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Tag: Tina Kotek

  • FACT FOCUS: Trump paints a grim portrait of Portland. The story on the ground is much less extreme

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    PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — President Donald Trump, members of his administration and conservative influencers painted a bleak portrait of Portland, Oregon, at a roundtable event at the White House Wednesday, alleging that the city has been besieged by violence perpetrated by “antifa thugs” and that it is essentially a war zone.

    “It should be clear to all Americans that we have a very serious left-wing terror threat in our country, radicals associated with the domestic terror group antifa that you’ve heard a lot about lately,” Trump said.

    But the reality on the ground in Portland is far from the extremes described at the White House.

    Here’s a closer look at the facts.

    The protests

    TRUMP: “In Portland, Oregon, antifa thugs have repeatedly attacked our offices and laid siege to federal property in an attempt to violently stop the execution of federal law.”

    THE FACTS: There have been nightly protests outside the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement building in Portland for months, peaking in June when police declared one demonstration a riot. There have also been smaller clashes since then: On Labor Day, some demonstrators brought a prop guillotine — a display the U.S. Department of Homeland Security blasted as “unhinged behavior.”

    The protests at the ICE facility, which is outside downtown, have largely been confined to one city block and have attracted a range of participants. During the day, a handful of immigration and legal advocates mill about and offer copies of “know your rights” flyers. Daytime marches to the building have also included older people and families with young children. At night, other protesters arrive, often using megaphones to shout obscenities at law enforcement.

    While the administration claims protesters are antifa, short for “anti-fascists,” antifa is not a single organization but rather an umbrella term for decentralized far-left-leaning militant groups that confront or resist neo-Nazis and white supremacists at demonstrations.

    The building was closed for three weeks from mid-June to early July because of damage to windows, security cameras, gates and other parts of the facility, federal officials said in court filings submitted in response to a lawsuit brought by Portland and Oregon seeking to block the Trump administration’s deployment of the National Guard. The building’s main entrance and ground-floor windows have been boarded up.

    Protesters have also sought to block vehicles from entering and leaving the facility. Federal officials argue that this has impeded law enforcement operations and forced more personnel and resources to be sent from other parts of the country.

    However, in the weeks leading up to the Trump administration’s move to federalize 200 members of the Oregon National Guard on Sept. 28, most nights drew a couple dozen people, Portland police correspondence submitted to the court shows.

    Protests began growing again after the National Guard was ordered to Portland over the objections of local and state officials.

    Since June, Portland police have arrested at least 45 people, with the majority of those arrests taking place in June. Meanwhile, federal prosecutors have charged at least 31 people with crimes committed at the building, including assaulting federal officers; 22 of those defendants had been charged by early July.

    Is Portland on fire?

    TRUMP: “The amazing thing is, you look at Portland and you see fires all over the place. You see fights, and I mean just violence. It’s just so crazy. And then you talk to the governor and she acts like everything is totally normal, there’s nothing wrong.”

    THE FACTS: Fires outside the building have been seen on a handful of occasions. In June, a man was arrested after he lit a flare and tossed it onto a pile of materials stacked against the vehicle gate, according to federal prosecutors, who said the fire was fully extinguished within minutes.

    More recently, social media videos of the Labor Day protest showed a small fire lit on the prop guillotine. And in early October, following the announcement of the National Guard’s mobilization, videos on social media showed a protester holding an American flag on fire — and conservative influencer Nick Sortor stomping the fire out.

    There have also been some high-profile confrontations between protesters and counterprotesters. In late September, conservative media figure Katie Daviscourt was hit in the face with a flagpole and suffered a laceration, police logs show. In early October, Sortor, who has more than 1 million followers on X, was arrested along with two other protesters following an altercation. Local prosecutors ultimately declined to charge him after finding that one of the protesters had pushed him and that “any physical contact he had with other persons was defensive in nature.”

    While Portland police correspondence submitted to the court notes a few instances of “active” energy and disturbances between protesters and counterprotesters, many entries describe low energy and “no issues” in the weeks leading up to the National Guard’s mobilization.

