News For five months, it's been clear that the only operational American-made streetcar has a list of glitches.Now Portland knows the bill.In a contract amendment that goes before City Council on Wednesday, Portland Streetcar is asking the City of Portland for $145,000 to fix a malfunctioning propulsion system on the only streetcar that manufacturer United Streetcar has yet delivered to the city.Buried ...   More

News Update, 10:30 am: Sitting at his desk in the mayor's office, Hales repeated his call for weapons bans at the state and federal level. "Every potential common-sense step ought to be considered," Hales said. "I don't believe we are without options here."But the mayor's bully pulpit was interrupted by conservative talk radio host Lars Larson, who provided some soapboxing of his own in the form of booming, ...   More

News Mayor Charlie Hales has promised to shake up the city bureau that is supposed to maintain Portland’s streets—and the   More

News One of the subtexts of last year's mayoral race was that the major public employee unions—all except Service Employees International Union—bet on then-Rep. Jefferson Smith (D-East Portland), who finished a distant second to Charlie Hales.Late in the race, Portland police and fire unions withdrew their endorsements of Smith, and after Hales won, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal ...   More

News Mayor Charlie Hales has told the Portland Bureau of Transportation not to fill a public affairs manager position that was reportedly set to go to ex-Mayor Sam Adams aide Amy Ruiz. The Oregonian reported in November that PBOT director Tom Miller was looking to fill the position—essentially a deputy director of the bureau—and that he had set his sights on Ruiz, a former Portland Mercury reporter ...   More

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News Once again, Charlie’s in charge. Ten years ago, Charlie Hales quit his job as city commissioner to start selling streetcars. On Jan. 2, the downtown...   More

News Incoming Portland Mayor Charlie Hales intends to make a response to the Newtown, Connecticut elementary school massacre a top priority for his first week in office. The mayor, who takes office tonight at midnight, is scheduling a meeting this week with Portland Police Chief Mike Reese and the superintendents of all six school districts within Portland city limits, including Portland Public Schools ...   More

News Let's play a guessing game. What is the first transportation item on Mayor-elect Charlie Hales' agenda the day of his swearing in?A. $4 million in grants for more "bikeway improvements" fashioned by outgoing Mayor Sam Adams.B. Gathering state money for paving sidewalks east of Interstate 205. The answer, of course, is both. The Jan. 2 City Council agenda includes one transportation item offered by ...   More

News Mayor-elect Charlie Hales says is committed to keeping Mike Reese on as Portland's police chief.Hales, who will serve as police commissioner, says he hasn't set a time table for when they'll decide if the relationship is working out. "I haven't set a schedule other than obviously, I'll be watching his performance, just like every other key manager at the city—daily and weekly," he says.During the ...   More