Samantha Swindler
@editorswindler.bsky.social
Reporter for The Oregonian and Here is Oregon, covering arts, interesting people, silly things & weird stuff.
I cannot say enough nice things about the ROTC cadets at Oregon State who helped me find a 99-year-old "Rosie the Riveter" at the Linn County Veterans Day Parade.
Oregon town hosts the largest Veterans Day parade on the West Coast
Organizing a parade this size is a big undertaking. Close to 100 volunteers are needed, helping staff 15 staging points across 18 city blocks.
www.oregonlive.com
November 12, 2025 at 4:23 AM
I cannot say enough nice things about the ROTC cadets at Oregon State who helped me find a 99-year-old "Rosie the Riveter" at the Linn County Veterans Day Parade.
oh.
National Guard troops were at Portland ICE building despite court ban, feds admit
Portland police Cmdr. Franz Schoening testified at trial he was "startled" by federal officers' unjustified use of tear gas and other less-lethal munitions on passive protesters outside the ICE buildi...
www.oregonlive.com
October 29, 2025 at 9:01 PM
oh.
Another year, another Halloween where I was not invited to the kind of party where the adults were hypnotized in Hocus Pocus. 😔
October 29, 2025 at 4:27 PM
Another year, another Halloween where I was not invited to the kind of party where the adults were hypnotized in Hocus Pocus. 😔
If you were raised pretty white trash and never saw one before, and then one day when you’re 44 a pomegranate shows up in your farm box, buddy that is a wild ride.
October 29, 2025 at 3:24 AM
If you were raised pretty white trash and never saw one before, and then one day when you’re 44 a pomegranate shows up in your farm box, buddy that is a wild ride.
This story highlights some of best home haunts in the greater Portland area (Newberg is a bit out there but ... just go with it):
Portland-area duo turns yard into skeleton carnival, featuring a 12-foot, mirror-tiled ‘Huge Jackman’ (and no clowns)
These are houses decorated to the max, where visitors can enjoy free trick-or-treat thrills.
www.oregonlive.com
October 24, 2025 at 4:52 PM
This story highlights some of best home haunts in the greater Portland area (Newberg is a bit out there but ... just go with it):
This video is hard to watch
‘I can’t breathe,’ man tells ICE agents in Spanish five times during Portland arrest
The man was on a DoorDash delivery run at the time that another Portland resident filmed his arrest.
www.oregonlive.com
October 23, 2025 at 7:33 PM
This video is hard to watch
I know it says it's for teens but I love Five Below!
Teen-favorite discount retailer to open first Oregon store next month
The Portland-area store will be among the chain’s first in the Pacific Northwest.
www.oregonlive.com
October 23, 2025 at 6:32 PM
I know it says it's for teens but I love Five Below!
Judges Bade and Nelson found that the federal government is likely to succeed in its argument that there was a “threat of rebellion” outside the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement building in Portland:
Appeals court, in 2 to 1 split, puts hold on restraining order barring Trump from deploying Oregon National Guard
Senior Circuit Judge Susan P. Graber wrote a 35-page dissent.
www.oregonlive.com
October 20, 2025 at 7:50 PM
Judges Bade and Nelson found that the federal government is likely to succeed in its argument that there was a “threat of rebellion” outside the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement building in Portland:
What we know about which federal agents are at ICE and what weapons they're using:
Federal agents at Portland ICE facility: Who are they and what weapons do they use?
Homeland Security guidelines allow "objectively reasonable" force, but civil rights attorneys say agents use force indiscriminately.
www.oregonlive.com
October 17, 2025 at 5:15 PM
What we know about which federal agents are at ICE and what weapons they're using:
“When you have people in inflatables bouncing around ... it’s going to be very difficult to say this was a war zone, this was a riot. It de-escalates with ICE, it de-escalates with protesters, it de-escalates with counter-protesters — and, ironically enough, the pepper balls bounce right off.”
