Kelly Kenoyer

In the midst of a development boom in Portland, Oregon’s construction workers are aging out of the business—and they aren’t being replaced. Following a decades-long national trend, Oregon’s high-school graduates are increasingly moving on to college rather than going into trade work. Charles Manigo is trying to change that. “Being a construction worker isn’t sexy,” Manigo says. “But this is a job where, at the end of the day, you can see what you did. It’s a very respectable trade.”

A futuristic structure may soon be coming to the Portland State University (PSU) campus—complete with loudspeakers, solar panels, bike pedals, and electrical outlets. But this alien-looking creation isn’t a toy for millennials—it’s designed to help save lives after a disaster. And its introduction at PSU may inspire more of them to pop up across the city. The “PrepHub” looks like several park benches outfitted with bike pedals and arranged underneath a tall, glowing pillar with speakers and screens on its sides.

Behind the Scenes of the Only Organization Detaining Undocumented Kids in Oregon

January was a bad month for Mary Maxwell. As a bus driver for TriMet’s LIFT program, which serves disabled patrons who can’t access regular transit, Maxwell had suffered through days of sexual harassment from the same passenger. Even after she filed several complaints, Maxwell says her bosses wouldn’t do anything about it. This stress was compounded by the fact Maxwell wasn’t allowed regularly scheduled breaks from her job—her grueling schedule kept her in the driver’s seat for hours without a chance to use the bathroom or seek respite from abusive clientele. The pressure built until, one afternoon, she soiled herself on the driver’s seat. It happened the next day too, and on the third day, she couldn’t take it anymore.

In 2015, Portland kicked off a $2.4 million project intended to help at least 65 low-income families become homeowners in North and Northeast Portland over the next five years. More than three years in, only five families have been able to buy a home through the program.

City Council voted yesterday to let a developer build a 16-story apartment complex in the middle of Old Town Chinatown, potentially shifting the city's standard on height limits downtown. The decision, ushered in by Mayor Ted Wheeler, sets the maximum height of a proposed building in Old Town to 160 feet (or, 16 stories), far beyond the 100 foot limit currently imposed by the Chinatown Historic District.

The Decision Shines a Light on 'Systemic Failings' Within PPS On February 9, Ockley Green Middle School teacher Chris Riser joined a student-led walkout to commemorate the death of Quanice Hayes, a 17-year-old shot and killed by Portland police last year. Held during the middle of a school day, the event brought more than a hundred students to the streets of North Portland as they chanted, “Our voices, our choices.”

The public defender system in Eugene and Springfield discourages quality representation by free attorneys, according to local lawyers. Attorney groups that contract with the cities pay public defenders a flat rate for each case, so attorneys make less than minimum wage on cases that go to trial. And the bail system in Springfield keeps impoverished defendants in jail before they get to trial, putting defendants in a strained situation and prompting a misleading number of guilty pleas.

A debate is growing around the future of the riverfront near the University of Oregon campus: Keep the land as is, develop it as an extension of the University of Oregon campus, or focus on environmental and habitat restoration.

Ten consecutive freezing nights in Eugene earlier this month have stretched homelessness resources to a breaking point, with exhausted volunteers staying at Egan Warming Center locations night after night. Shelley Corteville, director of Egan Warming Center, says this has been a challenging December. “I believe that’s more consecutive nights than we’ve ever opened before,” Corteville says. “It’s really hard to sustain that many nights with volunteers.”

With an average of 64 additional calls for service each day, Kerns says, wait times are increasing, and police have limited time for regular patrol duties that keep the community safer.

Redefining Women in Tech (RWIT) is a nonprofit in Eugene that connects women with the communities and resources they need to thrive in tech careers. Lauren Jerome is a mentor-in-residence with RAIN Eugene (Regional Accelerator & Innovation Network) and co-founder of Mindbox Studios, a software and web development studio in Eugene.

St. Vincent de Paul Society of Lane County (SVDP) has received a $2 million donation to build a home for homeless teen boys — the largest single donation it has ever been given. The donation was announced as SVDP finishes up construction on its home for unhoused teen girls, which will be completed in January. The donor, CBT Nuggets, is a local tech company that produces online education materials on information technology.

A new law in Oregon takes great steps for protecting the elderly from abuse and mismanagement in the state’s 530-some licensed care facilities. House Bill 3359, signed by Gov. Kate Brown in August, increases civil penalties for elder abuse by 400 to 500 percent. It also institutes a fine, capped at $1,000, for facilities that fail to report their own abuses.

Suspended high in the canopy over the Willamette National Forest on a platform, an activist sits, putting his life on the line. The rope holding him in the air is connected to an anchor — a box full of concrete and two vehicles that form a blockade on the timber road. If any part of this intricate set-up is moved, the activist could plummet to his death.

More than 80 people stood at the intersection of Oregon Avenue and the I-5 exit in Creswell on Monday, Oct. 2, calling on drivers to “Say no to One Gro.” The protesters were referencing an upcoming ballot initiative in the small town — one that has “the friendly city” divided about its future. If passed, Ballot Initiative 20-280 would allow recreational marijuana dispensaries into Creswell, but those on both sides make arguments unrelated to pot when they argue for or against the measure.

There are 418 tech companies registered in Lane County, and many of them are hiring, according to Allison Weatherly, the event coordinator for Technology Association of Oregon (TAO). She says most of these tech companies are looking to shop local when they’re hiring, so several programs are setting up Lane County high school students to train for these jobs.

The city of Springfield has temporarily waived certain fees it typically charges for the construction of accessory dwelling units (ADUs), which are also known as secondary dwelling units and in-law flats. These small dwellings are considered by many to be a key solution to the local housing shortage, as they can provide missing middle housing — small, affordable housing ideal for young families and retirees alike — in desirable neighborhoods.