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Portland has now been ticketing people for camping on public property for more than two months. So far, no one has been convicted, records show.

OPB reporter Alex Zielinski starts us off by digging into the data behind one of Portland Mayor Keith Wilson’s signature proposals.

Today’s newsletter concludes with a story about a Portland journalist’s DIY daily newscast gaining traction with Spanish-speaking Oregonians.

Here’s your First Look at Wednesday’s news.

—Bradley W. Parks

No one has been convicted of violating Portland’s public camping ban, records show

It’s been just over two months since Portland police began ticketing people for camping on public property. Now, the impact of the city’s new penalty on the criminal justice system — and those ticketed — is beginning to come into focus.

Court data reviewed by OPB finds that, in the first two months of enforcement, no one has been convicted for violating the camping ban.

While 20 people are being charged with violating the rule, court delays and missed court appearances have kept the citations from advancing. In all cases, those charged with the crime have been released back into the public. No one has spent time in jail.

These results aren’t surprising to people familiar with the county court’s challenges. But the early data casts doubt on the purpose of enforcement, which Mayor Keith Wilson has made central to his signature plan to end unsheltered homelessness. (Alex Zielinski)

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3 things to know this morning

• Demonstrations and walkouts took place across Oregon and Southwest Washington yesterday as part of a nationwide protest against the Trump administration and federal immigration enforcement. (OPB staff)
• A documentary film called “Classroom 4,” which features a Lewis & Clark College prison education class, is on the shortlist for an Oscar. Half of the students in the class are in custody, and it takes place inside a minimum-security prison in Portland. (Tiffany Camhi)
• State Rep. Ed Diehl, R-Scio, appears as though he plans to run for Oregon governor. In a social media post on Monday, Diehl told his followers to “get ready for a big announcement” that he plans to make this evening. (Dirk VanderHart)

Headlines from around the Northwest

• Portland emergency management director placed on administrative leave (Alex Zielinski)
• Portland City Council President Jamie Dunphy on new role, working with mayor and other councilors (Rolando Hernandez)
• Oregon legislation poised to tackle searches of license plate data (Shaanth Kodialam Nanguneri)
• Tax on short-term rentals like Airbnb again under discussion in Washington (Jake Goldstein-Street)
• Ralph Towner, influential guitarist and founding member of the group Oregon, dies at 85 (Alexa Peters)
• Oregon continues to struggle, losing to No. 10 Michigan State at home 68-52 (Anne M. Peterson)

Listen in on OPB’s daily conversation

“Think Out Loud” airs at noon and 8 p.m. weekdays on OPB Radio, opb.org and the OPB News app. Today’s planned topics (subject to change):

• Gov. Tina Kotek has a plan to boost Oregon businesses, but challenges remain steep
• Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield on one year of suing the Trump administration

Former Univision anchor keeps Spanish-speaking Oregonians informed with DIY newscast

Antonio Sánchez is a former anchor for Univision in Portland, who was looking for another job after KUNP-TV in 2024 dropped its affiliation with the network.

He heard from Oregon viewers who were concerned about where they’d get reliable information in Spanish without Univision and said he felt a personal responsibility to fill that void.

So every weekday afternoon, Sánchez walks down to the Southeast Portland basement where he’s set up a makeshift television studio. He uses two iPhones to record and produce “Noticias Noroeste,” his DIY Spanish-language newscast for Oregon.

The program launched on Inauguration Day in 2025 and has accumulated thousands of viewers on YouTube. (Geoff Norcross)

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News Source : https://www.opb.org/article/2026/01/21/portland-camping-ban-first-look/