs is “innocent of these charges.” He vowed to “fight like hell” to get Combs released from federal custody.
Prosecutors say injuries of Combs’ victims sometimes took weeks to heal The indictment alleges Combs hit, kicked and threw objects at victims, and sometimes dragged them by their hair, causing injuries that often took days or weeks to heal. It says Combs also threw people around, choked and shoved them.
Prosecutors say his employees and associates witnessed his violence and, rather than intervening, helped him cover it up, including by preventing victims from leaving, and locating and contacting victims who attempted to flee.
Authorities say Combs was the head of a criminal enterprise The indictment describes Combs as the head of a criminal enterprise that engaged or attempted to engage in activities including sex trafficking, forced labor, interstate transportation for purposes of prostitution, drug offenses, kidnapping, arson, bribery and obstruction of justice.
He’s accused of striking, punching and dragging women on numerous occasions, throwing objects and kicking them, and enlisting his personal assistants, security and household staff to help him hide it all.
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Good morning, Portland! Sunday marks the first day of fall. 🍂 Summer is officially fading away. Mourn its passing and get the last of your al fresco lunch and dinner dates out of the way. But first, check out tonight’s lunar eclipse which is the whole shebang- a harvest moon/supermoon and lunar eclipse occurring together. The moon will start to be visible around 7:30 pm, but viewers should check the sky around 10:15 pm and later for the full splendor.
We could be in for some rain this afternoon, so hopefully the clouds don’t screw up this moon viewing.
Let’s check in on the news while we wait for the leaves to drop and the moon to pop.
In Local News:
Yesterday, the Portland Auditor’s Office released its determination after an investigation into complaints of a campaign finance violation by City Commissioner Rene Gonzalez. Gonzalez, who is currently running for mayor, used city funds (AKA taxpayer money) to have his Wikipedia page cleaned up during the height of campaign season. Among the requested edits: he wanted a 2022 Mercury Good Morning News post (yes, the thing you’re reading now) scrubbed from the page, which is kinda funny when you consider how much renewed attention that story got because of this fiasco. Auditors found “insufficient evidence” of a campaign finance violation but said they’re still waiting on several documents related to the investigation and called the matter a “close call.”
What remains to be seen is whether the Oregon Secretary of State determines Gonzalez and his staff violated state laws that prohibit public employees from engaging in political activity during working hours.
Portland’s Auditor’s Office cites “insufficient evidence” of a campaign violation by Portland City Commissioner and mayoral candidate Rene Gonzalez for using taxpayer funds to edit his Wikipedia page. Other potential state violations will be investigated. https://t.co/aa9sjzTs1m
Portland is teeming with nightlife, entertainment, award-winning dining and creative offerings. Need help deciding where to enjoy a cocktail or where to catch a live show? We gotchu. The Everout calendar never disappoints.
An Oregon tribe is suing the federal government over a planned wind energy auction. Yes. you read that right. The Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw Indians, filed suit, alleging the US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) “failed to take a hard look at the impacts to the environment from private offshore wind energy development,” the AP reports. The complaint comes after the US BOEM recently approved plans for floating wind farms off the Oregon coast in Brookings and Coos Bay.
Oregon tribe sues over federal agency plans to hold an offshore wind energy auction https://t.co/tY1Up7tgLt
We can stop calling Portland the “whitest city in America.” According to new census data, Portland’s population in 2023 was 64 percent white–just a peg lower than Colorado Springs, which is now the whitest city, at 65 percent. The same data shows our sister city to the north also got more diverse. Both Seattle and Portland are among 13 major cities whose populations are primarily made up of white people.
And finally, Portland is getting a long-coveted staple of Japanese culture before any other American city. Randoseru bags are making their way to the Rose City, via downtown Portland retailer Frances May. As Melissa Locker writes: “The rounded-yet-blocky leather shape is on the back of pretty much every child in Japan.” The Tsuchiya Kaban-made bags, offered in a variety of shades from classic black to matcha green are so popular, the manufacturer made a version for dogs.
Japanese leather goods manufacturer Tsuchiya Kaban likes Portland so much it launched its first US outpost, in downtown clothing boutique Frances May!https://t.co/ygsxYz4f3G
The man behind the attempted assassination of Donald Trump at his golf course over the weekend is a 58-year-old with somewhat inconsistent political views who previously tried to recruit other Americans to help him fight with Ukraine against Russia. Ryan Routh waited roughly 12 hours at Trump International Golf Club in Florida before being intercepted by Secret Service agents. One fired a gun at Routh, but Routh fled. He was later arrested in a neighboring county. Agents later found a backpack, an AK-47 and a Go-Pro camera.
if you’re shitting bricks because a Trump golf course isn’t a safe place to be, wait until you hear about every school in America
In other Trump-adjacent news: A woman in Springfield, Ohio who made a Facebook post claiming Haitian immigrants were eating pets now acknowledges she had no direct evidence of anything like that happening in Springfield. Shocking. The post got massive attention and stoked racist rumors of immigrants stealing cherished pets and local water fowl for food. Vice presidential nominee JD Vance fell for the bait, and so did Trump when he repeated it on national television during a televised presidential debate.
