Ben DeJarnette, Author at Bridgeliner

(59 posts)

How Oregon’s Education System Can Better Support Foster Children

Foster children like Adam Sweet often move homes — and schools — more times than they can count. Adam Sweet can’t remember exactly how many times he moved growing up as a foster child, but he thinks it was at least twenty. Usually those moves meant new schools, or at least a new chance to […]

Education / September 18, 2019

5 Questions to Ask If You’re Curious About Foster Parenting

“What kind of person is the best for becoming a foster parent?” — Anna Walker I’ve been digging into reader questions for our series on Oregon’s foster care system, and this is the hardest one to answer yet. The problem is that “foster parenting” can mean a bunch of different things. Sometimes it means taking […]

Community / September 4, 2019

PDXplained: The Hidden History of Morningside Hospital in East Portland

(📸: Wikimedia Commons) For more than 50 years, an Oregon hospital held “mentally ill” patients against their will, performed bogus medical procedures, and drew allegations of abuse and neglect. And it’s probably not the hospital you’re thinking of. Ken Kesey’s novel “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” immortalized the Oregon State Hospital in Salem — […]

Hazelwood / September 3, 2019

Many Foster Parents in Oregon Don’t Feel Supported. Here’s the Plan to Fix That.

“How much help do foster parents (and institutional homes) get addressing emotional and social issues for the kids they care for?” —Alan Lehto I’ve talked to foster parents, caseworkers, and policy wonks for this series, and the universal answer to that question is “not enough.” But there’s a plan to turn that around — and […]

Community / August 28, 2019

No, Portland’s Neighborhood Associations Aren’t Going Away — And They Might Not Even Change

A proposed revision to the City of Portland’s civic code is either a bureaucratic tweak to bring more voices to the table, or it’s a Machiavellian power grab to silence critics and stifle democracy. It just depends who you ask. Confused? You’re not alone. The messaging from City Hall has been inconsistent at times, and […]

Neighborhoods / July 30, 2019

The 6 Things I’ve Learned About Foster Care in Oregon

Our readers sent in some great questions this month about Oregon’s foster care system, and I’ll be digging into them throughout the summer. For now, here’s an update on what I’ve learned: 1. First things first: what even is foster care? That’s not a stupid question. Sometimes foster care is a short-term arrangement for a kid […]

Real Talk / July 24, 2019

PDXplained: What We Learned About the Old ‘Comfy Inn’ in Kenton

Apartment construction is nothing new to North Portland (ICYMI, they’re going up everywhere), but the Kenton Korner development on N. Interstate Ave. has quite a story behind it. My sleuthing into that site began with a PDXplained question from reader Teresa Hill, who asked: “What’s going on with the old motel that’s being remodeled next […]

Kenton / July 22, 2019

The MLB-to-Portland Petition Has 35,000+ Signatures. So What’s Next?

(📸: Portland Diamond Project) It’s been nearly two years since the Portland Diamond Project first started hatching its plan to bring pro baseball to Portland, and the movement is starting to pick up steam. The celebrity duo of Russell Wilson and Ciara are on board as early investors, a tentative agreement is in place to […]

Community / June 24, 2019

Portland Can’t Fix Its Homelessness Crisis Without Learning from San Francisco

(📸: Erik Cooper on Flickr) “How does the Bay Area handle the homelessness issue?” When we invited questions about what Portland can learn from the Bay Area about managing growth, several readers asked us about homelessness — and it’s no surprise. Portland’s homelessness crisis ranks among the worst in the country, and on any given […]

Politics / June 18, 2019

Portlanders Are Riding Public Transit Less Often. Is More Housing the Fix?

(📸: Hector Chacon) “How can we get more people to ride public transit?” Reader Judy Welles submitted that question for our series on what Portland can learn from the Bay Area about managing growth — and it’s interesting timing. TriMet just announced that ridership has dipped nearly two percent since last year, continuing a downward […]

Politics / June 4, 2019