April 20th, 2017

FEATURING:

Voices of community members speaking out against potential cuts to the City of Portland's 2017-18 budget. Over a hundred people gathered for a recent Community Budget Forum, held at Mt. Scott Community Center in SE Portland's Woodstock neighborhood. While the mayor's proposed budget has yet to be released, city bureaus were directed to suggest 2-5% potential cuts along with their budget requests, upon which the City Budget Office based and made recommendations. The city faces a ongoing budget shortfall of $1.8 million, according the the CBO. Community members testified on issues including education, parks, transportation, mental health, policing, housing and more.

AND:

Syrian-Palestinian activist Wael Elasady speaking at a recent anti-war demonstration in downtown Portland.  The protest followed a chemical attack in Syria's Idlib province, widely believed to have been perpetrated by Syrian autocrat Bashar Al Assad, and a resulting US missile strike on a Syrian airbase authorized by US president Donald Trump.  While many politicians (including Democrats) applauded the US airstrike, some activists on the left and within the anti-war movement saw it as a symbol of US imperialism.  Wael Elasady will be speaking more about Syria at Portland State University on Thurs 4/20 at 7pm.