Spin through the Portland Art Museum’s revolving doors for a free exhibit, HeART of Portland. On opening night, students and their families mobbed the lower gallery hallway to glimpse. This year’s theme is “Windows of our Future,” which befits student-artists exploring themes of identity, reflection and imagined futures.

“Brick by Brick” is a print about resilience by a Grant High School senior; there’s a T-shirt design by a McDaniel student for a segment on textiles.

The 2026 graduating class is the first to have had arts education from kindergarten through 12th grade funded by the Arts Access Fund. Otherwise known as the Arts Tax —which most of us chafe at it—this show is evidence of it working in the spirit it was intended, providing every Portland elementary school with at least one arts discipline.

Jasper O’Hanlon’s “What Once Was” won first place in this year’s HeART of Portland poster competition.

What: Senator Reynolds Town Hall on Harm Reduction and Syringe Services
When: Thursday, April 23 | 6–7 p.m.
Where: Virtual (Zoom)
Register: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/mWxTYUXISIKcu9KA3dclSw
Who should attend:
Anyone in the Portland metro area with a stake in how harm reduction policy is designed, sited, and governed

There is a version of the harm reduction conversation happening in Portland right now grappling with what it means to serve people in crisis without abandoning the neighborhoods around them, and that version is happening in public, with neighbors at the table, because we are the ones living with the outcomes.

There is also another version of the conversation that emerges when the room narrows, when fewer perspectives are present, and when decisions begin to take shape without the full context of how these policies are experienced on the ground.

Last month, Senator Lisa Reynolds appeared before Northwest District Association neighbors to explain why SB 1573 did not advance, a bill that would have created basic guardrails to keep syringe distribution away from school zones. The frustration expressed in that room was grounded in lived experience, and it is now part of the public record.

Much of this work around harm reduction is funded and coordinated through the county as it plays out in city spaces, which leaves fundamental questions about siting, accountability, and oversight sitting in the middle. We’re left asking who is responsible for what. We’re watching needle pickup reports across Portland increase significantly in recent years, with biohazardous waste is appearing in parks, along school routes, and in doorways.

Are these edge cases or isolated incidents? Nope — they are part of an emerging pattern that tells us why siting decisions, accountability and a continuum of care are not ideological preferences but basic public health obligations that run in both directions.

On April 23, Senator Reynolds will host a follow-up meeting to present the next iteration of harm reduction legislation, with participation expected from the health system and harm reduction side of this work. That perspective will be present and well represented, which is precisely why it is equally important for neighborhood voices to be in the room, bringing the place-based perspective that reflects how these policies are experienced day to day. Anyone in the Portland metro area who cares about how harm reduction policy is felt should consider this an opportunity to engage directly in what comes next. Curious about harm reduction outreach? Health policy folks will be in attendance.

Harm reduction done well requires more than intent; it requires accountability structures, clear operational expectations, and a genuine continuum of care¹ that connects services to outcomes in a way that works for both the people receiving them and the communities where they are delivered.

To understand the scale of what is being discussed, consider that Outside In, a Portland nonprofit providing health care and harm reduction services, operates a fixed-site syringe program steps from Lincoln High and Cathedral Schools, and distributed 1.14 million syringes to 3,157 clients in 2023 alone.

That model is institutionally accountable, with a physical location, a 990, and organizational oversight. By contrast, Portland People’s Outreach Project (PPOP), co-locating with Portland Street Medicine — a Multnomah County Measure 110 grantee — operates volunteer-run pop-ups across the city with different expectations and accountability mechanisms, often in public spaces and inside school zones. These are two distinct models operating within the same city, and the policy question now in front of Senator Reynolds is not whether harm reduction should exist, but which governance framework will shape how it operates moving forward.

The meeting next week represents a moment where that question begins to take form. Please join us in bringing the neighborhood perspective into the same room.

Register: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/mWxTYUXISIKcu9KA3dclSw

Reprinted from Stadiumhood@substack.com

By Meghan Whitten and Scarlett Dempsey

Sirens sounded, followed by announcements to “secure the perimeter” and then “lockdown.” On Feb. 17, what began as a typical day at Lincoln High School quickly shifted into a lockdown. Instead of sitting at their desks, students hid in corners; some trembling, others confused.

Two people, ages 15 and 22, not affiliated with Lincoln, fled the scene of a stabbing near the MAX train at Southwest Main Street and Southwest Broadway, according to Principal Peyton Chapman. The suspects then ran to Lincoln. The secure perimeter was announced at 10:57 a.m. because of police activity outside but was immediately turned into a lockdown when the suspects entered the building at 10:58 a.m.

According to Vice Principal Travis Johnson, the suspects jumped the south fence near Blue Star Donuts at 10:57 a.m. and were then let into the commons at the athletic entrance by a student at 10:58 a.m. Police were in pursuit when the suspects were let into the building. The two individuals were arrested by the Portland Police Department inside Lincoln on the second floor in front of the counseling office at 10:59 a.m.

According to Johnson, once the suspects were apprehended, administrators and campus security went to each classroom, unlocking doors and giving the all-clear over the next 20 minutes. All classes were cleared by 11:30 a.m.

