Portland public school teachers will now take gender identity and race into account before disciplining students, according to an agreement between the school district and its teachers union.
The requirement appears in a collective bargaining <a href="https://www.pps.net/cms/lib/OR01913224/Centricity/Domain/56/Tentative%20Agreements%20Combined%2011.27.23%20PAT.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">agreement</a> between Portland Public Schools and its unionized teachers, which ended a nearly month-long strike late last month. The agreement with the Portland Association of Teachers was ratified on Tuesday.
When a student engages in &#8220;continuous disruptive behavior,&#8221; school officials must develop a &#8220;support plan&#8221; for the student that &#8220;must take into consideration the impact of issues related to the student&#8217;s trauma, race, gender identity/presentation, sexual orientation … and restorative justice as appropriate for the student,&#8221; the agreement <a href="https://freebeacon.com/campus/portland-public-schools-must-now-consider-race-gender-identity-when-disciplining-students/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">states,</a> according to the Washington Free Beacon.
The new disciplinary policy also prohibits suspending a student who threatens or harms other people. Those students may now only be removed from their classroom and sent to a &#8220;self-regulation space&#8221; within the school.
Previously Portland schools <a href="https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/portland-public-schools-changed-suspension-policy-teachers-strike/283-57387413-23d3-46e9-aea7-c532fd91b37f" target="_blank" rel="noopener">could</a> suspend middle and high school for at least five days for extreme cases of students causing physical harm or threatening violence. Now through the union agreement, the district has expanded its rapid response teams, which are supposed to intervene early in these situations.
The agreement replaces the term &#8220;unacceptable&#8221; student behavior with &#8220;continuous disruptive&#8221; behavior, and refers to &#8220;support plans&#8221; rather than &#8220;behavior correction plans.&#8221;
More than 40,000 Portland students <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/US/portland-public-school-classes-resume-after-teachers-strike/story?id=105188761#:~:text=More%20than%2040%2C000%20Oregon%20students,U.S.%20teachers%20strike%20in%202023." target="_blank" rel="noopener">returned</a> to the classroom last week for the first time since Halloween when the teacher strike ended.
Due to the strike, students&#8217; winter break will be cut in half to make up for the class time they lost this month. Parents have complained this decision affects their holiday plans.
Portland’s teachers will get a pay raise of about 14% over three years thanks to their new contract with the district.
Student discipline has been a growing concern in Portland&#8217;s public schools.
Portland teachers have <a href="https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/portland-public-schools-changed-suspension-policy-teachers-strike/283-57387413-23d3-46e9-aea7-c532fd91b37f" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> they are seeing &#8220;more students in crisis&#8221; with mental health issues, which can lead to fights.
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In response, the Portland school district has been working to beef up its &#8220;restorative justice&#8221; practices over the last two years.
“So that we’re really shifting from this punitive way of how we respond, to either discipline, or how we respond to our students who do get suspended or expelled and need to reenter,&#8221; Char Hutson, the program manager for restorative justice <a href="https://www.opb.org/article/2021/12/24/amid-fights-and-behavior-problems-portland-public-schools-struggles-to-build-restorative-approach-to-discipline/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> in 2021.
However, after the pandemic, the district saw a spike in requests for the district’s restorative justice services, seeing up to 60 requests in the fall, 2021 semester compared to just 40 requests for the entire previous school year, Hutson said at the time.
Failing discipline policies were one of the concerns among conservative parents in other parts of the country who <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/meet-the-moms-and-dads-taking-over-school-boards-across-the-country" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ran</a> for school board after the pandemic.

TOPSHOT-education-FRANCE-SCHOOL

Portland Teachers Will Take Gender Identity, Race Into Account Before Disciplining

Education

Gender

Oregon

Portland

Public Schools

Race

Transgender

The <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/oregon" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Democratic Party of Oregon</a> (DPO) canceled its budgetary meeting and holiday party for this weekend over a reportedly credible threat of pro-Palestinian protestors.
DPO’s State Central Committee planned to meet in person to discuss the 2024-25 budget and hold a holiday party. However, DPO Chair Rosa Colquitt said in emails <a href="https://www.wweek.com/news/2023/11/17/democratic-party-of-oregon-cancels-weekend-event-fearing-disruption-from-gaza-protestors/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">obtained</a> by the Willamette Week that she canceled the events due to a credible threat of pro-Palestinian protestors.
“We have received highly credible information that we cannot confidently hold safe and secure in-person DPO events and meetings this weekend,” said Colquitt.
Brad Martin, DPO executive director, told Willamette Week that they opted to cancel because they couldn’t ensure anyone’s personal and physical safety at the meeting.
“The party has always supported the rights of individuals to peacefully protest, but we were not confident we could hold these events safely and securely for either DPO participants or protesters,” said Martin.
Local activist and influencer Matilda Bickers <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CzsY1uBrfb9/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">shared</a> a flyer outlining the protest, encouraging masks to be worn. The flyer declared that there would be “no business as usual” without a cease-fire. The flyer didn’t mention which, if any, groups were behind the protest.
“Democratic Party leadership and the majority of Democratic elected officials are out of touch with their constituents; almost 70 percent of Americans want a cease-fire,” read the flyer. “Let them know: no votes for any candidate who doesn’t call for a cease-fire!”
Despite DPO canceling, a local activist by the name of Robin Lanehurst said in a statement that the protest would still be held.
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“Democratic voters and allies will gather outside the Beaverton Elks Lodge to protest the Oregon Democratic Party’s continued silence on the genocide in Gaza,” said Lanehurst.
This state party’s cancelation comes days after Wednesday’s <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/house-democrat-says-pro-palestinian-protest-scared-me-more-than-january-6-report" target="_blank" rel="noopener">pro-Palestinian protest</a> at the Democratic National Committee (DNC) headquarters in Washington, D.C., turned violent. U.S. Capitol Police (USCP) said that a 150-strong mob was “illegally and violently protesting,” prompting lockdowns at the DNC and House office buildings. In a statement, USCP said the rioters blocked off building exits with dumpsters, pepper sprayed and punched officers, and attempted to pick up their bike rack.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
USCP statement on the unlawful demonstration outside of the DNC: <a href="https://t.co/Z5fsf7HfZD">https://t.co/Z5fsf7HfZD</a> <a href="https://t.co/N4cd9xFYOs">pic.twitter.com/N4cd9xFYOs</a>
&mdash; The U.S. Capitol Police (@CapitolPolice) <a href="https://twitter.com/CapitolPolice/status/1725160884618621048?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 16, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The protests demanding cease-fire don’t appear to be slowing down anytime soon across the nation, least of all in Oregon.
Oregon State University (OSU) students <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CzsF9bnJXhb/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">planned</a> to protest on Saturday as well, at the Benton County Courthouse; they held a <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CzcQ9SPyBOk/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">protest</a> there last weekend as well, and for several weekends before that.
Jewish Voice for Peace Seattle (JVPS) <a href="https://act.jewishvoiceforpeace.org/a/2023-11-murray-ceasefire?sourceid=1002540" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> another protest on Sunday, at an undisclosed location near South Lake Union. JVPS instructed protestors to wear all black.
Similarly, activist groups Samidoun Seattle and Falastiniyat have held protest marches every Saturday in Seattle, and pledge to continue doing so until state officials call for a cease-fire and the end of support to Israel.
Seattle City Councilwoman Kshama Sawant — who describes herself as “the only socialist” on the council — also <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CzuTg1YvJtK/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">called</a> for her followers and protestors to pack the Seattle City Hall during their meeting next Tuesday, November 21, and demand a cease-fire.
Sawant lamented that her fellow Democratic council members didn’t support her resolution in support of Palestinians, proposed earlier this month. The resolution not only called for a cease-fire, but an end to U.S. funding for the Israeli military and an end to Israeli presence in the land.
“By refusing to support the resolution, Seattle Democrats chose the side of warmongering and imperialism,” stated Sawant.
On Friday, the Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL) of Portland, ANSWER Coalition, and Free People PDX held a protest at the Boeing Facility in Gresham.

