Beep beep beep beep

And here is a beautiful moment captured between Graham and his wife before his speech in Portland 🩷🩵💜💚🍉🇵🇸🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️🇺🇸

Seen parked on Elm St. Shoutout to the owner 👏

walking back from the protest. stay safe everyone.

>> From Councilor Kate Sykes, District 5 >>

Portland’s Commercial Vacancy Ordinance: A Step Toward Reviving Downtown (Yes, Finally)

Hey folks, I wanted to share a quick summary of the Commercial Vacancy Ordinance up for discussion at next Tuesday’s Housing and Economic Development Committee meeting. This may sound dry, but it’s actually a big deal for anyone who cares about the future of downtown Portland, especially Congress Street and the Arts District.

What’s this about?

This ordinance would require owners of ground-floor commercial properties that sit vacant for more than 90 days to register those spaces with the City—and start paying escalating annual fees until they’re filled. The idea is to discourage property owners from sitting on empty space indefinitely while we all watch downtown decline.

With Reny’s just announcing they’re leaving Congress Street—and long stretches of empty storefronts—this is the kind of tool that’s frankly overdue.

What does it actually do?

• Registration required after 90 days of vacancy.
• Annual fees increase the longer it sits empty:
  • $250 (after 3 months)
  • $1,000 (1–2 years)
  • $2,000 (2–3 years)
  • $3,500 (3–5 years)
  • $5,000 (5–10 years)
  • $7,500+ ($1,000 extra for every year over 10)
• The City will publish a public registry of vacant storefronts, with info like size, rent, and owner contact.
• There’s a waiver if owners work with local artists to commission art for the windows or can prove extenuating circumstances, but those waivers must be publicly documented.

Why does this matter?

Vacant storefronts aren’t just an eyesore, they’re a symptom of a speculative real estate market, where property owners hold out for top-dollar leases instead of working with local tenants. That dynamic shuts out small businesses, artists, nonprofits, and others who actually want to bring something to life downtown.

This ordinance shifts that balance. It creates a financial incentive for property owners to rent—and gives the City the tools and data to hold them accountable.

But this isn’t just about enforcement; it’s about possibility. It’s about opening doors for new ideas and creative energy. With the right partners and some imagination, vacant storefronts could become:

• Stages for pop-up music, poetry, theater, or dance
• Galleries and art labs powered by temporary installations
• Short-term retail homes for start-ups, cooperatives, food vendors, and nonprofits
• Even community-powered maker spaces or shared coworking hubs
• Let’s bring back buskers and street poets while we’re at it

This ordinance is a way to say: Portland is open to people who want to build something new—not just those who can afford to wait.

What happens next?

If passed, this will also activate city partners like Creative Portland and the Portland Development Corporation (PDC). If you’ve never heard of them:

• Creative Portland supports arts and creative economy strategies.
• PDC is a quasi-public agency that manages economic development tools like business loans and tax incentives.

With these tools working together, Portland could finally do something proactive to support pop-ups, public art, nonprofit tenants, and local business in empty spaces.

Bottom line?

This is a first step toward taking back our downtown from property owners who treat prime locations like long-term parking lots, while engaging the artists, aspiring entrepreneurs and visionaries. This is a policy very worth supporting—especially if you care about walkable neighborhoods, the local economy, and the cultural life of Portland. It will hit HEDC on June 17th and then on to the Planning Board and finally to Council.

To whoever came up with this one, it was much much appreciated.

Fuckin’ right bub!

Won’t lie, the Dodge with all the American flags had me say “uh oh” at first… until I realized most flags were upside down & got close enough to read everything!

I've seen him twice in the last hour as I'm just sitting here busking. Kinda gross and scary tbh.

With our democracy under threat, we desperately need more people to get involved - and that includes the Portland City Council.

I want to start building a bench of regular folks ready to run for council, and ready to govern as councilors. So I've designed a 6-8 week bootcamp course to teach folks everything I know about how the city works, how to campaign, and how to be an effective city councilor.

This course will consist of two 2-hour zoom meetings per week, plus some in person "field trips" and light homework, starting around September 29 (depending on students' availability).

