Once again - Portland in the news for all the wrong reasons (Clackamas: dangerous, authority)

[Babe_Ruth]

Originally Posted by redguard57

Yeah, I used to defend it as Covid related. It's true Covid did damage the city significantly. But after spending more time in PDX it seems like more damage was self-inflicted than I realized. And we're now out of covid, and the city is being inexorably slow at cleaning up compared to lots of other places.

At this point I would call it willful negligence. Similar to your friend I wonder why the homeless get all these protections and they get to flaunt the laws the govern right of ways, etc...

This is my good faith question too..
Most major cities have homeless problems, a lot had to combat 2020 riots.. Most large cities are "Democrat run". I'm really curious why Portland has been so severely affected by these issues. I've only visited Portland, and it already had a Democrat power structure, but was clean & had a lot less homeless than LA (where I was visiting from).
Portland residents, please give me some insight.. I'm not here to dogpile. I'm curious.. what are the specific, unique reasons for Portland's turmoil ?
If you don't want to publicly express your thoughts, send me a private message..

[bergun]

Well, I miss visiting Portland. The last time I was there was back in February 2020 and I only wish that Portland can balance themselves out again, so I can visit Everyday Music and Powell’s City of Books again.

[Matt Marcinkiewicz]

'Drug overdose deaths in the state also hit an all-time high in 2021 with 1069, a 41 percent increase from 2020, Fox News reported.'

The state of Oregon has a population of 4.25 million, roughly. Just yesterday in my local newspaper, an article showing fatal overdose stats from the past several years mentioned that there were 286 overdose deaths in Erie County, NY (Buffalo and most of its suburbs, population ~950k) in 2021. There were a bit more last year, something just over 300. Do the math. The overdose death rate is higher in the Buffalo area than in Oregon. But I don't see right-wing British tabloids writing articles about Western New York.

[SlideRules99]

Originally Posted by Matt Marcinkiewicz

'Drug overdose deaths in the state also hit an all-time high in 2021 with 1069, a 41 percent increase from 2020, Fox News reported.'

The state of Oregon has a population of 4.25 million, roughly. Just yesterday in my local newspaper, an article showing fatal overdose stats from the past several years mentioned that there were 286 overdose deaths in Erie County, NY (Buffalo and most of its suburbs, population ~950k) in 2021. There were a bit more last year, something just over 300. Do the math. The overdose death rate is higher in the Buffalo area than in Oregon. But I don't see right-wing British tabloids writing articles about Western New York.

You should compare county to county, if you’re using that logic.

There were 271 drug overdose deaths in Multnomah County, OR in 2021, on a population baseline of 803,377.

https://www.tricountyopioidsafety.or...ltnomah-county

That comes out to a slightly higher overdose rate than your reported Erie County figures.

[shinestx]

Originally Posted by SlideRules99

You should compare county to county, if you’re using that logic.

There were 271 drug overdose deaths in Multnomah County, OR in 2021, on a population baseline of 803,377.

https://www.tricountyopioidsafety.or...ltnomah-county

That comes out to a slightly higher overdose rate than your reported Erie County figures.

The problem in Portland is that it's concentrated in areas that formerly were thriving commercial and residential areas. Even Portlanders are finding out that people don't want to be around the open drug use. I was in the city last November, and it's unfortunate what has happened in a short time. And the media are (perhaps unfairly) savaging Portland.

So who's in charge of the asylum formerly known as Portland? And how the heck did the city get far worse than Seattle and San Francisco? The latter are teetering on becoming uninhabitable, but Portland is now officially a full fledged s**th*le. So sad! I remember visiting there in the 1980s and 90s to see my cousins who lived there at the time. We walked everywhere and felt so safe. Wouldn't dare go anywhere without my car now. Back to first question: Who's in charge?

[EasyBeezy]

Originally Posted by shinestx

The problem in Portland is that it's concentrated in areas that formerly were thriving commercial and residential areas. Even Portlanders are finding out that people don't want to be around the open drug use. I was in the city last November, and it's unfortunate what has happened in a short time. And the media are (perhaps unfairly) savaging Portland.

So who's in charge of the asylum formerly known as Portland? And how the heck did the city get far worse than Seattle and San Francisco? The latter are teetering on becoming uninhabitable, but Portland is now officially a full fledged s**th*le. So sad! I remember visiting there in the 1980s and 90s to see my cousins who lived there at the time. We walked everywhere and felt so safe. Wouldn't dare go anywhere without my car now. Back to first question: Who's in charge?

The fear is palpable! I would certainly say that the Portland of today is not for anyone who is ruled by fear, but it's not 1/2 as scary as this post makes it out to be. I still work downtown everyday, and take a 4 mile walk at lunchtime on the east and west sides of the river. I don't like to see homeless encampments and wacked out drug addicts either, but they are still less than 1% of the population, and for the most part they just want to be left alone. People are still out enjoying the sunshine and going about their business. Lets not blow it completely out of proportion and act like it is uninhabitable.

Portland's problem is simple. It's a matter of misdirected compassion. Compassion for the homeless led cities to not enforce already existing laws against camping on public property, and compassion for the unfairly victimized of the drug war led to Measure 110 passing, which has turned out to be a huge error. People are now realizing that it has gone too far. What casual observers who offer their opinions about Portland from afar don't know (and aren't told by their favorite media sources) is that the far left wing in local politics is pretty much dead, and the moderates have taken over the city. The mayor has come up with one policy proposal after another to address the street people, each more stringent than the last. And the mayor and many other local politicians have now said that 110 was a mistake.

I think Portland will actually make a dramatic turnaround within 5 years. All the ingredients are there. Hopefully the city can follow through on its goal of making camping truly illegal and eliminating the pull factors for dope fiends.

[Reggiezz]

Is there a serial killer on the loose in Portland? SIX women under 40 have been found dead in 'suspicious circumstances' in secluded, wooded areas in the last three months

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...ee-months.html

Too bad there aren't enough police around.

[karlsch]

Originally Posted by Reggiezz

Is there a serial killer on the loose in Portland? SIX women under 40 have been found dead in 'suspicious circumstances' in secluded, wooded areas in the last three months

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...ee-months.html

Too bad there aren't enough police around.

The original article for those who don't like the Daily Mail: https://www.kgw.com/article/news/cri...0-6790f10c57ee

[texasdiver]

Originally Posted by Reggiezz

Is there a serial killer on the loose in Portland? SIX women under 40 have been found dead in 'suspicious circumstances' in secluded, wooded areas in the last three months

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...ee-months.html

Too bad there aren't enough police around.

To be fair, only two of the six dead women were found in Portland. According to the article

2 were in Portland
1 in unincorporated east county
1 in Clark County
1 in Polk County
1 in Clackamas County

There might well be a serial killer on the loose, but this is hardly just a Portland police issue.

[Metlakatla]

Originally Posted by texasdiver

To be fair, only two of the six dead women were found in Portland. According to the article

2 were in Portland
1 in unincorporated east county
1 in Clark County
1 in Polk County
1 in Clackamas County

There might well be a serial killer on the loose, but this is hardly just a Portland police issue.

One was found in Polk County, where the staunchly Republican voter base has been faithfully voting down LE budgets for almost two decades.