Chuck Slothower
@chuckslothower.bsky.social
Reporter and editor, Daily Journal of Commerce, Portland. Interested in housing, development, CRE, design, construction, public policy. Oregonian. Typing at my kitchen table.
Vega Pederson endorses the City Council's rent algorithm ban push as the council gets close to final passage.
I support a City of Portland ordinance prohibiting raising rents through algorithm-driven price fixing services. Protecting tenants from rent increases that do not take into account local, individual needs is a policy we need to decrease evictions, safeguard tenants, and promote fair competition.
November 18, 2025 at 6:19 PM
Vega Pederson endorses the City Council's rent algorithm ban push as the council gets close to final passage.
Reposted by Chuck Slothower
This is so cool. Love this for the kids and the building.
Nation’s oldest youth orchestra buys landmark Portland church
Central Lutheran Church members found a new steward for their architecturally significant building.
www.oregonlive.com
November 18, 2025 at 5:19 PM
This is so cool. Love this for the kids and the building.
Inside Portland Art Museum's $116 million Rothko Pavilion expansion. The museum reopens to the public on Nov. 20.
djcoregon.com/news/2025/11...
djcoregon.com/news/2025/11...
November 14, 2025 at 8:01 PM
Inside Portland Art Museum's $116 million Rothko Pavilion expansion. The museum reopens to the public on Nov. 20.
djcoregon.com/news/2025/11...
djcoregon.com/news/2025/11...
Portland's city council appears poised to ban algorithmic rent-fixing software. The proposed ban is backed by council President Angelita Morillo and other left-leaning City Council members.
djcoregon.com/news/2025/11...
djcoregon.com/news/2025/11...
Portland poised to ban use of algorithmic rent-fixing software
The City Council is considering a proposal to ban the use of rent-fixing software by major landlords in a bid to curb anticompetitive pricing and protect tenants.
djcoregon.com
November 14, 2025 at 6:24 PM
Portland's city council appears poised to ban algorithmic rent-fixing software. The proposed ban is backed by council President Angelita Morillo and other left-leaning City Council members.
djcoregon.com/news/2025/11...
djcoregon.com/news/2025/11...
Every now and then I think about this comic.
November 14, 2025 at 2:12 AM
Every now and then I think about this comic.
Journalist problem: That thing where I have one quote that's clearly the best in the story, and whether it should be the first or last quote. Who am I kidding? The good Lord smiles upon an excellent kicker.
November 14, 2025 at 12:28 AM
Journalist problem: That thing where I have one quote that's clearly the best in the story, and whether it should be the first or last quote. Who am I kidding? The good Lord smiles upon an excellent kicker.
A state layoff notice for Intel just hit my inbox: 669 people at four locations in Oregon.
November 13, 2025 at 11:50 PM
A state layoff notice for Intel just hit my inbox: 669 people at four locations in Oregon.
Reposted by Chuck Slothower
This will make the housing and homeless crisis much, much worse: www.nytimes.com/2025/11/12/u...
Trump Administration to Drastically Cut Housing Grants
www.nytimes.com
November 13, 2025 at 4:45 AM
This will make the housing and homeless crisis much, much worse: www.nytimes.com/2025/11/12/u...
Reposted by Chuck Slothower
A Texas-based company has posted a job listing for detention officers in Newport. It's the latest sign the federal government wants to set up an ICE facility on the Oregon Coast.
A federal contractor is looking to hire ICE detention officers in Newport
It’s the latest sign U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcment is planning a major new facility on the Oregon Coast.
www.opb.org
November 12, 2025 at 6:11 PM
A Texas-based company has posted a job listing for detention officers in Newport. It's the latest sign the federal government wants to set up an ICE facility on the Oregon Coast.
Portland City Council is taking up an ordinance today to ban algorithmic rent-fixing software. Thread!
November 12, 2025 at 6:21 PM
Portland City Council is taking up an ordinance today to ban algorithmic rent-fixing software. Thread!
More obscure, but Oriana Fallaci (d. 2006). She absolutely roasted Kissinger, Arafat, Khomeini and many more.
Founding member Joan Didion, RIP
Kendrick, Joyce Carol Oates, Menswear Guy, and Isaac Chotiner are the Voltron of People You Don't Want Focusing on You
November 11, 2025 at 10:21 PM
More obscure, but Oriana Fallaci (d. 2006). She absolutely roasted Kissinger, Arafat, Khomeini and many more.
Rents in Bend have flattened because of a surge in new apartment supply. Analysts don't expect that to last.
Bend Bulletin story: bendbulletin.com/2025/11/11/b...
Bend Bulletin story: bendbulletin.com/2025/11/11/b...
Bend's surge of apartment construction flattens rent hikes - The Bulletin
When Ian Gray looked for an apartment to rent in Bend earlier this year, he had something not available only a few years ago: a choice. Gray, who moved to Bend for a job as the city’s first-ever urban...
bendbulletin.com
November 11, 2025 at 10:09 PM
Rents in Bend have flattened because of a surge in new apartment supply. Analysts don't expect that to last.
Bend Bulletin story: bendbulletin.com/2025/11/11/b...
Bend Bulletin story: bendbulletin.com/2025/11/11/b...
Reposted by Chuck Slothower
After years of delay and months of very bad news, ODOT staff will ask their bosses if it's finally time to pull the plug.
bikeportland.org/2025/11/11/i...
bikeportland.org/2025/11/11/i...
Is this the end? State transportation commission could defund I-5 Rose Quarter project
Project staff call the question after eight years of planning and little progress to show for it.
bikeportland.org
November 11, 2025 at 6:45 PM
After years of delay and months of very bad news, ODOT staff will ask their bosses if it's finally time to pull the plug.
bikeportland.org/2025/11/11/i...
bikeportland.org/2025/11/11/i...