    A new tongue-in-cheek website has also launched in recent days: isportlandburning.com shows multiple live cameras in the city and near-real-time data from the city’s fire department.

    Shops and sewers

    TRUMP: “I don’t know what could be worse than Portland. You don’t even have sewers anymore. They don’t even put glass up. They put plywood on their windows. But most of the retailers have left.”

    THE FACTS: This is false. Portland does have sewers — its sewer and stormwater system “includes more than 2,500 miles of pipes, nearly 100 pump stations, and two treatment plants,” according to the city’s website. The largest sewer pipe is the East Side Big Pipe, which has an inside diameter of 22 feet, while the smallest are only six inches in diameter.

    Local and state officials have suggested that many of Trump’s claims appear to rely on images from 2020. Portland famously erupted in more than 100 days of large-scale unrest and violent protests after George Floyd’s killing by Minneapolis police that year. Police were unable to keep ahead of splinter groups of black-clad protesters who broke off and roamed the downtown area, at times breaking windows, spraying graffiti and setting small fires.

    But Portland has largely recovered from that time. Under a new mayor and police chief, the city has reduced crime, and the downtown — which has more than 600 retail shops, many with glass storefronts — has seen a decrease in homeless encampments and increased foot traffic. This summer was reportedly the busiest for pedestrian traffic since before the coronavirus pandemic, and a recent report from the Major Cities Chiefs Association found that homicides from January through June decreased by 51% this year compared to the same period in 2024.

    Gov. Tina Kotek said she told Trump during a phone call that “we have to be careful not to respond to outdated media coverage or misinformation that is out there.”

    Accusation of a cover-up

    KRISTI NOEM, Homeland Security Secretary: “I was in Portland yesterday and had the chance to visit with the governor of Oregon, and also the mayor there in town, and they are absolutely covering up the terrorism that is hitting their streets.”

    THE FACTS: Noem did visit Portland on Tuesday and met with Kotek and Mayor Keith Wilson. Both officials disagree with Noem’s narrative.

    Kotek has repeatedly said that “there is no insurrection in Portland,” including in conversations with Trump and Noem, and that the city does not need “military intervention.” She has also continually called for any protests to be peaceful and said that local law enforcement can “meet the moment.” After Trump threatened to send the National Guard to Portland, Wilson said in a statement that the city has protected freedom of expression while “addressing occasional violence and property destruction.”

    Observations on the ground in Portland support Kotek’s statement. While the nightly protests at the ICE facility have been disruptive for nearby residents — a charter school relocated this summer to get away from crowd-control devices — life has continued as normal in the rest of the city. There is no evidence of the protests in other areas of the city, including the downtown area about two miles away.

    Portland residents have taken to social media to push back against the Trump administration’s statements about their city with the hashtag #WarRavagedPortland, posting photos and videos that show protesters in inflatable unicorn and frog costumes, along with people walking their dogs, riding their bikes and shopping at farmers markets.

    ___

    Find AP Fact Checks here: https://apnews.com/APFactCheck.

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  • Oregon judge temporarily blocks deployment of the National Guard to Portland

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    A federal judge in Oregon has issued a temporary restraining order preventing the Trump administration from sending the National Guard to Portland after the president said he would send troops to the city to handle “domestic terrorists.” 

    U.S. District Judge Karin Immergut, a Trump appointee, issued the temporary restraining order, which is set to expire on Oct. 18, according to court records.

    The plaintiffs say a deployment would violate the U.S. Constitution as well as a federal law that generally prohibits the military from being used to enforce domestic laws.

    Immergut wrote that the case involves the intersection of three fundamental democratic principles: “the relationship between the federal government and the states, between the military and domestic law enforcement, and the balance of powers between the executive, legislative and judicial branches of government.

    “Whether we choose to follow what the Constitution mandates with respect to these three relationships goes to the heart of what it means to live under the rule of law in the United States,” she wrote.

