Early this morning, Darren Johnson and Patricia Williams, who were forcibly evicted from their foreclosed home in southeast Portland two weeks ago, moved back in with help from local supporters.

At nine, around 100 people gathered at City Hall in Portland to continue their campaign for a moratorium on housing foreclosures and evictions in the city and Multnomah County. 

Jamie Partridge was there and brought these voices to the KBOO airwaves.

Kari Koch of the Portland Liberation Organizing Council kicked off the rally.

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Boots Riley, the lead singer of  Oakland hip-hop group The Coup, who played last night in Portland, was the last to speak at this morning’s rally.

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That was Boots Riley of hip hop artists The Coup speaking at an anti- foreclosure rally at Portland’s city hall this morning.

A non-profit group representing atheists and agnostics filed a federal lawsuit this week calling on the IRS to prevent tax-exempt religious organizations from electioneering. The Wisconsin-based Freedom From Religion Foundation, which advocates for the separation of church and state, says that failing to enforce the tax code allows churches to advocate for candidates and unfairly raise money for political causes. According to the group, American religious organizations receive more than one billion dollars in tax-exempt contributions annually. Congress barred churches from using tax-exempt funds for politics in 1954, but since then the IRS has only revoked the tax exempt status of one church.

KBOO’s Zeke Harrington spoke with Annie Laurie Gaylor, co-president of the Freedom From Religion Foundation, for more on the lawsuit.


 

After Wells Fargo divested last week from its majority share in the private prison corporation the ‘Geo Group’, new allegations have emerged showing further involvement in private prisons by Wells Fargo.

 A new report by the Public Accountability Initiative and the National People’s Action Network highlights the connections between Wells Fargo and private prisons.

Both groups, which are involved in the Private Prison Divestment Campaign held a telephone press conference on Friday to release the results of their report.

George gail, The director of the National People’s Action Network, was the first speaker.

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The city of Rochester, New York recently received a ten-year reprieve from compliance with federal regulations requiring the covering of their open reservoirs. 

Rochester requested the delay from the EPA based on economic hardship, citing a forty four percent increase in their water rates since 2000.

Here in Portland, water rates have increased sixty one percent since 2008 and yet the water bureau continues to fast track five hundred million dollars in construction projects, claiming that economic hardship is not a valid reason for a delay.

KBOO's Joe Meyer interviews Kent Craford (Portland Water Users Coalition) , John Felsen (Rochester, NY), David Shaff (Portland Water Bureau) and Floy Jones (Friends of Reservoirs).