Reposted by Chuck Slothower
I've been hearing all day about rumors that ICE wants to set up a new outpost on the Oregon coast. Newport officials say their airport is in the agency's sites. #orpol
www.opb.org/article/2025...
www.opb.org/article/2025...
Newport officials raise alarm about possible new ICE facility
Rumors have spread since last week that the Trump administration is planning an outpost on Oregon's central coast.
www.opb.org
November 11, 2025 at 2:40 AM
I've been hearing all day about rumors that ICE wants to set up a new outpost on the Oregon coast. Newport officials say their airport is in the agency's sites. #orpol
www.opb.org/article/2025...
www.opb.org/article/2025...
Veterans go to the Angels and play one season and then decide it's all they can take.
Report: Hendricks retiring after 12-year career
Report: Hendricks retiring after 12-year career
Kyle Hendricks is retiring after a 12-year major-league career, according to Maddie Lee of The Chicago Sun-Times.
dlvr.it
November 10, 2025 at 9:41 PM
Veterans go to the Angels and play one season and then decide it's all they can take.
Reposted by Chuck Slothower
The good news: Portland is opting into Oregon's optional 4-story single-stair code section.
The bad news: Portland's fire marshal has managed to insert a poison pill into what appeared to be a take-it-or-leave-it appendix text, likely making it unusable in most cases.
djcoregon.com/news/2025/11...
The bad news: Portland's fire marshal has managed to insert a poison pill into what appeared to be a take-it-or-leave-it appendix text, likely making it unusable in most cases.
djcoregon.com/news/2025/11...
Portland’s new single-staircase rule faces big hurdles
The city now allows single-staircase buildings as tall as four stories, but a fire access rule may make most projects unbuildable, one designer warns.
djcoregon.com
November 10, 2025 at 9:31 PM
The good news: Portland is opting into Oregon's optional 4-story single-stair code section.
The bad news: Portland's fire marshal has managed to insert a poison pill into what appeared to be a take-it-or-leave-it appendix text, likely making it unusable in most cases.
djcoregon.com/news/2025/11...
The bad news: Portland's fire marshal has managed to insert a poison pill into what appeared to be a take-it-or-leave-it appendix text, likely making it unusable in most cases.
djcoregon.com/news/2025/11...
Portland approved code changes allowing for single-staircase buildings of up to four stories. But designers are concerned that a safety condition added at the insistence of the fire marshal's office will render the new rules useless. djcoregon.com/news/2025/11...
Portland’s new single-staircase rule faces big hurdles
The city now allows single-staircase buildings as tall as four stories, but a fire access rule may make most projects unbuildable, one designer warns.
djcoregon.com
November 10, 2025 at 8:15 PM
Portland approved code changes allowing for single-staircase buildings of up to four stories. But designers are concerned that a safety condition added at the insistence of the fire marshal's office will render the new rules useless. djcoregon.com/news/2025/11...
This is all well and good, but I read the whole thing and didn't see the words "cask ale" or "Horse Brass."
November 5, 2025 at 11:23 PM
This is all well and good, but I read the whole thing and didn't see the words "cask ale" or "Horse Brass."
Reposted by Chuck Slothower
Median age of first-time homebuyer has climbed to 40 www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Affordability Woes Push US Median First-Time Homebuyer Age to 40
The median age of first-time homebuyers in the US has climbed to a record of 40 as soaring prices and mortgage rates over the last few years delay homeownership for millions of Americans.
www.bloomberg.com
November 4, 2025 at 9:37 PM
Median age of first-time homebuyer has climbed to 40 www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
I'm curious to see how Portland's parks levy turns out. Portlanders have historically supported parks levies, but there's a sense that Parks & Recreation has become a fiscal black hole, and there are fundamental funding issues identified by the city auditor's report that the levy leaves unaddressed.
November 4, 2025 at 6:57 PM
I'm curious to see how Portland's parks levy turns out. Portlanders have historically supported parks levies, but there's a sense that Parks & Recreation has become a fiscal black hole, and there are fundamental funding issues identified by the city auditor's report that the levy leaves unaddressed.
Reposted by Chuck Slothower
NOAA cancels funding for data collection crucial to tsunami warning systems
NOAA cancels funding for data collection crucial to tsunami warning systems
Direct feeds from seismology stations across Alaska are expected to stop in mid-November, state officials say.
www.adn.com
November 4, 2025 at 4:28 PM
NOAA cancels funding for data collection crucial to tsunami warning systems
The youths are really into Steely Dan.
October 31, 2025 at 11:33 PM
The youths are really into Steely Dan.
A haiku:
I have used the spoons
All of them. Stirring, scooping.
So none remain clean.
I have used the spoons
All of them. Stirring, scooping.
So none remain clean.
October 31, 2025 at 6:05 PM
A haiku:
I have used the spoons
All of them. Stirring, scooping.
So none remain clean.
I have used the spoons
All of them. Stirring, scooping.
So none remain clean.
The buyer of the PacWest Center used a $44.6 million loan to make the purchase, public documents show. djcoregon.com/news/2025/10...
PacWest Center in Portland sells at deep discount
The PacWest Center in downtown Portland sold to Alaska-based Fountainhead Development for $55.7M, less than half its pre-pandemic value.
djcoregon.com
October 31, 2025 at 4:33 PM
The buyer of the PacWest Center used a $44.6 million loan to make the purchase, public documents show. djcoregon.com/news/2025/10...
It appears a former grange hall at 12105 NE Prescott will be converted into a preschool.
October 30, 2025 at 7:45 PM
It appears a former grange hall at 12105 NE Prescott will be converted into a preschool.