Protest

Oregon Democratic Party Cancels Meeting Over Credible Threat Of Pro-Palestinian Protestors

Democratic Party

General

Palestinians

U.S.

Shortly after an 18-year-old opened fire on children at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, last year, killing 19 students and two teachers, the New York Times published a lengthy front-page article on the killer&#8217;s background. One line in the Times&#8217; report didn&#8217;t last long, before an editor deleted it from the article, without explanation. The sentence in question quoted one of the gunman&#8217;s co-workers at Wendy&#8217;s as saying: 
<blockquote>&#8220;He would often talk about how much he despised his mother and grandmother, whom he told her did not let him smoke weed or do what he wanted.&#8221;</blockquote>
It was never clear why that particular line was deleted. Most likely they wanted to push gun confiscation instead, and it confused the narrative. In any event, the New York Times didn&#8217;t want to talk about the shooter&#8217;s marijuana use. If the blogger Alex Berenson hadn&#8217;t <a href="https://alexberenson.substack.com/p/urgent-the-new-york-times-has-edited/comments?s=r" target="_blank" rel="noopener">spotted</a> the change, it&#8217;s likely no one would have ever noticed it. What we do know is that, if the shooter in Uvalde was indeed a pothead, then there are a lot of other examples just like him. Many other mass shooters — from Parkland to Aurora to Tucson to Sutherland Springs — were <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/cannabis-and-the-violent-crime-surge-marijuana-pot-use-thc-shootings-psychosis-mental-11654540197" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> marijuana users. 
That dovetails with <a href="https://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/doi/10.1176/appi.ajp.2020.19101008" target="_blank" rel="noopener">research</a> showing that young people who used marijuana were more than twice as likely to commit acts of violence. To give just one example, the American Journal of Psychiatry published a <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32456503/#:~:text=Conclusions%3A%20These%20results%20demonstrate%20a,a%20risk%20factor%20for%20violence." target="_blank" rel="noopener">meta-analysis</a> of several large-scale studies three years ago. The conclusion: 
<blockquote>&#8220;These results demonstrate a moderate association between cannabis use and physical violence. &#8230; Cannabis use in this population is a risk factor for violence.&#8221;</blockquote>
You never hear about these studies, probably for the same reason that the New York Times censored itself for mentioning marijuana in the context of the Uvalde shooting. In elite circles, talking about the consequences of marijuana use is unpopular. Anything that discourages people from smoking more weed is also disfavored. It&#8217;s almost like they want the masses to be drugged and passive, which might explain why the cigar tax in New York is <a href="https://www.tax.ny.gov/bus/cig/cigidx.htm#:~:text=New%20York%20State%20imposes%20an,one%20ounce%20or%20less%3B%20and" target="_blank" rel="noopener">75%</a>, while the marijuana tax is less than <a href="https://www.tax.ny.gov/bus/auc/#:~:text=If%20you%20make%20retail%20sales,sale%20or%20transfer%20is%20imposed." target="_blank" rel="noopener">15%</a>.
<h4><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/ep-1264-blue-state-decriminalizes-all-drugs-total-societal-breakdown-immediately-follows-member-exclusive" target="_blank" rel="noopener">WATCH: The Matt Walsh Show</a></h4>
Regardless of what exactly explains that discrepancy, the PR effort to push marijuana has obviously been successful over the past decade. Two dozen states have passed some form of legalization or decriminalization of weed. And because slippery slopes are real — and anyone who uses the term &#8220;slippery slope fallacy&#8221; is lying to you — the decriminalization movement did not end there. Instead, it&#8217;s progressed far beyond marijuana. 
Three years ago, on the heels of the race riots following the overdose of George Floyd, Oregon became the first state in the country to <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/oregon-votes-to-decriminalize-all-drugs-allow-psilocybin-for-mental-health-treatment-11604477494" target="_blank" rel="noopener">decriminalize</a> the possession of all illegal drugs —not just marijuana, but every illegal drug. Nearly 60% of voters in the state approved Measure 110, along with a separate measure that legalized the use of hallucinogenic mushrooms for therapy. The idea was that laws against heroin and meth and other drugs were counterproductive and oppressive and of course racist, so they had to go.
Hopes were high. As Vox <a href="https://www.vox.com/21509815/oregon-ballot-measure-110-drug-decriminalization" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> at the time:
<blockquote>&#8220;Given that decriminalization is so far untried in the US, it’s difficult to say how it would play out. In that sense, Measure 110 would create a real-time experiment for Oregon and the rest of the country.&#8221;</blockquote>
Not long afterwards, though, problems began to emerge. In 2022, a local news station embedded with the head of a Portland drug interdiction task force. Here&#8217;s what they learned:
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Law enforcement says decriminalization has flooded Portland streets with drugs" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/duu4u9a19AE?start=136&#038;feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Measure 110, the officer says, is the reason that fentanyl and stolen handguns and machine guns are flooding Oregon. &#8220;Measure 110 has everything to do with it,&#8221; he tells the reporter.  
Now, three years after Measure 110 was passed, voters are tired of it. Polls now show that a majority of residents in Oregon now want to re-criminalize hard drugs, and a ballot measure doing so is expected next year. That&#8217;s because, predictably, decriminalizing cocaine and heroin, and everything else, has led to nothing less than the breakdown of society in Oregon. To the extent that there was a society there before this.
This week, the Wall Street Journal <a href="https://www.wsj.com/us-news/oregon-decriminalized-hard-drugs-it-isnt-working-78ee7476">published</a> an extensive analysis into the effect of Measure 110 on the state. It’s a report that everyone should read as it just entirely annihilates the case for drug legalization. And yet almost all of the pro-drug legalizers are simply ignoring it. They have gotten what they wanted — in Oregon, and to a lesser extent across the country — but you notice that they are not out touting the success of the policy they advocated for. That’s because there is no success. It has been a disaster. 
The paper reports that, as a result of the law, &#8220;People sprawled on sidewalks and using fentanyl with no fear of consequence have become a common sight in cities such as Eugene and Portland.&#8221; From May of 2022 to May of this year, the number of fatal overdoses in the state increased by more than 20%, to 1,500 overdoses. That&#8217;s the third-highest jump in the entire country. Police in Eugene Oregon report that this year, there have been 858 calls for overdoses. In 2020, the number was 438.
The whole point of Measure 110 was to force these people to go to rehabilitation services, instead of jail, but of course that hasn&#8217;t worked either: 
<blockquote>&#8220;Some 6,000 tickets have been issued for drug possession since decriminalization went into effect in 2021, but just 92 people have called and completed assessments needed to connect them to services,&#8221; the Journal reports. &#8220;The only penalty for those who don’t call is a $100 fine, which is rarely enforced.&#8221;</blockquote>