A recent ProPublica investigative report found that in states with strict abortion bans, rules around exceptions for the life of the mother are vague and difficult to interpret by medical staff. As a result, women have died due to lack of care. One such case in Georgia involved 28-year-old Amber Thurman, who had a rare instance of sepsis she developed after taking abortion pills. The reporting notes hospital staff delayed performing a critical procedure that could have saved Thurman’s life, likely because staff were fearful of potential prosecution for removing fetal tissue.
Amber Thurman went to the hospital with telltale signs of sepsis. It took 20 hours for doctors to intervene with a dilation and curettage procedure after abortion became a felony in Georgia.
If microwaving food in plastic packaging leaves you unsettled, there’s good reason to trust your instincts. Scientists recently found that roughly a quarter of the chemicals found in food packaging stay in the human body. Samples from blood, hair and breast milk were examined by researchers who noted the presence of things like “metals, volatile organic compounds, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances or PFAS, phthalates and many others known to disrupt the endocrine system and cause cancer or other diseases.”
PORTLAND, Oregon — Rain rolls back in Tuesday afternoon, but the rain will be light until you get down to southern Oregon and along the central to southern coast. It will be a cool day with clouds and highs in the 60s. Rain totals for Portland and Vancouver could be less than .10 inches, while Newport and Eugene pick up 1/4″ or more. Most of today’s rain will fall late afternoon through early evening. The rain chance ends tonight.
Wednesday begins with clouds, but the sun breaks through in the afternoon. Highs rebound to about 70-degrees. The remainder of the week shows possible morning cloudiness followed by afternoon sunshine with valley high sin the 70s.
I cold front expected to hold to our north will bring some cloudiness this weekend. At this time, I expect rain chances with the front to be north of our region, near and north of Seattle.
It’s our goal to make sure you have the most accurate and up-to-date information about the weather and its impact on you. The new KGW Weather Impact Alerts will be just that, alerts as far in advance as possible, so that you can be armed with accurate information to keep yourself and your family safe.
Extended weather reports and more on KGW+: You asked for more access to local news, weather and more at home, and we listened! Now, watching KGW News is easier than ever with the KGW+ app for Roku, Amazon Fire TV and Apple TV. Easily find live newscasts and local programs, access top videos and stream breaking news on your schedule. KGW+ offers 24-7 streaming that includes live local news, newscast replays, extended coverage, expanded weather reports, station specials and investigations. Click or tap here to learn more.
NEW YORK (AP) — Sean “Diddy” Combs, the hip-hop mogul who has faced a stream of allegations by women accusing him of sexual assault, was arrested late Monday in New York after he was indicted by a federal grand jury.
The indictment was sealed and details of the charges weren’t immediately announced by prosecutors, but the U.S. attorney in Manhattan, Damian Williams, confirmed in a statement that federal agents had Combs in custody.
“We expect to move to unseal the indictment in the morning and will have more to say at that time,” Williams said in a statement.
Combs was arrested in a Manhattan hotel lobby, according to a person familiar with the arrest who spoke with The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.
His lawyer, Marc Agnifilo, said Combs had been cooperating with the investigation and had relocated to New York last week in anticipation of charges being brought.
“We are disappointed with the decision to pursue what we believe is an unjust prosecution of Mr. Combs by the U.S. Attorney’s Office,” Agnifilo said, describing his client as a music icon and a “loving family man.”
“He is an imperfect person, but he is not a criminal,” Agnifilo said in a statement, adding “Please reserve your judgment until you have all the facts. These are the acts of an innocent man with nothing to hide, and he looks forward to clearing his name in court.”
The criminal charges are a major but not unexpected takedown of one of the most prominent producers and most famous names in the history of hip-hop.
The federal investigation of Combs, 58, was revealed when Homeland Security Investigations agents served simultaneous search warrants and raided Combs’ mansions in Los Angeles and Miami on March 25.
A day after the raids, his attorney Aaron Dyer called them “a gross use of military-level force,” said the allegations were “meritless.”
