Free Republic

An entitled Oregon shoplifter has sued a grocery store after a clerk beat him up for stealing a cart full of corn dogs and cookies. Joshua Merkel is asking for $10,000 to cover the medical expenses and mental anguish he claims was inflicted during the foiled heist in southwest Portland. Merkel has sued Albertson's grocery store and cashier Matthew Cooper for allegedly attacking him outside the store, leaving him with a black eye and a shattered jaw. The incident happened two years ago, but Merkel filed a civil lawsuit, seen by The Oregonian, last month in Multnomah County Circuit Court....

Oregon is rolling out tablets to all state prisoners, a strategy officials say could help stem the influx of illicit substances into its prisons.Any mail an inmate receives will be digitally scanned and then sent directly to their tablet, eliminating any opportunities for hidden drugs to be unknowingly ferried to their cell, according to the Oregon Department of Corrections.Corrections officials have said these changes will happen gradually, adding that they are aiming to get the tablets in the hands of prisoners by September.There are roughly 12,000 people in state custody who may soon be able to watch movies, play games...

UPDATE: Jennifer Lincoln, the Portland doctor whose contract was terminated for harassing ICE at an airport, uploaded a new video filled with useless leftist slogans and disabled the comments. She claims that she sees what “racism and fear” do to patients, that she can’t stay silent, and that she will continue to fight for “democracy.”

A Portland jury on Wednesday acquitted Angella Lynn Davis of Vernonia, Ore., of charges of second-degree disorderly conduct and offensive physical contact stemming from an October confrontation with independent journalist Nick Sortor. Prosecutors said Davis, 47, chased and helped surround Sortor while brandishing a stick near an Antifa-affiliated encampment adjacent to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility, which has seen repeated protests and arrests, The Post Millennial reported. Sortor traveled from Washington, D.C. to document unrest tied to federal immigration enforcement policies. Senior Deputy District Attorney Kevin Demer told jurors during opening statements that Davis “aggressively pursued” Sortor after...

A former high school principal with ties to Oregon has been sentenced to more than five years in prison after being convicted of possessing and distributing child sexual abuse material, a case that has left many people shaking their heads in anger and disbelief. Jeremy P. Williams, 50, of Longview, Washington, previously served as the principal of Rainier Junior/Senior High School in Rainier, Oregon. According to court records and reporting out of southwest Washington, Williams was sentenced on February 23 to five years and one month in prison. In addition to prison time, he has been ordered to register as...

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Portland homeowners can now earn extra cash by renting a room out through the city’s new home share pilot program.The Portland Housing Bureau announced last week that it is offering one-time grants to homeowners who rent out their spare rooms using a qualified home share provider.In a press release, Mayor Keith Wilson said the city is exploring ways to utilize existing housing as part of its ongoing effort to address the housing crisis.“For many Portlanders, home sharing is a win-win solution, helping homeowners to supplement their incomes while providing low-income tenants with affordable housing options,” he...

The United States Department of Education announced on February 17 that it was opening an investigation into Portland Public Schools (PPS) over a complaint that the district’s Center for Black Student Excellence (CBSE) violates the federal Civil Rights Act. The Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights is investigating a complaint filed in December, alleging the CBSE violates Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 which banned discrimination based on race, color, or national origin in education programs and activities that receive federal funding. According to Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Kimberly Richey: “Civil rights law—and basic fairness—demand that...

A Portland City Council anti-discrimination proposal would redefine families as any consensual relationship, even those with multiple partners, non-monogamous lovers, multigenerational households and stepfamilies. The measure would prohibit discrimination of such families by landlords, employers, city government and businesses. Portland is set to join Somerville, Mass., Berkeley, and Oakland as cities recognizing polyamorous relationships. This comes at the same time as Oregon couples were featured on a polygamy TV reality show called PolyFamily. It was also featured nationally as a way to save on daycare expenses. This is not helpful for Portland’s decline. • Making Portland an icon for polygamy...

“PORTLAND, Ore. (KATU) — Recent federal changes are expanding work requirements for some Oregonians who receive SNAP food benefits, prompting state agencies to urge recipients to connect with free job search and training help through WorkSource Oregon. The Oregon Department of Human Services and the Oregon Employment Department said more people who receive SNAP must now show they are working, looking for work or participating in training to continue receiving benefits”

Oregon Rep. Maxine Dexter (D), a woke physician who downplayed the risks associated with COVID vaccines and has since championed so-called "gender-affirming care," recently raised eyebrows by characterizing an innocent Make America Healthy Again initiative as racist. After repeatedly calling for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to be "dismantled" during a town hall on Saturday, Dexter launched into an unhinged attack on the Department of Health and Human Services and Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. "RFK Jr. is one of the biggest threats to our community and to the health of this country," said Dexter. "When you don't follow the...