Why Portland ICE protesters are showing up dressed as giant inflatable animals
"Operation Inflation" is stocking a rack of free inflatable costumes near the site of Portland ICE protests.
www.oregonlive.com
October 15, 2025 at 7:55 PM
“When you have people in inflatables bouncing around ... it’s going to be very difficult to say this was a war zone, this was a riot. It de-escalates with ICE, it de-escalates with protesters, it de-escalates with counter-protesters — and, ironically enough, the pepper balls bounce right off.”
Portland's largest mausoleum has traditionally only be open to the public over Memorial Day weekend, but there are now offering a few select tours throughout the year. A must see for any history fan, and a few tickets are still available for Sept. 26:
Wilhelm's Portland Memorial Mausoleum Guided Walking Tour
Rising eight stories tall and offering seven miles of serene interment space, Wilhelm's proudly stands as the West Coast's largest mausoleum
www.eventbrite.com
September 23, 2025 at 4:55 PM
Portland's largest mausoleum has traditionally only be open to the public over Memorial Day weekend, but there are now offering a few select tours throughout the year. A must see for any history fan, and a few tickets are still available for Sept. 26:
I visited Oregon's five smallest cities. Here's part 1!
How one of Oregon’s smallest cities is moving past its wild, infamous history
We visited the five smallest cities in Oregon. Here’s what we found in No. 5.
www.oregonlive.com
September 22, 2025 at 3:12 PM
I visited Oregon's five smallest cities. Here's part 1!
Facebook is where the worst people I know share the worst political opinions, but I remain because I got some sweet free cabinets on Marketplace yesterday 🫠
September 11, 2025 at 3:43 AM
Facebook is where the worst people I know share the worst political opinions, but I remain because I got some sweet free cabinets on Marketplace yesterday 🫠
I'm the lloyd center reporter now:
‘Lightsabers on Ice’ brings monthly after hours cosplay party to Lloyd Center ice rink
Friday night was an official after party for Rose City Comic Con, but organizers plan to do similar ice skating events each month.
www.oregonlive.com
September 6, 2025 at 10:39 PM
I'm the lloyd center reporter now:
Friday is the deadline for nonprofits to apply for The Oregonian's Season of Sharing campaign! All nonprofits that serve Oregon/SW Washington are encouraged to apply, but we are particularly focused this year on those facing financial uncertainty because of government funding cuts.
2025 Season of Sharing campaign is now accepting applications from Oregon, SW Washington nonprofits
Nonprofit organizations can now apply to be a part of this year’s Season of Sharing campaign.
www.oregonlive.com
September 3, 2025 at 3:28 PM
Friday is the deadline for nonprofits to apply for The Oregonian's Season of Sharing campaign! All nonprofits that serve Oregon/SW Washington are encouraged to apply, but we are particularly focused this year on those facing financial uncertainty because of government funding cuts.
When my husband told me there’s a Netflix show on President Garfield’s assassination coming out, I said “wow, timely” bc that whole thing led to the end of the “spoils system” of federal jobs being political and created civil service reform. 🫠
The Trump administration has fired at least seven Environmental Protection Agency employees for signing a letter nearly two months ago criticizing the agency’s leadership, according to union officials.
Trump officials fire EPA employees for signing dissent letter
The move to terminate the staffers marks an escalation in the Trump administration’s effort to clamp down on dissent within the federal bureaucracy.
wapo.st
August 29, 2025 at 11:03 PM
When my husband told me there’s a Netflix show on President Garfield’s assassination coming out, I said “wow, timely” bc that whole thing led to the end of the “spoils system” of federal jobs being political and created civil service reform. 🫠
Wow, 20 years ago. That was a sad, strange time.
New Orleans marks 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina with memorials, brass band parade
New Orleans marks 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina with memorials, brass band parade
Events including memorial services and a parade were planned to honor those who were affected.
www.kptv.com
August 29, 2025 at 6:02 PM
Wow, 20 years ago. That was a sad, strange time.