Combs, then known as Puff Daddy, was at the center of the East Coast-West Coast hip-hop battles of the 1990s as the partner and producer of the Notorious B.I.G., who was shot and killed in 1997. But like many of those who survived the era, his public image had softened with age into a genteel host of parties in Hollywood and the Hamptons, a fashion-forward businessman, and a doting father who spoiled his kids, some of whom lost their mother in 2018.
But a different image began emerging in November, when his former protege and girlfriend, the R&B singer Cassie, became the first of several people to sue him for sexual abuse with stories of a steady stream of sex workers in drug-fueled settings where some of those involved were coerced or cajoled into sex.
In her November lawsuit, Cassie alleged years of abuse, including beatings and rape. Her suit also alleged Combs engaged in sex trafficking by “requiring her to engage in forced sexual acts in multiple jurisdictions” and by engaging in “harboring and transportation of Plaintiff for purposes of sex induced by force, fraud, or coercion.”
It also said he compelled her to help him traffic male sex workers Combs would force Cassie to have sex with while he filmed.
The suit was settled the following day, but its reverberations would last far longer. Combs lost lingering allies, supporters and those reserving judgment when CNN in May aired a leaked video of him punching Cassie, kicking her and throwing her on the floor in a hotel hallway.
The next day, in his first real acknowledgement of wrongdoing since the stream of allegations began, Combs posted a social media video apologizing, saying “I was disgusted when I did it” and “I’m disgusted now.” Cassie’s lawsuit was followed by at least a half-dozen others in the ensuing months.
In February, a music producer filed a lawsuit alleging Combs coerced him to solicit prostitutes and pressured him to have sex with them.
Another of Combs’ accusers was a woman who said the rap producer raped her two decades ago when she was 17.
Another woman who filed a lawsuit, April Lampros, said she was a college student in 1994 when she met Combs, and a series of “terrifying sexual encounters” with Combs and those around him began that lasted for years.
Combs and his attorneys denied nearly all of the lawsuits’ allegations.
While authorities did not publicly say that the lawsuits set off the criminal investigation, Dyer said when the warrants were served that the case was based on “meritless accusations made in civil lawsuits.”
The AP does not typically name people who say they have been sexually abused unless they come forward publicly as Cassie and Lampros did.
As the founder of Bad Boy Records, Combs became one of the most influential hip-hop producers and executives of the past three decades Along with the Notorious B.I.G. he worked with a slew of top-tier artists including Mary J. Blige, Usher, Lil Kim, Faith Evans and 112.
Combs’ roles in his businesses beyond music — including lucrative private-label spirits, a media company and the Sean John Fashion line — took major hits when the allegations arose.
The consequences were even greater when the leaked beating video emerged. Howard University cut ties with him, and he returned his key to the city of New York at the request of the mayor.
Combs has faced various arrests before, and decades ago he was at the center of one of the biggest hip-hop industry trials of its era.
That trial stemmed from a Manhattan nightclub shooting that injured three people in 1999. His then-girlfriend, singer and actor Jennifer Lopez, was also there when the shots rang out.
Combs ultimately was acquitted of charges that he took an illegal gun into the club and tried to bribe his driver to take the fall for the weapon. His then-protégé, Shyne, was convicted of assault and other charges in the shooting and served about eight years in prison. Now going by Moses Barrow, he’s a member of the House of Representatives in his native Belize.
Also in 1999, Combs was arrested on a charge of beating up a record executive in New York. Combs pleaded guilty to harassment, which is a violation, and was sentenced to an anger management class.
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Dalton reported from Los Angeles.
ANDREW DALTON, MICHAEL R. SISAK and LARRY NEUMEISTER, Associated Press
Kidder Mathews last week announced that Linda Fairchild has been promoted to executive vice president of operations for the firm’s growing Asset Services division.
Fairchild has also joined Kidder Mathews’ strategic planning committee and serves as one of five women on the firm’s 10-member executive leadership team.
She has over 25 years of experience in third-party property management, development and owner-managed properties. Since joining the company 12 years ago, she has advanced to various…
The Portland City Auditor’s Office announced Monday that it found “insufficient evidence” to support allegations of campaign finance violations from City Commissioner and mayoral candidate Rene Gonzalez.
The investigation was launched after the city’s Elections Office (a division of the Auditor’s Office) received two emailed complaints and one formal complaint last month about Gonzalez’s use of taxpayer money to alter his Wikipedia page.
Complainants asserted the use of taxpayer funds by a sitting commissioner to enhance his Wikipedia page during election season should be investigated as a potential campaign finance violation.
After an investigation, the Auditor’s Office issued a finding of no violation, citing insufficient evidence to establish a violation of Portland’s campaign finance rules, but the office called it “an exceedingly close call.”
