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College Student Who Allegedly Torched Portland Police Union Hall Faces Federal Arson Charge Federal prosecutors argue that they have jurisdiction because the police’s labor union building “was used in interstate commerce and in activity affecting interstate commerce.” Portland Police Association headquarters on North Lombard Street. (Brian Burk) Updated May 6 at 11:43 PM A Beaverton woman accused of setting fire to the Portland Police Association headquarters last month now faces a federal arson charge that carries a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison if convicted.
Willamette Week
The need for strong, independent local journalism
is more urgent than ever. Please support the city we
love by joining Friends of Willamette Week.
Readers Respond to the Portland Mayor’s Wrath Toward a Reed College Student “Ted seems to be overreaching his authority there just a tad. What a shocker.” Black bloc protesters move dumpsters in front of the Portland Police Bureau s East Precinct. (Wesley Lapointe) Updated May 1 at 7:23 PM
In response to anti-police marchers clad in black bloc garb repeatedly damaging property across the city after dark, Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler extended a state of emergency last week and asked city residents to assist police in a crackdown. The mayor asked citizens to report the license plate numbers of black-clad demonstrators arriving in their neighborhood. He also called for Reed College to expel a student, Theodore Matthee-O’Brien, if he’s convicted of shattering windows downtown (
Willamette Week
The need for strong, independent local journalism
is more urgent than ever. Please support the city we
love by joining Friends of Willamette Week.
The Oregon Historical Society Purchased Laminated Glass After the First Attack on Its Windows That fact emerged while discussing the renewal of a five-year tax levy to fund the work of historical preservation and display. A security guard watches over the boarding of windows at the Oregon Historical Society in October of 2020. (Alex Wittwer) Updated 12:59 AM Kerry Tymchuk is glad the Oregon Historical Society upgraded to impenetrable glass. In October, at an event dubbed the “Indigenous People’s Day of Rage,” an Indiana man named Malik Muhammed allegedly used a metal baton to smash in the windows of the downtown Portland history museum. Someone tossed a lit flare in the lobby, and other protesters dragged into the rain-slicked South Park Blocks a quilt made for the 1976 bicentennial by Black women.
Willamette Week
The need for strong, independent local journalism
is more urgent than ever. Please support the city we
love by joining Friends of Willamette Week.
Murmurs: Light Rail Battle Resumes on Columbia River Bridge In other news: Elijah Warren’s story spurs reform. Updated April 28
LIGHT RAIL BATTLE RESUMES ON COLUMBIA RIVER BRIDGE: Early talks on the next Columbia River bridge have hit the same snag that sank the last one: light rail. Earlier this month, Oregon Congressman Earl Blumenauer told
WW that a new Interstate 5 bridge across the Columbia would need to include a light rail line or it wouldn’t be funded by the Biden administration. In an April 21 op-ed published on a conservative-leaning news site, Clark County Today, three Republican lawmakers in Washington state including Congresswoman Jaime Herrera Beutler voiced renewed skepticism. “This same stubborn, top-down attitude effectively killed the last I-5 bridge replacement effort,’ Herrera Beut
Willamette Week
The need for strong, independent local journalism
is more urgent than ever. Please support the city we
love by joining Friends of Willamette Week.
Portland Mayor Wants Reed College to Expel Student If He’s Convicted of Smashing Downtown Windows Theodore Matthee-O’Brien faces seven felony charges stemming from window-smashing at the Oregon Historical Society, Nordstrom and Big Pink. A Nordstrom window shattered in downtown Portland after an April 16 riot. (Chris Nesseth) Updated 6:59 PM Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler on Friday called on Reed College to expel a senior if he’s convicted of smashing downtown windows, including those of the Oregon Historical Society, on April 16.