In Old Town, an old story
Here's an fine example of how things go in Portland. The people who live and work in the city's rundown and dangerous Old Town district are demanding that the politicians do something to stop the rampant crime, including violent, organized crime, that has taken over the neighborhood along with the now-normalized hordes of sidewalk campers.
And what is the politicians' response? To list all of the things they are already doing to improve the situation.
All the things that aren't working.
Rinse. Repeat.
Old Town is dead. No one in their right mind is there of their own volition any more. The University of Oregon will be high-tailing it out of there and over to the old Concordia University campus pretty soon. Findlay Hats wised up and got out. It's a sacrifice zone, and will remain so until the leadership of county and city government is fundamentally changed. That will take a long while, if it ever happens.
Sad but all true. I feel for the people who invested so much money to redo the old Grove Hotel. What a mistake that was. I also feel for the Chinese garden. It’s a beautiful spot and only this city would sacrifice it so that it could be turned into a vagrant village. I saw Kafoury interviewed on Koin recently. She complained about “finger pointing”. She deserves a lot of fingers pointing at her.
ReplyDeleteTime for pitchfork pointing. I used to go down to Jazz De Opus back in the day- great place. Key Largo and Satyricon were the bomb. Old Town Pizza was fun for all ages. Of course you had to go to Hung Far Low to get some suspect Chinese food after a night of crawling. Now, it's zombie central. Good job of keeping Downtown alive for the undead.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I have tried to maintain compassion for the homeless (houseless) I find that I am growing in "compassion fatigue." My sense is that there is too much process, wherein everybody has literal veto power over any proposal and if it is a 24 point proposal then for lack of the 25th point an NGO or someone considered a "stakeholder" merely shouts "Nay" or "I wasn't consulted," and we begin again. Although I can hear the screams already, I think that we need to "separate" (segregate if you will) those who are "ready" to live in a homeless village from those who are not and who for whatever reasons, be they unable due to mental health reasons, or unwilling due to wanting to maintain a lifestyle and make them "second tier." Just as I grow tired of those who claim that ALL homeless in Portland are drug addicts and criminals, I have grown tired of those who seem to say that we must do everything for everyone or nothing at all. As Voltaire observed "The perfect is the enemy of the good."
ReplyDelete