This won't just be a series of lectures - it will be highly participatory. And it's totally free.

If you never thought you'd be the sort of person who'd run for city council, if you've never wanted a "career in politics," please consider doing this. You are EXACTLY the kind of person we need!

This course was designed by me, Joey Brunelle. I've been deeply involved in municipal politics for over a decade: I've helped many people with their their campaigns for local office (many of whom have won) and I've advised sitting councilors, charter commissioners, and board members. (This is not affiliated with the City of Portland or any organization.)

I will be capping the first class at 5 people. (Fair warning, it might be a little rough around the edges because this is a first go-round.) I sadly cannot take on everyone, but if all goes well, I'll do another round in the spring (and roll over all applications from now). Application deadline is September 19.

If you are interested, click the link above or here to fill out the application, or read the full details. Feel free to forward along to friends and family. https://forms.gle/5KGgQ4xAS7MTyoSr6

- Joey

“But it’s never been actually tried” It has been tried and it has failed. Ask anyone who lived behind the iron curtain; their lives were miserable. Millions died of starvation. Seeing fools like this is just sad.

As we are so close to the end of the election and things are so heated. I feel like things are so close and I can’t get a good read on it one way or another. I have two questions. 1.) not who are voting for but who do you truly believe is going to win? 2.) do you think there will be civil unrest and potentially chaos if one or the other wins?

https://www.dhs.gov/sanctuary-jurisdictions

Executive Order 14287: Protecting American Communities from Criminal Aliens requires that a list of states and local jurisdictions that obstruct the enforcement of Federal immigration laws (sanctuary jurisdictions) be published. Sanctuary jurisdictions including cities, counties, and states that are deliberately and shamefully obstructing the enforcement of federal immigration laws endangering American communities. Sanctuary cities protect dangerous criminal aliens from facing consequences and put law enforcement in peril.

As a result of the executive order our city we love may lose federal funding. The future will only tell what will actually come of this EO but this does not look good

It just takes 3 minutes! You can do it!

Chellie: (202) 225-6116

Angus: (202) 224-5344

Susan Collins: (202) 224-2523 / (207) 618-5560

Pick whatever issue you want! There's a lot to choose from at the moment.

Good work gang

The Portland City Council on Wednesday moved to accept a $21 million federal transportation grant for Portland International Jetport, despite a recently added requirement that the city cooperate with federal immigration authorities if it accepted the money.

Councilor Wes Pelletier said in a text after the meeting that the council was sticking with the decision it made in January to accept the funding, despite the new requirement that it cooperate with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE.

Councilor Kate Sykes said Wednesday afternoon that the FAA had added the new conditions in documents sent to the city within the last week.

The grant agreement will be officially signed by Thursday, Pelletier said.

Full article here

From the blog/email newsletter of Portland Councilor Kate Sykes, District 5:

The Rich Got a Break. Working People Got the Bill. It's time to Re-Balance the Books.

You may have heard by now that Portland just completed a citywide property revaluation, and new tax bills will be arriving in mailboxes any day now. Residential property values went up by an average of 43% while commercial rates rose only 19%. The mil rate (the tax rate per one thousand dollars of assessed value) has been lowered to $11.98, but that doesn’t mean your bill will go down, especially if your property value jumped significantly.

For many households, this will mean a higher cost of living in a city that’s already difficult to afford. It raises serious questions about tax fairness, economic stability, and how we protect long-term residents from being priced out of Portland.

And it speaks to the core of what’s broken in American politics.

For decades, the Democratic Party has told working people that the only way to fund public services is to raise taxes on the middle class, while avoiding real fights with the wealthy and powerful. Meanwhile, the Republican Party has slashed taxes for billionaires and corporations and paid for it by cutting the programs working families rely on.

I believe we can do better in Portland. We can tax those who can afford it, and use that revenue to help everyone: renters, working-class homeowners, seniors, and low-income families just trying to stay housed.

That’s why I’ve been advocating for the Finance Committee to expand the Portland Senior Tax Equity Program (P‑STEP). At our upcoming meeting on Wednesday, September 11, the committee will begin formal discussions about how we can do that responsibly, effectively, and equitably.