Junior Reed Eldridge was on the sixth floor during the lockdown and felt “pretty safe” knowing he was far from the entrance to the school.

“[I was] kind of confused. I wasn’t very scared, but I didn’t know what was going on,” said Eldridge.

Senior Dylan McCleary was scared, especially knowing her sister was in the building. They were both on the fourth floor.

“I was definitely feeling a lot of fear, just knowing that this is actually happening at our high school,” McCleary said. “I am now having more fear for my sister too because she is a freshman and I’m not going to be able to be around her during school emergencies.”

Following the lockdown on Feb. 17, Lincoln’s administration put signs on all school doors indicating that opening a locked door for anyone, including friends and classmates, will result in an automatic suspension and that cameras will be more closely monitored. Vice Principal Johnson explained that it has always been against the rules to let people into the building through locked doors.

“There’s nothing new. We’ve always been saying, ‘Don’t open doors.’ We’re advertising it more. That’s what feels new,” Johnson said. “We have students that had consequences for opening the doors for other people. We’re going to put effort into making sure we’re getting the word out and then using cameras to track it.”

Some students, like freshman Boden Cain, disagree with the new suspension policy.

“I remember them always having [the door] rule, but I feel like a suspension is harsh,” said Cain, who was on the 2nd floor during the incident. “I feel like it was a mistake.”

French teacher Doug Siegel supports the new policy, and believes that education about the risks of opening doors is necessary.

“Because we’re downtown and because of what happens downtown …We need to really underline the point that … there’s just certain things you can’t do,” said Siegel.

During the lockdown, many students including Eldridge were worried because their phones were in their Yondr pouches, making them unable to contact their parents or guardians. Read more about the Yondr pouch policy in the Cardinal Times article by Matthew Klein and Ravi Weinrobe: ‘Off and away!’ Yondr is here to stay.

“[My parents and I have] been kind of annoyed about the Yondr pouch rule because now that there’s an emergency [they couldn’t] contact us and get a hold of us,” said Eldridge.

Johnson understands the worries of parents, as a Lincoln parent himself, but he believes that having cellphones during an emergency can negatively affect the situation and it is the job of the school or district to keep families informed.

“[Students] texting parents is not gonna keep them safe, and it is really hard because we’re used to that [as] parents,” said Johnson. “I feel super strongly [that] it’s our job, [as the] school to communicate as fast as possible what’s going on to help lessen that worry for parents. …The cell phone will not keep anybody safe and in fact, it can impact the situation negatively as far as spreading rumors [and] having a bunch of people come to school, which [then we would] now have to put energy there versus into solving the problem.”

Principal Chapman emphasized that these door policies are designed to benefit the community and ensure everyone’s safety.

“Do not open doors, even if you think you know the people; they need to come through the front doors for all of our safety, sanity and school records,” Chapman said. “We can help change the culture that way. It’s for the betterment of us all and the safety of everybody.

The potholed north end of Northwest 23rd Avenue will get some attention soon, the Portland Bureau of Transportation announced last week.

Resurfacing work will begin May 4 on the section between Lovejoy and Vaughn streets, with most of that stretch completed by the end of the month. The Lovejoy and Marshall intersections, which involve ADA ramp installation, will be done after that.

“The top layer of asphalt will be ground out and a new layer of asphalt will be placed on top,” PBOT announced. “This project is a short-term fix to address critical pavement failures.”

Short-termed is defined as about severn years, in this instance.

Construction hours are 6 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Both lanes of traffic will be open at the end of each workday and weekends. One lane will remain open during construction, though with some intermittent closures.

Parking will be possible except during the work shifts.

A full rebuild of the street, estimated to cost $17 million-$22 million, is dependent on coordination with a federal grant extending the streetcar line to Montgomery Park. That project could begin as soon as 2029.

For updates, visit:

https://www.portland.gov/transportation/pbot-projects/construction/nw-23rd-avenue-pavement-resurfacing-project

By Curtis Beaubrun

Reprinted from the Lincoln High School Cardinal Times

Teaching chemistry is not the only thing Lincoln IB Chemistry teachers Joel Laney and Nathan Watson have in common. The teachers both played in bands as teenagers and college students.

Both started playing in bands during their high school years, Laney as a vocalist and guitarist, and Watson as a guitarist. Laney was inspired to join by his love for music and producing.

“I’ve played music my whole life, and I’ve played in bands since high school to COVID,” said Laney. “The synergy out of a group of people, like the music that’s produced, is far greater than the individual parts.”

Meanwhile, Watson looks back on his years in his Ska band named Five Times Fast, where he was a member in high school and college.

“Those are formative times where you’re just becoming an independent adult for the first time, exploring your interests with close friends, so I look back on those times really, really fondly,” said Watson.

Being in a band helped both of them improve their life skills. For Laney, this was communication and time management.

“[Being in a band taught me] how to work with a group of people towards a collective goal,” said Laney. “[It also helped with time management] because there are X number of people that are relying on you to show up at a certain place at a certain time and to be prepared.”

