Ryan Haas

what a crazy night for sam altman to be like "yeah we got that dept of war deal, and there's no moral concerns here"

Yes, to some degree. The company has regularly increased rates since these fires, typically under the banner of wildfire mitigation costs, but the connection between these fire lawsuits and a major uptick in prevention costs to customers are easy to make.

A screenshot of a headline that says "Kyron Horman's name surfaces in Epstein files"

Today in clickbait.

PacifiCorp officially owes Oregonians more than $1 billion for 2020 fires A Wednesday court verdict pushed the Warren Buffett-owned utility beyond the remarkable figure.

Ahem, I just want to say @ryanjhaas.bsky.social broke the news in @thewesternedge.bsky.social that PacifiCorp now owes Oregonians $1 billion

www.thewesternedge.media/p/pacificorp...

Portland advances antidiscrimination protections for polyamorous families Portland is poised to be the largest U.S. city to allow polyamorous families to sue over discrimination.

Portland is poised to be the largest U.S. city to allow polyamorous families to sue over discrimination.

These fires seem remote for many of us now, but for the thousands of people who had their homes destroyed, the slow pace of these court proceedings has kept that devastation fresh in their minds.

Trials in the class action could continue through 2028 if PacifiCorp doesn't settle.

PacifiCorp officially owes Oregonians more than $1 billion for 2020 fires A Tuesday court verdict pushed the Warren Buffet-owned utility beyond the remarkable figure.

Oregon's second largest electric utility, PacifiCorp, passed a notable milestone today: $1 billion owed to people who had their lives destroyed by the 2020 Labor Day wildfires.

hella stoked to tell my favorite corporations the good news

Portland Public Schools faces mid-year cuts due to just-discovered shortages PPS officials already have a million-dollar budget deficit for next year, but they also have more immediate money problems.

In other bad news.

Big Pink owner snags foreclosed downtown building, pushing Portland bets to $125M - Portland Business Journal His total downtown investment has reached $125 million.

The new owner of Big Pink has bought the Five Oak building across the street. That's four contiguous blocks of Downtown Portland that he now owns. www.bizjournals.com/portland/new...

Get a ticket if you don't already have one!

When I say that @ryanjhaas.bsky.social and I like to deep dive with our reporting, what I mean is that we go to the absolute bottom and find insane shit like this.

Portland is facing a $169 million budget deficit due to shelter and public safety costs The projected financial shortfall in the coming fiscal year reflects the city’s reliance on temporary cash.

A reliance on one-time funds to prop up shelter, public safety costs has Portland in deeper budget trouble than anticipated.

Is Redemption Possible in Oregon's Capital City? The Western Edge uncovered a manufactured crisis, backroom deals, political spending, AI slop and a city council bending to appease a police union.

Story is here if you didn't get a chance to read it yet.

A comment on a Western Edge story praising its reporting.

What are people saying about @thewesternedge.bsky.social?

Wendy absolutely gets the vibe we are going for. Old school reporting that cuts at power, packaged for the digital age.

Thank you! That means a lot.

Thank you. I actually think this story is so interesting because people can be very split on what role Hedquist should or shouldn't have in public life.

Mainly, I thought it was worth questioning the police union's role in the outcome.

Fascinating article about attempts at redemption after a serious crime and incarceration, and how those seeking political gain took advantage of the situation.

BREAKING: Gov. Bob Ferguson is calling for a 3-day sales tax holiday leading up the start of the school year for items under $1K.

Says it would put another $141M back in folks’ pocket.

Federal judge continues to block ICE officers from using tear gas, other munitions outside Portland facility A federal judge has extended a temporary order that limits federal law enforcement officers from using certain kinds of force outside the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement building in Portland.

U.S. Court Judge Michael Simon said today he would extend the order he first issued Feb. 3 for another 14 days.

Thank you!

Incredible piece about some of Salem's inner workings. Though none of this is surprising, it's wonderful to see a spotlight on it.

Right? I think there was a belief they'd just get their way in the December vote and it became a shocker when the council voted the other direction. It will be an interesting election season in Salem.

Locals have been talking about this issue for a while now and it's been hard to pierce through the fog of disinformation to figure out what's really going on...this is why the work of diligent local journalists like @leahsottile.bsky.social & @ryanjhaas.bsky.social is so needed...and sadly so rare.

I'm happy to add a link in there. It was definitely well covered by you at the time of the event. Mostly our reporting was trying to add to the event coverage with additional context around the political spending. I did notice the theft of the SJ photo to generate the AI slop. Terrible.

Is Redemption Possible in Oregon's Capital City? The Western Edge uncovered a manufactured crisis, backroom deals, political spending, AI slop and a city council bending to appease a police union.

Salem, Oregon, has always been a prison town. But late last year, city leaders were confronted with what to do when formerly incarcerated people want to join civic life.

@thewesternedge.bsky.social has uncovered how a series of backroom deals and a smear campaign roiled the city for weeks.

Judge: ‘Unreasonable failures of care’ at Washington ICE detention facility preceded man’s amputation A Washington judge ordered the man released from the Tacoma ICE facility after he developed a bone infection, ulcerative colitis and anemia.

A Washington judge ordered the man released from the Tacoma ICE facility after he developed a bone infection, ulcerative colitis and anemia.

Yeah, that's very real.

Journalism schools are teaching fear of the future: Letter from the Editor Journalism schools lag in teaching AI, crucial for modern reporting, which aids in efficient news gathering and frees reporters for fieldwork.

The editor of a large-ish newspaper telling kids they should drop out of school and let AI write for them because it's faster.

I think the student here dodged a bullet.

I'm unlikely to spend the majority of my time reporting on Portland city hall politics. There are many undercovered parts of the Northwest, but city hall does have a reasonable amount of reporters.

If I find a good story, I will be there, but it's not going to be my main focus.