Category: Commentary
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Summer Youth Camp Cancelled – Springwater Unsafe
The following is from a Facebook post by Portland author Joe Kurmaskie. More on Joe’s past bike camps here. More on Springwater conditions and impact on the camp – BikePortland. It’s with deep regret that I’m officially canceling our Portland summer bike camps for the upcoming season. The Springwater corridor has become too unsafe and it is…
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Mayor Hales Emergency Declaration Bait & Switch
The emergency declaration was a bait and switch, and Mayor Hales has exceeded his authority. Mayor Hales sold the State of Emergency to waive zoning codes and convert city-owned buildings into shelters through an expedited. Source The Impact Statement noted the need, which included “[homeless camps] pose potential health and safety threats for both the campers and…
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Wapato Beats Shanty Towns
This winter is has been cold, wet and cruel for those forced to live on the streets. One of Portland’s responses has been to authorize the creation of ad-hoc shanty towns. Unregulated homeless camps are growing all over Portland – most recently at North Greeley called Hazelnut Grove. City Commissioner Amanda Fritz recently told KGW “Every neighborhood in Portland will be…
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Behavior is Key
Northwest Examiner Letter to the Editor December 2015 pdf We’re delighted that one respondent plans to open her home to an unfortunate “druggie-type.” However, to the rest of questions, we offer this response. November 2015 pdf The “rubric” we are using is the survey of over 150 NPB visitors this summer conducted by police department community service…
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Vancouver Allows Public Camping – Here’s What Happened
A lesson for Portland? Excerpt from Oregonian: Our Homeless Crisis: Vancouver Allows Homeless Camping, With Ugly Unintended Results By Anna Griffin Nov 7, 2015 A surprising thing happened when Vancouver leaders decided earlier this fall to lift the citywide ban on public camping: Chaos ensued. In just a few weeks, a residential neighborhood a 10-minute walk from…