Jacob Apenes
japenes.bsky.social
Jacob Apenes
@japenes.bsky.social
I organize in Portland
Did Rep. Gamba end up voting yes on this amendment?
September 2, 2025 at 8:33 AM
Reposted by Jacob Apenes
Look, I’ll tell you one thing for sure: Portland’s renaissance will absolutely never come from alienating young people who want to start families in favor of wealthy business interests. It just won’t.
June 24, 2025 at 6:24 PM
Reposted by Jacob Apenes
This weekend the Mercury is devoting our website's home page to "Blackout: A Five-Year Retrospective on Portland’s Racial Justice Movement" written exclusively by Black Portlanders, reflecting on the legacy of George Floyd. Get your print copy at 500+ spots across the city.

www.portlandmercury.com
May 24, 2025 at 4:35 PM
Why must Oregon State Democrats fight for wealthy business interests instead of the constituents that voted them into office. So embarrassing www.opb.org/article/2025...
Oregon lawmakers are now considering a ‘cap-and-trade’ program to fund roads, wildfire prevention
The surprising development dredges up debate on a topic that once inspired multiple Republican walkouts
www.opb.org
May 23, 2025 at 3:06 PM
Love opening the 11:50pm city council meeting to see police funding redirected back towards parks!!! Thank you progressive councilors! Thank you charter reform!
May 22, 2025 at 6:54 AM
Reposted by Jacob Apenes
If the best case Democrats can make to voters against a lawless authoritarian regime that is dismantling our institutions at home and selling out our allies abroad is "but egg prices" then we're totally cooked as a society anyway.
February 12, 2025 at 5:32 PM
Reposted by Jacob Apenes
cambridge massachusetts with a *huge* mic drop - legalized six floors of housing, citywide.
I can’t believe it - after years of advocacy, exclusionary zoning has ended in Cambridge.

We just passed the single most comprehensive rezoning in the US—legalizing multifamily housing up to 6 stories citywide in a Paris style

Here’s the details 🧵
February 11, 2025 at 2:21 AM
Reposted by Jacob Apenes
Depending on who you are this might sound scary or exciting.

In reality, I think it’s reasonable. We were in a place where 85%+ of the existing housing wasn’t even legal.

Now the houses that make up Cambridge, are allowed once again.
February 11, 2025 at 1:46 AM
Reposted by Jacob Apenes
Thank you to my peers in the BDS movement for identifying Chevron as a sponsor of the PDX City Club event series. I asked them to drop sponsorship and they’ve agreed. Solidarity includes actions of all sizes. Special thanks to Councilor Koyama Lane for leading on this.
February 8, 2025 at 7:12 PM
Reposted by Jacob Apenes
I was disgusted by today’s episode of @nytimes.com’s Daily podcast. I haven’t listened to it in months because it is regularly very, very bad these days. But I did today and it was worse than I could’ve imagined. Check out this exchange between host Rachel Abrams, and WH reporter Jonathan Swan:
February 5, 2025 at 11:56 PM
Reposted by Jacob Apenes
February 5, 2025 at 10:25 PM
Reposted by Jacob Apenes
Stumptown Fil’s annual furcast featuring some very special guests 🤭

@trailblazers.bsky.social #StumptownFil #WeatherBeaver
February 2, 2025 at 5:36 PM
Reposted by Jacob Apenes
ICYMI last Friday, @jeremiahhayden.bsky.social came across a document where a Portland City Attorney encouraged city employees to (ab)use attorney-client privilege to keep internal "political strategy" around Zenith Energy away from the public.

More back room shenanigans around Zenith per usual.
New public records obtained by Street Roots show a city attorney encouraged city staff to include their office in a meeting to hide the city's political strategy on Zenith Energy from the public.
City of Portland claims attorney-client privilege to shield Zenith Energy communications
A city attorney recommended attorney involvement to keep information from the public, according to new public records
www.streetroots.org
January 13, 2025 at 7:06 PM
Reposted by Jacob Apenes
The mission of Portland Street Response is to provide an unarmed, compassionate 911 response to assist people experiencing a crisis.

They respond to 911 calls that would have previously been dispatched to armed police officers or otherwise received no response.
January 10, 2025 at 8:24 PM
Reposted by Jacob Apenes
People believe all kinds of bullshit conspiracies but the actual conspiracy to cook the planet for profit is somehow not getting as much traction as some weird shit about cyanide in fruit or seed oils or whatever.
January 11, 2025 at 3:29 AM
Reposted by Jacob Apenes
After this blew up the timeline last month, and Preston posted SF's report on Social Housing I dug into see if they've hit on a formula to build affordable housing at scale.

No, they haven't. But if you let go of the ideological hobby horses, you can get a lot closer.
January 11, 2025 at 1:40 AM
Reposted by Jacob Apenes
It's the first weekday of congestion pricing — and I caught a recidivist reckless cop who COVERS his plate to avoid speed cameras (though he still gets plenty of tickets). Is he paying his tolls, too? What do you think? #CriminalMischief
January 6, 2025 at 7:57 PM
Reposted by Jacob Apenes
Three Oregon lawmakers want to stop utility companies from raising rates on customers while those companies are still resolving years-long lawsuits over wildfire culpability and costs.
Oregon lawmakers plan bill to bar utilities embroiled in wildfire lawsuits from raising rates
The lawmakers will propose their ban in the upcoming legislative session, which starts Jan. 21.
www.oregonlive.com
January 8, 2025 at 5:00 AM
Reposted by Jacob Apenes
And that’s a union folks! Today, SRWG members voted in an NLRB election to formalize our union! Thank YOU to every single person who has shown support whether it be through kind words, signing our petition or continuing to uplift our work. We look forward to what’s next and we’ll keep you updated!
January 8, 2025 at 5:46 AM
Reposted by Jacob Apenes
Jimmy Carter, a visionary on ending fossil fuels, put solar panels on the White House. Big Oil-backed Ronald Reagan ousted Carter in 1980 and ripped them out

Tonight, as Carter lies in in state in the Capitol, a climate-fueled wildfire is destroying Reagan's former hometown of Pacific Palisades
January 8, 2025 at 4:56 AM
Reposted by Jacob Apenes
We don't even need to look that far back. Even prior to their coordination during the 2020 #BLM protests, there was evidence Portland Police were communicating and coordinating w/ the far right.

Katie Shepherd broke that story when she was at Willamette Week.
January 4, 2025 at 10:01 PM
Reposted by Jacob Apenes
A train bridge over the Marys River in Corvallis collapsed on Saturday, sending one train car filled with agricultural materials into the river.
Marys River train bridge in Corvallis collapses, one train car falls into river
Nobody was reported injured during the incident, but responders are working to contain agricultural materials from the train car that may have leaked into the river.
www.oregonlive.com
January 5, 2025 at 1:20 AM