The new "Portland narrative"


Here's an unsurprising story about the fact that tourists don't want any part of downtown Portland these days. Can you blame them? Crazy homeless people and their tents everywhere, human excrement on the sidewalks, boarded-up storefronts, graffiti in every conceivable space, a sense of dread and danger about the whole place – even the airline crews are avoiding downtown and staying in hotels in other parts of town.

One thing that Portland has always had going for it is its appearance as a remarkably clean and safe city. Forget that now; there's a new "Portland narrative," and it's not flattering. It will be nice when the pandemic subsides, but that will just unmask the bigger problems that the bobbleheads in government refuse to face.

The only bright side is that Gordon Sondland is losing his shirt. As my grandmother used to say, God don't punish with a stick.

Comments

  1. Yeah? I'm betting that the taxpayers of Metro are paying the piper now on that Convention Center hotel.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Put a tax on Boomers, that should help.

      Delete
  2. We need more bond measures on the ballot, so property taxes can triple. That will help out the city.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I was listening to a radio program where a number of street people talked about their situation- both how they got there and how they are trying to cope with their current situation. It is really sad that amidst the sea of desperation, there are folks that with a bit of help could get out of that mess. But now its a tidal wave washing over the entire city.

    Pushing them around from place to place (clean-up) reminds me of the effort to stem prostitution back in the 80/90s.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

The platform used for this blog is awfully wonky when it comes to comments. It may work for you, it may not. It's a Google thing, and beyond my control. Apologies if you can't get through. You can email me a comment at jackbogsblog@comcast.net, and if it's appropriate, I can post it here for you.