    Generally speaking the president is allowed “a great level of deference” to federalize National Guard troops in situations where regular law enforcement forces are not able to execute the laws of the United States, the judge said. 

    However, she concluded that in the situation in Portland, the president “did not have a ‘colorable basis’ to invoke § 12406(3) to federalize the National Guard because the situation on the ground belied an inability of federal law enforcement officers to execute federal law.”

    Plaintiffs were able to show that the demonstrations at the Portland immigration facility were not significantly violent or disruptive in the days or weeks leading up to the president’s order, the judge wrote, and “overall, the protests were small and uneventful.”

    The judge added that, “The President’s determination was simply untethered to the facts.”

    The Defense Department had said it was placing 200 members of Oregon’s National Guard under federal control for 60 days to protect federal property and personnel at locations where protests are occurring or likely to occur after Trump called the city “war-ravaged.”

    The state of Oregon filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration last Sunday following the president’s announcement that he would send troops to Portland. The lawsuit argued that Mr. Trump lacks the authority to federalize the National Guard. 

    Following the ruling, White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson indicated an appeal was likely, saying in a statement that “President Trump exercised his lawful authority to protect federal assets and personnel in Portland following violent riots and attacks on law enforcement — we expect to be vindicated by a higher court.”  

    Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield called the ruling “a healthy check on the president.”

    “It reaffirms what we already knew: Portland is not the president’s war-torn fantasy. Our city is not ravaged, and there is no rebellion,” Rayfield said in a statement. He added: “Members of the Oregon National Guard are not a tool for him to use in his political theater.”

    “Today’s outcome is proof that Portlanders’ commitment to peaceful expression and civic unity truly matters,” Portland Mayor Keith Wilson said in a statement Saturday following the ruling. “We have not met aggression with aggression. We’ve stood firm, calm and grounded in our shared values and that is why this decision went our way. Portland has shown that peace is power.”    

    Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek has pushed back on Mr. Trump’s plans to send troops to Portland and told reporters at a news conference last week that the city “is a far cry from the war-ravaged community he has posted on social media.”  

    Earlier in September, Mr. Trump had described living in Portland as “like living in hell.”   

    The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement building in Portland has been the site of nightly protests, and the demonstrations and occasional clashes with law enforcement. A handful of immigration and legal advocates often gather at the building during the day. At night, recent protests have typically drawn a couple dozen people.

    The order Saturday comes after a broader effort from the administration in what Mr. Trump has characterized as a crackdown on crime in Democratic-led cities. 

    Mr. Trump deployed the National Guard and active-duty Marines to Los Angeles over the summer and as part of his law enforcement takeover in the District of Columbia. 

    On Saturday, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker said that the Trump administration intends to federalize 300 Illinois National Guard members after he was offered an ultimatum to deploy the troops himself but refused.

    Last month, Mr. Trump signed a presidential memorandum mobilizing federal law enforcement agents to Memphis, Tennessee, at the request of the Tennessee governor.

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  • Trump news at a glance: Trump orders deployment of national guard to ‘war ravaged’ Portland

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    Donald Trump has ordered the deployment of the national guard to Portland, Oregon, authorizing “full force, if necessary”, ignoring calls from local and state officials who say the president has been misinformed about the scale of a protest outside a federal immigration office.

    The president says that he has directed all necessary troops to be deployed to protect “war ravaged Portland”, claiming that immigration facilities were “under siege from attack by Antifa and other domestic terrorists”.

    Officials in Portland have pushed back against the decision and rejected the president’s characterization.

    “There is no insurrection. There is no threat to national security and there is no need for military troops in our major city,” said Oregon’s Democratic governor, Tina Kotek.

    Here are the key stories at a glance.

    Donald Trump says he is deploying troops to Portland, Oregon

    Donald Trump made the announcement on social media, where he claimed that the deployment was necessary “to protect war ravaged Portland,” and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) facilities he said were “under siege by antifascists and other domestic terrorists”.