It's Halloween now. I don't make the rules.
Spirit Halloween will haunt these vacant Oregon big-box stores in 2025
Halloween is creeping up on us, and the season’s signature pop-up retailer is reanimating the corpses of several statewide stores.
www.oregonlive.com
August 29, 2025 at 5:57 PM
It's Halloween now. I don't make the rules.
Does it mean something that none of the Spirit Halloween stores this year appear to be inside Portland city limits? Is this anything? 😅
Oregon Halloween & Costume Stores | Spirit Halloween
Spirit Halloween is your destination for costumes, props, accessories, hats, wigs, shoes, make-up, masks and much more! Find a Oregon store near you!
stores.spirithalloween.com
August 27, 2025 at 6:16 PM
Does it mean something that none of the Spirit Halloween stores this year appear to be inside Portland city limits? Is this anything? 😅
Reposted by Samantha Swindler
The daughters of Hermann Göring's aide - who refused for years to talk with art-theft investigators - put their home in Argentina up for sale, and GUESS WHAT.
Old master painting looted by Nazis spotted in Argentinian property listing
Dutch newspaper AD says it has traced Giuseppe Ghislandi’s Portrait of a Lady to house near Buenos Aires
www.theguardian.com
August 27, 2025 at 12:35 AM
The daughters of Hermann Göring's aide - who refused for years to talk with art-theft investigators - put their home in Argentina up for sale, and GUESS WHAT.
We found some positive masculinity at Oregon's pro wrestling training school:
‘Clap and applaud and encourage’: Pro wrestling school tryout draws hopefuls from across Oregon
More than 50 people joined the Oregon Pro Wrestling School tryout, where they learned to take bumps and warm up like wrestlers do.
www.oregonlive.com
August 26, 2025 at 4:42 PM
We found some positive masculinity at Oregon's pro wrestling training school:
I hate that we are like this as a society. It's not trespassing to knock on a front door. A little "no thank you" won't kill you.
Miss Manners: When ‘no soliciting’ sign doesn’t work, am I justified in yelling at salespeople to keep them away?
It feels like trespassing. What more can they do to get some peace and quiet?
www.oregonlive.com
August 21, 2025 at 7:19 PM
I hate that we are like this as a society. It's not trespassing to knock on a front door. A little "no thank you" won't kill you.
Knife Town, baby. 🔪
‘Knife Town, USA’: How Portland became a hub for blade manufacturing
A coalition of Portland knifemakers aims to build broader recognition, in the industry and among Portlanders.
www.oregonlive.com
August 21, 2025 at 5:39 PM
Knife Town, baby. 🔪
The "Big Beautiful Bill" requires federal agencies to ramp up logging, "but it also includes a provision requiring 'all monies' from those new timber sales go into federal coffers. That could mean nothing from new logging contracts will be shared with the counties that house those forests."
‘We are sinking’: Oregon timber counties flail, awaiting Congress to renew key funding
A budget crisis a century in the making is coming to a head as Oregon's rural counties wait on Congress to approve funding they've long relied on.
www.opb.org
August 19, 2025 at 5:25 PM
The "Big Beautiful Bill" requires federal agencies to ramp up logging, "but it also includes a provision requiring 'all monies' from those new timber sales go into federal coffers. That could mean nothing from new logging contracts will be shared with the counties that house those forests."
Wanna go walk in the woods naked in the moonlight in support of the 'roadless rule' protecting forests?
Portland’s first-ever ‘Moon Walk’ will combine nudity, protest and a celebration of weirdness
The moonlit evening stroll, in the nude, is one of several events being planned by Make Portland Weirder.
www.oregonlive.com
August 19, 2025 at 4:10 PM
Wanna go walk in the woods naked in the moonlight in support of the 'roadless rule' protecting forests?