So in sum, Oregon&#8217;s decision to decriminalize all drugs has been an abject and totally predictable disaster. It turns out that when you invite people to do drugs whenever and wherever they want, you end up with a lot more people doing drugs whenever and wherever they want. Advocates for decriminalization have always claimed that decriminalizing drug use will not lead to more drug use, as though the law has absolutely no effect on people&#8217;s behavior. But that flies in the face of everything we&#8217;ve observed about human behavior since the dawn of civilized society. 
To put it simply: Laws matter. When the law allows a certain behavior, you get more of that behavior. It’s not hard to figure out this equation. 
That&#8217;s why — unless we want a lot more overdose deaths and illegal guns in major cities — we need to take a very close look at all forms of drug decriminalization, including the more limited decriminalization and legalization efforts we&#8217;ve seen across the country. As I mentioned earlier, weed is legal in most places now. How is that working out? Is there any evidence it&#8217;s making anything better? By the naked eye, it certainly seems to be contributing to our social decay. It has a demoralizing effect, at the very least, to walk through any city in America and smell the stench of weed everywhere, with people walking around stoned anywhere you go. 
I say this as someone who, for a time, believed that weed — not any other drug — should probably just be legalized or at least decriminalized, as much as I personally don’t like the drug. But I can look around at our cities, smell the stench everywhere, see people high on drugs everywhere, and ask myself: has this made society better or worse? That’s the question everyone should be asking themselves. 
Aside from the naked eye test, what does the data say? For a lot of reasons, it&#8217;s hard to measure the precise impact of marijuana decriminalization on people&#8217;s quality of life. There are so many variables — including the decision by leftist D.A.&#8217;s to stop enforcing a bunch of other laws — that it&#8217;s difficult to ascribe any particular blame to one specific policy or another. It’s all kind of a jumbled mess. To be sure, a lot of jurisdictions that have legalized or decriminalized marijuana have seen significant increases in crime. New York legalized cannabis in 2021, for example, and then immediately saw its overall crime index <a href="https://ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/news/2023/01/05/nypd-december-2022-crime-statistics#:~:text=Police%20logged%20126%2C537%20crimes%20last,in%202021%2C%20the%20release%20said." target="_blank" rel="noopener">jump</a> by more than 22%. Along the same lines, after Washington&#8217;s Supreme Court struck down the state&#8217;s drug laws — effectively legalizing all drugs until legislators could fix the problem — crime spiked. Washington&#8217;s rate of violent crimes jumped from 337 per 100,000 people in 2021, to more than 375 per 100,000 people in 2022.
There&#8217;s no easy way to determine with absolute certainty at this stage what role, if any, drug legalization is playing in these numbers. But there have been some attempts at drilling this down. A couple of years ago, analysts at the Justice Research and Statistics Association <a href="https://www.ojp.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/253137.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">looked</a> at the impact of marijuana decriminalization in 11 states — including Washington, Arizona, California, Colorado, Nebraska, and others — by speaking to local officials and law enforcement personnel. 
The researchers found that, after Washington state legalized recreational marijuana use in 2020, arrests for both the possession and distribution of heroin and methamphetamine increased significantly. Meanwhile in Colorado, which also decriminalized pot a decade ago, the researchers found that:
<blockquote>&#8220;Respondents in particular reported an increase in the homeless population from individuals moving to the state for jobs in the marijuana industry that failed to materialize. Other concerns expressed by interviewees related to criminal behavior associated with the marijuana business, such as attempts to steal marijuana and take over selling from locals.&#8221; </blockquote>
In Oregon, there were similar concerns: &#8220;An Oregon respondent reported a 55-60% increase in marijuana-related DUIs&#8221; following marijuana decriminalization. Along the same lines, a separate research team from the University of Utah <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0047235220302361#:~:text=Results%20provide%20some%20evidence%20demonstrating,legalization%2C%20including%20property%20and%20violent" target="_blank" rel="noopener">scrutinized</a> crime data from Oregon. They found that:
<blockquote>&#8220;Results provide some evidence demonstrating a crime-exacerbating effect of recreational marijuana legalization, as reflected by substantial increases in the rates of multiple types of serious crimes &#8230; in Oregon relative to non-legalized states following legalization, including property and violent crime overall, as well as other crimes such as burglary, motor vehicle theft, larceny, and aggravated assault.&#8221;</blockquote>
None of this is particularly surprising, given that marijuana is a psychoactive drug that&#8217;s been linked to violent behavior. What is perhaps surprising is that, given what we know (and don&#8217;t know), several states are still pushing the decriminalization agenda. 
Ohio, for example, is set to decriminalize the drug in just a few weeks. Watch how local news is covering this:
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Recreational marijuana sales in Ohio: Breaking down a timeline, expectations" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/TW0fKmYQgqY?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Notice that they&#8217;re not talking about how decriminalizing marijuana is going to make everyone more productive and happier members of society. They’re not claiming that it’s going to make the state a better place to live, which is really what every law ultimately should be designed to do. They’re not talking about how safe the schools in Ohio will be, after young children with mental disorders are granted even easier access to psychoactive drugs. Instead, they&#8217;re talking about tax revenue. They&#8217;re telling you the state will make more money. That&#8217;s the whole pitch. They&#8217;re not even pretending otherwise.
And that tells you something that even Left-wing voters in Oregon are now realizing: the more recreational drugs you legalize, the more crime and urban decay you have to deal with. This really should not be a surprise. People are more likely to do something when there is no legal ramification for doing it. That doesn’t mean everyone stops doing drugs when you make it illegal. It just means that the fewer obstacles in the way, the fewer consequences, the more of that behavior you get.
This isn’t just because of the practical obstacles put in place when something is illegal. It’s also because the law is a teacher. A thing begins to seem less objectionable to people when the law endorses it.  Ultimately, there’s no upside for anyone but the state Treasury, and the politicians who desperately need voters to be as stoned and submissive as possible. Otherwise, if voters aren&#8217;t high out of their minds, they might realize what these politicians are doing to their communities. They might realize that destruction and decay are a choice.
And then, like the voters in Oregon, they might decide they&#8217;ve finally had enough of it.
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Welcome to Oregon roadside sign illustration (with marijuana leaf)