    Oregon’s governor, Tina Kotek, rejected the president’s characterization. “In my conversations directly with President Trump and secretary [of homeland security, Kristi] Noem, I have been abundantly clear that Portland and the state of Oregon believe in the rule of law and can manage our own local public safety needs,” Kotek said at a news conference in Portland on Saturday.

    Read the full story

    Portland residents scoff at Trump threat to send military: ‘This is not a war zone’

    A visit to downtown Portland on Saturday, hours after Donald Trump falsely declared the city “war ravaged” to justify the deployment of federal troops, made it plain the US president’s impression of the city, apparently shaped by misleading conservative media reports, is entirely divorced from reality.

    There were just four protesters outside the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) field office in an outlying residential neighborhood that the president had claimed was “under siege” by antifascists and “other domestic terrorists”.

    Read the full story

    Trump fires US attorney who told border agents to follow law on immigration raids

    Donald Trump fired a top federal prosecutor in Sacramento just hours after she warned immigration agents they could not indiscriminately detain people in her district, according to documents reviewed by the New York Times.

    Michele Beckwith, who became the acting US attorney in Sacramento in January, received an email at 4.31pm on 15 July notifying her that the president had ordered her termination.

    Read the full story

    ‘Hell on earth’: immigrants held in new California detention facility beg for help

    Immigrants locked up in California’s newest federal detention center have described the facility as a “a torture chamber”, “a zoo” and “hell on earth”, saying they were confined in filthy cells and suffered medical crises without help.

    Six people detained at the California City detention center, which opened in late August and is now the state’s largest Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) detention center, shared accounts with the Guardian of poor conditions and alleged mistreatment by staff.

    Read the full story

    US military brass brace for firings as Pentagon chief orders top-level meeting

    US military officials are reportedly bracing for possible firings or demotions after the Trump administration’s Pentagon chief, Pete Hegseth, abruptly summoned hundreds of generals and admirals from around the world to attend a gathering in Virginia in the upcoming days.

    The event, scheduled for Tuesday at Marine Corps University in Quantico, is expected to feature a short address by Hegseth focused on military standards and the “warrior ethos”, according to the Washington Post.

    Read the full story

    FBI arrest man who allegedly threatened to shoot people at Texas Pride parade

    Federal authorities in Texas have arrested a man for allegedly threatening to shoot people at a pro-LGBTQ+ parade, to avenge the murder of Charlie Kirk.

    According to court documents viewed by the Guardian, on 18 September, the FBI’s field office in Dallas was notified by Abilene, Texas, police about online threats from a local resident.

    Read the full story

    What else happened today:

    Catching up? Here’s what happened 26 September 2025.

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  • Trump orders troops to Portland to deal with ‘domestic terrorists’

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    President Donald Trump said on Saturday he is expanding his military interventions in US cities, this time by ordering troops to be deployed to Portland, Oregon.

    He instructed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to provide as many soldiers as “necessary” to protect the city and any Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facilities threatened by “domestic terrorists,” he wrote on the platform Truth Social.

    As an example, he cited the far-left anti-fascism movement Antifa, which he recently designated a “domestic terrorist organization.”

    Trump described Portland, which is widely known for its progressive political values, as “war ravaged.”

    The Republican wrote that he is granting the military broad authority to use “full force,” though it remains unclear what that entails. He also did not specify what types of troops will be deployed.

    Oregon governor: ‘No need for military troops’

    The Democratic governor of Oregon, Tina Kotek, told a press conference that she had spoken with Trump, telling him that Portland could manage its own public safety needs. She called any deployment an “abuse of power and a misuse of federal troops.”

    “There is no insurrection. There is no threat to national security. And there is no need for military troops in our major city,” she said, adding that Portland was “safe and calm.”

    Kotek told reporters that the administration had refused to explain what it meant by plans to deploy “full force” against the city.

    “The president does not have the authority to deploy federal troops on state soil. I’m coordinating with Attorney General Dan Rayfield to see if any response is necessary,” she added.

