‘Portland is not a training ground’: Oregon leaders respond to federal agent shooting

Rest in peace, Jesse Jackson

Jesse Jackson has died. He was 84.

The civil rights notable gave from his heart in many ways, even travelling to Portland, Oregon at least once.

Following Aaron Campbell's death by cop, Jackson spoke at Maranatha Church.

Today, in 2026, we know that all lives matter — rich, poor, Black, white, Asian/Pacific Islander, Native Americans and their tribes and culture, and people with disabilities.

Whatever troubles Jackson and his family had in life, he was a leader, he lived a long life, and many people are sorry he's gone.

⛪✝️

Source: NBC News

Tuesday, February 17, 2026, 1:07 PM

All Concerts Cancelled

The e-ticket website is still there, but after 79 years, the Portland Chamber Orchestra has dissolved, and at the final performance no one bothered to tell the audience.

Robert Kingdom, Board President, cited finances and lack of attendance. "We expected to just cover our expenses," he said, but instead of the 350 attendees they needed to break even, there were only 200.

Kingdom could have announced the decision earlier, said The Oregonian, but he did not.

Cancelled shows include "Lion & Lotus," a Lunar New Year concert scheduled for March 3, and "Banner & Burden: Music and Spoken Word," scheduled for May 19, both at the Patricia Reser Center for the Arts.

The May 19 engagement was planned as a collaboration with the Oregon Poetry Association.

The chamber orchestra started in 1946, offering audiences a more intimate, close-up performance than the Schnitz (the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall), so called because of its main contributors, Harold and Arlene Schnitzer.

The Schnitz seats 2,776, including orchestra and balcony seating, a 94x32 foot stage with a 54x32 foot proscenium, dressing rooms for 90, and chic delicacies and cocktails.

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Before the big-money renovations, the location was known as the Paramount Theater.

The Paramount in downtown Portland once hosted rock bands and artists including Frank Zappa, The Pretenders, the Tubes, Ozzy Osbourne, Foghat, America, Joan Baez, Blue Öyster Cult, and Arlo Guthrie.

It's another loss for Portland, Oregon, as the city — especially the downtown area — continues its descent from picturesque and quirky to grimy, violent and dangerous. The downtown core was once a shopping district. Then unhoused people decided to break windows, shut down stores, drive away social services, and sit around complaining, buying drugs and whining.

These days walking downtown means tripping over tents and "zombies" — the forward procession of surly drunks who don't want a job. Another day, another riot, another demand for spare change. It's not 1984 or the final nuclear war, it's an everyday culture collapse. I grew up here, and I think "Keep Portland Weird " has gone too far.

Words and opinions ©Jenny Westberg, 2/17/26

ABOVE: Do not reserve e-tickets.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SNqZT4ZKSAU

[Video] Heroic Teen Bravely Saves Elderly Woman From Gas Station Car Fire!

An elderly woman almost lost her life in a fire after she crashed her car into a pump at a gas station in Oregon, but with the help of two teenage boys, she made it out just in time. While other pulled out their camera phones to record the inferno, the woman sat helplessly in her car, banging on the passenger window. One bystander tried to help her by pulling on the passenger door, but couldn’t…