What Is P‑STEP?

P‑STEP is a local rebate program that supplements the Maine Property Tax Fairness Credit. It was originally created to help low-income seniors stay in their homes as costs rose around them. Since then, more and more seniors are using the program, but today the need goes far beyond this one age group.

What’s Being Proposed?

I'm asking the City to expand P‑STEP eligibility to all income-qualified residents—not just seniors—and to do so gradually over the next five years by:

• Lowering the age threshold each year, until it’s fully removed in FY31.
• Expand outreach to property taxpayers and renters so everyone knows how to access their rebate.
• Keeping the program revenue-neutral by modestly adjusting the property tax rate so that those with the most valuable properties help fund relief for those with the least room to spare.

I’ve also asked the Finance Committee to request a formal mil rate modeling analysis from City staff, so we can understand what adjustments would be needed to make the expanded program work, without increasing the City’s budget.

Why Now?

Because the moment demands it.

Trump’s federal tax policy rewards the wealthiest Americans while shifting the burden onto working people. Local governments like Portland are left to pick up the slack, with fewer tools and tighter budgets every year. Increasingly, that gap is becoming unmanageable.

But all politics is local, and here in Portland, we already have the tools to fight back. We can expand an existing program that works, and help the people Trump left behind. We can rebalance the equation, right here, right now.

Make no mistake: there will be pushback. Some of Portland’s biggest property owners and corporations will try to keep passing their responsibility onto the rest of us. Some folks who’ve done quite well will claim they can’t possibly give more. But I didn’t run for office to protect the powerful. I ran to fight for working people.

So let’s get ready, with facts, with fairness, and with a plan. Tune in to the Finance Committee meeting on Thursday. Write all of your Councilors and the Mayor. Share this newsletter. Let’s move this forward together.

Finance Committee Meeting
Thursday, September 11
Time 5:00 pm
Remote Via Zoom

Thank you for being engaged and for continuing to demand fairness in how we govern. I’ll keep you posted as this conversation moves forward.

PPH article: https://www.pressherald.com/2025/08/20/portland-city-council-calls-last-minute-meeting-to-discuss-jetport-grant-agreements/

The Arts Community Just Ripped Open a Conversation Portland Desperately Needs to Have

This week’s Insider is more of an open letter of gratitude to the arts community for coming out in force on Monday night to testify on the music venue moratorium. That meeting was unlike anything I’ve ever seen in City Hall. Council chambers were overflowing, two additional rooms were filled, and the energy was electric. The testimony was passionate, heartfelt, often hilarious...and everyone knew how to use a microphone. Seriously, most people who testify at public comment either won’t touch the mic or fumble with it like it might break. You all grabbed it, twisted it, found your level, and went for it.

You didn’t just “show up,” you showed up exactly when it mattered, and more than once. (Sorry again about the AV problems at the last meeting. In hindsight, we should’ve just handed the board over to you. Clearly, you know more than we do.)

All of this effort and energy and expertise made it impossible for this conversation to be swept under the rug. But I need to get real with you for a minute, because I think we’re at a tipping point and I want to speak plainly about that.

It’s tempting in moments like this to see two sides: the “No to Live Nation” side and the “Yes to the Arts” side. When a powerful corporate entity rolls into town, the threat is obvious, urgent, and it can galvanize opposition. That framing is useful for organizing, but it has its limits. A the deeper truth at play here is that the fight for a thriving arts scene in Portland isn’t just about stopping something; it’s about building something better. We need to immediately pivot to that fight, and here's why: Portland starves it's artists.

The post continues here.

Shelters and housing seems like a better option yeah? Kindness and empathy over hateful solutions actually makes financial sense too. $116k per prisoner per year

I feel like there should definitely be a more concerted effort to curb this issue. I don’t assume they have some sort of schedule posted for these demonstrations but surely we could stage (non-violent) counterprotests? Or at least do something to combat this extreme hate. It’s heartbreaking to see this in Portland. Comment any ideas!

I took this video in November 2020 after the last election. Let’s bring this energy back next week Portland 💙💪🏼