    Oregon’s Democratic Senator Ron Wyden issued even harsher criticism in a post on X.

    “Trump is launching an authoritarian takeover of Portland hoping to provoke conflict in my hometown,” he wrote. “I urge Oregonians to reject Trump’s attempt to incite violence in what we know is a vibrant and peaceful city.”

    Portland continues to limit cooperation with ICE

    Portland describes itself as a “sanctuary city,” meaning it limits its cooperation with ICE.

    Last week, the city announced that it would investigate whether an ICE facility in Portland was violating regulations by holding people for longer than allowed.

    In a statement on Friday about alleged violence by Antifa supporters, the Department of Homeland Security mentioned rioters in Portland who had repeatedly attacked an ICE facility, listing several incidents that allegedly took place in June.

    According to US media reports, there have been several protests in the city around an ICE facility, directed at Trump’s controversial immigration policy.

    The president sent troops to Los Angeles in June, citing alleged unrest and resistance to ICE agents, whose operations against undocumented immigrants have frequently sparked protests.

    Trump has also deployed National Guard troops to Washington and announced plans for a deployment in Memphis, Tennessee. He has repeatedly threatened to send the National Guard to Chicago as well.

    National Guard members are not full-time active duty military personnel, but a part of the Army that can be deployed by the federal government or by a governor, often to help with disasters in states.

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  • Kotek appeals to Trump for more federal emergency assistance for Oregon’s spring floods

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    Gov. Tina Kotek delivers her State of the State address on Monday, Jan. 13, 2025. (Laura Tesler/Oregon Capital Chronicle/pool)

    Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek is asking President Donald Trump to reconsider his decision denying individual financial assistance to households in Coos, Curry, Douglas and Josephine counties that experienced major losses after intense spring flooding.

    In March 2025, record-breaking rainfall triggered flooding and landslides across southwest Oregon, damaging 529 homes, according to the Oregon Department of Emergency Management. 

    The president and the Federal Emergency Management Agency in response to Kotek’s request for emergency funding issued financial assistance in July for those counties on a cost-sharing basis for emergency work and the repair and replacement of damaged facilities. 

    The federal assistance did not include funding for individual families whose homes were damaged or funding to prevent future natural disasters. Without that assistance, the Oregon Department of Emergency Management said communities in southwest Oregon will face gaps in recovering from the spring floods and long-term resilience. 

    Many Oregonians remain displaced living with relatives, or in RVs and other unsafe conditions. Additional funding would help cover mold remediation, septic system repairs and restoration of private roads and bridges, as well as help prevent future disasters through infrastructure protection, streambank restoration and landslide stabilization, according to the Oregon emergency management department.

    “Our communities are resilient, and with the help of their local leadership and the state have begun the recovery process but they cannot recover alone,” Oregon Emergency Management Director Erin McMahon said in a statement. “Federal support is not just warranted — it is essential to restore safe housing, protect public health and reduce the risk of future disasters.”

    While the Small Business Administration is offering $1.44 million in disaster loans, many Oregonians do not qualify or cannot afford to repay loans. Local governments along the coast are also facing financial shortfalls from declining timber revenue, and the loss of Secure Rural Schools Act has further reduced county budgets by $80 million each year. The state, which is already financially strained from back-to-back wildfire seasons, has allocated $2 million for recovery. However, emergency officials and the governor say it’s not enough. 

    “I urge the federal government to reconsider its denial of individual assistance and hazard mitigation funding for survivors from our March storms,” Kotek said in a statement. “These programs are vital to restoring safe housing, protecting public health and building long-term resilience in our communities.”  

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  • Live updates: Day 3 of the Oregon special session on transportation funding

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    The Oregon Legislature plans to meet for the third day of a special session on transportation funding on Labor Day, with the House of Representatives convening at 10 a.m. for third reading and debate on the package of bills sponsored by Gov. Tina Kotek.

    The Senate is scheduled to begin considering the measures at 2 p.m. on Sept. 1.

