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SHERIFF SAYS IT WILL TAKE “YEARS” TO SUFFICIENTLY STAFF JAILS: Multnomah County Sheriff Nicole Morrisey O’Donnell told county commissioners Aug. 27 that staffing challenges could hamper efforts to fix the two jails she oversees. O’Donnell was hauled before the commissioners to give a progress report on the more than 400 fixes recommended by local, state and federal inspectors. Eleven inmate have died in Multnomah County jails since 2022. The county’s “Corrections Recommendations Project” began in April but is still just getting off the ground. Only 3% of the recommendations have been implemented so far, O’Donnell said. Her agency currently has 90 job vacancies. “I definitely think it’s going to be a few years to ensure that we can get up to a sufficient staffing level to be able to provide again the services that are necessary,” she told commissioners. In response, County Chair Jessica Vega Pederson said her proposed budget fully funded the agency’s requests and she was “happy to talk” if more funding was needed.
SENIOR FORESTRY OFFICIAL ON LEAVE: Oregon is experiencing its worst fire year on record—1,650 wildfires have burned 1.53 million acres so far, according to state figures, eclipsing the previous high of 1.2 million acres in 2012. And now the Oregon Department of Forestry, which coordinates fire-fighting efforts, has to move forward without its second in command, WW has learned. Mike Shaw, the department’s deputy forester, is on administrative leave. The agency, which currently has 4,966 firefighters deployed to blazes across the state, declined to furnish any details about Shaw’s status, only confirming that he is on leave. “The department doesn’t comment on personnel matters,” ODF spokeswoman Joy Krawczyk said.
GROCERY MERGER TRIAL GETS UNDERWAY: A federal trial began this week to determine the fate of dozens of grocery stores in Portland, including all Fred Meyer and Safeway stores. Kroger Co., owner of the Fred Meyer chain, wants to buy Albertsons Companies Inc., owner of Safeway, for $25 billion in what would be the biggest grocery merger ever. The Federal Trade Commission sued the grocery chains in U.S. District Court in February, saying the deal would diminish competition and drive up prices. A dozen states, including Oregon, joined the lawsuit or filed ones of their own. Albertsons and Kroger say they must combine in order to compete with Costco, Walmart and Amazon’s Whole Foods chain. On Wednesday, Aug. 28, the court will hear from Dan Clay, president of United Food & Commercial Workers Local 555, which represents 4,500 workers at Fred Meyer stores in the Portland area. The union supported the merger until earlier this month, when it flipped to oppose it, saying Fred Meyer had failed to address “major wage discrepancies” at stores in Oregon and Washington during current contract negotiations. UFCW workers also voted to authorize an unfair labor practices strike, and are expected to walk out Aug. 28. “Fred Meyer remains committed to investing in our associates with competitive pay while also ensuring our doors stay open and groceries remain affordable,” Fred Meyer president Todd Kammeyer said in a statement. Together, Cincinnati-based Kroger and Boise-based Albertsons operate 5,000 stores in the U.S. and 176 in Oregon. To assuage antitrust concerns, Kroger and Albertsons have said they plan to sell 579 stores nationwide, including 62 grocery stores in Oregon, to C&S Wholesale Grocers based in New Hampshire. Kroger has also pledged to cut grocery prices by $1 billion if the merger goes through.
FEDERAL JUDGE to WEIGH CITY’S NEW POLICE OVERSIGHT SYSTEM: The city of Portland and the U.S. Department of Justice are asking a federal judge to approve a new police oversight system. Voters overwhelmingly demanded the overhaul via a 2020 ballot measure. But the committee-crafted result was extensively pared down by the Portland City Council, to the frustration of advocates. Now they’re making that frustration known to U.S. District Judge Michael Simon, who must sign off on the new system. Simon retains oversight of the city’s policing policies thanks to a decade-old lawsuit by the DOJ. Points of contention with the proposal include the influence of the police union on the disciplinary process and the requirement that members of the new oversight board do ride-alongs with police. The Mental Health Alliance and the Albina Ministerial Alliance Coalition for Justice and Police Reform have both filed briefs in protest. “Allowing the Portland Police Association and the Police Bureau to have a veto power on the selection committee will doom this project,” reads MHA’s brief, authored by lawyer Juan Chavez. The next hearing is scheduled for Aug. 29.
Correction: The Murmur about Mike Shaw originally stated he’s the Department of Forestry’s fire protection chief. He was promoted in December 2023 to deputy state forester. The original story also understated the number of deployed firefighters. WW regrets the errors.