Latest news with #PortlandCityCouncil
Yahoo
06-08-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Portland City Council to review Vision Zero effect
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — In 2016, the Portland City Council adopted Vision Zero, a plan to stop traffic deaths completely by 2030. Clearly, that's not working, as two more pedestrians were killed in crashes this past weekend in separate parts of the city. One of those crashes happened around , one of Portland's Last year in Portland, 69 people died in traffic crashes, up from 62 the year before. Pedestrian dies after late night Northwest Portland crash Highway safety experts are pushing for city leaders to go for a new plan instead of . The plan by 30% over the next 5 years. David Harkey the president of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, said they 'still believe in the concept of Vision Zero, but we feel like we really need this interim target to help us move in the right direction.' Harkey, who spoke to , North Carolina, said he saw a sharp incline in traffic-related deaths in recent years. 'If we can get everybody on the same page and moving in the same direction, I think people will take notice and we will start to see changes in policy and practice that will make a difference,' Harkey said. On Wednesday, the Portland City Council will review the progress made with Vision Zero. KOIN 6 News will follow this story. Gina Hicks, who lives near SE 122nd and Ash, said she's not surprised at the fatalities in the area. Portland traffic deaths decline, but deadly trends persist, new report says 'We have a lot of people here with mental health problems right out in traffic, and the traffic doesn't always stop at this white line,' Hicks said. 'When the traffic's backed up, they will go through the intersection and nobody's expecting that. And so it's a danger to pedestrians.' She said she's nearly been hit at this intersection. 'Being in a wheelchair, unless they're looking, they can't see me.' 'We got the intersection behind me and that walk signal takes a long time to change. And so people tend to just walk out in and take their chances,' she said. 'The traffic is really heavy through here.' In the meantime, Gina Hicks said something needs to be done. 'They need to have, like, better marking through here, maybe more warning signs if there's a stop coming up here,' she said. 'It's a danger to pedestrians.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Solve the daily Crossword
Daily Mail
29-07-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
Gorgeous city that once boomed is now construction desert after woke policies sent builders fleeing
A once sought-after city in Oregon is working to win back investor confidence after chaotic protests and so-called ' woke ' policies drove away developers. Portland was once a hotspot for housing investment, particularly after a construction boom in 2010, but has recently seen a dramatic decline. The city dropped to 80th out of 81 metro hubs in a recent Urban Land Institute report into construction levels, according to Oregon Live. At the end of 2024, the city had just over 1,600 housing units under construction - the lowest number recorded since 2011. The construction slowdown can be attributed in part to the 2020 protests in the heart of the city and the reputational damage that followed, with one economist describing Portland's lingering image as a 'dumpster fire,' according to Oregon Live. Governor Tina Kotek and Mayor Keith Wilson have agreed to meet with skeptical investors in an effort to address the city's rising cost of living and restore confidence in the housing market. 'We're going to have to stay on the development community,' Gov Kotek told the outlet. 'I want to make sure Portland is competitive,' she added. To rein in the cost of living in the coastal metro, more housing must be developed - but homebuilders rely heavily on outside investors to finance these projects. Wilson and Kotek share a goal of boosting housing by making construction easier - starting with a three-year waiver on certain building fees. The Portland City Council approved the fee waiver earlier this month, a move welcomed by developers, according to Oregon Live. The idea to waive the system development charges and fees related to housing construction came from a group called the Multifamily Housing Development Workgroup. But the recent report, watched by investors and industry insiders - has done little to restore confidence among business owners and developers about Portland's future. This week, the mayor and governor convened a taskforce made up of city councilors, state officials and housing policy experts - an idea also suggested by the Multifamily Housing Development Workgroup. Together, the group will brainstorm ways to reverse the city's severe apartment construction slump, though the details of upcoming meetings about Portland's business outlook are still undecided. Since the murder of George Floyd in 2020, Portland has been