Good news. Common ground was finally reached.

However, am I the only one who can't ignore the parent-child power trip being dished out here? Any praise directed to those bureaucrats who have been ignoring community wishes and avoiding solutions for our young all along should be heavily tempered.

Why express over the top gratitude? Use of that pool should never have met an interruption to begin with. Forever unclaimed will be the wonderful experiences 500+ neighborhood kids could have had (learning how to swim when they had the time to do so, how to conquer that fear as 10-15 years olds) but now are older and have moved on and the moment is gone.

Citizens are the parent and government is their child, not the other way around. I say never let daily opportunities such as this pass to remind our public servants of that. You'll be accused of getting up that day from the wrong side of the bed, but when you see them getting testy take it as easy proof that they're out of touch with the preamble to their mission.

Bet they've written the ribbon-cutting speech that says "look what we did for you" but overlooked ordering a big banner preclaiming "sorry for the delay" to hang above the door.

Hey there! I grew up in Oregon and have have lived back here on the East coast for about 15 years. Stop complaining! Do you want Portland to look like Vancouver or some giant suburban nightmare like Miami or Phoenix? I haven't been there in years but from what I see on the internet, it's much smarter to put 300 condo's in a 30 story building than build a new subdivision in Gresham! You people are smarter than the average Joe up there. Please continue in saving our beautiful state. Don't complain about a building taking down 20 tree's when it could wipe out a mountain side. Porland is going to grow and the best way to do it is up, not out. Better 30 skyscraper's than 30 miles of the Cascades destroyed! You are all so lucky to live in a place like the Northwest! Portland is going in the right direction. UP! Mass transit, walking, biking is a much better solution than a 6 lane freeway!

I'll forfeit commenting tomorrow to comment on two threads today. Jake's comment, I think, goes to a major perception problem we have, that it's either chaos, sprawl and collapsing hillsides or condo towers sprouting up everywhere, regardless of whether the city's infrastructure needs are met. There are a lot of issues that don't make it into the press, Jake. I think, on the whole, that Oregon's land use laws are pretty good. What you aren't hearing too much, except in places like this blog, is how rarely they are followed when there is a quick buck to be made. Yes, Oregon is going to grow, but planners are supposed to be managing the growth, not encouraging it to line their friends' pockets.

Jake:

How does your comment relate to the topic of the pool being re-opened?

And to respond:

What if I want to live in a subdivision in Gresham, and not in condo tower in SoWa? What if I would rather drive on a 6 lane freeway?

have have lived back here on the East coast for about 15 years.

GONG! That's the whole problem with Portland's current lemming rush to bankruptcy and the loss of its character. If it looks good to people in New York City who vaguely remember what Portland's about (if they ever knew), it must be good.

Destroying Portland isn't going to save Mount Hood. Quite the opposite.

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