For Watson, being in a band helped him develop more confidence.

“When you’re able to stand in front of a group of people and perform music that you wrote or put yourself out there… it helps you to build confidence in public speaking, in just being in crowds in general,” said Watson.

Both teachers recommended joining a band.

“Beyond just the playing and creation of music and the creativity, there’s a satisfaction and joy that comes from…becoming as good as you can at something,” said Laney.

“It really makes you think about life in a slightly different way from a perspective of a performer and artist,” said Watson.

As chemistry teachers, they are able to use their love for music to better teach the subject.

“I use music as an analogy in some of my lesson planning. I talk about how music can be a way to think about quantized energy versus continuous energy,” said Watson. “A piano plays individualized notes, versus a violin, which you can kind of play a spectrum of sounds on.”

A little-known Las Vegas developer agreed to buy the vacant Northwest Neighborhood Cultural Center for $4.75 million in 2022.

The nonprofit board that owns the 1909 National Register landmark at 1819 NW Everett St. was thrilled with the offer, which was sweetened with nonrefundable $50,000 monthly payments and responsibility for all carrying costs until the deal closed.

But only bad news has followed, and growing signs of neglect on the grounds is evident. While promising Cultural Center members at their past two annual meetings that things are still on course, Founders Developments CEO Tanya Toby has reneged on every important element of the deal.

Despite all this, the plan looks grand on the company’s website, where it proudly features “Sous la Rose hospitality and private member club” as its top venture.

But red ink clouds visions of a luxury social club and hotel the likes of which “Portland has not yet experienced,” as Toby promised.

The 2023 projected closing target has been postponed repeatedly, each time for inability to obtain investors. Meanwhile, the cost of running the Portland development approval gauntlet ballooned, along with the complexity of requirements, not least of which is a $10 million seismic upgrade.

Nevertheless, the $50,000 monthly payments were paid for about three years, amounting to $1.7 million by last year’s annual meeting. Then they were reduced to $25,000 per month and finally to nothing, according to center board member Richard Gronostajski. At each juncture, cultural center board members decided that hanging onto even a semblance of the deal was better than nothing.

Maintenance, repairs and security for the property have also fallen by the wayside. Gronostajski said the board is now covering those bills and even paying the property taxes. When the city recently required installation of a $5,000 sprinkler system, the board kicked in rather than face fines and penalties.

Despite the mishaps, the Cultural Center is still money ahead. Gronostajski said most of the money Founders has paid remains in the organization’s bank account. The board is reluctant to spend it in anticipation of what other shoe might drop.

Now Founders is asking to dip into the funds the center is holding in reserve. Toby has asked for help with a formidable upfront fee before the city Bureau of Development Services will review the application.

According to BDS spokesperson Ken Ray, a fee of $102,000 is imposed for renovating the landmark building based on the applicant’s estimated value of $10 million. Construction of the five-story hotel, valued at $11 million, will entail a $113,000 permit review fee.

Even paying those fees would not be the end of it. To begin construction might cost $1.5 million, Gronostajski said. To reach that threshold, Founders posed another idea: the cultural center could become a partner in the whole venture.

“There’s been a discussion that maybe the NNCC would work with the buyers to finance part of the development from the funds that have already been sent to us from the buyers, to actually do seller-backed financing,” Gronostajski said. “Nobody’s too thrilled about that, but those are all discussions that the board of NNCC is having, and the April meeting will be very interesting when we talk to the membership and see what people think.”

Pinger was more candid. Upon hearing about becoming partners in the redevelopment, “That’s where I said, ‘You’ve got to be kidding.’”

The total cost of constructing the two-building project was estimated at $70 million by Founders’ consultants at the 2024 Cultural Center annual meeting. Recent revelations could drive that figure far higher.

Cultural Center President Ginger Burke told the NW Examiner that no new direction or plans of action will be offered by the board at the next week’s annual meeting, scheduled for Tuesday, April 21 via Zoom. Members must register by April 19 to participate. Visit nnccpdx.com/ for information.

The buyers are not in default, Burke said. “We’re all in agreement” to pause further earnest money payments.

Why such flexibility, and no alternatives to put before members?

“We have to be realistic,” she said, keeping with advice received from a commercial real estate broker.

The Broadway Bridge is open. We’ve missed her and those trips to Helen Bernhardt’s Bakery.

The “double-leaf bascule” bridge has been closed since October, except to bikes, mobility devices and pedestrians, who could cross on the south sidewalk.

“Bascule” is a French word that means “seesaw” and describes how the spans rotate upward as they are balanced by counterweights.

On Sunday, a stream of people uniformed in red and black headed over the bridge to watch the Blazers, who would beat Sacramento 122-110 to earn a spot in the Western Conference Play-Ins.

For the project, small sections of the deck were removed one at a time to ensure that the movable bridge sections remain balanced as they open to river traffic.

New streetcar tracks have also been installed in the replaced section of the bridge.

Multnomah County funded the design and 10% of the construction costs, while the federal government paid 90% of the construction costs.