Blue State Decriminalizes All Drugs. Total Societal Breakdown Immediately Follows.

Crime

Drugs

Fentanyl

Marijuana

Matt Walsh

Ohio

Readers Pass

When it comes to public education in Oregon, the Oregon Education Association (OEA) makes a <a href="https://oregoned.org/about-oea">bold promise</a>: “to provide the basic right of great public education to every student.” The union’s direct involvement in school closures and watering down basic graduation requirements, however, indicates the opposite. In truth, the OEA has played an essential role in the deterioration of Oregon’s public schools.
<h2>COVID School Shutdowns</h2>
In response to the COVID pandemic, Oregon Governor Kate Brown, whom OEA endorsed, ordered the <a href="https://www.salemreporter.com/2020/03/18/school-closures-in-salem-around-oregon-extended-through-april-governor-orders/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statewide closure</a> of schools for over a year. During the <a href="https://www.oregonlive.com/education/2020/03/coronavirus-closure-wont-lead-to-online-classes-in-oregon-public-schools-this-is-why.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">first six weeks</a> of Brown’s shutdowns, no online alternative was offered to students enrolled in public schools. In response, thousands of Oregon families began the process of transferring their children to Oregon’s online charter school programs. 
That is, until the OEA stepped in. Citing a 2011 law that sets a three percent enrollment cap for students transferring to online education in the state, the <a href="https://olis.oregonlegislature.gov/liz/2019I1/Downloads/CommitteeMeetingDocument/222653">OEA argued</a> that even a one-half-of-one-percent increase would redirect $55.5 million from district budgets. Siding with the OEA, the Oregon Department of Education (ODE) not only <a href="https://www.oregonlive.com/education/2020/03/oregons-online-schools-also-subject-to-gov-kate-browns-coronavirus-closure-order-report.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">placed a temporary hold</a> on virtual education enrollment, but <a href="https://www.bendbulletin.com/opinion/guest-column-gov-brown-and-oea-shut-down-online-charter-schools/article_32cad56e-8336-11ea-b53b-ffedbd758d7c.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">included</a> all publicly funded online schools in statewide closures despite zero risk of COVID exposure.
Further, <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1uh0y7LjzOzMW4lB95LmdRvjBlyxGsNDC/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank" rel="noopener">email correspondence</a> reveals that the OEA not only developed a set of strict standards for return to in-person instruction for the ODE, but requested that the state “put pressure” on Oregon school districts to adopt similar requirements preventing students from returning to the classroom. 
The effects of OEA-sanctioned school closures continue to weigh down Oregon students. Data from the Nation’s Report Card ranks Oregon <a href="https://www.oregonlive.com/education/2022/10/oregon-ranks-no-5-for-pandemic-reading-loss-no-8-for-math-researchers-say.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">among the top 10</a> states in the nation for pandemic learning loss in both reading and math. In addition, students experiencing anxiety and depression in the state <a href="https://www.koin.com/news/health/new-study-shows-covid-19-impact-on-the-mental-health-of-oregons-youth/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">climbed to 40 percent</a> from 2016 to 2020. 
<h2>Graduation Requirement Suspensions</h2>
Prior to the pandemic, Oregon students were required to demonstrate <a href="https://www.oregon.gov/ode/educator-resources/essentialskills/pages/default.aspx" target="_blank" rel="noopener">basic proficiency</a> in reading, writing, and math through statewide standardized testing. Naturally, learning loss caused by school closures led to lower test scores. But instead of focusing on helping students get back on track academically, the Oregon Board of Education discarded standardized testing graduation requirements entirely <a href="https://www.oregon.gov/ode/educator-resources/essentialskills/pages/default.aspx">through the 2023-2024 school year</a>.
The OEA played an active role in the passage of <a href="https://olis.oregonlegislature.gov/liz/2021R1/Downloads/MeasureDocument/SB744/Enrolled" target="_blank" rel="noopener">legislation</a> that authorized the suspension of graduation requirements. A member of the OEA’s Special Education Committee boasted that the committee “<a href="https://oregoned.org/professional-excellence/leadership-development/member-spotlight/niels-pasternak" target="_blank" rel="noopener">helped to develop</a>…and helped OEA pass…Senate Bill 744 during the last legislative session” to address “several equity concerns” surrounding Oregon’s graduation requirements. On October 19, the Board of Education voted unanimously to <a href="https://secure.sos.state.or.us/oard/viewSingleRule.action?ruleVrsnRsn=306489" target="_blank" rel="noopener">extend the OEA-endorsed suspension</a> through the 2027-2028 school year.
While <a href="https://www.koin.com/news/education/oregon-department-of-education-records-2nd-best-graduation-rate-to-date/#:~:text=Across%20all%20Oregon%20schools%20during,school%20year%20was%20just%2080.6%25." target="_blank" rel="noopener">graduation rates</a> in Oregon have unsurprisingly skyrocketed, the value of a high school diploma in the state has plummeted. In the <a href="https://www.koin.com/news/education/ode-oregon-students-test-proficiency-still-lower-than-before-covid-19-pandemic/#:~:text=Last%20school%20year%2C%20about%2043,ELA%20saw%20a%200.6%25%20decrease." target="_blank" rel="noopener">2021-2022 school year</a>, just 43 percent of students were proficient in English, while only 30.6 percent of students were proficient in math. 
<h2>Continued School Closures</h2>
As if a year of school closures wasn’t enough, roughly 45,000 students in Oregon’s largest school district continue to lose out on instructional time due to the Portland Association of Teachers’ (PAT) <a href="https://labornotes.org/2023/11/first-ever-strike-portland-teachers-tackles-student-needs#:~:text=The%20Portland%20Association%20of%20Teachers,cost%2Dof%2Dliving%20adjustments." target="_blank" rel="noopener">inaugural strike</a>. 
In addition to typical demands such as increased salaries and smaller class sizes, the union’s proposal includes <a href="https://assets.nationbuilder.com/pdxteachers/pages/1673/attachments/original/1678819362/PAT_Bargaining_Platform_-_QR_petition_edition.pdf?1678819362" target="_blank" rel="noopener">fringe stipulations</a> that have little to do with education, such as district support for first time house buyers, housing assistance for families, and professional development with a focus on “addressing implicit bias, anti-racism, and culturally responsive practices.” 
The union’s demands come with an enormous price tag and would require the district to come up with an <a href="https://www.oregonlive.com/education/2023/11/portland-public-schools-strike-what-you-need-to-know.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">additional $372 million</a> over the next three years. If the OEA affiliate refuses to budge, Portland Public Schools may need to fire up to <a href="https://www.portlandmercury.com/news/2023/11/01/46822117/portland-teachers-strike-district-asks-state-for-money-teachers-say-hold-the-line" target="_blank" rel="noopener">300 current teachers</a> to balance the district budget. 
The OEA’s demands are not only financially “irresponsible,” according to Oregon <a href="https://www.kgw.com/article/news/education/gov-kotek-potential-portland-teachers-strike/283-a7b5734b-359a-4b37-9348-5d395e783017" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Governor Tina Kotek</a>, but could keep Portland students out of the classroom for weeks or longer. 
<h2>OEA And The Future Of Oregon Education</h2>
As student success continues to decline in Oregon, it’s clear that the Oregon Education Association has broken its promise to ensure “great public education” for students. In truth, every action that the OEA has taken regarding school closures and graduation requirements has solidified the deterioration of public education on the taxpayer’s dime.
The OEA’s willingness to leave students behind is in stark contrast to its <a href="https://oregoned.org/about-oea" target="_blank" rel="noopener">mission statement</a> and begs the question of which promise the OEA will break next. OEA members, parents, and the Board of Education need to take a closer look at the union’s impact on education and act accordingly. The future of Oregon’s students depends on it.
Jason Dudash is the Northwest Director of the <a href="http://www.freedomfoundation.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Freedom Foundation.</a>
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Oregon state detailed editable map

