Mayor to campers outside Portland's City Hall: It's ending, time to move

[alp227]

Last edited Sat Jul 20, 2013, 09:15 PM - Edit history (1)

Mayor Charlie Hales, fed up with people camping on the sidewalks outside Portland's City Hall and the Portland Building on the next block, has decided to crack down.

"He said enough is enough," Hales' spokesman Dana Haynes said Saturday morning.

He said police officials told the mayor on Friday they have received 113 calls for service to those two blocks in the past 180 days.

"Drug use, fights and people being harassed," Haynes said. "I get calls daily from people who are afraid to come to City Hall to do business. This is not a free-speech issue, but a safety issue."

full: http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2013/07/mayor_to_campers_outside_portl.html



On Friday, officials put a sign on the light pole telling campers they have to move next week. (Tom Hallman Jr.)

The signs say: "NDAA NULLIFICIATION: Unanimously passed by California Committee..." and "City of Portland: The City That Works You Over: End the..."

[niyad]

1. I suppose it would be too much to suggest that perhaps there ought to be a way to help,

rather than harass, these people?

[HiPointDem]

5. I believe it's actually a holdover from Occupy. The people there aren't necessarily homeless.

[niyad]

6. okay, thanks for the info.

[HiPointDem]

7. checked to make sure i had the info right -- after reading several accounts, it's not really

clear what's going on.

my impression (reading between the lines) is that it's partly a protest against the camping ban that was used to clear occupy portland from a nearby location, and partly homeless, a/o protest v. homeless policy. The major media are painting it as dirty disruptive heroin users, here's another account:

http://www.dailyjournal.net/view/story/7c004315f1674b62b6701a573c478c3a/OR--City-Hall-Protest-Eviction/

Occupy P-land is still very active:

http://occupyportland.org/

[HiPointDem]

2. wow, that looks terrible, frightening.

[defacto7]

3. Yes, I am frightened by guitars, bags and bicycles too.

You never know when a lone guitar will jump out from behind a bag and strike you with a sound or something.

[HiPointDem]

4. especially when they are neatly arranged on a sidewalk. such order is -- disquieting.