Mijiga’s performance is part of a series of free, family-friendly concerts happening Thursday-Sunday on the steps of the Multnomah County Central Library, 801 SW 10th Ave.

Concerts are from noon-2 p.m., and are made possible by the Library Foundation. The program is managed by Downtown Clean & Safe.

Full schedule here.

By Fred Leeson

Reinstallation of the historic David P. Thompson Elk and Fountain after an absence of nearly six years was a wonderful moment for all of Portland and for those who believe in the importance of historic preservation.

For more than a century, the statue sitting atop an elegant decorative fountain was the kind of distinctive urban adornment that said yes, Portland is interesting, Portland is scenic and Portland cares about its historic monuments.

But despite the glee of its return, we must not forget that it nearly didn’t happen. A long-time Portland preservation activist, architect William J. (Bill) Hawkins III helped lead the fight to have the statue and fountain restored when many city bureaucrats were saying, essentially, “no thanks.”

For private distribution, Hawkins last October issued a 40-page illustrated history of the fountain and the struggle to bring it back after it suffered damage from public protests in 2020. In short, city transportation officials hoped to use more of the Main Street right-of-way for traffic lanes, the Water Bureau wanted to quit wasting water in the fountain and the Parks Bureau wanted to shed responsibility for maintenance.

The city went so far as to file a demolition notice to remove the fountain and statue’s historic landmark designation. The Parks Bureau floated a plan to building a concrete pedestal for placement of the elk, instead of a fountain.

The outlook for restoration of the fountain was so gloomy, this very blog in March 2022 wrote that restoration of the fountain was doomed. Readership was so widespread, it may have helped stimulate preservation activists.

The fight for survival was personal for Hawkins, because his great uncle, Lester Leander Hawkins, had been the executor of D.P. Thompson’s estate. In that role Leander Hawkins negotiated the siting and designs for the statue and fountain that had been given to the city in Thompson’s estate. The elder Hawkins also had been a member of the city Park Board that established many of early Portland’s most important parks.

Bill Hawkins started a drive to raise funds to study full restoration. His effort was joined by the Portland Parks Foundation, eventually raising more than $200,000 to produce detailed design drawings.

Meanwhile, City Commissioner Dan Ryan was negotiating with City Council members on the former five-member council, eventually gaining unanimous support. The Portland Water Bureau agreed to install a water recirculating system that will save millions of gallons of fresh water, since the fountain is no longer used for watering horses, as it was when it was erected in 1905.

In his history of saving the fountain, Bill Hawkins graciously avoided naming the bureaucrats who had opposed the fountain’s restoration. He gives the most valuable player award to Commissioner Ryan, who also sits newer, enlarged version of the City Council.

Let’s also thank Bill Hawkins, not only for his work on the fountain but for his decades of advocacy to encourage preservation of public art and historic sites. Preservation lets us save the best of the past, and lets us realize that just as greatness preceded us, it can also inspire those who follow us in making Portland an interesting, vibrant city.

Reprinted from Building on History. Join Building on History’s email list by writing “add me” to faroverpar463@gmail.com

Maybe it will yet prevail, but there are moments—such as this week’s announcement of a new push to launch local ferry service—that cause one’s head to spin.

Susan Bladholm, who has championed Frog Ferry for eight years, introduced former Green Bay Packers CEO Mark Murphy at a standing room only press conference to push the ball over the goal line. Murphy outlined the community funding model that has made the Packers the most enduring NFL franchise despite playing in the league’s smallest market by far.

Bladholm had another pitch. The grass-roots fund drive might tap into a major grant from the federal government, ironically from the administration of Portland-hating President Donald Trump.

“Just on Monday, the Federal Transportation Administration posted their passenger ferry grant program, so there is a couple hundred million dollars just there for passenger ferry,” she said, “and that application is due in about five weeks.”

“As a nonprofit, we can’t apply,” she said, adding that TriMet and the city of Portland could.

Here’s the catch. Those jurisdictions have for years steadfastly refused to be a conduit for FTA grants, and there is still no sign of wavering.

As a result, we have the oddity of the Trump administration, which has no more regard for mass transit or climate remediation than it does for Puddletown, now open to funding Frog Ferry while local governments say no way. Reminds one of states refusing Affordable Care Act subsidies from the Obama administration to the detriment of their own people in the name of some supposedly higher value.

We asked Chris Mackovjak, a broker with Realty Portland and a longtime member of the Pearl District Neighborhood Association, to comment for yesterday’s post about residents moving out of the district as condominium values drop. His thorough and rapid response suggested that he had thought about this issue before.

By Chris Mackovjak

That [two-fold trend] is correct, and the cause is multi-faceted. Here are the four drivers, three of which are primarily related to Portland, while the other is national.

1. Safety and livability concerns have caused people to leave the Pearl and downtown. The same concerns have caused would-be buyers to hold off.

2. Demographics. Condo owners in the Pearl tend to be older, and they are starting to sell their condos to move into retirement communities. There isn’t a large group of buyers coming in after them, so more sellers competing for fewer buyers lowers prices.

