Oregon
Judge blocks Oregon city at center of SCOTUS homelessness ruling from enforcing ban on encampments
An Oregon judge has issued a preliminary injunction blocking a rural city at the center of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling on homeless encampments from enforcing camping restrictions unless certain conditions are met.
Josephine County Circuit Court Judge Sarah McGlaughlin ruled Friday that the city of Grants Pass must increase capacity at locations the city approved for camping and ensure the sites are physically accessible to people with disabilities.
If the city fails to meet those conditions, the judge’s order prohibits the city from citing, arresting or fining people for camping on public property. It also prevents the city from forcing people to leave campsites, from removing campsites that are not clearly abandoned or from prohibiting camping in most city parks.
The city may still enforce rules banning sleeping on sidewalks and streets or in alleys and doorways.
CA MAYOR DECLARES HOMELESSNESS ‘CAN’T BE A CHOICE,’ SUGGESTS ARRESTING THOSE WHO REPEATEDLY REFUSE SHELTER
With Fruitdale Elementary School in the background, a homeless man adjusts his shoes at Fruitdale Park, March 23, 2024, in Grants Pass, Oregon. (AP)
Mayor Clint Scherf told The Associated Press he was “disheartened” by the judge’s order. The city’s information coordinator, Mike Zacchino, told the outlet that the city was “reviewing all aspects to ensure we make the best decision for our community.”
The lawsuit that ignited the case, filed by Disability Rights Oregon, argued that the city was discriminating against people with disabilities and violating a state law requiring cities’ camping regulations to be “objectively reasonable.” Five homeless people in Grants Pass were among the plaintiffs.
Grants Pass has struggled for years to handle the homelessness crisis and has become symbolic of the national debate over how to respond to the issue. Many of the city’s parks, in particular, saw encampments impacted by drug use and litter.
Fremont, California — another city seeking to deal with the homelessness crisis — passed one of the nation’s strictest anti-homeless encampment ordinances last month, banning camping on any public property and subjecting anyone “causing, permitting, aiding, abetting or concealing” encampments to either a $1,000 fine or up to six months in jail.
Last summer, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in a case brought by the city that communities can ban sleeping outside and fine people who violate the ban, including when there are not enough shelter beds.
A volunteer holds on to a wheelchair as they help Max Hartfelt into his tent after relocating him from one park to another on Saturday, March 23, 2024, in Grants Pass, Oregon. (AP)
The Supreme Court ruling overturned an appeals court decision that camping bans enforced when shelter space is insufficient amounted to cruel and unusual punishment under the Eighth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
Following the high court ruling, Grants Pass banned camping on all city property except sites designated by the City Council, which established two locations for the hundreds of homeless people in an effort to remove them from the parks.
After taking office this year, the new mayor and new council members moved to close the larger of the two sites, which housed roughly 120 tents, the lawsuit said. The smaller site’s hours of operation were also reduced to between 5 p.m. and 7 a.m.
Both sites were often crowded, with poor conditions and inaccessible to people with disabilities because of loose gravel, according to the complaint.
“It is unconscionable to me to allow people to live there like that,” City Council member Indra Nicholas said before the vote to close the larger site.
CALIFORNIA CITY PASSES SWEEPING HOMELESS ENCAMPMENT BAN ON ALL PUBLIC PROPERTY
Vehicles drive down Rogue River Highway as light shines on the area on March 23, 2024, in Grants Pass, Oregon. (AP)
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After the lawsuit was filed, the city reopened a second, smaller site and extended the time people could remain at the location to four days.
McGlaughin’s order states that the city must increase capacity to what it was before the larger site was closed.
Tom Stenson, deputy legal director for Disability Rights Oregon, praised the ruling.
“This is not a radical solution. The court is basically saying, ‘Go back to the amount of space and places for people who are homeless that you had just three months ago,’” he told The Associated Press.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
BLUE RIVER, Ore. (KATU) — The founder of a former disaster relief nonprofit is being sued for allegedly diverting nearly $837,000 in donations and grants for personal gain.
Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield filed the lawsuit Thursday against the founder and executive director of Cascade Relief Team (CRT), Marcus Brooks. In the complaint, Rayfield calls CRT “a sham.”
Brooks is accused of stealing donations and government grants meant for disaster relief following wildfires and flooding in 2020, and using it for personal expenses including casino visits, travel, vehicles, and more.