As Student Success In Oregon Plummets, Teachers’ Unions Deserve Blame

COVID

Opinion

school district

Teachers Unions

Teachers in <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/portland" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Portland</a> kicked off a strike on Wednesday, walking off the job and closing schools for about 45,000 students.
The Portland Association of Teachers, which represents more than 4,000 teachers in the area, is complaining about salaries, large class sizes, and not enough resources.
There are no classes, even online instruction, during the strike.
The teachers union has been bargaining with the district for months after its contract expired in June. The union said this is the first time teachers have gone on strike in the Portland school district.
Meanwhile, Portland Public Schools claims it does not have enough funds to give the union what it wants despite Oregon&#8217;s record $10.2 billion K-12 budget for the next two years. The district said the union&#8217;s demands would cost hundreds of millions of dollars more and mean staffing cuts as well.
“Funding has not kept pace with the needs of our students, nor our educators,” Superintendent Guadalupe Guerrero said Wednesday. “We strive to offer a compensation that attracts and retains talent. But unlike a private organization, we don’t have record profits we can tap into.”
Salary is one of the main sticking points between the district and the union. The district&#8217;s annual base salary is about $50,000, although the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/01/us/portland-oregon-teachers-strike.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">average</a> salary for a Portland teacher is $87,000, according to the district, which is slightly above the median income for a single person in the area.
The union has asked for a roughly 20% salary increase over three years, while the district has suggested offering about half that much.
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Teachers <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/01/us/portland-oregon-teachers-strike.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">say</a> they are working overtime to handle their workload as students&#8217; academic and mental health needs have spiked since the pandemic. The union is asking for more time for teachers to plan lessons.
On Friday, the district and the union are set to meet with a state mediator together, the superintendent said.
Declining enrollment is another factor as the Portland district has lost close to 3,000 students since the pandemic, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/teachers-strike-portland-oregon-7c437cefd322b19c1d915a1a32431781" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to state data.
The Portland strike is the latest of several school worker strikes in large cities this year.
In March, Los Angeles school workers in the country&#8217;s second-largest public school district <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/03/25/business/la-school-strike-growing-trend/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">walked</a> off the job, shutting schools for about a half million students for three days. The workers, which included teachers&#8217; aides, cafeteria employees, and custodians, were demanding better pay and that the district hire more people.
Then in May, teachers, librarians, counselors, and other workers went on strike in Oakland in the Bay Area for about two weeks. That union demanded higher pay, as well as housing assistance for homeless students and reparations for black students. The strike shut down the city’s public schools, and the district eventually <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/striking-oakland-teachers-district-reach-agreement-on-four-common-good-issues/#" target="_blank" rel="noopener">caved</a> on the union’s housing assistance demand.
Back in September, the Portland teachers union <a href="https://freebeacon.com/policy/portland-teachers-threaten-school-shutdown-if-their-district-declines-to-provide-subsidized-housing/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">threatened</a> to strike over subsidized housing for poor students as well.
The teacher strikes also come amid cost of living woes this year, especially in bigger cities, due to skyrocketing inflation.

