Opinion | Despite the fear and backlash, let’s fight for the lives of people using drugs Overdose prevention centers reduce “overdose and unwanted public use” while connecting people “with addiction services and social supports including voluntary treatme ...
25 Oct 2023 - Kaia Sand
OPINION | House Bill 2001 expands on Gov. Kotek's homelessness state of emergency People across the state are struggling with homelessness, and it’s not always easy to see. Not only are people in tents, but also in RVs and campers without access to w ...
1 Mar 2023 - Kaia Sand
House Bill 2488 would codify environmental justice principles, but lawmakers are already limiting its scope Lisa Arkin is the executive director at Beyond Toxics. The Eugene-based nonprofit centers and uplifts voices that are most affected by pollution an ...
21 Apr 2021 - Lisa Arkin
DIRECTOR’S DESK | Voters need to turn out in droves to pass this homeless-services measure The green and yellow tent backs up to a concrete piling on Naito Parkway. Behind the piling, more tents are equally spaced, an archipelago of brightly colored dwell ...
28 Feb 2020 - Kaia Sand
COMMENTARY | When supporters speak to the threat to 'our way of life,' they are invoking the white supremacist history of Oregon The sun came out on a recent Thursday in Salem. For many of the attendees at the Timber Unity rally against cap-and- ...
21 Feb 2020 - Kaisa Schlarb
DIRECTOR’S DESK | This isn’t just a Portland problem; it’s an Oregon problem It is too easy to live in Portland and view homelessness as Portland’s problem. But here’s a startling perspective. Despite the fact that the Point in Time Count measured a sligh ...
17 Jan 2020 - Kaia Sand
When the Legislature turns its back on Oregonians, it tacitly approves continued hardships for our next generation Years ago – among a collage of street art and other images – Street Roots had a poster on its wall quoting a Swahili proverb. It said, “When ...
28 Jun 2019 - SR editorial board
Oregon House Bill 3145 would bring indigent defense more in balance with the prosecution “Public defense is in a crisis in Oregon.” These are the words of Eric J. Deitrick, general counsel for the Office of Public Defense Services, the very agency charge ...
31 May 2019 - SR editorial board
COMMENTARY | Oregon business lobbyists scapegoat public workers while ignoring corporate responsibility for budget cuts The Oregon Legislature is planning a pay cut for public employees, as a big part of a package to restructure the deficits caused by the ...
10 May 2019 - Mary King
With Oregon’s abysmal track record for responding to records requests, legislative action is crucial From the moment a politician put pen to paper, there has been a reporter asking for a copy of the document. Transparency in government is a hallmark of d ...
5 Apr 2019 - SR editorial board