Free Republic

Portland officials are mulling a proposal to ban daytime homeless camps in most public spaces as the West Coast city struggles to get a handle on the ballooning number of people living on the streets. Homeless people would need to clear their camps every morning by 8 a.m., picking up all their belongings and trash before they could settle down again at 8 p.m., according to the proposal. The ban would extend to city parks, near schools, day cares, construction sites and some sidewalks, according to the plan brought forward by Mayor Ted Wheeler. “There are currently hundreds of unsanctioned,...

Longtime Oregon Republican National Committeeman Solomon Yue is facing a recall from the state party that he suspects is in response to his support of former President Donald Trump. Yue, who is in his sixth term as state GOP national committeeman, is basing his assumption, at least in part, on the petition to recall him having been circulating days after he met with the former president, who promised to hold a rally in Oregon. Trump met with Yue last month at the National Rifle Association’s National Convention in Indianapolis. Yue told Just the News this weekend he wanted Trump to...

Oregon Senate Republicans began a walkout on May 3, ultimately stalling floor sessions in response to far-left legislation that would allow minors to have abortions and access transgender drugs and procedures without parental consent in the state. Republican Senate Minority Leader Tim Knopp said in an update this week that boycotters will not return until the session’s last day, “when they intended to pass ‘bipartisan’ budgets and bills,” on June 25, the Seattle Times reported.

The law firm Alliance Defending Freedom announced in a statement Monday that it had filed a lawsuit on behalf of Jessica Bates, “a [widowed] single mother of five wishing to adopt siblings from foster care.” As noted by the law firm, Bates “seeks to adopt a sibling pair, who are generally harder to place.” The lawsuit follows the Oregon Department of Human Services’ refusal to grant Bates the certification required to become an adoptive parent after she informed the state that her religious beliefs prevented her from complying with a state law requiring prospective adoptive parents to “respect, accept and...

Senator Ron Wyden is introducing new legislation that would ban what he calls "judge shopping." The Fair Courts Act comes after last month's decision by a Texas federal judge to reverse approval of the popular abortion drug mifepristone. Wyden says no federal judge should have this much power."When you had these anti abortion activists allowed to judge shop and put forth an illegitimate case in front of one judge 17-hundred miles from here, access to a safe and effective medication would effect nation wide! Nation wide... The choices women have!" Said the Senator. "No single judge oughta have that kind...

Lakeridge High School students have apparently been removing tampon dispensers from the walls of boys' bathrooms and depositing them in the toilet. According to the Daily Caller, the school sent out an email about the issue and reportedly attached a photo of a dispenser in a boys' restroom toilet. Oregon state law requires public schools to supply free tampons and sanitary pads in bathroom dispensers, including in restrooms designated for males. "Each time that the dispensers are taken down, the school needs to spend time and resources putting them back up in order to be compliant with House Bill 3294...

Below is a slightly modified version of my column in The Hill on the call of Democrat members for Joe Biden to circumvent Congress and simply raise the debt limit unilaterally. It is more than a flawed constitutional theory. It is an abandonment of the core premise of our constitutional system that each branch would jealously protect its own institutional interests and powers. It is reminiscent of when Democrats applauded wildly when Barack Obama told them that he was going to circumvent Congress entirely after it refused to approve his immigration and environmental legislation. They were applauding their own institutional...

Boys don't menstruate, so it's silly and ridiculous to put tampons and other female products in their bathrooms. Transgender activists have been pushing for this for years, though, because it helps spread the gender ideology cult, particularly among young people. But the boys at Lakeridge High School in Lake Oswego, Oregon, want you to know that they are not going to put up with it:

The new BLM rule introducing so-called conservation leasing will likely become the administration’s vehicle for locking up federal property. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is preparing to fundamentally reshape how public lands are managed without congressional approval. In March, the agency unveiled a sweeping proposal to establish a framework for “conservation leases” that places a newfound priority on preservation. The new Public Lands Rule presents a radical departure from the “multiple use mandate” Congress outlined for the agency in the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (FLPMA). New Rules Are a ‘Game Changer’.. FLPMA requires federal lands...

This woman has an incredible transformation from Communist to Conservative. Filmed in a bar so the noise is distracting but one of the most amazing stories you will ever hear from a Red Pilled conservative.

PORTLAND, Ore. — A Multnomah County measure that aims to provide free legal representation to tenants facing eviction is on the ballot next Tuesday. The cost of living and the rising cost of rent is driving more and more Multnomah County residents into eviction court. “Evictions are rising, the need is rising," said Colleen Carroll who is a co-coordinator for Eviction Representation for All. The program would be funded by a 0.75% capital gains tax. Capital gains refer to any income created by the sale of an asset like stocks and bonds or real estate property. “We chose capital gains...

