For several years the city of Portland has been very opaque in its dealings with Zenith Energy. Two years ago, in a backroom deal, the city gave Zenith the green light to continue to expand its rail shipments of fossil fuels, under the guise that the company would switch to transporting so-called renewable diesel in five years. But through the incessant digging of activists and journalists, contradictory and sordid facts emerged about how Zenith's operations are in fact illegal. And as a result of a series of articles in Street Roots, and a lot of public pressure, the process of allowing Zenith to continue its operations in Portland is finally before the public.
On this episode of Locus Focus we talk with Jeremiah Hayden, a reporter with Street Roots, whose articles have been instrumental in shredding the opaque veil hiding the city's relationship with Zenith Energy.
- KBOO