On Wednesday afternoon at Laurelhurst Park, two women shared cigarettes and paintbrushes as they spread globs of acrylic paint over stretched canvas frames. Mama Zeigh, a woman in her mid 60s with a grey-flecked mohawk, worked on an octopus painting, while Alma Barrett, a younger woman with a small white dog, painted a vibrant sky. “This is how we find calm,” said Zeigh, who asked to be identified by her nickname. “We need something to.
City Commissioners heard loud opposition and support Wednesday to a proposed city policy that would ban homeless camping across Portland. The seven hours of testimony, provided by more than 200 Portlanders, painted a clear picture of who stands to benefit from the plan—and who could be harmed by the ordinance as proposed. "I can tell you again and again, camping bans come up as something politicians brandish to placate some constituents while making life unbearable.