A Colorado momma bear is suing Wellington Middle School in Fort Collins, Colo., after learning they pulled her sixth-grade daughter into a secret transgender recruiting meeting disguised as an “art club.” “When she got there, she very quickly learned it was actually a gender and sexuality awareness club,” Erin Lee ... “What you hear in here, stays in here,” the mystery groomer allegedly told the kids, suggesting that telling their parents wasn’t “safe.” Lee further disclosed that the guest presenter informed the kids they were transgender if they didn’t feel totally comfy with their gender. “She explained to my daughter...

Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler is convening a meeting with regional leaders this week to discuss a flurry of planned or proposed increases in taxes, fees and utility rates bearing down on households and businesses. In Portland, for example, city bureaus are currently planning or proposing to implement a 6.6% hike on water and sewer services, a 20% rise in parking meter rates and 5% increases across a number of building and development permits within the next several months, according to officials and budget documents. The Portland Bureau of Transportation is also separately floating a monthly tax on residents and businesses...

Republican state senators in Oregon didn't show up to work on Wednesday, denying the Democrats who control the chamber a quorum and casting doubt on planned votes later this week on legislation pertaining to gun safety, abortion rights and sex reassignment health care. The boycott comes as several statehouses around the nation, including in Montana and Tennessee, have been battlegrounds between conservatives and liberals. Oregon has been increasingly divided between the liberal population centers like Portland and Eugene, and its mostly conservative rural areas. The office of Oregon Senate President Rob Wagner said 10 Republican senators and the chamber's lone...

Oregon Secretary of State Shemia Fagan will resign next week. Fagan plans to resign on May 8 due to a political scandal. Fagan has received criticism for her decision to take a $10,000-per-month side job as a cannabis consultant. The contract came from the owners of a cannabis chain that her office was responsible for auditing, according to Oregon Public Broadcasting. Deputy Secretary of State Cheryl Myers will take over the post until Governor Tina Kotek appoints a successor. Initially, Fagan tried to justify the role. However, she backed down in the face of increased scrutiny and apologized on Monday.

Vermont on Tuesday became the first state in the country to change its medically assisted suicide law to allow terminally ill people from out of state to take advantage of it to end their lives. Republican Gov. Phil Scott signed the bill that removes the residency requirement for the decades-old law. Last year in a court settlement, Oregon agreed to stop enforcing the residency requirement of its law allowing terminally ill people to receive lethal medication. It also agreed to ask the Legislature to remove it from the law. ... Patients routinely travel to other states to utilize the best...

Democrat lawmakers in Oregon want to decriminalize homeless camps with a law that would allow the people who live in them to sue for $1,000 if they're harassed or told to leave. The hugely-controversial bill claims 'decriminalization of rest' would allow city leaders to 'redirect' cash from law enforcement into measures that 'address the root causes of homelessness and poverty'. But the proposal has been met with thousands of complaints - and comes as some in the embattled city of Portland plan to move because of the number of homeless camps. The bill, HB 3501, was sponsored by Democrat representative...

It was a dream come true—or rather about to come true—when the Halls bought their forever home. It had everything they needed and more: five bedrooms, four bathrooms, a family room, a dining room, a roomy garage, good schools, and a good neighborhood. Sure, a fixer-upper, but they felt up to it. Prentiss Hall, a home improvement contractor, made it his life project, and everybody lent a hand—his wife, Tawanda, and six children, cousins, and friends. “We were really excited,” Tawanda told The Epoch Times. They negotiated the price down to $67,000—a bargain, perhaps, but the home demanded a daunting...

At this point, Democrats aren't even trying to hide the fact they are out to destroy the country. Oregon proposed a law allowing homeless people to sue municipalities for as much as $1,000 per violation as part of a new initiative to decriminalize homelessness. House Bill 3501, known as the Right to Rest Act, would allow homeless individuals o use public spaces in "the same manner as any other person" without discrimination for their housing status, despite residents expressing frustration over the impending safety and hygienic issue. Homeless people could also be awarded up to $1,000 if they are "harassed"...

In a remarkable turn of events, Oregon Secretary of State Shemia Fagan confirms in response to questions from WW that she entered into an agreement in February to provide consulting services to an affiliate of the troubled La Mota cannabis dispensary chain. As WW has previously reported, the owners of La Mota were also major donors to Fagan’s election campaign and have been under the scrutiny of at least two state agencies, the Oregon Department of Revenue and the Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission. La Mota appears to be in financial trouble. In recent years, the Department of Revenue and...