    Follow along as legislative reporter Dianne Lugo, state government reporter Anastasia Mason and photographer Abigail Dollins cover the special session on Labor Day.

    How we got here

    The 2025 Legislature adjourned on June 27 without passing a transportation bill, leaving the Oregon Department of Transportation short about $300 million to maintain service levels for the two-year budget cycle that began July 1.

    Kotek announced layoffs of 483 ODOT workers and the closure of a dozen maintenance stations across the state. The layoffs and closures were later put on hold, pending the outcome of the special session.

    Two last-minute amendments from House Speaker Julie Fahey, D-Eugene, were adopted Aug. 31 by the Joint Special Session Committee on Transportation Funding after the second public hearing on the bills.

    One of Fahey’s amendments would eliminate a 0.1% increase to the payroll tax in House Bill 3991 after Jan. 1, 2028.

    The other amendment gives the Department of Administrative Services the ability to lower tax rates, but not to raise them, if the rates paid by heavy and light vehicles reach a certain imbalance.

    “Getting here has been a long road, but the result is a bill that ensures that cities, counties, and the state will be able to perform basic maintenance and safety work on our roads — filling potholes, plowing snow in the winter, and making sure our bridges don’t fall down,” Fahey said after the House committee adjourned.

    What Gov. Tina Kotek’s transportation funding bills would do

    The governor’s amended transportation package is estimated to raise $4.3 billion over the next 10 years. Her bills include:

    • A 6-cent increase to the state gas tax for a total of 46 cents per gallon

    • A $42 and $132 increase in vehicle registration and title fees

    • A doubling of the 0.1% payroll tax to fund public transit until Jan. 1, 2028.

    • A $30 supplemental registration fee for electric vehicles, and

    • A new “road usage charge” to be phased in for electric and hybrid cars starting in 2027.

    House Bill 3991 also would repeal mandatory tolling language from the existing statute, which Kotek paused in 2024, and transfer power to the governor to appoint and fire the director of the ODOT. The last major transportation bill, passed in 2017, gave the power to hire and fire the head of ODOT to the Oregon Transportation Commission.

    Anastasia Mason covers state government for the Statesman Journal. Reach her at acmason@statesmanjournal.com or 971-208-5615.

    Dianne Lugo covers the Oregon Legislature and equity issues. Reach her at dlugo@statesmanjournal.com or on X @DianneLugo or Bluesky @diannelugo.bsky.social

    This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: Oregon Legislature meets in special session Labor Day weekend

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  • Real Estate Developer Jordan Schnitzer Is Putting $10M Toward the Arts at Portland State University

    Real Estate Developer Jordan Schnitzer Is Putting $10M Toward the Arts at Portland State University

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    Jordan Schnitzer in 2023. Jared Siskin/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images

    Portland-based real estate developer, philanthropist and art collector Jordan Schnitzer hopes to boost the arts scene at Portland State University (PSU) with a $10 million gift. In addition to supporting the eponymous museum at the university, the funds will help PSU’s art and design school grow.

    “An arts education is the best background to think creatively, to learn to be innovative, to help build our workforce and economy, and most importantly, to help solve society’s great challenges,” said Schnitzer in a statement, adding that his donation will not only help students but the entire Portland region. “In my opinion, this is a worthy philanthropic investment to help PSU continue to be an active part of a thriving downtown Portland.”

    Half of Schnitzer’s funds will pay for the construction of a new building for PSU’s school of art and design, which will be renamed the Schnitzer School of Art + Art History + Design in recognition of the donation. The facility is scheduled to open by 2026 and will let PSU expand its key offerings, including a pioneering art and social practice program emphasizing the relationship between art, community engagement and social justice.

    Another $4 million will support operations at a PSU museum launched in 2019 with another donation by Schnitzer. Known as the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art at PSU, it houses 20th- and 21st-century artworks from the philanthropist’s vast collection. The remaining $1 million will reinvigorate PSU’s urban campus through outdoor art, additional signage and lighting.

