Latest news with #KeithWilson
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Chamber President calls for collaboration to address Portland's economic challenges
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – Hundreds gathered at the Portland Metro Chamber's annual meeting where the governor's Central City Task Force unveiled its plan to get Downtown Portland back on track. Some main goals in this plan — dubbed All In on Portland's Central City — are to bring Central City foot traffic back to pre-pandemic levels, capitalize on big projects in downtown, and turn the city's center into a place where people can live and work. Body of unknown woman found in wooded area of Milwaukie Mayor Keith Wilson and members of the Chamber spoke at the event. Chamber President Andrew Hoan acknowledged the city is coming out of a tough few years, but said Portlanders should feel confident about the future now. 'While we're working on the hard stuff like public safety and unsheltered homelessness and behavioral health issues, those things need to happen,' he said. 'And we have to have a vision for what we can be. And it is clear to me that we have the vision, and now we need collaboration and the coordination to get it all done.' Hoan said in addition to collaboration, it will take time. But he said people in power need to realize Portland's economy is challenged right now. 'Either get on the public private partnership bandwagon or find a different place to spend their time,' he said. 'Because the reality is, when you're in a hard spot, you don't measure the drapes, you don't look at what color the wallpaper is. You focus on the core issues.' Kyron's dad after 15 years: 'You're not home, we're not done' Hoan commended Mayor Wilson and Governor Kotek for working together to turn the city around, encouraging other leaders to do the same. He said Portland residents can play a role also, they just need to show up. 'Let your voice be heard,' he said. 'Because if you're not involved, you're not voting. If you're not testifying, you're not writing letters to the editor, to your state representatives, and you're not part of the solution. Be part of the solution. Get off the sidelines. Get involved.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Uber urges Portland riders to take stance against proposed fee hikes
PORTLAND, Ore. () — The leading rideshare app is urging Portland customers to take a stance against potential fee hikes on the local and state levels. For some Uber users, a notification that read 'Say No to Higher Fares: The Portland City Council wants to increase your taxes on rideshare by 200%' popped up on their phones on Wednesday. Friends of Frog Ferry continues pushing for river transit along Portland metro area The app is responding to city leaders' proposal to increase the current 65-cent fee on rides booked through Uber, Lyft and similar rideshare platforms. that Portland Mayor Keith Wilson has suggested an updated fee of $1.30 per ride, while District 4 Councilor Mitch Green has suggested $2. 'This proposal would disproportionately affect those who rely on Uber for essential travel to work, school, and critical appointments, especially hitting low-income riders the hardest,' Uber wrote. 'At a time when Portlanders are already facing rising living costs, this additional tax burden, intended to balance the City's budget, could make everyday trips unaffordable for many.' According to proponents of the fee hikes, the additional revenue could help close while also funding services like road repairs and street cleaning. But the rideshare company also highlighted potential changes at the state level. would give drivers a minimum wage of $0.39 for each minute they are active on the app, $1.34 for each mile they drive and $6 per dispatched trip. The bill would also establish minimum paid sick time requirements and prevent companies from deactivating accounts without just cause, among other changes. Jury rules in favor of Black firefighter's racial discrimination case against City of Portland While Drivers Union Oregon has said the legislation could help struggling workers in the industry, Uber has suggested it would increase the cost of rides by 40%. The company has directed users to send state lawmakers an email, asking them to 'keep rideshare affordable.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Newsweek
24-05-2025
- Politics
- Newsweek
Portland Plan To Eliminate Homelessness 'Right On Schedule'
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Portland's new Mayor Keith Wilson has told Newsweek he is "right on schedule" to complete his campaign pledge to tackle the city's homeless epidemic by providing "a safe bed for everybody every night." Wilson made the remarks at the 2025 annual conference of the U.S. High Speed Rail Association, which took place in Washington D.C. over May 13-14, where he advocated for a new "Cascadia" high-speed rail line linking Portland in Oregon with Seattle and Vancouver. Homelessness in Portland In recent years the number of homeless people in Portland has surged with Mayor Wilson telling Newsweek when he took office in January 2025 the city had "a little less than 7,000 people unhoused," some of whom were living in tent encampments dotted around the city. In 2023 the health department of Multnomah County, which contains Portland, recorded at least 456 deaths among its homeless population, up more than 100 on the previous year, with health professionals attributing this rise primarily to deadly fentanyl overdoses. Data from the 2022 U.S. Census showed Oregon had the highest rate of chronic homelessness—defined as those who are homeless for more than one year or multiple times over several years—in the United States. Wilson, formerly a businessman and who is a self-described "moderate," was elected as Portland's new mayor in November 2024 beating rivals he described as "a