This November, residents of the Portland Metro Area—which includes cities in Washington, Multnomah, and Clackamas Counties—will find two separate measures on their ballot related to affordable housing. While Measure 102 and the Metro housing bond will each be voted on separately, they are most efficient and impactful when implemented together. Measure 102 is an amendment to Oregon’s constitution that would allow housing bonds and other affordable housing funds that come from the government to be used by private (usually) nonprofit affordable housing developers. Without this amendment, all affordable housing funded through bonds has to be built and owned by the government. The thinking behind Measure 102 is that nonprofit developers are better equipped and able to build, maintain, and operate[…]

This year’s Oregon International Airshow starts on Friday right here in Hillsboro. The show, which will feature the Canadian Forces Snowbirds and more (but your correspondent, who is an immigrant, is mostly excited to see the Canadian planes.) If you’re not sure what to expect, here’s a great video overview from the 2017 event, uploaded over the weekend. Check it out and get pumped: The airshow starts Friday night with a fireworks show, then continues throughout Saturday and Sunday. Buy tickets here.

Alexander Flores (R), a relative political newcomer in Washington County, has raised just over $150,000 in cash and in-kind donations for his campaign for State Senate District 15. If you compare that to the roughly $21,000 raised by Democratic opponent and incumbent Chuck Riley, you might assume that Flores has widespread support in the district. In an April 11, 2018 press release Flores claimed to have built an “unparalleled grassroots organization.” What we found instead is that just under half of Flores’ donations ($74,842.19) was from The Leadership Fund, a PAC run by the Republican leadership in Oregon’s State Senate.  Currently, it is controlled by Jackie Winters, the Oregon Senate Minority Leader who represents District 10, and Fred Girod, an Oregon State Senator[…]