    Schnitzer’s gift is a direct response to a call to action from Oregon Governor Tina Kotek, who earlier this year asked for business, civic and educational leaders to invest in downtown Portland. “The success of Portland State University is integral to the vision we share for downtown,” she said in a statement.

    Arts and philanthropy run in the Schnitzer family

    Schnitzer’s patronage of PSU follows a long line of family philanthropy. His mother Arlene opened the Fountain Gallery in the 1960s (one of Portland’s first professional galleries) while his father Harold founded Schnitzer Properties, the real estate development company Schnitzer runs today. The duo were generous contributors toward PSU, having established the university’s visiting professorship in art, Judaic studies program and the Arlene Schnitzer visual arts prize.

    Their actions largely inspired Schnitzer’s activities in the art world. His collection, which primarily consists of contemporary prints and multiples, contains works by more than 1,500 artists, including Andy Warhol, Jeffrey Gibson, David Hockney and Kara Walker. In addition to showcasing items from his collection at the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art and art institutions at the University of Oregon and Washington State University, Schnitzer exhibits maintains his own Portland-based gallery and loans out pieces to museums across the globe.

    “My parents often said ‘to whom much is given, much is expected,’ but this applies to all of us,” said Schnitzer. “With this significant contribution, one of the largest in PSU’s history, we are joining others who also are thankful for all the opportunities we have had living and working in downtown Portland.”

    Real Estate Developer Jordan Schnitzer Is Putting $10M Toward the Arts at Portland State University

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    Alexandra Tremayne-Pengelly

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  • Oregon governor declares emergency over fentanyl crisis

    Oregon governor declares emergency over fentanyl crisis

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    Oregon governor declares emergency over fentanyl crisis – CBS News


    Watch CBS News



    Oregon paved the way as the first state to decriminalize drug use in 2020, to instead focus on addiction and recovery. But due to Portland’s growing fentanyl crisis, Gov. Tina Kotek this week declared a 90-day emergency to address the increase in overdose deaths. Adam Yamaguchi has more.

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  • Oregon Liquor Agency Head Resigns Amid Bourbon-Hoarding Scandal

    Oregon Liquor Agency Head Resigns Amid Bourbon-Hoarding Scandal

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    SALEM, Ore. (AP) — The executive director of Oregon’s liquor regulatory agency announced his resignation Monday amid a criminal investigation into allegations that he and other senior officials used their positions to divert rare, sought-after bourbons for personal use.

    Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission Executive Director Steve Marks noted in his resignation letter that Gov. Tina Kotek asked him to step down. He said his resignation is effective at 5 p.m. Wednesday. The resignation letter to the OLCC’s board of commissioners was first reported by The Oregonian/OregonLive.

    The liquor officials told an internal investigator they were paying for the whiskey, which can cost thousands of dollars a bottle, but they are accused of using their knowledge and connections at the commission to obtain the products. Marks and the other officials denied they resold the whiskeys they obtained.

    Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum on Friday announced a criminal investigation into the allegations that senior officials in the state’s alcohol and marijuana regulatory agency, which is the state’s third-largest revenue generator, violated ethics laws.

    The funneling of the top-end whiskey to leaders of the state agency deprived well-heeled whiskey aficionados of the bourbons and violated several Oregon statutes, including one that prohibits public officials from using confidential information for personal gain, according to the commission’s investigation.

    The officials purportedly had very limited bottles of top-shelf bourbon routed to a liquor store, often in the Portland suburb of Milwaukie where the commission headquarters is located, and would reserve them for pickup later. They said they used the whiskey for personal consumption or as gifts.

    During the OLCC internal probe, Marks denied that he had violated Oregon ethics laws and state policy. However, he acknowledged that he had received preferential treatment “to some extent” in obtaining the whiskey as a commission employee.

    The board of commissioners is appointed by the governor and in turn selects the executive director, according to a commission spokesman. The commissioners’ next regular meeting is Wednesday.

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