3. Property taxes. Condo taxes are notoriously disproportionate to values. A condo that sells for $350,000 could have property taxes of $8,000, which hurts affordability.

4. Homeowners Association dues and special assessments. This is national and a big driver. Higher monthly costs reduce how much buyers can qualify for, putting downward pressure on prices.

My short take is that condos are undergoing a structural repricing based on these factors.

That’s the negative side. Here’s the positive:

The impression of buyers is that safety and livability are improving downtown. I sold four condos in the last few months to out-of-town buyers, and they love Portland. They love the people, the nature, the food and the lifestyle, and they’re excited to be here.

Portland is still one of the best lifestyle cities in the country, and I expect we’ll start to see people moving here again. I’m also starting to see more locals, especially those downsizing, explore moving downtown again. All-in-all, I’m still bullish on the Pearl.

Some are skeptical of Linda Witt’s monthly reports on consequences of the Northrup Street Shelter. Although her team of volunteers, who regularly check their assigned routes for crime and street disorder, strive to be thorough and balanced, some would prefer a rosier picture.

“If you haven’t seen bad stuff in the Pearl, I’m super happy for you,” Witt told Pearl District Neighborhood Association members in her April report as chair of the Shelter Oversight Committee. “But you need to know that other people have seen this stuff, and they’ve sent in these photos.

“The numbers that I showed you today look dramatically worse than the numbers I’ve showed you in the past, because things are getting worse in 2026. From the period of September 2025 through February of 2026, crime has gone up 60%; person crimes, almost 80%,” she continued.

Not so in the rest of the city.

“Look at the city—society crimes have dropped,” Witt said. “Property crimes have dropped. But here in the Pearl, we’re just the opposite. … We know this. The Pearl is absorbing a lot of the criminal activity which was previously in Old Town and [elsewhere].”

As a result, she said, people have lost hope in the district’s future. Monthly incident reports are not the only way to get a sense of the neighborhood.

“In my building [the Bridgeport] alone, just today, I published the number of units for sale—it’s nine. We’ve never had more than four or five units for sale. Everybody’s leaving town.

“You see people just bailing,” she said. “They are giving up and moving on. They’re losing hundreds of thousands of dollars on their property, but they just can’t take the trauma of living in an environment where you’re exposed almost every day to these safety and security threats.”

The most viewed local real estate website indeed listed nine condos for sale in the Bridgeport (at an average price of $435,000) on April 7 among 125 listing for the Pearl District.

Judie Dunken, who heads a real estate team specializing in Pearl properties, has been a mainstay in the PDNA for nine years. She concurred with Witt’s observations.

“People are losing money,” Dunken said. “They don’t want to be here.”

Many have been holding on for years hoping things would get better, but their patience has run out. The average drop in value in the past year has been 16%, she said.

“The shelter has driven values down tremendously.

“The neighborhood has changed,” she said. “It’s totally not what the mayor promised. It’s all the things that we feared.”

Special PDNA meeting called

Future of the Pearl Town Hall

April 28, 5:30 pm, at the Armory, 128 NW 11th Ave.

Dear Concerned Pearl District Neighbors:

You are receiving this email because you were concerned enough to communicate your thoughts about the Proposed Northrup Shelter with the mayor and city leaders and copy me in.

We are at an important moment for our neighborhood: We now need to harness the energy the shelter created to Re-Ignite the Pearl. Foot Traffic is down 30% since 2019 and we all feel the impact. It’s time to come together to restore the energy, safety and vibrancy that made this neighborhood one of the most dynamic places in Portland.

Bruce Studer

Pearl District Neighborhood Association President

By Bob Weinstein

Portland Mayor Keith Wilson’s request that Washington and Clackamas counties contribute $6 million and $4 million respectively to Portland’s shelter system has drawn predictable resistance. Washington County leaders are weighing a token $1 million; Clackamas County officials say they must “carefully consider the financial impact.”

But the political friction obscures a deeper truth: Wilson is right to ask, more right than his own argument makes clear. Wilson has not framed his request around the distribution formula at all. His stated rationale is simply that Portland shelters serve residents from across the region. That is true, but an understatement.

The real problem is not Portland’s $15 million shelter shortfall. It is a structural flaw in Metro’s Supportive Housing Services (SHS) formula, which distributes money by population rather than by where homelessness is actually concentrated.

Money follows population, not need

Metro collects hundreds of millions annually for homelessness services. Yet 95% of SHS dollars are allocated based on each county’s share of the region’s population, not its share of the homeless population. That mismatch has enormous consequences.

Chart 1 illustrates the fact that Multnomah County has 87% of the regions homeless population, yet receives only 45.3% of SHS revenue. Washington and Clackamas counties—home to far fewer homeless residents—receive dramatically more funding per homeless person. This is a structural misalignment between where the crisis is and where the resources flow.

Homelessness in the region is heavily concentrated in Multnomah County—particularly in Portland—where service demand, system strain and public visibility are greatest.

Clearly, the distribution formula is not fair and needs to be changed. A fairer distribution formula might provide each county with 25% of its allocation based upon total population and 75% based upon the county’s homeless population.

