In 2016, after decades of the building falling into disrepair, the Oregon Community Foundation accepted temporary ownership of the one-story structure, at the request of the state of Oregon. Now, OCF is in the process of figuring out how to gift the building back to a Black-led non-profit that is willing to center arts, healing and intergenerational community-building within the space, in perpetuity.
One year ago, city leaders and Portland Police Bureau (PPB) officials had cause for celebration: After six years of working to meet the law enforcement reforms mandated in a settlement agreement with the US Department of Justice (DOJ), the city had received notice from the feds that it had finally met all 190 of the agreement’s requirements. The detailed 2014 agreement came after a DOJ investigation found that PPB officers were using excessive force against.
2021 set a 26-year high in car thefts in Portland, Oregon, with 9,057 stolen vehicles, with November and December setting records for auto thefts in a month. Increasingly, the stolen cars and trucks are ending up in tent city open air chop shops.