Phil Busse

Twenty years ago, when services for the homeless began to proliferate around the country, the prevailing solution was simple: Give them a bed and put a roof over their heads. But that Band-Aid failed to address the underlying reasons for homelessness. A recent study of Portland’s homeless adults found that half suffer from mental illness; […]

What has been billed as a blessing for North Portland over the past few weeks has turned out to be a curse: When city developers first conceived a plan to extend the MAX line into the anemic neighborhood, they recognized they were installing a vital artery. According to theory, by tracing Interstate Blvd, the mass […]

If President Hoover had his Hoovervilles during the Great Depression, then Mayor Vera Katz has Dignity Village, a constant reminder that the City’s health is not as rosy as she tries to paint it. More disturbing, say critics, is that Dignity Village symbolizes how the mayor handles the gritty issues in the city–those elements not […]

When campaigning for president, George W. Bush vowed to take the United States out of the business of nation-building; no longer would America be concerned with troublesome countries. After a decade-long break from the East vs. West mentality that shaped the 50-year Cold War, the US toyed with different ideas about how to interact with […]

In the waning days of summer two years ago, Stephanie Childress was picked up in McCall Park for carrying a small bag of pot and a handful of cash. As part of her punishment, the City of Portland ordered her not to set foot in the city’s so-called Drug-Free Zones (DFZ) for an entire year–an […]