Inside of a First Grade Classroom

Portland Teachers Walk Off Job, Shutting Schools For 45,000 Kids

strike

Oregon&#8217;s <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/education">high school</a> students will not have to prove basic proficiency in reading, writing, or math to graduate until 2029, the state board of education decided Thursday.
The Oregon Board of Education&#8217;s unanimous decision extends the pandemic era pause on the graduation requirement, which was <a href="https://apnews.com/article/health-oregon-education-coronavirus-pandemic-graduation-1ac30980c9e2d26b288a5341464efde8" target="_blank" rel="noopener">paused</a> in 2021 through the end of the current school year by former Governor Kate Brown, a Democrat.
Previously, high school students had to complete an essential skills standardized test in reading, writing, and math in order to graduate.
Advocates for pausing the graduation requirement previously argued that the test puts certain children, including minority and low-income children, at a disadvantage.
“Under the best of circumstances, in totally normal times with no pandemic, there are a number of children who don’t test well,” Rashelle Chase, who founded a social justice and education advocacy group <a href="https://apnews.com/article/health-oregon-education-coronavirus-pandemic-graduation-1ac30980c9e2d26b288a5341464efde8" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> last year when the requirement was paused, adding that it is “not a deficit on the part of those children.”
However, prior to Thursday&#8217;s vote, dozens of Oregonians submitted public comments demanding the proficiency test requirement be enforced again. Opponents <a href="https://www.oregonlive.com/education/2023/10/oregon-again-says-students-dont-need-to-prove-mastery-of-reading-writing-or-math-to-graduate-citing-harm-to-students-of-color.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">argued</a> that the extra instruction most high schools provided because of the graduation requirement had helped students.
“We haven’t suspended any sort of assessments,” state board member Vicky López Sánchez, who is also a dean at Portland Community College, <a href="https://www.oregonlive.com/education/2023/10/oregon-again-says-students-dont-need-to-prove-mastery-of-reading-writing-or-math-to-graduate-citing-harm-to-students-of-color.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> Thursday. “The only thing we are suspending is the inappropriate use of how those assessments were being used. I think that really is in the best interest of Oregon students.”
Since the pandemic, students across the nation have suffered significant learning loss and, in many cases, are struggling to perform at their grade level.
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Math scores <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/math-scores-dropped-in-every-state-during-pandemic-report-card-shows-11666584062?mod=article_inline" target="_blank" rel="noopener">plummeted</a> among fourth and eighth graders in almost every state, the Education Department reported last year. Reading scores have also <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/when-fourth-graders-cant-read-one-phoenix-school-has-a-new-way-to-fight-pandemic-learning-loss-11633818431?mod=article_inline" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sunk across</a> the country, erasing the previous three decades of progress. Many students returned to classrooms last year reading at the same level as when the pandemic started, putting them two grade levels behind.
Last year, eighth graders had the lowest U.S. history scores on record and among the lowest civics scores, the Department of Education revealed in May. Only about 13% of eighth graders met proficiency <a href="https://www.nationsreportcard.gov/highlights/ushistory/2022/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">standards</a> for U.S. history last year, and only about <a href="https://www.nationsreportcard.gov/highlights/civics/2022/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a fifth</a> of students were proficient or better in civics.
Exacerbating the problem, students in fourth through eighth grade are actually making slower academic progress now than before the pandemic, a study released over the summer <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/kids-progressing-even-slower-in-reading-math-now-than-before-pandemic-new-study-shows" target="_blank" rel="noopener">showed</a>, dashing hopes that kids would learn faster to make up for learning loss.
Early evidence of learning loss spurred parents across the country to demand schools return to in-person learning, especially after data showed that children were at low risk for serious cases of COVID.
Some parents even <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/meet-the-moms-and-dads-taking-over-school-boards-across-the-country" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ran for school board</a> positions and won, hoping to stop the learning loss in their district.

Close up of child’s hand with pencil during common core math test

Oregon Extends Pandemic Pause On Reading, Writing, Math Proficiency High School Graduation Requirement

A former <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/portland" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Portland</a> city commissioner who pushed to defund the police <a href="https://www.opb.org/article/2023/09/21/jo-ann-hardesty-portlant-politics-oregon-lawsuit-hit-and-run-police-racism/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">will get</a> a $680,000 payout from the police over claims that cops leaked information falsely implicating her in a hit-and-run.
Jo Ann Hardesty was briefly falsely <a href="https://www.opb.org/article/2021/03/16/portland-police-association-president-resigns-amid-leak-investigation/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">implicated</a> in a March 3, 2021, hit-and-run after a 911 caller mistakenly identified her as the driver of the vehicle that hit her.
Two Portland Police Bureau police officers allegedly <a href="https://www.opb.org/article/2021/03/16/portland-police-association-president-resigns-amid-leak-investigation/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">leaked</a> the false implication of Hardesty to media outlets and others, but she was quickly cleared in the minor collision.
Hardesty, the first black woman to serve as a Portland city commissioner, then sued the city and the police in late 2021, claiming the alleged police leaks were racially and politically motivated.
Her lawsuit, which sought $5 million, was set to go to trial this month before the parties reached the massive $680,000 settlement. The payout <a href="https://www.opb.org/article/2023/09/21/jo-ann-hardesty-portlant-politics-oregon-lawsuit-hit-and-run-police-racism/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">will come</a> from Portland&#8217;s police union and the two officers allegedly involved in the leak.
Hardesty said she hopes the settlement will prevent something like this from happening again.
“This settlement holds the Portland Police Association and the individuals accountable for their wrongful conduct and the unnecessary harm they caused,” Hardesty <a href="https://www.opb.org/article/2023/09/21/jo-ann-hardesty-portlant-politics-oregon-lawsuit-hit-and-run-police-racism/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> Oregon Public Broadcasting.
“While this settlement does not make me whole, I’m hopeful that shining a light on this unfortunate situation will prevent others from having this burden brought upon them,” she said.
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The city previously <a href="https://www.oregonlive.com/politics/2023/08/jo-ann-hardesty-settles-leak-lawsuit-against-portland-for-5000-and-written-apology.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">settled</a> its part of Hardesty&#8217;s lawsuit in August for $5,000 and a written apology from Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler.
At the time, the police leak also prompted Wheeler to launch an investigation into the leak&#8217;s origin.
Less than two weeks after the hit-and-run incident, the president of the Portland Police Association, Brian Hunzeker, resigned, the union <a href="https://www.oregonlive.com/portland/2021/03/portland-police-union-president-resigns-over-serious-mistake-related-to-hit-run-report-that-named-commissioner-jo-ann-hardesty-in-error.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">citing</a> his &#8220;serious, isolated mistake related to the Police Bureau’s investigation into the alleged hit-and-run by Commissioner Hardesty.&#8221;
Hardesty&#8217;s lawsuit had accused Hunzeker and another officer of being involved in the leak.
In 2020, Hardesty was on the front lines of the push to defund Portland&#8217;s police department during the riots following the murder of George Floyd. In Portland, the daily, often violent protests drew hundreds and stretched into October.
During the summer of 2020, Hardesty <a href="https://www.opb.org/article/2020/10/20/portland-police-budget-jo-ann-hardesty-chloe-eudlay/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">spearheaded</a> $15 million in cuts to the police budget. That fall, she pushed for the police department to lose million of dollars more.
Since then, Portland beefed up its police budget again after homicides ticked up and amid a police staffing shortage.
“I think people acknowledge that we’re at an inflection point in our city,” the mayor <a href="https://www.opb.org/article/2023/05/17/portland-oregon-city-council-passes-7-billion-dollar-budget-city-fees-debate/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> earlier this year as the city considered a budget with funding for dozens more cops. “Studies show people are choosing not to stay here. I see this as a critical moment in the city’s history that we should respond to.”
In July, 2020, Hardesty apologized for claiming that police &#8220;saboteurs&#8221; were infiltrating the protests and even starting fires.
Hardesty had said in an <a href="https://www.facebook.com/watch/live/?v=278967990045742&amp;ref=external" target="_blank" rel="noopener">online briefing</a> that, “I want people to know that I do not believe there’s any protesters in Portland that are setting fires, that are creating crisis. I absolutely believe it’s police action, and they’re sending saboteurs and provocateurs into peaceful crowds so they justify their inhumane treatment of people who are standing up for their rights.”
Hardesty, a firm progressive, ultimately <a href="https://www.oregonlive.com/politics/2022/11/rene-gonzalez-with-law-and-order-focus-ousts-portland-commissioner-jo-ann-hardesty-in-contentious-city-council-race.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">lost her</a> reelection bid to another Democrat who ran as a law and order centrist.

