I’m at a loss for words that aren’t 4 lettered and fit for publication. Voters ( not my vote) approved a new multi million dollar bond just 2 months ago for the parks bureau, and I think had this news come out before the election the measure would have been voted down.
Disappointed in Ryan’s claim that the health/allocation of the fund was not on his mind when making the decision to fund the pool. I would expect more from him. The impact of your decisions, Councilor, should be holistically weighed . You’re better than that.
At some point people in Portland need to stop constantly being paranoid about “optics” (which usually equates to anticipation of one or more special interest representative or group claiming false or otherwise misplaced outrage to push their agendas) and start worrying about common sense, actual fairness, and reality.
Btw, I grew up and still have family that live only a short distance from the North Portland aquatic center in question - that area is doing much better than the Pearl District/NW as far as safety, new businesses coming in, cleanliness, and park maintenance. Claiming any sort of NW elitism at this point to shut down valid complaints over city hall wrong-doings is a very tired trope.
Shocking -- and certainly worth bringing forward in the upcoming campaign for District representatives in Northwest. Our councilors need to work for us, and not support deals made under the old corrupt system of at-large representation.
I live across the street from the park and saw someone clearing the weeds there a week or so ago. Not sure what's going on, since I can see absolutely no reason for doing this. It gave me hope that the city is picking up the project again, but apparently that was a vain hope.
The photos don't show the new library across the street (talk about concrete lol ) but it completes the circle of development that was designed with a park in mind as its center. My apartment faces south, but from the sidewalk it's heart breaking for me to see all the (tiny) apartments and roof terraces so hopefully looking out on this ugly vacant lot. How can we give young people and newcomers, the future voters of our region, a vision of the possibilities for Portland and the metro region if we let this eyesore just sit here? The last thing we need is more cynicism among the younger generations.
Kudos to Zarnitz for doing the difficult work of delving into the disappearance of the funding. The use of capital funding for annual expenses is worthy of a lawsuit. At least we can highlight to D2 Ryan's questionable disregard for state law when he's up for reelection.
As for the pension question, I'm wondering why there is a shortfall. At Trimet I saw retirement benefits switched away from the traditional defined benefit model for incoming employees because it is no longer sustainable in public agencies. It's still generous compared to 100% DIY retirement offered by most of the private sector.
We moved here recently and we were excited to find a new library and new park being developed. One of our neighbors commented "it's probably best that the park is still undeveloped right now - it would just attract homeless encampments". The new library has already experienced some vandalism. It's sad that this is the norm.
I’m at a loss for words that aren’t 4 lettered and fit for publication. Voters ( not my vote) approved a new multi million dollar bond just 2 months ago for the parks bureau, and I think had this news come out before the election the measure would have been voted down.
Don
Disappointed in Ryan’s claim that the health/allocation of the fund was not on his mind when making the decision to fund the pool. I would expect more from him. The impact of your decisions, Councilor, should be holistically weighed . You’re better than that.
Equity at work . . .
Dan Ryan to Slabtown residents - you can always walk to Wallace Park
Superb reporting. I support law suits on this matter.
At some point people in Portland need to stop constantly being paranoid about “optics” (which usually equates to anticipation of one or more special interest representative or group claiming false or otherwise misplaced outrage to push their agendas) and start worrying about common sense, actual fairness, and reality.
Btw, I grew up and still have family that live only a short distance from the North Portland aquatic center in question - that area is doing much better than the Pearl District/NW as far as safety, new businesses coming in, cleanliness, and park maintenance. Claiming any sort of NW elitism at this point to shut down valid complaints over city hall wrong-doings is a very tired trope.
Shocking -- and certainly worth bringing forward in the upcoming campaign for District representatives in Northwest. Our councilors need to work for us, and not support deals made under the old corrupt system of at-large representation.
I live across the street from the park and saw someone clearing the weeds there a week or so ago. Not sure what's going on, since I can see absolutely no reason for doing this. It gave me hope that the city is picking up the project again, but apparently that was a vain hope.
The photos don't show the new library across the street (talk about concrete lol ) but it completes the circle of development that was designed with a park in mind as its center. My apartment faces south, but from the sidewalk it's heart breaking for me to see all the (tiny) apartments and roof terraces so hopefully looking out on this ugly vacant lot. How can we give young people and newcomers, the future voters of our region, a vision of the possibilities for Portland and the metro region if we let this eyesore just sit here? The last thing we need is more cynicism among the younger generations.
Kudos to Zarnitz for doing the difficult work of delving into the disappearance of the funding. The use of capital funding for annual expenses is worthy of a lawsuit. At least we can highlight to D2 Ryan's questionable disregard for state law when he's up for reelection.
As for the pension question, I'm wondering why there is a shortfall. At Trimet I saw retirement benefits switched away from the traditional defined benefit model for incoming employees because it is no longer sustainable in public agencies. It's still generous compared to 100% DIY retirement offered by most of the private sector.
We moved here recently and we were excited to find a new library and new park being developed. One of our neighbors commented "it's probably best that the park is still undeveloped right now - it would just attract homeless encampments". The new library has already experienced some vandalism. It's sad that this is the norm.