Ryan Haas

Microsoft is giving about 60,000 employees the opportunity to leave with severance voluntarily.

One thing that should be noted about this @thewesternedge.bsky.social story: the investigation into the 2024 ballot box bombings seemed to completely halt when the investigation was handed over to the FBI. www.thewesternedge.media/p/the-alien-...

Thanks for sharing- also new from me today - important documents that were removed from Portland Planning and Development site classify Amazon delivery drone facilities as helicopter landing zones which could affect zoning questions:

Officials say as scary as this incident was, it actually shows democratic resilience. "Much like an immune system is most valued not in times of health, but when it is warding off a virus, Scott’s biggest takeaway from the attacks of 2024 is that the Northwest’s voting systems worked as planned."

New: We found cops who kept using Flock to spy on women after they left the force. One used it for five years after retirement, tracking his wife during a custody battle. Another ran searches while he was suspended (and later fired) after killing a 15-year-old boy. Free to read: wapo.st/3UEwWU7

good note that ALPRs did not come to the rescue here

How do I deal with the existential dread of election season in 2026? I write about alien men and unsolved mysteries. New for @thewesternedge.bsky.social.

In 2024, ballot boxes in Oregon and Washington were bombed. Records obtained by @ryanjhaas.bsky.social show the bizarre investigation - where the best suspect looked like alien? - stalled. New from @thewesternedge.bsky.social www.thewesternedge.media/p/the-alien-...

PPB does not follow Directive 1010.10 section 9.8, which states that: "The identity of Bureau member(s) involved in the incident shall be released within twenty-four hours, absent a credible security threat." www.opb.org/article/2026...

It's surreal having an article in The Intercept about our little six-year-old outlet @doublesidedmedia.bsky.social in #EugeneOR but this is what happens when the cops decide to play games.

“It also sets the precedent for using this chilling tactic on any journalist or watchdog as it sees fit.“ Oregon cities are doing this over and over again, making it prohibitive for any independent journalist without a team of lawyers to get public records. It’s outrageous.

And here I thought our $4000 was ridiculous! Oregon records law needs more guardrails to prevent public officials who are simply bad actors.

I take it as a matter of pride that our basic records requests are met with such incredible cowardice.

Bills to provide government support through tax breaks and funding should be DESIGNED TO HELP SMALL NEWS OUTLETS EXPAND, not just keep legacy media alive. None of us can coast on monopoly power and inertia the way the Times can. We all deserve a chance to grow and expand our success.

Me, a dumpster person, getting a public records request back that has a ton of department heads frantically emailing "FYI" to each other.

A proposed four million square foot data center and natural gas power plant could be built on public land just southeast of Boise, earning push back from a prominent environmental advocacy group.

Met with 36 journalists in NYC this week to talk about climate change and economic trends and as depressing as that reality is, what takes the cake was learning that McClatchy, right after recent mass layoffs at the Miami Herald, posted positions for influencers at pay exceeding most reporters.

Testimony revealed ICE agents randomly ran license plates of cars in Walmart & McDonald's lots in Medford this summer, looking to detain people. Judge says he’s ‘deeply concerned’ about inaccuracies in ICE reports & post-arrest justifications for stops. www.oregonlive.com/crime/2026/0...

The state of transparency in Oregon.

We at @thewesternedge.bsky.social are all about transparency. Unfortunately, a lot of journalists are opaque about their process and methods. So, I'm experimenting with what it might look like to take the audience inside a story as it's being worked on. Let us know what you'd like to see more of!

INBOX/Friday 4:56p.m.PT news dump: US DOE issues its 4th 'emergency' order that the TransAlta coal-burning power plant in Centralia, Wash., stay open another 90 days. Order comes same day a federal court found DOE's similar coal mandate in Michigan illegal, b/c there's no emergency.

There are options when it comes to saving local journalism. For example, AB 2222 is waiting for Newsom's signature in California. I really hope Northwest states follow the lead of Rebuild Local News. Something like this would be a game changer: www.rebuildlocalnews.org/explainer-ca...

No newspaper in history has ever run layoffs as an effort to focus on local community journalism. It’s 100% a lie. They always want to do LESS community journalism to focus on things that get views

Wow, bipartisan support that the Fourth Amendment should still matter. I didn't think I could be shocked anymore.

A classic of newspaper life: the WSJ editorial board pooh poohs the recent expose (by its own reporters) on Sen. John Fetterman. www.wsj.com/opinion/demo...

It's Labor Day. I recently checked in with an active labor movement in North Carolina that was partially inspired to a hunger strike protest due to deaths inside Amazon facilities like the one that took place this year in Oregon.

Two ex-Portland police leaders found to have violated police policy deride 2020 protest inquiry as a charade @oregonian.com www.oregonlive.com/crime/2026/0...

Portland police ex-deputy chief, captain to challenge findings they violated policies during 2020 protests @oregonian.com www.oregonlive.com/crime/2026/0...

After @ryanjhaas.bsky.social reported on the death of Amazon worker James Wetmore at PDX9, warehouse workers nationwide took notice, including Italo Medelius. He's been on a hunger strike for 39 days in protest of deaths at Amazon: www.thewesternedge.media/p/40-days-no...

This week will mark the end of a 40-day hunger strike by an Amazon worker who says the company's policies have contributed to deaths. He was inspired to take up the protest in part after @thewesternedge.bsky.social reported on a death at a Troutdale facility.

In progressive Oregon, DEI efforts within the Parks system struggled years BEFORE Trump was re-elected. The first two DEI directors were fired, and a report about barriers to access was buried. A new @thewesternedge.bsky.social investigation, out now. www.thewesternedge.media/p/dei-at-ore...

Parks leaders in Oregon talk a big game about wanting to make the state's beautiful parks more accessible to new people, but those goals often stop at words. A new story from The Western Edge today.

This reinstatement happened for one reason: a union contract. She was brought back against managements wishes because she won the highest level of the grievance procedure, arbitration. This is how you can take the power back from people like Jeff Bezos: form a union.

Terrible day for spiders. (Actually cleaned my garage for once)

American airports are my top source for life science education.

@thewesternedge.bsky.social has some really good stories in the pipeline. In the meantime, we decided to offer a look at where we are as a company so far and a recap on a few stories you might have missed this summer.

Alaska vowed to resolve the murders of Indigenous people. But when one nonprofit asked state law enforcement officials for a fundamental piece of data — a list of Indigenous murders they’d investigated — the state said no. (Published Aug. 2025 with @adn.com)

In San Antonio, councilors just voted down a proposal to ask the public to vote on whether to spend nearly $500m on an new NBA arena. A lot of similarities (to Portland's Moda debate) in the discourse: "Completing this arena is widely viewed as a necessity to keep the Spurs in San Antonio."