“ SALEM, Ore. (KATU) — Oregon lawmakers will vote on legislation aimed at undoing several federal tax changes at the state level as lawmakers work to stabilize the state budget. Senate Bill 1507 is designed to “disconnect” Oregon’s tax code from portions of H.R. 1 — President Donald Trump’s recent federal spending and tax package — after the changes automatically flowed into state taxes. The state’s Legislative Revenue Office estimates it will generate about $311 million in additional revenue during the current biennium, money Democratic leaders say is needed to maintain funding for schools and core government services.“

The Senate bill to swap the gas tax vote from a November General election to a May election has hit a Constitutional wall. As a result the bill is stalled. The petition itself on the front page in bold sets the election date. Politicians cannot just move the election date — if they could, they then could conceivably move it to 10 years in the future. Our legal commentators shared this analysis: “In 1902 the voters of Oregon voted the referendum into our Constitution by an 11 to 1 margin. They gave the legislature an explicit message: When you try...

Democratic Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez—whose Washington swing district makes her one of the most endangered members of Congress—has repeatedly claimed she was forced to work three jobs after her father cut her off financially because she stopped going to church. She says she struggled to pay her tuition at Reed College, a prestigious private institution in Portland, Ore., and resorted to unorthodox living arrangements to avoid paying rent. But documents reviewed by the Washington Free Beacon cast doubt on Gluesenkamp Perez's tale of woe. Her father, Jose Perez, whom she describes as a volunteer evangelical pastor in Houston, loaned Gluesenkamp...

Enjoy hunting, fishing, and eating meat while you can. None of these things is to be permitted as progressives progress toward utopia. Moonbattery-addled Oregon shows the way. KPTV reports: Animal rights advocates are close to having enough signatures to qualify a ballot measure in Oregon that would dramatically change how animals are treated under state law, including banning most hunting, fishing, livestock farming and animal research. The proposed measure Initiative Petition 28, would remove many long-standing exemptions in Oregon’s animal cruelty laws. Under the initiative, most activities that hurt or kill animals would become criminal offenses. No doubt many who...

‘It is tragic that Oregon’s current Democratic lawmakers are so committed to their party’s radical abortion agenda that they will not, at the very minimum, take action to ensure that babies who survive abortion attempts are treated with the same standard of care as any other newborn.’ Oregon Right to Life Pro-abortion Oregon lawmakers voted against bringing a bill to the House floor Monday that would ensure that babies born alive during failed abortions are treated with the same standards of care as newborns delivered under usual circumstances. Representative Court Boice made a motion during a February 16th House floor...

The husband of Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer has been barred from the department’s headquarters after at least two female staff members told officials that he had sexually assaulted them, according to people familiar with the decision and a police report obtained by The New York Times. The women said Ms. Chavez-DeRemer’s husband, Dr. Shawn DeRemer, had touched them inappropriately at the Labor Department’s building on Constitution Avenue. One of the incidents, during working hours on the morning of Dec. 18, was recorded on office security cameras, the people said. The video showed Dr. DeRemer giving one of the women an...

One person was arrested after a drive-by shooting in South Portland, Monday morning. Portland Police officers first responded to a report of shots fired in the 3700 block of SE Van Water Street, near SE 36th Avenue and SE Johnson Creek Boulevard, around 11:20 a.m. According to investigators, the victim called 911, reporting that their car was hit by gunfire. The victim was not injured and was able to give police a description of the suspect's vehicle. Officers later found the suspect's vehicle in the parking lot of the 24 Hour Fitness located in the 4500 block of SE McLoughlin...

A petition to ban hunting in Oregon is picking up steam. Animal rights advocates are fighting to change the law in Oregon, including banning most hunting, fishing and animal research.One of the people leading the charge of getting this petition out there says they have been trying to get this on the ballot for years, getting more and more signatures each time, though he knows it won’t likely pass. Supporters call the proposal the PEACE Act, short for People for the Elimination of Animal Cruelty Exemptions.

Portland’s economy is not working for the majority of residents and businesses. Housing is too expensive. Companies are shrinking their presence in the city. Job numbers are going down. And the city’s most promising indicator of growth can’t be relied upon in today’s political climate: international in-migration. Those are some of the findings from ECOnorthwest, a research and consulting firm headquartered in Portland. The city’s business advocacy group, Portland Metro Chamber, partners each year with the firm to research and analyze economic indicators in the region. In the latest report released Thursday, economists at ECOnorthwest looked at population, housing affordability...

A Portland man is facing criminal charges after police say he left two young children at home for several minutes to make a fast food run. According to court documents, Portland Police responded to a welfare check at the Columbia Park Annex on North Lombard on Tuesday evening. Officers found a 3-year-old boy outside dressed in a shirt, shorts, and socks standing near neighbors. The neighbors said he had thrown up and was frequently coughing. The boy was able to lead officers to where he lived which was a few blocks away in the 7000 block North Dwight Avenue. Police...