Portland homeless response is moving quickly – in reverse

The City of Portland's vague gestures toward setting up managed homeless camps are getting nowhere fast. Instead of six "safe rest village" sites, as promised months ago, they've announced only three, and now it turns out that one of those is in a flood zone, which means it won't work.

Nobody asked. Including the City Council fall guy on tent squatters, Dan Ryan. But it sure has a Sam Adams odor to it, doesn't it?

Meanwhile, a fellow who says he's running for city council posts on YouTube this depressing video (some displayed language NSFW) showing neighbors of the prospective campsites what they can expect to see once they get set up. It's the current scene at the camp down by the abandoned Greyhound station.

Meanwhile, Nigel of the Weed files this disturbing report, revealing the hideous thicket of ethically challenged bureaucracy that surrounds the whole homeless relief operation in Portland. At the rate this is moving, the city will never make it back to life, even with the $2 billion-plus in new taxes that are about to be poured down the rat hole that is the homeless industrial complex. Hordes of "nonprofit" bobbleheads will feast at the trough.

Then there is the absurd "Metro" government, which is being a jerk about letting one of the managed camps be sited at its creaky old Expo Center. Last week I lamented that Metro was demanding too much rent from the city, but it's actually worse than that. Metro won't even let the city use its parking lot. Instead, it's offering a crummy ditch that would need seven figures in improvements before you could pitch a tent on it.

Enjoy the view, folks. It's not going away unless and until some major regime changes happen.