Scream at me if you will, however I must say that Illegal Immigrants from South of our border have taken all the entry level jobs our kids once filled and this leaves our youth with nothing but time to kill and the gangs are a direct result of that circumstance.

Please, please remember Shiloh was NOT in a gang. Intimidation of everyone is what gangs are about, especially those who may be seen as easy recruits. Spread fear. All those kids that walk through the park from Benson to get home, fear.... Any kid who may know where Yashanee's body is... fear.
Everyone who gives the streets up to thugs... fear.
This is about a 14 year old boy who made choices to try and improve his life and he got shot in the head. Just as Billy Moore was shot in the back for not replying correctly to a gang banger on the bus. It is just wrong and it breaks my heart.

The Delta employees aren't gang members either: http://www.wsbtv.com/news/27608434/detail.html

This country increasingly reminds me of "A Clockwork Orange".

Sam's Water Bureau internships should help: fetching Randy's coffee and tweeting will keep the kids out of trouble.

In all seriousness, though, would it really hurt to skip just one bike boulevard or one block of streetcar track or one round of Portland Plan open houses or one URD expansion/extension so we can afford some more police officers, caseworkers, and youth recreation programs?

Perhaps I have my tinfoil hat on, but there has been a lot of activity related to youth connected to NE Portland, especially Madison High:

1) The young woman presumed killed went to Helensview, and either had gone to Madison or knew students there.

2) Her alleged killer also attended Madison.

3) There was a young man gunned down a week or two ago near where the alleged killer lived, and coincidentally just a few hours after a vigil for the young woman.

4) This young man, though gunned down near Lloyd Center, attended Madison.

Perhaps I've noticed all of this since I live about ten blocks from Madison. But seems like just too many coincidences.

And I agree, Eric - not much fun riding a bike if one has to dodge gunfire. The priorities in this city can just be insane.

Guns have something to do with it.

Please, please remember Shiloh was NOT in a gang.

The murderers are.

All the kids that were with Shiloh when the shooting occurred know who did it. The next day, every student at Madison knew. But, the whole "don't snitch" thing will let the shooter walk.

More stupidity and more fear

Yes, the murders are gang members and there are a whole lot of kids scared to death with good reason.

Guns have something to do with it.

Not legally obtained ones, I'll bet.

Maybe we should just pass a law making shooting people a crime.

That ought to do it, by golly.

All of us, who read and follow Jack’s Blog, know firsthand that waste is a terrible thing. Continually wasting our precious tax dollars on trams, trolleys, and countless other follies, gets us no closer to a brighter future. It only takes us further away from the hard work of the past. This morning, another young life was wasted, and all the “4-20” pipe dreams of our elected officials will not change that. Only we can change that! We, the longtime citizens of Portland, and those who wish to be, must change ourselves first, and our elected leaders second. (Not necessarily in that order!)

"All the kids that were with Shiloh when the shooting occurred know who did it. The next day, every student at Madison knew. But, the whole "don't snitch" thing will let the shooter walk."

Sounds a lot like the PPB. When "the City" is supposed to do something about this, there's some sick irony about the two supposed sides of our legal spectrum.

Once Sam holds a news conference and sends the Chief out to meet the dead kid's family, he's done his job.

Politics is all he understands. That's why he's "negotiating" with the FBI.

Some years ago I gave Sam a loose leaf notebook filled with information on transportation and tried to point out the need to improve transit so that low income people in Portland could access the job opportunities that are available. Sam has decided to ignore the issue of poverty and what may be one of the factors that cause it. He has instead focused on issues that are important to those who supported him at the expense of the poor. Sam is all talk and no walk.

Once Sam holds a news conference and sends the Chief out to meet the dead kid's family, he's done his job.

Oh, and don't forget, they'll order the flags flown at half-mast. Then it's on to the next streetcar project for Homer Williams.

From the article:
"Any death from gun violence is unacceptable."

So Sam, if they had clubbed him to death it'd be ok?

I'm angry that this poor kid is dead. I'm saddened and scared for my own children.

But the mayor chooses to make a political speech using this kid's death to promote his soon to be a bigger joke of a policy.

Cut out all the European style, Sim City crap he and this regime just can't wait to trowel out to the developer pigs and get tough with the real problems, like growing gangs, lack of opportunity for members of the community, or try to reign in the rogue cops so maybe the people will start trusting them, so that the people aren't always seeing the police as just another gang.

Sam is clearly in over his head. He has no clue how to deal with the problem that is growing while he tweets away. His Gun Task Force is a joke. Instead of trying to go after the guns, how about mending the city and get your @$&!?@ hands out of our pockets and let the money flow to the schools, police, corrections, and services that don't require Homer Williams, LLP, and Developer Pigs.

Sorry for the rant. My heart breaks for that poor family. And for poor Shiloh.

I won't even go into his personal foibles.

Leaders of Distinction:

Portland City Council's status when the news broke about Shiloh's passing?
Hearing testimony and voting on 1/2 billion Lake Oswego Street Car.

Condolences to the family of this young man.

Gun Control: What politicians do instead of something.

Gee, maybe there should be more patrols in the highest crime density area on the inner east side: http://portlandmaps.com/detail.cfm?action=Explorer&ActiveTheme=Crime&ZoomLevel=7&propertyid=&state_id=&address_id=&intersection_id=46939&dynamic_point=0&x=7650037.688&y=687232.833&place=%20LLOYD%20CENTER%20%20%26%20NE%2011TH%20AVE&city=PORTLAND&neighborhood=LLOYD%20DISTRICT&seg_id=136666%2C136995

That damn park and the damn crime train were a convenient venue for this murder to take place.

Let's not forget that thousands of white collar workers are within blocks of this, namely my friend who works in the Lloyd tower heard the 10+ shots. She looked out her east facing window and saw the kid laying in a pool of blood. She notified me and I ran over and saw the entire Police fleet. Luckily those stray bullets didn't hit anyone else. I work 2 blocks from the shooting and hundreds of my coworkers walk on that street and I fetched my burrito from the cart right there the next day.

My company (large employer) sent out no word whatsoever, there are federal and state workers nearby too, is there no concern for our safety?? People don't go to work amid violence. Or maybe everyone has already written it off to race...

This was not a surprise. There are clear indications via the crime maps this is the most acute area. No mention of increased patrols, or we'll get the bad guys.

You know what I did? I walked over to my friend's office and escorted her to her car so at least she felt some solace.

It's unacceptable that people live in fear of violence, I'm livid.

People, calm down. The streetcar in that neighborhood and all the new transit-oriented development and the CC hotel will cure all of this ugliness.

Beaverton and Hillsbor are looking even better compared to Portland now.

Portland's media covered this tragedy with slightly more depth and intensity than they would a house fire.
If only the people who voted for Sam/Rand could read this blog............

Don't worry, Sam and the Nurse will soon have a new "Office of Equity" or some such nonsense, and they'll talk a lot about race and poverty so everything will be just fine.

You want to get Sam angry? Point out that, to reflect changes in the city, maybe the next episode of "Portlandia" should be directed by George Romero. (I'd say "Sam Peckinpah," but he's been dead for a while.)