For most of the people who pass Hazelnut Grove on a regular basis, it is a fenced off, ever-shifting mystery. The organized tent camp on North Greeley Avenue often emits a clatter of saws and hammers. Structures pop up, and grow. Tents abound. We’ve written a lot about Hazelnut Grove (see: here, here, and here, […]
Homeless
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Now the LA Times Profiling Portland’s New Homelessness Strategy
James Rexroad The LA Times is the latest West Coast paper to highlight Portland’s new, controversial “safe sleep” policies for homeless residents. The Seattle Times penned its own take not that long ago (and the LAT’s piece is penned by a Seattle-based freelancer). What did the paper turn up? Not anything you don’t already know. […]
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Restaurant and Developer Groups Are Piling Onto A Camping Lawsuit Against the City
The list of people suing the city over new camping policies is growing. In a motion filed today, a group of organizations that believe Mayor Charlie Hales’ lenient stance on camping is illegal say they’ve found three new plaintiffs to sign onto a lawsuit filed last month. They are the Oregon Restaurant and Lodging Association […]
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That Women-Focused Camp In Lents is Going Away, Mayor’s Office Says
The PDC plans to sell this land for $500,000 Dirk VanderHart That was quick! One day after an unsanctioned camp for homeless women sprang up on a plot of Portland Development Commission land near Lents Town Center, organizers have agreed to take it down, according to Mayor Charlie Hales’ office. “The organizers have now agreed […]
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A New Camp For Homeless Women Is Going Up On Public Land—And Not Waiting For Permission
The plot at SE Woodstock and 93rd, where the camp will sit. PortlandMaps.com There’s a brand new organized homeless camp in the city that fits plenty of Mayor Charlie Hales’ priorities for getting people into safe space. The camp, being built today near SE 93rd and Woodstock, is designed to be a haven for homeless […]
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Here’s A Map of Where Recent Homelessness-Related Fires Have Occurred
A lot’s changed since we last reported on a recent rash of fires related to homelessness in town. In late April, Portland Fire and Rescue gave the Mercury preliminary numbers that suggested there’d been nine fires at homeless camps in recent months, and that none of them were set intentionally. That data was surprising. The […]
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Where Candidates Stand: Homeless Camping
Kenneth Huey There’s been so much said over the course of this year’s primary that it can be tough to keep everything straight. We’ve laid out reasons for our picks in local races at length (and you should read them right now). But maybe you’re a more a-la-cart-style voter, or a one-issue type? For you, […]
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The Next Trend In Portland Homeless Camps? “Sleeping Pods”
Benson students, learning geometry. Dirk VanderHart IN A CLATTERING lot behind Benson Polytechnic High School, the future of Portland homeless camps is coming together piece by piece. Two or three days a week, 100 of the school’s freshmen have been taking up saws and ladders, hammers and levels, and slowly building what teacher Tim Hryciw […]
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Fire Officials Find No Indication Recent Homeless Camp Fires Were Arsons
Firefighters clean up an April 7 blaze at a SE Portland tent camp. Portland firefighters now say there’s no proof that a rash of fires at homeless camps over the past two months were set intentionally—a possibility investigators had been looking into. After poring over records from fire calls to figure out which originated at […]
Posted inCity Hall
The City’s Getting Sued Over Its New Homeless Camping Policies
Adam Wickham The inevitable lawsuit over Mayor Charlie Hales’ new homeless camping rules landed today, and it’s coming from all the folks you expected—and more! In a suit filed in Multnomah County Circuit Court, the Portland Business Alliance, Overlook Neighborhood Association, Central Eastside Industrial Council, and others have asked a judge to end to Hales’ […]
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That Smoke Over The River Today Was A Homeless Camp Fire
@portlandmercury #portlandmercury bum camp on fire pic.twitter.com/9GT9ngOKga — Chad Doriguzzi (@squirreldagger) April 7, 2016 If you saw the black smoke plume near the east end of the Hawthorne Bridge earlier this afternoon, here’s the deal: At some point around 2:30 pm, a group of three to five tents beneath a highway viaduct caught fire, according […]
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Downtown’s Controversial “Spare Change” Billboard Is About to be Taken Down, Following Outcry
A group affiliated with the Portland Business Alliance says it will change the messaging of a controversial downtown billboard, following pushback from citizens and the PBA’s own preferred mayoral candidate. The billboard, which shows a picture of a person holding a sign that reads “Your spare change funds my addictions”, has sat on SW 4th […]