Monthly Archives: September 2012

Streetcar to the Loony Bin

Nobody is flying over the cuckoo’s nest in Portland. Especially the police, who are caught between two special-needs groups. On one side is Portland’s homeless population, many of whom are mentally ill or on drugs. On the other side are the Portlanders who seek to be the envy of the rest of the world (or […]

Portland’s Walmart Future

It’s just as well that Walmart has been getting rid of its greeters, considering it’s the retail chain everyone loves to hate. Who needs a smile and a greeting from Walmart? Certainly not Steve Novick, the city commissioner-elect for Portland. He doesn’t take office until January, but he’s already got big plans for his city: […]

The Stats on PEW’s Credibility

Nothing exposes crime statistics like an honest rap sheet. Consider the “26 percent” of Oregon prison inmates that the PEW Center on the States has found to be “low risk” and driving up the costs of incarceration. Who exactly are these 26 percent? Considering that Oregon doesn’t incarcerate most felons, what crimes are these “low-risk” […]