Cost per homeless person

Chart 2 makes the inequity unmistakable. Under the current formula, Washington and Clackamas counties receive over $100,000 per homeless person, while Multnomah receives roughly $13,000. Even under the 75/25 formula, Multnomah would receive only about $20,000 per homeless person, while Washington and Clackamas would still receive around $40,000 per person.

This is not a radical proposal. It simply reflects the principle that resources meant to address a problem should be concentrated where the problem is concentrated.

A formula that spends six times as much per homeless person in Beaverton as in Portland is not equitable by any reasonable standard regardless of how equity is defined.

Suburban response in context

Washington County leaders argue that shifting money “doesn’t solve the problem.” Clackamas County officials question Portland’s performance.

Those concerns may resonate politically, but they do not address the underlying math: suburban counties benefit from a formula that allocates them far more per homeless person than to Multnomah County.

Multnomah County faces a $68 million shortfall in its Homeless Services Department and may close multiple shelters—-facilities that serve residents from across the region. In practice, Portland’s shelters function as the region’s emergency system.

Against that backdrop, Wilson’s $10 million request is not a bailout. It is a temporary patch over a flawed formula.

Since 2018, Ty Young and his wife, Silver, have lived here in a fifth-floor unit at the Pearl’s Lovejoy Station Apartments. Their cozy flat is filled with personal touches, like flower boxes, jigsaw puzzles and plastic flamingos. A bubble machine mounted on a patio railing “sends something good into the world,” Young said.

“I have a lot of health stuff,” the boyish-looking 70-year-old said.

Young grew up on a cattle ranch in Bend, but these days can only walk short distances inside his apartment. He uses a an electric wheelchair he calls the BatMobile for trips outside.

Getting in and out of his apartment building is far harder than it should be.

ADA buttons on the main doors were left unfixed for months at a time. Only one of the elevators has easy push-buttons, and that elevator was recently was out of service for 12 weeks. Eventually, a fire alarm defect was cited as the reason.

There is no ADA button at all on a Northwest Marshall Street door connected to the garage, forcing Young to stretch his arm and prop open a very heavy door with an injured leg in order to exit.

But today is a day he looks forward to: A Trimet Lift van will take him and Silver to WinCo on Southeast 82nd Avenue for their monthly shopping trip. Afterwards, they go to Kentucky Fried Chicken for dinner.

“That’s our big treat for the month,” said Silver, 76, who stockpiles food from the William Temple House pantry and Lift Urban Portland for the rest of their meals.

A U.S. Army veteran, Silver is covered by the Veterans Administration hospital for her healthcare, but Ty’s co-pays are a burden. They recently lost their Section 8 designation, boosting the rent for their one-bedroom apartment to $1,284.

“I refused to pay the extra for a few months,” said Young.

The 181-unit Lovejoy Station is a HomeForward building, as is the nearby Pearl Court and The Yards. HomeForward contracts day-to-day management to Beaverton-based Pinehurst Property Management. The Youngs and many of their neighbors say Pinehurst’s on-site manager is hostile to repair requests and withholds information.

“We have a 100% adversarial relationship with management,” said Silver. “They lie to us about everything. You can’t trust what they say.”

On a trip down to the garage, we meet a worker in a Hazmat suit. Ty said this work has been going on about three weeks, but that no one from management has explained to residents what’s going on. The worker told us he’s repairing water damage in the walls.

Recently, the hallway carpets were cleaned for the first time since they they moved in. A side entrance on Lovejoy Street has been breached many times.

“They’re just jerking it and breaking it open then living in the stairwells. They’ve found feces and cigarette butts there,” Silver said.

“It didn’t use to be this way,” she said, reflecting on the neighborhood’s decline since moving in eight years ago.

In spite of everything, Ty loves where he lives and being close to the streetcar and his doctors’ offices.

“We love our apartment and we want to stay,” he said. “Bad management is the problem. One of the guys in the office is a good guy, but he can only do so much. We need someone who cares. We have some awesome neighbors here.”

In a Feb. 22 email, the Lovejoy Station Tenants Union notified Pinehurst Property Management and Home Forward of its formation. The email detailed the many violations of ADA policy. They have yet to receive a reply.

Brian Harvey and his neighbors at The Yards, a HomeForward apartment building along Northwest Naito Parkway, have formed a tenants union to prod management to do a better job of keeping the area safe and livable.

That struggle has been complicated by mismanagement of the place next door, the River District Navigation Center, where about 90 residents receive support and assistance to move toward more permanent housing.

Transition Projects Inc., which manages the center under a contract with Multnomah County, sometimes excludes residents for violation of rules, rules that include not congregating outside the facility.

Harvey said groups hang out at the base of the stairs to the Broadway Bridge, often blocking passage.

“That’s been going on for months” he said. “It causes a lot of problems, a lot of intimidation. Every pedestrian I see walks off the sidewalk, down to the street. I avoid this area.

“These people really feel like they own this area, and they’re there every day, so it’s an effective no-go zone.”