Unrest In Portland Continues

Portland Police Will Pay Nearly $700,000 To Former Official Who Pushed To Defund Them

Courts

Defund The Police

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An Oregon woman who waterboarded her infant son and put him in a freezer was sentenced to 30 days in jail for the crime.
Sharday McDonald, 30, admitted to police that she had tortured her 13-month-old son “out of spite” to “test” the loyalty of the boy’s father, Law &amp; Crime <a href="https://lawandcrime.com/crime/let-me-show-you-about-this-little-f-baby-mom-who-waterboarded-baby-stuffed-him-in-freezer-out-of-spite-to-test-the-father-sentenced-to-30-days/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>. The boy survived the abuse, which occurred in October 2021.
McDonald pleaded guilty in July 2023 to first-degree criminal mistreatment and was sentenced earlier this month. She will also be on supervised probation for three years after her release, but it is unclear whether she will be prohibited from seeing her child or be allowed limited contact.
In addition to the mistreatment charge, McDonald also pleaded guilty to tampering with a witness for an unrelated incident, as well as identity theft. She initially pleaded not guilty to all three charges on November 19, 2021, but changed her pleas earlier this year, KPTV <a href="https://www.kptv.com/2023/09/21/portland-area-mom-gets-30-days-waterboarding-baby-putting-him-freezer/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>.
Court documents reviewed by the outlet show that police received a tip on October 28, 2021, that McDonald had put her baby in the freezer of her Gresham, Oregon, home. When police responded to the tip, one officer said they heard McDonald yelling at the baby’s father, Kendric Neal.
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“I’m about to show you real quick. You don’t want him? Let me show you about this little f***ing baby, I don’t f***ing give f*** about,” McDonald reportedly yelled.
Prosecutors said in court that police officers then saw McDonald holding her baby in a blanket when she opened the front door. McDonald reportedly told officers that she was “not trying to hurt, harm or kill her son [name redacted] by drowning him or putting him in the freezer.”
The officer who arrested McDonald, however, said that prior to her arrest, he saw a photo of her “holding [the infant] by the onesie but at a downward angle, where his hip, legs and feet were higher than his head (almost upside down) with water running over his face,” according to KPTV.
“The only place the water could go (in that picture) was in his nose (at that angle),” the officer said in court documents, according to the outlet. “It looked like [the child] was trying to hold his breath while water was pouring over his face.”
A physician testified in court that the baby likely couldn’t breathe based on photos of the incident and could have died.

Sharday McDonald

Mother Gets Just 30 Days In Jail For Waterboarding Baby, Putting Him In Freezer To Get Man’s Attention

Mother Gets Just 30 Days In Jail For Waterboarding Baby, Putting Him In Freezer To Get Man's Attention

Child Abuse

FBI agents in Portland, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/oregon" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Oregon</a>, were surprised when a 68-year-old man walked into their office and reportedly confessed to bashing a Boston woman’s head in with a hammer back in 1979.
John Michael Irmer told FBI agents last month that he had killed a 24-year-old Pennsylvania woman who had moved to Boston, Massachusetts. Irmer has since been extradited to Boston and arraigned in Boston Municipal Court Central Division, the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office said in <a href="https://www.suffolkdistrictattorney.com/press-releases/items/2023/9/11/oregon-man-to-be-arraigned-for-1979-back-bay-murder" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a press release</a> on Monday.
Irmer reportedly told authorities that he met a red-haired woman at a skating rink in Boston around Halloween nearly 44 years ago. He reportedly said that he and the woman walked to an apartment building that was under renovation, where he quickly grabbed a hammer and hit the woman on the head multiple times. She died instantly, and Irmer said he raped her afterward, according to prosecutors. The next day, Irmer said, he fled to New York, according to the press release.
Investigators were able to verify his story, discovering that a red-haired woman named Susan Marcia Rose was found murdered at the same apartment building on October 30, 1979. Rose’s cause of death was determined to be blunt force trauma to the head, which fractured her skull and lacerated her brain. A DNA sample collected at the scene and preserved for 44 years matched a sample taken from Irmer after he allegedly confessed.
Rose was originally from Johnstown, Pennsylvania, but had moved to Boston prior to her death. In June 1981, a different man was tried for her murder but found not guilty.
“Nearly 44 years after losing her at such a young age, the family and friends of Susan Marcia Rose will finally have some answers,” District Attorney Kevin Hayden said in a statement. “This was a brutal, ice-blooded murder made worse by the fact that a person was charged and tried — and fortunately, found not guilty — while the real murderer remained silent until now. No matter how cold cases get resolved, it’s always the answers that are important for those who have lived with grief and loss and so many agonizing questions.”
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Irmer was arraigned for the crime on Monday and reportedly hid behind a wall for much of the time, CBS Boston <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/boston/news/john-michael-irmer-susan-marcia-rose-boston-murder-arrest/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>. He is being held without bail on charges of murder and aggravated rape.
Irmer allegedly told FBI agents that he wanted to confess to multiple murders, the Boston Globe <a href="https://www.bostonglobe.com/2023/09/11/metro/oregon-man-confesses-1979-murder-woman-boston-according-officials/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>. In court, Assistant District Attorney John Verner said that Irmer admitted to killing another woman in the south, but that case is still being investigated.