grappling with ongoing unrest that has deeply affected the city. On New Year's Eve 2020, another riot erupted as protesters smashed windows and threw firebombs at police officers, who later shared images of Molotov-style cocktails scattered on the streets. The Portland City Council approved a three year waiver on certain building fees earlier this month This week the governor (pictured) launched a taskforce made up of city councilors, state officials and housing policy experts to generate ideas to reverse the city's construction slump In May the west coast city was forced to slash the sale price of one of its biggest office buildings after it became overrun with homeless people. Portland, which is known for its liberal politics, has since seen its downtown suffer after a failed attempt at drug decriminalization. The city's office vacancy rate was 35 percent in the first three months of the year, the worst of the top 25 central business districts in the country, according to real estate firm Colliers. One of the most telling signs of its downtown decline is the sale of its US Bancorp Tower at a list price of 80 percent less than its previous valuation, as reported by The Wall Street Journal. Technology publisher Digital Trends filed a lease-termination lawsuit claiming its staff were unsafe as the building had been taken over by the homeless population of downtown Portland. The publisher claimed in its lawsuit that the building had 'vagrants sleeping in hallways of vacant office floors... starting fires in stairwells, smoking fentanyl and defecating in common areas.' The building had became a 'cesspool of criminal activity and vandalism,' they alleged. Earlier this month chaos erupted at an ICE detention facility center in the city after hundreds of protestors attempted to storm holding cells. Video footage captured demonstrators being tackled to the ground as officers deployed smoke bombs and tear gas to try and control the crowd.
Yahoo
08-07-2025
- Yahoo
Crews put out blaze caused by fireworks, reiterate ban ahead of Fourth of July
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – As Portland fire officials continue to urge residents to respect the fireworks ban ahead of Fourth of July weekend, another fire sparked from an illegal firework on Tuesday. The fire broke out in the Hazelwood Neighborhood of East Portland just before 1 p.m. Crews arrived at the scene and quickly put it out, though several overhead powerlines were in danger during the fire. Shooting closes roads in SW Portland, ends in arrest of man who fled on foot 'Had the fire severed the line, a live electrical wire would have been dropped in the middle of the fire scene posing increased dangers to the responding and working firefighters on scene,' officials said. A home was also impacted by the fire, though it did not see much damage and the family will not be displaced, according to officials. Witnesses at the scene later told firefighters that a group of kids in the area had been lighting fireworks before the fire started. In 2022 the Portland City Council unanimously passed a ban on the use and sale of personal fireworks. This year officials are rolling out a new online form where people can report illegal fireworks use without overloading 911 with calls. The hope is with this reporting tool officials can see where the problem areas are and create public information efforts, and quick enforcement, in the future. Jury reaches verdict on 4 of 5 counts in Diddy trial but is told to keep deliberating 'Are we going to find hotspots of usage? Will we have a better chance at being able to possibly increase our capabilities in the future to go to those hotspots and actually enforce day of,' Rick Graves with Portland Fire & Rescue said. This year Portland Police Chief Bob Day is instructing officers who see people using illegal, personal fireworks to seize them and issue citations. The ban came following the deadly fire at the A firework left in a trash can sparked the fire that killed three people and destroyed the apartment complex. Robert Gremillion is reflecting on that fire that killed his son. Ahead of this Independence Day he is asking people to obey that law. 'Do you want to be a good citizen? You want to be a good neighbor, and you want everybody to have fun,' he said. 'But, you know, sometimes it's hard to keep in mind that it can take a moment to change somebody's life, for the better or for the worse.' Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Gremillion said people need to consider how they can affect someone's life. 'Not even my son and his friends who passed away, but all the other people in that apartment building that ended up becoming homeless,' he said. Enforcement is a challenge when the rules change from city to city. Fire officials said they want to have similar stances on fireworks as surrounding communities. They are hoping the new online tool could help. 'Even if you're not in the city of Portland you are free, and we encourage you, to utilize the form to report usage, because perhaps that data accumulation will be enough of a catalyst in those communities where fireworks are permitted to change the position,' Graves said. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
