September 16, 2020
Page 2
Unpaid Rents Grow during COVID-19 The Week in Review
Mayor calls for
more housing relief
Unpaid rents are growing in
Portland during the COVID-19
pandemic and Mayor Ted Wheeler
announced last week he will bring
forward local housing relief mea-
sures to help stabilize households
facing evictions and foreclosures.
Wheeler proposed an emergen-
cy amendment to the city’s man-
datory relocation ordinance so that
any rent increases would trigger a A protest against evictions in San Francisco is captured in this AP
photo. Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler announced last week he is
bringing forward local housing relief measures to stabilize house-
c ontinued on P age 4
holds facing evictions and foreclosures due to COVID-19.
Officer Hurt by Laser
Suspect Killed by Police
Multnomah County District At-
torney Mike Schmidt Tuesday
announced the indictment against
a Portland man for shining a dan-
gerous high-powered laser into the
eye of a Portland Police Bureau
sergeant during a protest and caus-
ing an injury. Law enforcement
said the laser was so powerful that
it would burn through paper and
cause dry material to catch fire.
Michael Reinoehl , the Portland
man suspected of fatally shooting
Aaron “Jay” Danielson, a right-
wing supporter during in a con-
frontation downtown last Aug.
28, was shot and killed on Sept.
3 as law enforcement moved into
to arrest him in Lacy, Wash. Au-
thorities say he was armed and an
investigation was underway.
Police Misconduct
Investigated
At least three Portland police of-
ficers have been removed from
patrol and protest duties while in-
vestigations proceed into wheth-
er they engaged in misconduct
against protesters, officials con-
firmed last week. One of the of-
ficers was seen on video tackling
and repeatedly punching a protest-
er in the face.
Man Starts Six Fires
A man arrested
Sunday for us-
ing a Molotov
Cocktail to start
a small brush
fire along the
I-205 freeway,
was
arrested
again and held
for a mental
evaluation af-
ter he started
6 more small
fires during the
predawn hours
early Monday
morning. Portland Fire and Res-
cue extinguished three of the fires
while passing community mem-
bers put out the other three, offi-
cials said.
COVID Positive Rate Slows
The Oregon Health Authority says
the positivity rate for people test-
ed for COVID-19 was 4.3 percent
for the week ending Sept. 5, con-
siderably lower than the national
average of 8 percent. A declining
positive test rate shows that Ore-
gonians’ efforts to use face cov-
erings, physically distance, and
avoid gatherings is helping to
slow the spread of the disease.
Singer, Producer Remembered
Ronald “Khalis” Bell, a co-founder,
singer and producer of the group
Kool & the Gang, died Wednesday
at his home in the U.S. Virgin Is-
land. He was 68. The band was one
of the major groups of the 1970s,
blending jazz, funk, R&B and pop.
Wrongful Death Settlement
The estate of Lane Christopher
Martin, a 31 year old white Port-
land man who was shot to death by
police last summer during a mental
health crisis will receive nearly $1
million in a wrongful death settle-
ment from the City of Portland, of-
ficials reported last week. A grand
jury had found no criminal wrong-
doing on the part of police.