Silent night, bloody night
Portlanders have another frightening murder to ponder as 2023 winds down. On Sunday, Christmas Eve, a man was stabbed to death on Tri-Met. Apparently the victim was attacked on the Max train platform at Providence Park, and he boarded a train that got as far as the next stop, Goose Hollow. It was a bloody, bloody scene. There is video of what the train car looked like. You can find it if you look on Twitter. It's hideous.
Can you imagine being a passenger on that train, or a bystander on that platform? Dear Lord.
Here we are 36 hours later, and the cops have told the public next to nothing. The killer is apparently still at large. We have no idea who he is or what he looks like. Law enforcement brass around here is on bankers' hours.
What we do know is that the Tri-Met transit system is not safe. Nor are the streets of the neighborhood near the stadium. This is not a new problem. Remember this guy last summer?
The city and the state are being run by people who are not qualified to tie their own shoes. And the cops have become pretty much worthless. Meanwhile, state and local taxes are at all-time highs.
Bleak indeed, but even sadder is to think that come next fall, Portland will mostly elect the same kind of unemployables who are currently presiding over this unholy disaster. Meanwhile, people who you never would have thought would leave the city are now moving out.
It's going to take Portland a decade to get back on its feet once it turns the corner. But so far, don't kid yourself, that turn hasn't come. Maybe it never will. Which is a shame. Because without cleanliness and safety, both of which it had in spades until a decade or so ago, the place doesn't have all that much to offer. Ice skating with Carmen Rubio isn't going to cut it.
No pun intended.
Competent people don’t want to be associated with Portland. Occupying an elected political office is out of the question
ReplyDeleteYou read the NYT piece about how a Maricopa County judge found a homeless encampment to be a “public nuisance” earlier this year - “a place of lawlessness and chaos with such high rates of crime that it violated the rights of local businesses.” One business owner says the ensuing cleanup saved his business. Meanwhile in Portland attempts to clear the streets just during the day are restrained by a judge so it remains business as usual - lawlessness and chaos, with no other attempts by the city to restore order.
ReplyDeleteA SE Portland legislator (Khan Pham) tried to get the Legislature to pass a bill earlier in 2023 to give basic tenants' rights to drug-addicted vagrants in Oregon.
DeleteDrug-addicted vagrants in Portland have more rights than ordinary taxpayers (of whom there are many with burdens that are considerable). If you live in outer SE Portland and Khan Pham is your Assembly member, you should remember her in November of 2024 and vote for someone else (not that her opponent will be any better).
And I won't forget that Sisters of the Road sent out campaign literature for her. They will not get any more support from me. https://www.bojack2.com/2023/04/crossing-line.html
DeleteI honestly can't keep track of all the murders and fatal car accidents, but it was nice to leave town for a few days over the holiday.
ReplyDeleteI'll keep avoiding public transit and looking for the out door.
As of 12/27/2023 @ 3:12pm, KGW is reporting the name of the victim and perp. KGW is also reporting that the perp has been arrested and booked. Let's see what Mikey eventually charges the perp with or if he gets let go because he was "depressed" at the time of the stabbing.
ReplyDelete