28-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Protesters gather for anti-ICE ‘Block Party' outside federal facility in South Portland
PORTLAND, Ore. () — Federal agents deployed flash bangs and pepper balls during a protest that gathered outside the Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in South Portland late Tuesday night. The development comes after the presence of ICE agents in Portland, as well as Oregon overall, was a major point of discussion at a city meeting that drew much public interest earlier in the evening at City Hall two miles away. This comes after weeks of demonstrations outside the ICE facility in South Portland, an area of the city that was once again the site of a massive protest once the Portland City Council meeting wrapped. Travis Decker may have died evading police Earlier in the evening, Portland City Councilors discussed what it means for Portland to be a sanctuary city and how that compares with the presence of federal immigration agents. Members of the public were so interested in the discussion inside City Hall that people filled overflow rooms surrounding it, and protesters even took their signs to the front door and the sidewalk. City leaders talked about the issue after Portland City Councilor Sameer Kanal added a discussion about immigration and the sanctuary city status to the Portland City Council's public safety meeting agenda. 'This is our first conversation. It won't be our last one,' Kanal said. Portland City Councilor Angelita Morillo talked about how the ICE facility on South Macadam Avenue has become a complicated issue. Portland native joins cast of 'Love Island USA' 'I think that we're in a very difficult moment between advocates in the community who are fighting for immigrants and, immigration attorneys who are fighting for immigrants as well, because there are different ideas around what the best material strategy is to help people and we know that with the Macadam building closed down, that a lot of immigrants are not able to make their appointments and are being taken to other federal buildings, their attorneys don't know where they are,' Morillo said. Morillo added that she 'also personally believe[s] that we need to protect immigrants as much as we can from ICE, and that, frankly, ICE should be abolished.' On June 14, a during a protest outside the ICE facility. Days later, the building underwent after property damage occurred, including smashed windows and doors and graffiti. On Tuesday evening, after the city council discussion downtown concluded, a large protest dubbed an anti-ICE 'Block Party' was held a couple of miles away, outside the ICE facility in South Portland. Demonstrators continued their mission of what they call getting 'ICE out of Portland.' 'We're on the sidewalk, we're trying to make an impact here, and instead they're coming at us with severe aggression,' said a protester named Daniela K. 'We need a show of support, to show our local leadership that this matters to so many of us, and this may look like a big crowd, but we need more.' Former school employee confesses to raping student Another protester named Helena said she's been there from the start and has created a sign, gradually adding pictures of the people taken into ICE custody, day by day. 'It reminds people why we're here, take the time to actually read their stories,' Helena said, who also attended the Portland City Council meeting earlier in the evening. 'We're just out here, doing what we can, every single day.' A candlelight vigil is planned to honor those taken by ICE agents Wednesday night at 6 p.m. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
American Military News
07-06-2025
- Health
- American Military News
Portland to pay $1.66 million to family of Afghan refugee girl who drowned at city pool
Portland City Council on Wednesday unanimously approved a $1.66 million settlement with the family of a 12-year-old girl who drowned in 2023 at a city-run pool — the first fatal swimming accident at a public city pool in nearly four decades. The girl was found unresponsive in the water at Montavilla Pool on Aug. 25, 2023. Temperatures that day had topped 90 degrees. She was taken to a hospital, where she died three days later, on Aug. 28. The girl 'was a bright shining star in our lives,' her family said in a tribute shared shortly after her death by the Afghan Support Network, a nonprofit formed to help Afghan refugees. 'She aspired to become a doctor and had a strong determination to make a positive impact on the world.' The girl's family had arrived in Oregon as part of a wave of Afghan refugees following the U.S. military withdrawal from Afghanistan and the Taliban's return to power. ___ © 2025 Advance Local Media LLC. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
