No surprise

I've been reading with sad eyes about the valid concerns of the school near the immigration jail in Portland's soulless South Waterfront (SoWhat) District. The black-clad avengers of all societal wrongs are down there "protesting" just about every night, and the feds tear gas them (and spray some other nasty stuff around) quite frequently. All that toxic gas is settling on the ground around the school. Bad for the kids.

And not fair. The school got there first, long before the jail.

All of this lies at the feet of the City Council of 2010 and 2011, particularly Admiral Randy Leonard, who ramrodded that facility into that location at the behest of Lindquist Development. Let it never be forgotten that many, many people (including I) said it was a bad place for an immigration "detention facility," and we were right. A hearings officer at City Hall even agreed. But money talked, and the zoning rules were changed anyway. And now, 11 years later, here we are. The kids are frolicking in the tear gas residue.

This guy's getting paid, though, which was the whole point.

The other members of the council at the time were Mayor Creepy (now making his big comeback), Nurse Amanda (recently retired into sainthood), the late Jelly Fish, and Legend Dan (himself a big landlord in a nearby neighborhood). The final vote was 5 to 0.

If you ever want to see some of the history, it's here.