Amid calls to 'defund the police,' most Portland residents want police presence maintained or increased, poll finds oregonlive.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from oregonlive.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Portland’s mayor and City Council please almost no one with their leadership on homelessness, protests
Updated May 15, 2021;
Posted May 15, 2021
Tents are a common sight in the Old Town neighborhood in downtown Portland. April 30, 2021. Beth Nakamura/StaffThe Oregonian
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More than two-thirds of Portland-area residents say they disapprove of how Portland’s mayor and City Council have handled two of the city’s most pervasive and contentious issues: homelessness and destructive protests.
The findings come from a poll of 600 people across the metro area commissioned by The Oregonian/OregonLive and conducted from April 30 to May 6.
Suburban residents were a tad more critical of city leaders’ response to protests than residents of Portland proper. Seventy-five percent of those who live outside the city reported they were unhappy with Portland’s handling of protests, while 68% of city residents took that stance, the poll showed.
Portland leaders approve $5.7B budget, slow Portland Street Response expansion
Updated May 13, 2021;
Posted May 13, 2021
The Portland City Council, from left to right: Mingus Mapps, Carmen Rubio, Ted Wheeler, Jo Ann Hardesty, Dan Ryan.
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Portland’s elected leaders approved a budget for next year that will pour millions of dollars into citywide cleanup efforts and programs to spur economic recovery but take a more cautious approach in expanding a non-police alternative to some public safety calls.
Thursday evening’s vote was unanimous. The City Council is scheduled to take a final vote on the city spending plan in mid-June.
Portland bureau director departs amid reported dysfunction, ‘culture of fear’
Updated 11:17 AM;
Today 11:17 AM
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The head of a Portland city bureau reportedly plagued by widespread dysfunction and a “culture of fear” will leave her post at the end of the week.
Suk Rhee, the director of the Office of Community & Civic Life, made the announcement Thursday in a joint statement with Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty, who has overseen the bureau since January.
Previously named the Office of Neighborhood Involvement, the civic life bureau manages a grab bag of city programs, from cannabis and liquor sales to graffiti removal to assisting those facing deportation.
Portland Business Alliance contests 23 of 25 lobbying violations found by city auditor
Updated May 10, 5:31 PM;
Posted May 10, 5:29 PM
Portland City Hall.Michelle Brence/Staff (file)
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The Portland area’s most influential business organization is contesting broad swaths of a review by the city auditor’s office that found it repeatedly violated city lobbying rules last year.
The auditor’s office declared two weeks ago that the Portland Business Alliance failed to disclose at least 25 times it had contacted city officials in 2020 to request access, funding or action, primarily by email.
But the alliance shot back Monday that 23 of the unreported emails and other interactions with officials did not need to be reported to the city because they didn’t meet the city’s definition of lobbying.