Why not the Convention Center? (Jack Bog's Blog)

The City of Portland has decided to house hundreds of victims of Hurricane Katrina at Washington High School in the city's Buckman neighborhood. City Hall insiders report that the first and most obvious choice for a relocation site, the Oregon Convention Center, was considered and rejected Friday afternoon at a high-level meeting in the mayor's office. Here now are the --

Top 10 Reasons the Hurricane Victims Won't Be Housed at the Convention Center

10. There's only one Starbucks in the whole place.

9. PDC experts are predicting a major surge in convention business any time now.

8. Obscure clause in City Charter requires building to be empty 85 percent of time.

7. Food quality could lead to charges of racism.

6. Don't want to disturb Greater Portland Metro Pretzel Benders Association meeting in early October.

5. Grave danger that evacuees would start squatting in the many empty units in nearby Merrick Luxury Apartments.

4. Refugees unlikely to be able to afford the $3 bottles of water.

3. Don't want to get the place all yucky until after we spend the $200 million on the hotel.

2. Desperate plea from manager at nearby Burgerville: "We are already low on the Walla Walla onion rings."

and the No. 1 Reason the Hurricane Victims Won't Be Housed at the Convention Center:

1. Voodoo practitioners in the group would immediately sense the curse.

Comments (4)

seriously, why not Wapato Jail?

It sits empty waiting for 500 or so people who I would imagine would be thrilled to overlook the fact it is a jail, and have a bed and a small space to spread out in.

All the infrastructure is there - toilets, meals, beds, etc. Start running an express bus line from there to downtown, and they could stay for months confortably.

Posted by Rob Kremer | September 6, 2005 8:18 AM

Why not the jail?

Easy. It would show how easy it would be to open it for, say, criminals.
They can't have that.
The Hawthorne gals keep the money from opening the jail under the notion that they just can't afford it.
What they won't do is simply prioritize public safety.

Posted by steve schopp | September 6, 2005 9:00 AM

How about some of those new condos that are going up on the south waterfront? Why not convert a couple of them into resettlement homes for NOLA evacuees? I hear this talk about making the south waterfront into a diverse community. This would definitely bring some decent food and music.

In point of fact, large auditoriums like the convention center really aren't the solution for longer-term housing because there is no privacy. For a few days when people just need to crash and get their feet under them, perhaps places like the astrodome are OK. But then families are going to want privacy and space. At least schools are full of classrooms that can be partitioned off for families and will give a better semblance of privacy.

Posted by Kent | September 6, 2005 9:42 AM

Seriously, why not the Memorial Coliseum?

Posted by RAH | September 6, 2005 11:13 AM

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Monday, September 5, 2005

Why not the Convention Center?

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