The state sampling of homeless facilities questions city practices in determining financial eligibility, as the two sides continue to battle over General Assistance levels.

Stephanie Anderson says an official who said charges are likely was not authorized to comment on the investigation of the Noyes Street blaze.

The city will argue Friday that the ordinance does not infringe on free speech by panhandlers or others, but civil rights advocates disagree.

Among them are a database of building inspection records and a more effective system of responding to complaints.

Eight months later, Portland still hasn’t heard whether some of the program practices it had used for decades are now improper.

The homes on land now occupied by the public works department would be sold for below-market prices so many working families could afford them.