After being harassed while trying to establish an outpost in the shopping corridor along the independently minded Hawthorne Blvd, the country's leading fast-food provider is finding more hostile territory in Northeast Portland. In September, McDonald's purchased an option for a store along MLK Blvd, just south of Fremont.
Although McDonald's is only exploring the option--and has until February to decide whether to prop up its golden arches--several dozen homes along the sidestreets off MLK Blvd have staked signs in opposition on their front lawns. Some read, "No McLitter, No McLo-Paying Jobs."
At a recent meeting of the Elliot Neighborhood Association, representatives from McDonald's agreed to talk out differences with residents. But according to Sarah Cloud, the President of the association, that meeting showed just how far apart the two groups are. "They thought they were coming to talk about paint color and placement of shrubbery," she said. But residents were concerned with questions more fundamental than aesthetics, like whether they even wanted the restaurant there. "We were on completely different pages," adds Cloud. PHIL BUSSE
Red, White and Burn
Last Sunday, after a mid-day rally at the PSU campus, which included impassioned speeches about America's imperialism, about 300 demonstrators took to Portland's downtown streets. Speakers had drawn connections between economic woes and military repression across the world and the polices of the U.S. government.
As demonstrators pushed through the streets linking PSU to Pioneer Square, they carried American flags hung upside-down--an obvious parody of the ubiquitous patriotism. Along the way, several activists left graffiti on the storefronts of both Starbucks and Niketown. The march finally climaxed with the mass burning of the flags.
One woman passing by the march, and holding a Gap bag, simply repeated, "Fuck you" to the people streaming by. A demonstrator responded to her curtly with, "Keep on shopping." When fully uniformed riot police arrived, the demonstration quickly faded. ANDREW ANON
