Kicking the Homeless to the Curb, and ‘burbs

The Portland City Council just passed a ban on camping on city streets during the daytime. From 8 AM to 8 PM it will be illegal to camp on city sidewalks. The homeless will still be allowed to sleep on the street at night, but the effect of them having to pack their belongings andContinue reading “Kicking the Homeless to the Curb, and ‘burbs”

Serial Killer in Portland?

It’s an old trope in crime fiction: a serial killer is on the loose but the authorities don’t want to alarm the public and won’t give their Cassandra-like detective the resources he needs. Then he goes rogue. The Portland Police Bureau is discouraging rumors a serial killer is active in Portland, after six women wereContinue reading “Serial Killer in Portland?”

Performative Portland

Scenes From a City Hall A recent poll of voters in Portland’s Multnomah County showed high support for a daytime city camping ban Mayor Ted Wheeler has introduced in an attempt to reclaim downtown this summer. The Oregonian: Nearly three-fourths also back a proposal by Mayor Ted Wheeler to enforce a citywide daytime camping ban, whichContinue reading “Performative Portland”

Oregon Decline Report 5.25.23: You Will Affirm Us

Republicans at the Bridge Oregon state Republicans are boycotting the legislature to prevent a quorum and inevitable passage of an aggressive “reproductive healthcare” bill requiring insurers to fund all manner of transgender treatment, allowing minors over 15 full access to abortion and “gender affirming” surgery without parental consent and requiring all colleges and universities toContinue reading “Oregon Decline Report 5.25.23: You Will Affirm Us”

“License, registration and pronouns please”

Local news media are scandalized by anonymous feedback given by police officers forced to endure the Portland Police Bureau Office of Equity and Inclusion’s recent “2022 LGBTQIA2S+ and Queer Policy” online training course (per PPB’s Directive 640.38, Interacting with Members of the LGBTQIA2S+ / Queer Community). The law firm overseeing the PPB’s compliance with aContinue reading ““License, registration and pronouns please””

PDX Decline Report 5.5.23: Festering Festivities

What Dreams Did Come The Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland was created in 1935 by Angus L Bowmer. Its annual festival has long been a tourist draw. In recent years attendance has declined as, news accounts typically say, the theatre-going audience has “shifted”, which is a euphemism for the dying off of cultured white peopleContinue reading “PDX Decline Report 5.5.23: Festering Festivities”

Clown and Out in Portland

Portland’s Behavioral Health Resource Center is a”low barrier” service center for the homeless “geared toward people experiencing severe and ongoing mental health and/or substance use disorders”, staffed by “peer mentors” possessing “lived experience” with drugs and mental illness. Not a shelter but a “walk in” clinic with minimal rules, there are no drugs or gunsContinue reading “Clown and Out in Portland”