Portland Update

I am so glad that Bojack — that is, Lewis & Clark Law professor Jack Bogdanski — is back on line, as he provides a daily reminder of why I am so happy that I moved out of Portland. Bojack’s old blog chronicled Portland’s political hijinks from 2002 through 2013, then sadly went silent.

Photo by Victoria Ditkovsky.

Now he’s back with an even darker view of what life is like in the place whose motto was once “the city that works.” Here are just a few of his recent posts.

Taxes — In addition to federal and state income taxes, Portland residents have to pay several local income taxes (and file separate forms for all of them). These include taxes that supposedly support affordable housing, a tax funding preschools, and an arts tax. And more taxes on the horizon.

Business closures — The latest retailer to depart Portland is REI, which announced that it’s shutting its Pearl District store in 2024. Unlike some other retailers, REI was completely up front that it is leaving due to frequent thefts and break ins. REI will keep its three stores in Portland suburbs open.

Business openings — The good news is that Shake Shack is opening a store in the Pearl District. While not exactly as prestigious as REI, at least it shows that someone is optimistic about Portland’s future. The bad news is that someone smashed the fast food place’s front window even before it opened.

Schools — Portland school enrollments are falling, having declined by 17 percent in the last four years as families with children flee to suburban school districts where their children are less likely to be shot, stabbed, or turned into drug addicts.

The Lottery — The Oregon Lottery, which was originally created to help fund schools but has since become a piggy bank for state legislators with crackpot ideas, is borrowing $220 million. Why does the Lottery, which is supposed to be a revenue producer, need to borrow money? asks Bojack. The answer, of course, is that politicians are spending the money faster than it is coming in. Borrowing against future lottery proceeds will force future reductions in spending, but in the meantime politicians can point with pride to the things they are funding today.

Things like $2 million for a repertory theater performing arts center, $15 million for a swimming pool in recently gentrified North Portland, $1 million for the Portland Art Museum, and $1.6 million to “remodel the entrance” to a Eugene performing arts center. You know, things that will be frequently used by the low-income people who spend the most on lottery tickets, the most regressive form of taxation in the country.

Homelessness — A woman jogging on once trendy Hawthorne Boulevard was attacked earlier this week by a pit bull owned by a homeless person, leaving her with 35 puncture wounds on her legs and an arm. The dog threw her to the ground and only stopped when a man grabbed the dog and dragged it away without even asking how she was. Other recent attacks include someone murdered near a Portland bus stop and a three-year-old who was pushed onto light-rail tracks.

Homelessness 2 — Local governments are asking for problems with homelessness, Bojack says, when they do things like convert downtown office buildings into what he calls “day spas” — places for the homeless to take showers, do laundry, and other things so they have little reason to find permanent shelter. After little more than a month, the spa temporarily closed, apparently because the staff — people who were formerly homeless themselves, were using illicit drugs and engaging in “inappropriate relationships” with one another.

Thanks, Bojack. I hope you get out of there soon but in the meantime I appreciate your reports.