In some instances, Harvey said, the problem has gone to extremes, such as armed threats of violence against neighbors.

He has asked center staff to intervene, without success.

“Part of the problem with addressing this is that Transition Projects will claim that HIPAA prohibits them from identifying anybody as being a participant as the shelter. They’re saying HIPAA says we can’t actually confirm [anyone’s identity].”

The NW Examiner asked TPI if that guidance is given to center staff, but has not received a reply.

We asked Thomas Dodson, a retired local psychiatrist, if this interpretation of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act could be correct.

“Typically, health care providers would not release information they had about the identify of patients to the police,” Dodson wrote. “There is no HIPAA regulation that stops them from calling the police when there are troublemakers outside their facility. … Like any person, they should do so.”

Glen Ujifusa, a Multnomah County deputy district attorney, attended the Pearl District Neighborhood Association meeting at which the concerns above were discussed.

“I am in direct contact with the mayor’s office regarding shelters,” Ujifusa said, “and if you would like me to discuss this shelter and the questions you have about individuals hanging out and they’re not supposed to, I’m happy to be another voice to support your group in doing that.

He also promised to speak to the sergeant leading the Central Precinct Neighborhood Response Team about the situation by the Navigation Center.

Arnold solves problems

The two lead articles [“Bike cop Eli Arnold gears up for another run” and “City shelter is making Pearl District better,” March] were very informative.

Eli Arnold’s views of Portland’s deficiencies and needs revealed him to be a thoughtful leader and problem-solver. Current officials need to accept his wisdom and deliver or step aside. We do not have the luxury of persistently ignoring the first obligation of government: protect its citizens. Citizens means legal residents.

You provide a terrific public service.

Marc Y. Green

SW Vista Ave.

Shelter harming Pearl District

Rob Layne is being disingenuous at best [“City shelter is making Pearl District better,” March]. As a Pearl resident, I can say that things have gotten worse since the opening of the Northrup shelter. There are more homeless people camping in the neighborhood during the day, condominiums are selling for less than they were a year ago, and anecdotal evidence would suggest that apartment occupancy is declining. I walk the neighborhood with a heightened sense of vigilance. And yes, there is more garbage in the streets.

Jim Spencer

NW Marshall St.

Pearl feels unsafe

I just read the homeless article in the NW Examiner. I live at Northwest 14th and Pettygrove. My truck was recently broken into, and I lost a few valuables.

I’ve been living in this area for three years, and ever since the shelter moved in, the area has felt unsafe. Shopping at Safeway is a nightmare, with all the homeless congregating there throughout the day. Safeway has had to implement a lot of security measures that affect residences. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen people smoking on the streets or passed out on the ground. Who knows if they are alive, and I don’t see the city do anything. They can say crime is down but are they talking about break ins?

The amount of screaming I hear at night is crazy. Most residents normalize it. That’s not how we should live. The city gives us tickets for overtime parking, but there are no tickets for sleeping on the street.

Thank you for speaking the truth on what’s going out here.

Manuel Varguez

NW Pettygrove St.

Pearl violence increasing

You do a great job covering the increased violence in the Pearl District, largely caused by the new shelters and the Oasis camp at Northwest Broadway and Glisan. The campers leave Oasis every day and gather in the North Park Blocks between Everett and Flanders, where they can do drugs and drink alcohol, which is prohibited at Oasis.

We had the stabbing last week. Today at noon, a woman who lives in North Park Lofts was approached and assaulted twice, first by a woman saying she was going to kill her, then by a man swinging a 2x4 at her. Police were called (see photo), about 10 police officers showed up, they hit him with pepper balls, which weren’t effective so they held him on the ground until they could wrap him up and take him into custody.

In my opinion, the city has cleaned up downtown and pushed all the troublemakers into Old Town and Northwest Portland. The fancy Pearl District is now the dumping ground for Portland’s most dangerous people. The condo I bought 12 years ago for $335,000 is now for sale at $225,000, no takers. We aren’t just losing our quality of life, we’re losing our life savings too.

I hope you will continue to write about this problem. The police officers readily acknowledge the rapidly increasing crime in the North Park Blocks and other parts of Northwest Portland. They are trying their best, but they’ve told us we’ve got to get louder and more assertive with the City Council.

Greg Harmon

NW Eighth Ave.

Stop bitching

For the record, not all Pearl District residents believe “the Northrup Shelter is driving down their quality of life.” Not all Pearl District residents feel more compassion for the Rudinsky’s $5 million loss than for the destitute street brothers who struggle with poverty, mental illness and addiction. Not all Pearl District residents are NIMBYs.

The Pearl District is what we make it. Stop bitching and DO something to make it better or move.

KJ Crumrine

NW Lovejoy St.

By William Morton

Scattered throughout the Portland area are a series of non-traditional bike racks.

An eye, a whisk, a car with a steering wheel and even the Fremont Bridge complete with little cars towing boats and trucks cruising the double-decker pavement.

A majority of these custom bike racks are manufactured by long-time creative metalworker Merrill Denney, who, according to Scott Cook and Aimee Wade in their book, “Pdxccentric: An Odyssey of Portland Oddities,” is credited with creating the first artistic bike rack in the United States.

