Community members renew calls for Mark Shull s resignation January 21 2021
Path for healing exists, but not if commissioner remains a represenative of Clackamas County, say Muslim and LGBTQ residents
A coalition of community members representing metro-area Muslim residents and other marginalized groups held a press conference Thursday afternoon to renew calls for Clackamas County Commissioner Mark Shull to resign.
Shull who recently came under scrutiny for racist, transphobic, anti-immigrant and Islamophobic statements made on his personal Facebook page has doubled down on some of his comments in recent days. During a Board of County Commissioners meeting Thursday, Jan. 21, Shull incorrectly stated that Muslim people believe in Sharia Law over the U.S. Constitution. His comments followed nearly 45 minutes of public testimony in which community members unleashed scathing calls for his resignation.
Metro goes to court to get new income tax sanctified January 19 2021
Tricounty agency wants judge to sign off on legality of 2020 measure. Critics say structure is flawed.
Even as the tri-county agency Metro makes plans for how to spend a new $250 million-a-year income tax for supportive housing and homeless services, it is bolstering one crucial detail: making sure the ordinance enacting the tax is legal.
On Dec. 30, Metro went to Multnomah Circuit Court asking a judge to determine whether the income tax ordinance authorized by voters last May, known as HereTogether, complies with state law.
Called a validation action, Metro filed it to preempt a potential lawsuit based on concerns raised by the Portland Business Alliance and others.
Elementary schools in the metro area can bring students back while following safety rules.
Schools got new reopening rules Tuesday afternoon, Jan. 19, that eased guidelines enough to allow elementary school students in the metropolitan area to get back to school buildings.
In a much-anticipated announcement from the Oregon Department of Education, the parameters around COVID-19 infection rates were relaxed somewhat, especially for the youngest students based on Harvard Global Health Institute recommendations. Still, the infection rate metrics are only advisory and school districts have the ultimate decision about reopening or not.
Earlier in the pandemic, to reopen buildings, schools had to follow a strict set of parameters tied to infection rates. Those metrics left districts in the metro area unable to reopen as COVID-19 infection rates remained stubbornly high.
Elementary schools in the metro area can bring students back while following safety rules.
Schools got new reopening rules Tuesday afternoon, Jan. 19, that eased guidelines enough to allow elementary school students in the metropolitan area to get back to school buildings.
In a much-anticipated announcement from the Oregon Department of Education, the parameters around COVID-19 infection rates were relaxed somewhat, especially for the youngest students based on Harvard Global Health Institute recommendations. Still, the infection rate metrics are only advisory and school districts have the ultimate decision about reopening or not.
Earlier in the pandemic, to reopen buildings, schools had to follow a strict set of parameters tied to infection rates. Those metrics left districts in the metro area unable to reopen as COVID-19 infection rates remained stubbornly high.
January 14 2021
More than 100 elected leaders, community organizations have called for Clackamas County Commissioner Mark Shull to immediately resign.
Leaders in Oregon s Muslim community have rejected an embattled Clackamas County Commissioner s plans for outreach and apologies saying his hate speech requires an immediate resignation.
Newly-elected Commissioner Mark Shull referred to Muslim Americans as invaders and savages as recently as mid-2019 in his Facebook posts and called for military force against them, including extermination outside the lands of Islam.
And while the former lieutenant colonel told The Oregonian he plans to meet with Muslim leaders to build understanding, the most prominent officials in that community say they haven t heard from him.