News Beyond Reed: Housing Closures, Auto Strikes, and Flooding in Libya

By Liz Organ

Local News: Portland to Resume Housing Closures

On Wednesday, September 20, Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler brought nine foreclosure proposals to the city council. These homes and land parcels will be the first foreclosures for Portland in over three years. Many of them are considered dangerous, since all nine of these locations are vacant, and there has been no upkeep on the buildings. One house on Killingsworth Street has seen several fires prompting 911 calls, and its overall structure has been quickly deteriorating. Many Portlanders have been calling for these buildings to be taken down and are glad the city government is finally listening to them.

National News: Simultaneous Strikes Hit “Big Three” Car Manufacturers

On the night of Thursday, September 14, over 10,000 workers and members of the United Auto Workers Union (UAW) walked out. The striking workers are employees of the “Big Three” American automobile manufacturers: General Motors, Ford and Stellantis, the latter being the father company of Chysler, Dodge, Ram, and Jeep, among many other European car companies. Currently only three plants, one from each company, are participating in the strikes, but the UAW said they will not rule out broadening the strikes beyond the initial three targets. The union is asking for a 40% pay increase, a four-day work week and stricter limits on how long workers can be considered “temporary” staff and be denied the benefits of the union. 

International News: Significant Flooding in Libya

Between September 4 and 12, Cyclone Daniel hit Greece, Bulgaria, Turkey and Libya and quickly became the deadliest and costliest Mediterranean tropical-like cyclone ever recorded in history. Libya was hit the hardest, with rains significant enough to cause two dams to fail on the night of the 10th, creating the worst disaster the area has seen since 1963. The current death toll is estimated to be in the thousands, with approximately another 10,000 thought to be missing. An official death toll may be difficult to calculate because many buildings and people were swept out to sea due to the flooding.