Police Commissioner Dan Saltzman joined with law enforcement
and politicians from across the Portland region last Friday morning,
January 16, to launch “Operation Cool Down”—a response to
the continuing increase in local gang-related violence, which
began with a shooting in a church on December 12. The operation means
an increase of patrol activity by cops to include three sergeants and
up to 17 officers, who will focus on four gangs that have been involved
in much of the trouble. There’ll be a reassessment in 30 days. The
Mercury asked what steps have been taken to avoid racial
profiling as an unintended consequence of the new initiative. “My hope
is that we are targeted in our work,” Police Chief Rosie Sizer responded. “Focusing on hot spots, with less unintended consequences
for unintended people. It is uppermost on our mind as well as quelling
gang violence.” MD
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Mayor Sam Adams and all of city council volunteered at the
Oregon Food Bank last Thursday afternoon, January 15, to kick
off Portland’s “Better Together” strategy, encouraging Portlanders to
volunteer more during the recession, and choose local businesses to
support the city’s economy. If you’ve never volunteered, now’s the time
to do it—visit portlandisbettertogether.com for more information about volunteering opportunities. Commissioner
Nick Fish told the audience that Oregon ranks third, nationally,
in terms of hunger problems. He said, “600,000 of our brothers and
sisters, statewide, will go to bed hungry.” Commissioner Amanda
Fritz said, “The last time I was here I was bagging potatoes. I’m
delighted that we’re celebrating volunteers. Sometimes it takes a
crisis to bring people together.” MD
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Portland’s Bicycle Transportation Alliance (BTA) plans to
lobby in Salem for an Oregon version of the so-called “Idaho Stop
Law,” which would make it legal for bicyclists to treat stop
signs like yield signs. “Nothing has passed beyond the Idaho law
yet,” says Jonathan Maus, editor and publisher of BikePortland.org, which broke the news
online last Wednesday evening, January 14. “But it seems like there’s
momentum for a lot of states to pass similar laws. The problem seems to
be that the law doesn’t pass the sound bite test, so it is difficult
for politicians to get behind it,” Maus continues. “Despite 27 years of
success in Idaho, the law still becomes a divisive issue when it’s
raised elsewhere, and it will be fascinating to watch as the BTA tries
to lobby for it here.” MD