“It is undisputed that Gonzalez’s office spent $6,400 of City funds to retain an independent contractor (WhiteHatWiki) to assist it in creating eight edits for the ‘Rene Gonzalez (politician)’ Wikipedia page, that were submitted to Wikipedia in June 2024,” the Auditor’s Office stated.
Investigators noted the primary motivation for the edits was to remove a 2022 Mercury morning news roundup that referenced Gonzalez’s tweet thanking a member of far-right group Patriot Prayer for his “support” of Gonzalez.
Auditors noted that “multiple” edits requested by Gonzalez’s staff had “no obvious relation” to his position as a city commissioner and at least one was most likely related to his current campaign for mayor.
Still, they cited “mixed evidence” about the motivations for the Wikipedia edits paid for by Gonzalez’s office.
“To find a violation of the City’s campaign finance law, the Auditor’s Office must determine that it is more likely than not that the City provided funds or services to or on behalf of Gonzalez in his capacity as a candidate,” a letter from the Auditor’s Office to Gonzalez’s campaign states. “While there are facts that suggest this transpired, based on the current record, the Auditor’s Office does not believe they are strong enough to definitively outweigh contrary evidence that suggests that the funds and services were provided to Gonzalez in his capacity as a commissioner.”
The 2022 tweet that prompted the Wiki edits wasn’t the only time Gonzalez made a public nod to a controversial right-wing figure.
In a response letter to the Auditor’s Office, Gonzalez insisted “there was no improper campaign contribution or use of my office’s funds and your investigation should be closed.”
Gonzalez noted the Wikipedia page about him was created “organically” by members of the public and not by him or his office.
“After nearly a year in service, our office initiated an evaluation of vendor that could assist the office in training staff and updating the Wikipedia page to reflect my time in office and general context in which I have served,” Gonzalez wrote, adding, “No campaign staff have directed or have been involved in the June 2024 Wikipedia requested changes or engaged with the vendor.”
But the issue investigated wasn’t whether campaign staff edited the page; rather, the investigation asked whether paid city staff edited the page to benefit Gonzalez’s current political campaign.
The Auditor’s Office says it submitted the matter to the Oregon Secretary of State to investigate whether any city employees engaged in prohibited political activities, and whether Gonzalez violated state law by asking city employees to engage in political advocacy during working hours.
Investigators also say they are waiting on additional public records related to the matter, including some that have yet to be turned over by Gonzalez’s office. If those records change the Auditor’s Office’s conclusions within the next 30 days, the office has the right to withdraw its determination and issue a new one.
In response to Monday’s announcement, Portland For All, a voter education and advocacy group, commended the city’s investigation, and its decision to forward the matter to the Secretary of State.
“We request that the Secretary of State take up this investigation promptly so voters have all the facts before they vote in November,” a statement from the organization reads, adding that voters should be “deeply concerned” about Gonzalez’s behavior.
Jackie Yerby, a volunteer board member at Portland For All, was one of the complainants in the case.
PORTLAND, Oregon — The last Monday of summer is going to be the best day of the work week, with mostly sunny skies and upper 70s expected in Salem and Portland.
A cold front will bring Tuesday clouds with rain arriving during the morning hours along the coast and going into the afternoon here in the valley. Hours of widespread rainfall are expected Tuesday afternoon and evening. Weather models show heaviest precipitation totals will be near to south of Salem with Eugene picking up 1/2 inch of rain while Portland may see less than .25 inches. The rain chance ends Wednesday morning.
Thursday through Sunday look quiet and dry. Each day could see morning marine cloudiness followed by afternoon sunshine and highs reaching 70 degrees.
Fall begins next Sunday, September 22nd, at 5:44 a.m. local time.
It’s our goal to make sure you have the most accurate and up-to-date information about the weather and its impact on you. The new KGW Weather Impact Alerts will be just that, alerts as far in advance as possible, so that you can be armed with accurate information to keep yourself and your family safe.
Extended weather reports and more on KGW+: You asked for more access to local news, weather and more at home, and we listened! Now, watching KGW News is easier than ever with the KGW+ app for Roku, Amazon Fire TV and Apple TV. Easily find live newscasts and local programs, access top videos and stream breaking news on your schedule. KGW+ offers 24-7 streaming that includes live local news, newscast replays, extended coverage, expanded weather reports, station specials and investigations. Click or tap here to learn more.