CRT was founded in 2020 and was hired for cleanup and relief services following the Labor Day Wildfires that burned over 1 million acres across Oregon.
In Blue River, an unincorporated community in the McKenzie River Valley, the 2020 Holiday Farm Fire destroyed nearly 800 homes and burned more than 173,000 acres.
I am angry that my community was taken advantage of
Just months after the fire, long-time Blue River resident Melanie Stanley said CRT stepped in and promised help to the community.
“For us, it was…like a savior at that point,” Stanley said.
Stanley was the manager for the Blue River Resource Center and worked for Brooks to help facilitate recovery efforts. She said CRT operations slowly became questionable.
“None of us knew the level at which all of this stuff that finally came out was at,” Stanley said. “We knew that there was some stuff that had started to look hinky or feel hinky, or there was just some lack of communication that was happening. There were some other things that were happening, and so we just all were kind of guarded.”
In fall of 2023 the nonprofit was reported to have run out of money, and Brooks allegedly fired staff without disclosing the organization’s financial conditions and did not notify donors or beneficiaries. Stanley was one of those people fired.
The state now claims the funds that were meant to go towards communities like Blue River, never made it out of Brooks’ hands, including donations given by Blue River neighbors.
“I am angry that my community was taken advantage of, and I am angry that they now have to worry about trusting when something else happens, because we know something else is going to happen,” Stanley said. “We hope to God it’s never anything as big or as bad as what has happened, but you know, we also have learned that groups like Locals Helping Locals…they are our foundation, and they are because they’re us.”
The state is seeking to recover the money, permanently bar Brooks from serving in a leadership role at a charitable organization and dissolve the nonprofit.
Stanley said Brooks’ actions have tainted reputations.
“We as a community and as the people from the community who helped kind of put all of these things together, we did what was asked of us,” Stanley said. “We did help clean things, and we did help get things to provide, you know, more progress and get things moving forward, and we did good work, and so I just really hope that this is not overshadowed.”
According to Stanley, Blue River’s recovery now stands at 50%.
“We will be very picky from here on out about who and what groups gets let in to help with anything,” Stanley said. “And sadly, it may be to our detriment, but he did more damage now, as far as reputations go, and for that I’m angry. I’m very angry.”
The Oregon Ducks have been progressing through the class of 2027 with hopes of landing some of their top target’s commitment on both the offense and the defense.
With many names left on the board, the Ducks have started to receive some great news, including some news from someone they have been targeting since they offered back in January of 2025.
Darius Johnson Releases His Top Four Schools
One of the Ducks top targets’ in the 2027 class at the cornerback position is Darius Johnson. Johnson recently released his top schools with Hayes Fawcett, as he is entering a crucial part of his recruitment. The four schools he has listed at the top include the California Golden Bears, Michigan Wolverines, UCLA Bruins, and the Oregon Ducks.
Johnson is one of the better cornerbacks in the country. He currently ranks as the nation’s No. 178 prospect in the country, No. 20 player at the position, and the No. 14 player in the state of California, according to Rivals. Landing his commitment would be major for any of the schools, as he is someone who could see the field early due to his size, and his growing ability to lockdown a side of the field all by himself.
More About Darius Johnson
Johnson currently measures in at 6-1 and 155 pounds, and will be someone who continues to add weight through his high school program, and will eventually have the chance to really improve his frame when he gets to college. As of now, each of the four schools has a solid chance to win its recruiting battle, but there seems to be a clear leader at this moment.
The leader for the Ducks target seems to be the Michigan Wolverines, who have the only scheduled official visit at this moment. It seems likely that the talented prospect will schedule his other official visits sooner rather than later now that he has officially cut down his list. If the Ducks want to land his commitment, they will need to get him on an official visit because they are likely trailing at this point.
What If He Committed to Oregon Today?
If he were to commit to the Ducks today, he would be the ninth commitment for the Ducks in the class of 2027. He would also be the third cornerback commit for the Ducks in the class of 2027, which is a position they have been recruiting heavily. The cornerbacks the Ducks have at this moment are four-star Ai’King Hall from the state of Alabama and four-star Josiah Molden from the state of Oregon.
Some of their other commits at this moment include four-star EDGE Rashad Streets, four-star defensive linemen Zane Rowe, and four-star EDGE Cameron Pritchett. This class is shaping up to be another top-five class if the pieces continue to fall into place for Oregon coach Dan Lanning and his staff.
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