liberal" and "a law and order candidate." Portland Mayor Keith Wilson talks to people after his swearing in ceremony in Portland, Oregon, on December 19, 2024. Portland Mayor Keith Wilson talks to people after his swearing in ceremony in Portland, Oregon, on December 19, 2024. Jenny Kane/AP Photo He focused heavily on the homeless issue during the mayoral campaign, arguing the problem was causing immense suffering for those directly impacted, as well as damaging the city's reputation as a whole. Asked how much progress has been made Wilson replied: "It's going great—we're right on schedule. We have 250 beds that are open, we have another 230 coming on in the next three-four weeks, we have another 200 in two months and we'll be at 630 beds by midyear. "We're building the system to scale up and the goal is 1,500 by December 1. We have private operators that are opening shelters as well. We've got our county partner who has an ambitious goal to add 1,000 housing units to match out 1,500 units. The goal is to really flood the market to make sure everybody has a safe place to sleep with the upcoming winter. I think it's going quite well." Wilson took aim at progressives he accused of facilitating the crisis, even handing out tents in Portland, commenting: "Letting people suffer and die on the street is not progress. It's helplessness, it's a government not guiding itself with morals…any city that lets its citizenry live and die on the street, it's just cruel." He added: "The jurisdiction I'm from, the county, was known to hand out tents and when you have a jurisdiction actively fostering that unhealthy, unsafe behaviour—it's really hard to reverse that but we're reversing it now." Wilson said he was working with Oregon Governor Tina Kotek to boost housing supply as part of which they saved system developmental charges, which builders typically have to pay, for three years for 5,000 housing units to promote construction. West Coast Progressive Backlash The past few months have seen a number of progressive Democratic mayors in West Coast cities, many of whom undertook radical criminal justice reform following the 2020 murder of George Floyd by a police officer, removed from office. In San Francisco Levi Strauss heir Daniel Lurie beat London Breed, the city's first Black woman mayor, in November with a pledge to crack down on crime and homelessness. November also saw the recall of Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao, who critics blamed for a crime surge in the city, who was later replaced by former House Democrat Barbara Lee. Cascadia High Speed Rail Wilson is an enthusiastic supporter of plans to construct a new high-speed rail line stretching from Oregon to Vancouver in British Columbia, and argued this would help solve Portland's housing crisis by letting people commute in from further away. Referring to the U.S., which doesn't have any operational high speed rail lines, Wilson said: "Our system continues to be compacted and stagnant. The great cities from around the world are all tending to go towards high-speed rail and we need an opportunity to unlock our economic renaissance which is what's missing in our country right now and high speed rail would move us forward and get us completing again with the world from a leadership perspective." The International Union of Railways (UIC) defines high speed rail lines as having trains operating at a minimum of 250 kilometers per hour (155 miles per hour) on specially built tracks. The U.S. High Speed Rail Association paid travel and hotel expenses for Newsweek reporter James Bickerton to attend its 2025 annual conference.
Yahoo
11-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Portland City Council President Pirtle-Guiney weighs in on cuts to mayor's proposed budget
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Portland mayor Keith Wilson released his proposed $8.5 billion budget this week. It showed layoffs, fee increases and program cuts to close a $93 million budget gap, while also adding money for public safety and Portland livability. Now it's up to Portland's new 12-person City Council to approve the budget, including president Elana Pirtle-Guiney from District 2. Councilor Pirtle-Guiney — who represents North and Northeast Portland — has been a union organizer, a policy expert for the state, as well as a member of former Governor Kate Brown's executive team. She joined this week's Eye on Northwest Politics to discuss tackling the proposed budget, her take on the mayor's proposed reductions, city workers' threats to strike and more. Watch the full interview in the video above. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
10-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Portland Mayor Wilson urges Multnomah County leaders to adopt homelessness response reforms
PORTLAND, Ore. () — Portland Mayor Keith Wilson is discussing with city and county leaders how to better address the homeless crisis. This comes just days after announcing his for the 2025 fiscal year. The budget dedicates tens of millions of dollars toward his plan to end unsheltered homelessness. Rising costs prompt opening of new free food pantry Wilson shared with the Multnomah County Homelessness Response System Steering and Oversight Committee where he believes the city and county are falling short. Specifically, when it comes to how data is collected at homeless shelters, Wilson said their current system is leading to waste. 'I want to see a utilization rate,' Wilson said. 'The problem with our system is we are not doing three-bed checks a night. We are conflating utilization with the occupancy. Yet we know the beds are empty for long periods of time.' Wilson also discussed stay limits at shelters. Under his plan, people can only stay at a 24/7 shelter for 90 days at a time and are required to meet with a caseworker. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
