“This is Hillsboro, Oregon, in the year 2025. For Shirley and Jasmine, and the people they serve, it’s an era of code names, secretive deliveries, encrypted messages, and concerns about government surveillance.” From Alejandro Figueroa & @hbarth.bsky.social:

The Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to allow the Trump administration to deploy National Guard troops in the Chicago area to support its immigration crackdown, a significant defeat for the president’s efforts to send troops to U.S. cities. Here's what that means for Oregon.

They'rrrre baaaaack bikeportland.org/2025/12/22/m...

A solid, necessary overview of Portland's fractured affordable housing system:

I went deep on some drama over a DQ drive-thru in SE Portland. The franchisee is arguing with the city over his right to include a drive-thru, despite strict zoning rules. It’s sparked debate among neighbors, many of whom are nostalgic for the old DQ, which this business owner demolished in 2019.

Roughly 800 households in Multnomah County are at imminent risk of homelessness if a change in federal funding advances as expected.

Multnomah County Chair Jessica Vega Pederson will not seek a second term in her role atop Oregon's most populous county.

That’s more than double the size of the forecasted budget gap ahead of last year’s budget crisis.

The was the first documented occurence of federal officers firing pepper balls in Portland this year, outside of protests at the ICE facility.

“Malheur was not in Oregon anymore. It was in the White House.”

(Why that $21M has been sitting untouched for months is a whole other thing).

Why that $21 M has sat untouched for months is a whole other question.

“The mayor has until Dec. 1 to do what he’s gonna do, and then the council is going to take the lead Dec. 2,” Dunphy told OPB last month. “That is the moment where I’m ready to pivot and start working on a solution.” That solution is beginning to take shape:

Former Housing Director Says She Was Told Not to Disclose Millions in Unspent Funds. A memo Helmi Hisserich sent to city councilors says city administration viewed unspent funds as "a big PR problem." ✍️ @jeremiahhayden.bsky.social

Welp, this work session has been postponed.

Portland City Council will meet today to discuss the "Homelessness to Housing Continuum." The original idea was for it to be a venue for Mayor Wilson to talk about his homelessness plan. But per Wilson's office, it's not certain he'll show up. (And bureau staff have been advised not to attend.)

The new detention fee won’t immediately impact Portland’s ICE facility — it may only apply if the property owner renews the feds’ lease, which expires in 2033.

We spent the past month (months?) talking w/ protesters detained at Portland's ICE bldg about their experiences. We heard everything from being questioned about antifa, to not being read Miranda rights, to photos w/ arresting officers. Their stories point to a slapdash, chaotic federal operation:

Some other numbers comparing Greeley to Portland: As city manager, Lee oversaw an annual budget of around $515 million. That’s about 6% of Portland’s current budget of $8.6 billion. Greeley has around 1,600 city employees, less than a quarter of Portland’s roughly 7,000 city workers.

The roles of Portland’s city administrator differ slightly from Lee’s work as Greeley’s city manager. Greeley operates under a council-manager style of government, where the seven-person city council includes the mayor. And the city’s admin work is overseen by its city manager, not the mayor.

Federal cuts to Home Forward's housing choice voucher program (aka Section 8) will lead to staff layoffs & delayed wait times for affordable housing. Portland Mayor Wilson, who has announced a new concerted effort to improve housing access, said he's working with the agency to soften the blow.

Nearly 2k affordable apartment units sit empty in Portland, according to data crunched by the O. A chief reason: Rising rents have closed the gap between market rate & so-called "affordable" housing, keeping subsidized units out of reach for low-income renters.

“This will result in more lives on the streets and leaves service providers maxed out on ways to help.”

Related: Wilson claimed victory this morning on reaching his goal.

Mayor Wilson pledged to end unsheltered homelessness in Portland by Dec. 1. Today, people are still sleeping on Portland streets. But Wilson did met one goal: He secured $$ to open his goal of 1,500 new beds. (Yet only 890 of those beds are currently open for use.) Where we're at/what's next:

We have reached Portland Mayor Keith Wilson's deadline for ending unsheltered homelessness in Portland. @alexzee.bsky.social takes stock of where we are.

Portland's now reinstated fees for ppl to pick up a towed RV. I wrote about this coming policy change a few months ago:

Super proud of my friend @ehellerstein.bsky.social for writing/producing her first podcast episode and causally hitting out of the park. Listen for a story of Ukraine's DIY tech nerds on the front lines of the Ukrainian-Russian war:

Portland Housing Director Helmi Hisserich has resigned after being "asked to step down without notice that my work was unsatisfactory.” Her resignation letter, shared with OPB, points to a divide between how the city addresses its housing and homelessness crises.

Who's On First, Oregon nat'l guard edition:

A fun thing buried in this story: This comes the same day that AG Rayfield announced a settlement deal in a lawsuit against a major property mgmt company for "price fixing" by relying on RealPage.

Two items coming to council tonight (both intro'd by Councilor Morillo) worth following: The first is a resurrection of the algorithmic rent-pricing tech ban. www.opb.org/article/2025...

In October, ICE arrests in OR jumped at least 550% from previous months. Portland Immigrants Rights Coalition says that's likely an undercount. Arrests have included people with citizenship or other legal status. "It's detain first, ask questions later." From @troywb.bsky.social @hbarth.bsky.social:

Went down a rabbit hole and have returned to lobby for the return of the Portland mayor's citizen's hotline. We used to be a city.

The latest attempt to use climate tax dollars for something... else.

This is as much about how councilors and the mayor/exec branch are interacting in this new form of gov't than about homeless camps.

I've been hearing all day about rumors that ICE wants to set up a new outpost on the Oregon coast. Newport officials say their airport is in the agency's sites. #orpol www.opb.org/article/2025...

Budget talks in Portland City Hall have exposed a political chasm between how some city councilors and Mayor Keith Wilson want to address homelessness.

It’s official (for now): Trump can’t deploy the National Gaurd to Portland.

Staff are picketing in front of City Hall, where their office is located. It’s already made an impact. According to the Council President, enough councilors have refused to cross the picket line (including her) that today’s council meeting has been cancelled due to lack of quorum.

Eleven employees in Portland’s police oversight office are on strike after a breakdown in negotiations.

These number are closer to 54% yes and 46% no after the 10 pm ballot drop.

In partial returns, Portland's parks levy has about 53% support. About 47% of votes counted oppose the measure.

It appears the fire at Councilor Avalos' house may have been started by a man trying to keep warm. “We are learning of this new development and are eager to learn more as this investigation continues,” says Avalos' chief of staff.

Update for those following Portland's ICE land use appeal: The city has given the property owner two more weeks to submit info before meeting/deciding on the appeal. That means a mtg won't happen until after Nov. 14. Background here:

You've got questions, I've got... limited answers.

“I am concerned that police leadership may be jumping to conclusions before the investigation is complete,” Councilor Avalos said in a statement emailed to OPB on Friday.

It’s not clear why Portland's housing director ways placed on leave. But, four city staff who are close with Hisserich and her office told OPB that she and Wilson have often disagreed over her pace and priorities.

Interesting, 11th hour update: Councilor Dan Ryan has come out in opposition to the Parks Levy renewal, splitting from the mayor and his 10 city council colleagues.