North Park Blocks PDX

Category: Commentary

  • City Policy Makes PDX a Destination for “Lifestyle Vagrancy”

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    City Policy is Making Portland a Destination for “Lifestyle Vagrancy,” Lawlessness, and Crime Increase Police Staffing and Fight Our Panhandling Epidemic With Community Education Public comment to Portland City Council Delivered October 28th, 2015 Testimony as PDF (80KB)              Click to view video Thank you for allowing me to speak today.…

  • Hales’ Legacy and Perils of Prosperity

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    Excerpt from Can Mayor Hales Jump the Shark and Lead Portland to the Promised Land? by Dr. Bruce Stephenson … Cutthroat real estate speculation brought the country to the edge of economic collapse in both the Great Depression and the Great Recession. A skilled technocrat, Hales is the one person who can ensure that a new comprehensive plan…

  • Portland Tribune: Police Passive with Homeless Population

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    Reposted from: Police Passive with Homeless Population Portland Tribune October 2015 Written by Peter Korn Hayley Purdy can’t figure out why police officers bike, drive and walk by the social chaos she lives with on the North Park Blocks and do virtually nothing. Throughout the summer Purdy and her neighbors documented the increasing disorder in their…

  • Do You Know The Difference Between Policy and Law?

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    One of the biggest questions we run into is “why isn’t law enforcement enforcing the law”. This is a great question but, also a complicated one. Herein lies the conundrum of law and policy. The State of Oregon’s legislature writes state laws. Local city government officials that “we” vote for and put into office set…

  • Keep Portland Weird (But Safe)

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    This past summer the North Park Blocks experienced a dramatic rise in unlawful activity – traveling gangs, aggressive panhandlers, drugs, public sex, off-leash dog attacks. That situation was turned around when City Hall finally took notice and Portland Police stepped up their presence to enforce the law in the park. We saw smart policing based on…