Michael Wright, who still owns the Old Town corner lot where homeless camp Right 2 Dream Too sits, says he needs the money promised to him once he sells the plot to the City of Portland—$1.2 million. Now, with plans to move R2DToo across the river going slowly, Wright says he might evict the camp he’s allowed to flourish for years. If that happened this winter, it’d leave a lot of people with no better place to go.
Don’t know if you know it, but right now Portland has a couple establishments where you can bring your legal weed, pay a modest cover charge, and toke among like-minded connoisseurs. That’s maybe about to change, if the killjoys at the Multnomah County Health Department have their say.
Wednesday’s shootings in San Bernardino continue to perplex, what with their shades of typical American workplace shooting mixed with elements of typical American terrorist attack. The preparedness of the two attackers, obviously, lends itself to premeditated terrorism. And that’s bolstered by the fact one of the attackers apparently swore allegiance to ISIS online.
That attacker, Tashfeen Malik, was born in Pakistan, but moved to the US as the fiancee of the other attacker, Syed Farook. Cue border-closing hysterics. Oh, and blind backlash against American Muslims in general.
Here’s a lookat the lives claimed on Wednesday.
Glimpse your future, Portland, with this story about the Bus Rapid Transit system that will be whooshing down some of your easterly corridors soon, offering train-like luxuries in a bus-like package. We have this in my home town. People seem to think it’s useful.
Oh, that Arts Tax you paid? Sure, it’s helping local schools pay arts teachers. It’s also kicking hundreds of thousands of dollars to the Portland Art Museum and Oregon Symphony. Officials say that’s on the level, but the Tribune quoted a single anonymous source who thinks the money should go to less-established causes?
It was always pitched as totally cool that the new public market planned for the west side of the Morrison Bridge had to sort of shove itself in around the bridge’s off-ramps. Now all the sudden it’s not all that cool.
Portland’s quietly done away with a committee aimed at fighting institutional racism within city bureaus. The city’s Office of Equity says it’s going to try something new.
BIG SPORTS WEEKEND is here, Portland. Least consequential but still exciting: The PSU Vikings get to be in a fancy playoff at Providence Park.
Next, those blackguards in Columbus are apparently trying to ban our log, but that doesn’t matter because the Timbers will stomp them for a national championship on Sunday!
Also: Heroic Michigan State University has a really, really big football game.
And unless you’re planning on packing a poncho to Providence Park, you’ve got every excuse to sit indoors and stew in it all. It’s gonna be gross.
I’m pulling out another one of my secret cuts this Karaoke Friday. Drop this one at the bar and watch your enemies quail before you. Practice it first, though. Right now. At your computer.