Jessie Burk is a true hero and a person to be embraced by anyone who really cares about their fellow human beings. Her life story is a testament to how dedication, education, and hard work can make a good life possible regardless of where a person starts.
She is an eloquent advocate for all the business owners whose lives have been negatively affected by the City’s neglect in helping the homeless get into permanent housing, and the complete inability of anyone who works for the City to stop the crime wave in Old Town that has been fueled by the use and sale of drugs in the area.She will meet with anyone interested in helping Old Town get back on its feet, and she always gives her full attention to whoever wants to praise, or complain about the situation and the remedies that they would like to see. This includes the homeless, many of whom she knows personally on a first name basis.
Anarchists, and their Antifa cousins, are destroyers, not healers, and the terrorist tactics displayed a few days ago against a Jewish owner of an Old Town hotel were a blatant race crime. The Portland I grew up in would not have allowed this to happen without bringing the perpetrators to justice. How have we fallen so far?
Allan, Your partial story is inflammatory and leads a reader to draw incorrect conclusions. Burke’s business was already targeted for vandalism and people were violently attacked. You seem to be fanning the flames of this vitriol.
I completely agree with Kara. And Jesse Burke. Let's not pretend here. It's yet another PDX angry mob of homeless junkie advocates setting up shop and spreading out in Old Town for their stupid "free store," fully knowing what they were doing and the ire it would provoke from local businesses, and the businesses' patrons. And so a rightfully fed-up local long time Old Town business owner has the courage to take a stand and merely question whether they had permits as required (of everyone else). And call the cops in. Then naturally, right on cue and following their proven playbook, the angry activist mob has a hissy fit and starts jeering, doxxing, threatening, blah blah blah. Cops, business owners, and anyone who dares to have the audacity to question them. Or even look at them funny. And instead of covering what is actually the audacity of the angry mob, NW Examiner plays right into the mob's hand and instead writes a front page article that vilifies the business owner who had the courage to take a stand. And then worse, doubles down by specifically vilifying her for not wanting to announce who she is or that she called the cops. She didn't have to! Who the hell can blame her!? And if someone else had called the cops instead, they would not have needed to be "transparent and accountable" either! You're getting your villains of the situation backwards. Great reporting.
I respectfully disagree with the Northwest Examiner’s depiction of the situation with the Free Store in the Pearl District. The print headline reads “Power Couple Sics Cavalry.” I believe the headline could’ve read it “Anarchists Flout City Laws and Intimidate Neighbors.”
Near the McDonald’s on West Burnside, we also came into contact with anarchists when the Portland People’s Outreach Project blocked city sidewalks to hand out needles every Friday night. When neighbors showed up to plead with them to move out of a school zone, they used intimidation and threats to scare neighbors away. (I would like to add that handing out needles in a school zone is not against Oregon law. If you find this absurd, please write to your Oregon legislators and ask them to regulate needle handouts.)
I support Jessie Burke. I think the bigger point is that Portland has a problem with anarchist/thugs on the left who think what they are doing is so righteous that they use intimidation and violence to support their actions.
Anarchists should not just be allowed to block city sidewalks/streets to do whatever they want. And they should certainly not be allowed to use intimidation and threats against law-abiding neighbors.
Jessie Burk is a true hero and a person to be embraced by anyone who really cares about their fellow human beings. Her life story is a testament to how dedication, education, and hard work can make a good life possible regardless of where a person starts.
She is an eloquent advocate for all the business owners whose lives have been negatively affected by the City’s neglect in helping the homeless get into permanent housing, and the complete inability of anyone who works for the City to stop the crime wave in Old Town that has been fueled by the use and sale of drugs in the area.She will meet with anyone interested in helping Old Town get back on its feet, and she always gives her full attention to whoever wants to praise, or complain about the situation and the remedies that they would like to see. This includes the homeless, many of whom she knows personally on a first name basis.
Anarchists, and their Antifa cousins, are destroyers, not healers, and the terrorist tactics displayed a few days ago against a Jewish owner of an Old Town hotel were a blatant race crime. The Portland I grew up in would not have allowed this to happen without bringing the perpetrators to justice. How have we fallen so far?
Allan, Your partial story is inflammatory and leads a reader to draw incorrect conclusions. Burke’s business was already targeted for vandalism and people were violently attacked. You seem to be fanning the flames of this vitriol.
Please read this:
https://thej.ca/2025/03/30/society-hotels-vandalized-in-apparent-antisemitic-attacks/
I completely agree with Kara. And Jesse Burke. Let's not pretend here. It's yet another PDX angry mob of homeless junkie advocates setting up shop and spreading out in Old Town for their stupid "free store," fully knowing what they were doing and the ire it would provoke from local businesses, and the businesses' patrons. And so a rightfully fed-up local long time Old Town business owner has the courage to take a stand and merely question whether they had permits as required (of everyone else). And call the cops in. Then naturally, right on cue and following their proven playbook, the angry activist mob has a hissy fit and starts jeering, doxxing, threatening, blah blah blah. Cops, business owners, and anyone who dares to have the audacity to question them. Or even look at them funny. And instead of covering what is actually the audacity of the angry mob, NW Examiner plays right into the mob's hand and instead writes a front page article that vilifies the business owner who had the courage to take a stand. And then worse, doubles down by specifically vilifying her for not wanting to announce who she is or that she called the cops. She didn't have to! Who the hell can blame her!? And if someone else had called the cops instead, they would not have needed to be "transparent and accountable" either! You're getting your villains of the situation backwards. Great reporting.
I respectfully disagree with the Northwest Examiner’s depiction of the situation with the Free Store in the Pearl District. The print headline reads “Power Couple Sics Cavalry.” I believe the headline could’ve read it “Anarchists Flout City Laws and Intimidate Neighbors.”
Near the McDonald’s on West Burnside, we also came into contact with anarchists when the Portland People’s Outreach Project blocked city sidewalks to hand out needles every Friday night. When neighbors showed up to plead with them to move out of a school zone, they used intimidation and threats to scare neighbors away. (I would like to add that handing out needles in a school zone is not against Oregon law. If you find this absurd, please write to your Oregon legislators and ask them to regulate needle handouts.)
I support Jessie Burke. I think the bigger point is that Portland has a problem with anarchist/thugs on the left who think what they are doing is so righteous that they use intimidation and violence to support their actions.
Anarchists should not just be allowed to block city sidewalks/streets to do whatever they want. And they should certainly not be allowed to use intimidation and threats against law-abiding neighbors.