FILE – Signs for a Red Lobster restaurant are shown in San Bruno, Calif., Tuesday, May 14, 2024. Red Lobster has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection days after shuttering dozens of restaurants. The seafood chain has been struggling for some time with lease and labor costs piling up in recent years and also promotions like its iconic all-you-can-eat shrimp deal. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File)
(Associated Press) – Red Lobster, known for its affordable seafood and cheddary biscuits, has exited Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
A U.S. bankruptcy judge approved the casual seafood chain’s reorganization plan earlier this month, which included a lender group led by asset manager Fortress Investment Group acquiring the business.
Red Lobster is now an independent, privately-held company with 545 restaurant locations in 44 states and four Canadian provinces.
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – Social media threats targeting schools continue to impact class schedules as police announce a Eugene school was forced to close on Monday.
Monroe Middle School canceled classes due to a Snapchat threat “possibly directed” at the school, according to Eugene police.
No details about the threat are currently available, but officials said an investigation is ongoing.
The announcement follows several announcements in other parts of Oregon that schools had faced similar threats tied to Friday the 13th. These closures impacted school districts in Sweet Home and Greater Albany Public School districts in Oregon, as well as Fort Vancouver and Mountain View High Schools in Washington.
It is unclear if the Monday threat had any ties to the previous threats to other schools in Oregon.
“Redirecting route…” Ever heard this with a sinking feeling as your car’s GPS fights to reconcile the ideal path to your destination? We’ve all been there — road-trip-ready, and then it hits — construction, blown tire, a tanker overturned — and you come to that dead stop, only to crawl at a snail’s pace to a random unknown exit. The trip’s early optimism is replaced with the growing dread that perhaps this trip was a bad idea after all.
For many the “journey of DEI” may feel…
April Allen and Shawna Unger, Cofounders, Principal Consultants
Portland Fire & Rescue said the two fires caused by lithium-ion batteries displaced 11 people on Sept. 12.
PORTLAND, Ore. — On September 12, two fires broke out in Southwest and Southeast Portland, both caused by rechargeable lithium-ion batteries.
Officials said eleven people were displaced; three adults from the Southwest location, and eight from the Southeast location with a few of them being teenagers.
A fire just before midnight was caused by a lithium-ion battery in an electric scooter, according to Joshawa Heagle, who was displaced.
Portland Fire & Rescue said they also responded to a similar situation last month, as well as four months ago, due to batteries inside these scooters.
They said these batteries can go into thermal runaway, meaning the battery cell begin to uncontrollably self-heat, leading to very high temperatures, and eventually, smoke and fire.
Lithium-ion batteries can be found in electronics, including phones, laptops, cars and much more.
Heagle, his girlfriend of over a decade, his two teenagers and his brother in law’s family who lived in the unit beside them was also damaged, causing them all to be displaced after the fire.
“My son, he was the first one to start trying to fight the fire. He’s only 13-years-old, and he was in a panic, and he went straight to the coffee pot because he didn’t know what else to grab,” said Heagle.
Heagle was asleep when the fire broke out, but was awoken by his brother-in-law who was only staying the night, alerting him of the fire.
“That scooter was what was on blaze, and there was two propane tanks behind it, and that’s why I jumped so quick to start putting it out,” said Heagle. “The two propane tanks had propane in them, and they could have combusted at any time.”
He said he worked to put out the fire with a hose, but by then, the fire had spread up to the attic.
Heagle added that the scooter was outside when it caught fire and was not charging, or up against a wall.
“Pretty much all my son’s clothes got destroyed. My daughter got a little bit of hers salvaged and stuff, but not much,” he said.
He said his girlfriend also lost everything, and he’s been wearing the same clothes since the fire because he has nothing else.
Heagle said he was already financially struggling, and they had just bought their kids a lot of school supplies to kick off the school year.
“We got to figure it out from square one again,” he said.
“Everything in here, anything that got wet is pretty much garbage, like we can’t salvage it unless it’s a hard surface, then we got to wash it. Everything upstairs, nothing survives,” he continued.
Now, he and his family are switching off staying with his father and sister.
His sister Chrystal Forrest created a GoFundMe for Heagle, to help him and his family get back on their feet.
While the goal is to raise $20,000, they said any little bit helps, as well as donations of food, clothe, and bedding.
“The biggest reason I did it was because seeing my niece and my nephew’s faces, if you could only imagine their faces, and just feeling hopeless. You can’t do nothing. You can’t give them back everything that they’re needing to get by,” said Forrest.
Heagle said if anyone is looking to donate, they can contact him through his Facebook or through GoFundMe.
Forrest said their other brother also experienced an apartment fire a few years ago, also caused by a battery in an electric scooter. Nobody was physically injured in this fire.
Heagle said while the building’s owners are not fining them and also returned their security deposit and this month’s rent, they also gave them a ten day notice to vacate.
