What in the world did you edit out to get to "sc**s"?

I'll give you a hint: I would have used the singular "this sc**" instead of the plural "these sc**s."

hello? need to buy a vowel here. still not getting what sc**s or sc** is.

Scum?

There ya go.

Scum is a profanity? And its plural is scums?

I wonder what MAX station these police were at because I have seen police frequently at (Interstate, Gresham TC, PSU MAX) the only places I rarely see any police presence is Barbur TC which is pretty much a transit ghost town if you will.

I honestly think Portland Police allocated 95% of their resources to South East while the rest of the officers rush between the other neighborhoods to respond to calls. Crime is going up out here in Southwest and it can only be due to a lack of any police presence.

Crime is going up out here in Southwest and it can only be due to a lack of any police presence.

That's because nobody has been shot or nearly beaten to death out west yet. (Well, except for those few times where it was done by the police themselves.)

sc** and sc**s seem much more emphatic than "scum" or "scums".

I don't condone calling people scum or scums. It's offensive to Oregon's many oppressed slime molds.

Free the slime molds!

I take max from downtown to hollywood and never ever see police or Trimet staff.

BK hit it: I rarely see any police presence is Barbur TC which is pretty much a transit ghost town if you will.

Of course, things'll liven up when they run light rail through there.

That said, I've not noticed any significant jump in crime in SW. Mostly, what we get are dead pedestrians or cyclists, hit by cars on Barbur. I am glad to see a report that there are more cops on the trains. That's long overdue.

When I first saw the post above I took it to mean "scab" or "scabs". I guess because it could more easily be used in the plural, and it made sense.

You know, the ugly problem you continually pick away at, but it never seems to go away. Without attention it can really get infected, and ultimately leave an ugly scar.

Max: Depends what part of SW you live in. West Portland Park is getting pretty bad at least in the slice I live in there are always drug dealers pushing and last night is a good example there was this guy doing donuts in the middle of SW Barbur right near Huber.

Obviously Barbur is by no means as bad as 82nd but its getting visibly worse.

Last Saturday, TONS of police presence. TSA was at Civic Stadium. Surprised they didn't force everyone off the train for a grouping. Mostly just stood around and talked to each other.

things'll liven up when they run light rail through there

Kind of like how the Green Line livened up 82nd Avenue? Seriously...MAX on Barbur is a mistake. You've got the land between Barbur and I-5 that is simply not ideal for any residential development whatsoever, and Barbur is just not going to become a commercial success (note all the partially/fully vacant office buildings). Those office buildings that are occupied are mostly low-rent paying companies - property management firms and non-profits. The kinds of businesses that don't exactly promote a vibrant neighborhood and transit usage.

North/west side of Barbur is way too hilly and steep for any significant densification. Street system is disconnected. No bike infrastructure. Few parks. Few schools. And this was the one part of Portland that made it clear to Sam Adams' Streetcar Gang that it was perfectly happy with bus service and didn't want streetcars. (In exchange, Sam completely stripped all of southwest Portland from the transit plan, which became the Streetcar plan, with no alternative.)

South Portland, the area from Sellwood Bridge to 405, from the river to I-5, has the highest crime rate listed by PPD of all Southwest neighborhoods. Last time I looked only one or two North, NE neighborhoods had more. Car break-ins, rape, and molestation are some of the highest categories.

What I want to know is, where did all the guys on the corners go? Out here in Gateway we used to have 2-3 at each major intersection with their cardboard signs ("Anything helps. God bless.") and now we have just a few in the whole area. The ones remaining are generally younger and trying new slogans. ("Bet you can't hit me with a quarter." "Will take verbal abuse for $1") Now that we've finally gotten some better weather, they don't need so much money?

Ya, BK - I live in far SW, near the county line. Have for years. Not a great deal of crime up here; I suspect the terrain isn't much to their liking. As Lee points out, most of the crime happens in the vibrant, walkable neighborhood known as South Waterfront and its immediate environs. Nice, flat ground. Streetcars. Good times.

Erik, what you say is of course spot on, but you omit some important details: Tigard wants light rail, and the brain trust at Metro and Tri-Met have been "planning" a Barbur "extension" for at least five years. Just like the Milwaukie Mystery Line, it's gonna happen.

Tigard wants light rail

The Mayor wants light rail.

I don't know any city residents (myself included) who do. MAX on Barbur/99W will only make traffic worse, removing two lanes of traffic from the state's (yes, the State's) busiest five lane thoroughfare with absolutely no reasonable alternative.

Unlike Eastside MAX (which did not remove any I-84 capacity, and has multiple alternatives to East Burnside), Westside MAX (which did not take any road capacity except in downtown Hillsboro on secondary streets), Airport MAX (also did not take any road capacity) or Interstate MAX (which used two lanes of a largely obsolete and underused arterial, and had alternatives including Greeley, Denver, I-5 and M.L.K.) - when you stick MAX down 99W between I-5 and Highway 217 - what other routes will you stick 30,000 cars a day on?

72nd Avenue?