Commissioner Dan Saltzman has put his name on what actually appears to be a $2 million plan to help address homelessness—more than the $1.7 million figure he gave on KGW this weekend—with half of that requested money going to programs meant to help homeless women in particular. Saltzman’s office this afternoon sent the Mercury a […]
Homeless
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PBA Advising Hales on Sidewalks Policy; Map Shows Dramatic Expansion of “High-Density” Pedestrian Zones
Days before Mayor Charlie Hales declared the sidewalks around city hall and the Portland Building a “high-volume pedestrian zone” where no one is allowed to sit or lie down—ostensibly because of safety reasons—his office began entertaining an audacious plan that would spread that same designation throughout much of downtown Portland’s commercial district and beyond. The […]
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Fish, Saltzman Staffer, Housing Bureau Meet With Hales on Homelessness—After Fish Goes Public With Complaints
Mayor Charlie Hales, as of this afternoon, has now had three informal meetings with business interests, law enforcement, and social services providers to get up to speed on homelessness—a difficult subject he announced he’d be taking on during his State of the City speech this spring. Hales’ office sent me the roster of participants for […]
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No, Not All Sidewalk Use Violations Are Created Equal
I know people love their Voodoo pastries and puffs. I get it. But, in light of the sidewalks crackdown outside Portland City Hall—in the name of safety!—does anyone see anything wrong with the following pictures? Photographs by Denis C. Theriault The sidewalk on SW 3rd outside Voodoo Doughnut has been declared a high-pedestrian zone. The […]
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Prosecutor Explains Legal Advice to City on Camping Ordinance
For years, Portland’s approach to camping enforcement has hardly been model of clarity. Despite the apparently strict wording of the city’s anti-camping ordinance, banning things like blankets and sleeping bags, cops used personal discretion when deciding which sites (and people) to roust and which ones they’d ignore. At the same time lawsuits, including a years-long […]
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“This Is Not About Homelessness,” Mayor Hales Says. “It’s About Lawlessness.”
Photographs by Denis C. Theriault Mayor Charlie Hales, right, with Police Chief Mike Reese, left, and Central Precinct Commander Bob Day. In front of a phalanx of reporters, city staffers, and a vocal group of campers and homelessness advocates, Mayor Charlie Hales this afternoon defended his new push to sweep out extensive campsites in and […]
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Cops Arrest Five, in Three “Hotspots,” as Part of Hales’ Camping Crackdown
Photographs by Denis C. Theriault A warning. As promised, the Portland Police Bureau this afternoon revealed three of the homeless camping hotspots targeted as part of Mayor Charlie Hales’ beefier new sidewalks crackdown, reporting five arrests in the process. Sergeant Pete Simpson, a police bureau spokesman, sent the following list to reporters about an hour […]
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Hales Announces Harsher Crackdown on Sidewalk Campers and Protesters
Outside Chapman Square around 10 this morning, and in city hall’s cross-hairs This might explain why the Portland Police Bureau ignored several detailed questions about its plans for sidewalk enforcement at or around city hall for a story we’re publishing later today. Mayor Charlie Hales this morning—just hours after his staff coincidentally reported a fight […]
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Remember Charlie Hales’ State of the City Speech? The PBA Thought It Was “Great”
A little more than two hours after his April 26 State of the City address—where he laid out an agenda that included an anti-panhandling push and the city’s need for a back-to-basics budget—Mayor Charlie Hales learned at least one powerful group would be at his side for whatever battles might come. Bernie Bottomly, the Portland […]
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Cops: NBA Player Stomped on Homeless Man’s Leg After Yelling “Wake Up”
Terrence Jones The Portland Police Bureau just put out a disturbing press release about a local boy seemingly done good: Terrence Jones, a Jefferson High alum playing for the NBA’s Houston Rockets, has been charged with harassment after a sergeant reported seeing him stomping on a sleeping homeless man’s leg in Old Town early this […]
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More than a Rumor? City Hall Sidewalks Likely to Be Scrubbed Tomorrow
Amid reports that no-parking signs for tomorrow morning have gone up around Portland City Hall, a source privy to Mayor Charlie Hales’ planning says tomorrow is a top choice for when to call in power-washers and clear out sidewalks currently home to a camping protest. Tuesday’s not a done deal, but it’s probably the office’s […]
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Thanks, Street Roots, for Remembering the Big Picture on Homelessness
If y’all haven’t read it yet—focusing instead on smaller-bore stories like Mayor Charlie Hales’ plans to sweep away a nearly two-year camping protest outside Portland City Hall—Street Roots last night laid down some truth on what’s really at stake in Portland’s paroxysms over homelessness and why the answers are so much bigger than camp sweeps […]