Denney’s bike rack production journey began in the small town of Scholls, Ore., where he frequently biked. His first bike rack was conceived in 1992 while talking to Tom Petrich of Petrich’s General Store in Hillsboro.

After laying his bike on the concrete in front of the store as he had done countless times before, he cheekily asked Petrich when the store would install a bike rack.

“You work with metal, Merrill. Why don’t you make one for me?” Petrich responded.

So he did. His first design, titled “Cruiser Meltdown,” featured the front half of a big yellow handlebarred bike protruding from the side of the general store. A bike rack designed to look like a bike.

Denney remembers thinking that an ordinary bike rack simply wouldn’t fit Petrich’s General Store. “He’s got a cool, funky country store, and needs a kind of retro design for it.”

Since then, Denney has been manufacturing bike racks with his company, Creative Metalwork LLC, that enhance community livability and to increase curb appeal as wells as deterring theft.

Denney’s bike racks have made it all around the United States, from Washington to California to Massachusetts to Florida, but Portland remains home to some of his most interesting creations.

Fremont Bridge

“A lot of my work doesn’t scream bike rack,” Denney said, and the Fremont Bridge bike racks are no exception. It’s easy to look at them and think “urban sculpture,” “artistic rendition” or even “wow, the Fremont Bridge looks so small from here.”

Originally, there were five Fremont Bridge bike racks, but one has since been removed. They were installed throughout the Pearl District as part of a revitalization project in about 2001.

Denney explained that he wanted the bike racks to emulate the sense of flying over the Fremont Bridge in an airplane.

“You’d look down, and you’d see the cars and trucks on a smaller scale going each direction on the different levels,” Denney said.

Along with the double-decker traffic, he installed blue puddles on each end of the bridge to represent the Willamette River.

Denney included small differences in each design, with the goal of eventually partnering with the city and creating a scavenger hunt around the bike racks of the Pearl District. Some of the differences include cars driving the wrong direction, boats towing cars and trucks with a varying number of smokestacks protruding from their roofs.

The four Fremont Bridge bike racks are located in front of the Ecotrust Building, the corner of 10th and Northrup, and two are on Lovejoy between 12th and 13th avenues.

Cool Car

Another rack installed as a part of the Pearl District revitalization project is a 1950s-style car Denney aptly named the “Cool Car.” Conveniently located in front of a parking lot, the Cool Car rack comes fitted with a steering wheel, a non-functioning dashboard and headlight and window holes that look perfect for locking a bike.

He makes all of his bike racks with longevity in mind, but the bumper on this rack pushes that characteristic to the extreme. About 25 years after its installation, the polished stainless steel bumper still shines as if it were brand new.

The Cool Car bike rack is located on Northwest 12th and Hoyt.

Lovejoy Eye

Some of Denney’s bike rack designs appear more traditional.

“Everything I’ve done comes from the perspective of first and foremost a cyclist,” Denney said.

And the Pearl Eye bike rack, as he calls it, is a great example of a bike rack designed by a biker. The Pearl Eye is the third type of rack installed for the Pearl revitalization project, and is based on the age-old “U” rack design. The two base poles sprout from the cement and inside is Denney’s stylized version of the former Pearl District logo.

Denney believes there are about eight to 10 Pearl Eye bike racks, most of them on Lovejoy Street.

Whisk

Unlike the Cool Car, the Lovejoy Eye and the Fremont Bridge, the Saint Cupcake Whisk was privately commissioned sometime before 2011.

Elanor M., an employee at Saint Cupcake in downtown Portland, explained that people take more pictures in front of it than lock their bike to it. Some people find non-traditional uses for the rack, including one resident used the enlarged tines for push-ups and stretches.

The Whisk bike rack is located in front of Saint Cupcake on Southwest 12th and Morrison streets.

Birds chirped as people and pets set feet and paws on the perfect new carpet of grass Friday. The fence is finally down at the Fields Park after nearly two years, and people were happily capturing photos of their dogs in the sun to mark the occasion.

Fun fact. The lawn is a blend of perennial rye grass from Hubbard, Ore. It’s softer, greener and requires less watering than many other varieties.

PacificCorp managed the bulk of the long tunneling project, which required locking the park up behind a chainlink fence and keeping people out. Underground electrical lines now extend under the park and the Willamette River. The work is part of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Superfund clean-up of the long-ago industrial-polluted Willamette River bottom.

North Portland residents Nicco, and his mother, Haley, walked past on their way to visit Scoula Italiana, the immersion preschool in the nearby Ramona Apartments. Nicco, 2 1/2, ran zig-zags across the grass.

Oliver, a rotund French bulldog, was on his way to the pet store with his person, Leslie. He stretched out on his belly toward Centennial Mills to the east, and Leslie shared that she may get a tattoo of the mill before it’s eventually demolished for waterfront redevelopment.

The Fields Park is the third park in the 2002 River District Park System, which includes Tanner Springs Park and Jamison Square to the south along Northwest 10th Avenue.