Maybe if the city hands out bicycles and more recycling bins the violence will stop?

Spanish-language interpretation, on-site child care and light refreshments will be provided free of charge.

If the city and state's ineffectiveness, neglect and corruption did not plunder my wallet and endanger my life I guess I wouldn't expect them to solve problems.

If they had Spanish refreshments and Adult Day Care, I would SOOOO be there.

As it is, I have to work.

And cake...they served cake with a curvy street on it!
Meanwhile...the fireman have to take the kids out of a second story window so the children don't have to see their father's bullet ridden body at the front door.
There is so much that is just wrong in Portland.

A 26-year-old ex-con gang member in a house with a bunch of little kids? (Maybe his?) There's just nothing right with that picture.

It does seem a bit at odds with the Bureau of Planning & Sustainability's rather (ahem) grandiose mission statement: "To create and enhance a vibrant city, BPS combines the disciplines of planning and sustainability to advance Portland’s diverse and distinct neighborhoods, promote a prosperous and low-carbon economy, provide a forum for community engagement and education and help ensure that people and the natural environment are healthy and integrated into the cityscape."

Parallel universes.

What is a "low-carbon economy"? I always thought that carbon was essential for living organisms. Maybe a low-carbon economy is an economy that isn't strong enough to sustain life. Well, I'd say they've accomplished that goal!

A misguided effort to build a "main street" in a part of the city that never had one.

How about we fix 60th so it is safe for children to walk to Rigler school ?
It doesn't need fancy bike lanes, just sidewalks...

Definition of Carbon:

Carbon is the 15th most abundant element in the Earth's crust, and the fourth most abundant element in the universe by mass after hydrogen, helium, and oxygen. It is present in all known life forms, and in the human body carbon is the second most abundant element by mass (about 18.5%) after oxygen.[14] This abundance, together with the unique diversity of organic compounds and their unusual polymer-forming ability at the temperatures commonly encountered on Earth, make this element the chemical basis of all known life.

(Source: Wikipedia)

So, a low carbon life would be a low-life life? Why don't we just cut Portland's population by 50% - that would result in a "low-carbon economy". Of course, Washington County and the Republican parts of Clackamas County can have a "high-carbon economy" and tout their pro-life credentials at the same time.

We're for carbon - We're for Life! Welcome to Clackamas County, where everyone is welcome to live.

And Portland can be:

Welcome to a low carbon environment. Portland: the new age of gated, population controlled communities. Citizenship by invitation only. Contact: Portland City Hall, Mayor Sam Adams, Portland, Oregon 97201.

Sally, let us know how many probationers you can put up at your place while they seek work, because otherwise they go, you know, home, "the place where they ave to take you in" (Robert Frost, if my senility hasn't misled me).

What strikes me about the story is how quickly things ramp out of hand, thanks to draconian drug laws. A black guy with a bag of rock in his lap knows he's absolutely hosed when the cop sees it and grabs it. So he acts exceedingly stupidly, and risks having his head blown off. Take the absurd War on (nonwhite and non wealthy people who partake of the wrong) Drugs and that whole scene probably goes much differently.

Mr. Seldes, your comment to me is absurd and I have decided not to try to respond to a loaded question on a par with "Have you stopped beating your wife yet."

Great! Another construction project for the developers. See, the mayor and crew do care about people.

The Construction Mafia are loved by all at city hall.

Meanwhile in reality-ville, as new fancy sh*t gets built, then all those folks in the way get pushed out and the new happy people move in (or at least until they can no longer pay their loan).