Criminal Wearing Handcuffs

A Man Walked Into An FBI Office And Confessed To A 1979 Cold Case Murder In Boston, Prosecutors Say

Boston

Massachusetts

Murder

Nike announced the permanent closure of its factory store in northeast Portland, Oregon, on Friday due to ongoing &#8220;theft and safety issues&#8221; after nearly 40 years of business on the city&#8217;s northeast side, according to a non-profit that supports economic and business development in the neighborhood.
The Soul District Business Association (SBDA) reported the footwear and apparel store&#8217;s decision during a phone call with <a href="https://www.oregonlive.com/business/2023/09/nike-to-permanently-close-ne-portland-factory-store-business-district-says.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">local media</a>, calling the decision a &#8220;major economic blow.&#8221;
&#8220;This news has landed like a lead balloon in our district,&#8221; John Washington, the SDBA&#8217;s executive director, said in a news release. &#8220;We had all been holding our breath since last November when the store quietly shuttered its doors due to internal and external theft and safety issues.&#8221;
&#8220;But, like so many of us riding out the fallout of the pandemic and protests, we held out hope that Nike, city officials and community leaders would recalibrate and realign order. But it looks like it&#8217;s game over,&#8221; Washington added.
The Nike Community Store reportedly opened in June 1984 after Portland civil rights activists worked to bring the shoe brand&#8217;s first-ever factory store on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, formerly Union Avenue. <a href="https://www.oregonlive.com/business/2023/09/nike-to-permanently-close-ne-portland-factory-store-business-district-says.html">According</a> to local media, the area was once the center of the city&#8217;s black population.
The economic driver for the section of the Pacific Northwest city became &#8220;one of the first area businesses to stand up and declare Northeast Portland as a viable community to do business in,&#8221; Ron Herndon, who led the Black United Front, <a href="https://www.wweek.com/news/courts/2023/09/08/northeast-portland-business-association-says-nike-factory-store-is-closed-for-good/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reportedly</a> said in a 2004 Nike press release.
But after Portland defunded its police department in 2020, local business owners affected by the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/portland-businessman-targets-elected-officials-with-national-legal-initiative-over-covid-lawlessness" target="_blank" rel="noopener">crime and property destruction</a> struggled to maintain safety and security. Nike officials reportedly closed the store down more than six months ago before finalizing plans to close and vacate permanently.
Earlier this year, Nike requested that city officials provide off-duty police officers for security purposes at the company&#8217;s store in northeast Portland, but Mayor Ted Wheeler reportedly declined, citing a staffing shortage from the Portland Police Bureau.
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Wheeler told local media he was &#8220;very disappointed&#8221; in a statement on Friday about the closure, saying his office and city officials &#8220;worked tirelessly and in good faith with Nike for almost a year to offer creative solutions to their safety challenges.&#8221;
Nike officials <a href="https://www.foxbusiness.com/politics/nike-abandons-portland-store-re-opening-amid-theft-safety-issues" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> Fox News Digital it cares &#8220;deeply about Portland&#8217;s North and Northeast community,&#8221; adding it has provided brand &#8220;access and connection&#8221; to the district for roughly four decades &#8220;while serving as a catalyst for change through volunteerism, investments and partnerships with non-profit organizations that benefit the community.&#8221;
&#8220;Nike&#8217;s commitment to supporting and uplifting Portland&#8217;s North and Northeast community is unwavering. We are reimagining Nike&#8217;s retail space, permanently closing our current location at 2650 NE Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, and considering future locations as part of this community&#8217;s long term revitalization plan,&#8221; the company said.
&#8220;True to our roots, we will seek the input of local community organizations and leaders to determine the best new location. As we plan ahead, we are keeping the best interest of our employees at heart, providing them options to continue to be part of the Nike family,&#8221; it added.

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Nike Permanently Closes Portland Factory Store Over ‘Theft And Safety Issues,’ Business Group Says

Nike Permanently Closes Portland Factory Store Over 'Theft And Safety Issues,' Business Group Says

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The Portland City Council passed a ban on using <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/drugs" target="_blank" rel="noopener">hard drugs</a> on public property in a sign of how fed up the city is with rampant open-air drug use polluting its streets.
Oregon&#8217;s state legislature would have to approve Portland&#8217;s ban, however, meaning the state would have to reverse a recent decision to decriminalize hard drug use.
The City Council voted unanimously 5-0 on Wednesday to ban the use of hard drugs like fentanyl, heroin, and meth on public property.
The emergency ordinance also attaches criminal penalties to drug use on public property, namely up to six months in jail or a $500 fine.
“These are necessary, common-sense steps to disrupt debilitating drug use on the streets of Portland that does deep damage to our city’s livability, overwhelms our emergency response system and destroys lives,” Commissioner Rene Gonzalez said.
For the ban to go into effect, Oregon state lawmakers would have to pass a law allowing cities to crack down on public drug use.
In 2020, Oregon voters approved by 58% a ballot measure that decriminalized public drug use, a decision most voters now say they regret, <a href="https://nypost.com/2023/05/18/majority-of-voters-in-oregon-regret-decriminalizing-drugs-survey/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to one survey.
Measure 110, which took effect in early 2021, decriminalized the possession of small amounts of hard drugs including the increasingly popular fentanyl, heroin, and meth. The law made possession punishable only by a maximum fine of $100.
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Two years later, more than 6 in 10 voters said they think decriminalization has made drug addiction, homelessness, and crime worse in Oregon, according to a <a href="https://www.dhmresearch.com/oregon-voters-support-bringing-back-criminal-penalties-for-drug-possession/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">survey</a> from DMH Research. A combined 63% said they &#8220;strongly&#8221; supported or would be &#8220;somewhat&#8221; interested in once again criminalizing hard drugs.
Mayor Ted Wheeler, a Democrat, emphasized the urgency of Portland&#8217;s drug addiction crisis at Wednesday&#8217;s council meeting.
“The bottom line is this: Week by week the situation is getting worse,” the mayor said. “We have to focus with urgency to save lives and livelihoods.”
Fatal overdoses have skyrocketed in the Portland area in recent years.
Last year, fentanyl deaths alone hit a record 209 deaths in Multnomah County, which includes Portland, the Oregonian <a href="https://www.oregonlive.com/politics/2023/09/portland-leaders-approve-public-drug-use-ban-state-law-must-first-change-to-enact.html?outputType=amp" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>. Between 2018 and last year, fatal overdoses from opioids increased fivefold.
So far this year, Portland police are investigating more than 100 suspected drug overdose deaths, according to the mayor.
Almost every resident who spoke at the City Council meeting voiced their support for the city&#8217;s ban on public use of hard drugs, the Oregonian reported.
Meanwhile, beer and marijuana remain illegal to consume on public property in Portland, such as on sidewalks or in city parks.
The City Council also unanimously approved a resolution that involves requesting changes to state law to align the rules on public consumption of drugs “with existing regulations governing alcohol and cannabis.”
Meanwhile, harrowing scenes of open-air drug use and homelessness continued to come out of Portland, tarnishing the once-thriving city&#8217;s image and rebranding it as decrepit and unsafe.
Other California cities have struggled with homelessness, drug use, and rising crime as well. In San Francisco, businesses have abandoned the downtown area as open-air drug use has become more prevalent in the area.

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