As a long-time subscriber to the NY TIMES I found their article beyond annoying.
The very common sense reason the USFS is blocking off access to extreme fire danger areas is that - particularly in summer - the homeless infestation in the woods becomes really dangerous.
Although this has gotten worse as Oregon has essentially legalized one drug after another (peaking in 2020 with M 110) the "hidden" problem has manifested itself in Deschutes County for decades.
I moved to Bend in 1990 to take the job of Chief Deputy DA and the first couple weeks was a human-caused forest fire so large it lit the entire night sky. Over the following four years both as a state prosecutor and a special federal prosecutor I handled "wildland arsons" and discovered how many of the quickly devastating fires were caused by extreme recklessness or outright arson.
It is hard enough to get tourists (whose license plates we track) to avoid dangerous camp fires oir fireworks, when a population exists outside all the rules and lines, there will be fire...
Your reporting is interesting as always, but it's also wild to me that you've written two articles analyzing the root causes of homelessness in Bend without mentioning the fact that the median home price is now over $800,000.
How many outreach workers would it take to effectively reduce homelessness, when the median home price is still going to be $800,000?
I met other homeless people with similar sentiments living on that road in Bend. They were getting tired of being treated like children. They felt stupid being fed every day. What they wanted was an opportunity to work. Bend and many other cities tend to enable, not empower.
Do you think so? I got the impression he was also saying it was a hazard for himself. I could be wrong, the segment concerned me also but I don't think for itself, it just sounded close to some other ideas I disagree with.
I felt a bit skeptical when you gave that guy with the motorhome and family 800 bucks or so. I’ve met plenty of people like that who are very convincing looking and sounding yet lie straight through their teeth, then commit some sort of crime other than living the way they do. Where was he and his family going? Why were they living in a motorhome regardless for however long? There are tons of well meaning nice folks in the area he could have leaned on (especially being a black man in such a liberal state).
Excellent commentary.
As a long-time subscriber to the NY TIMES I found their article beyond annoying.
The very common sense reason the USFS is blocking off access to extreme fire danger areas is that - particularly in summer - the homeless infestation in the woods becomes really dangerous.
Although this has gotten worse as Oregon has essentially legalized one drug after another (peaking in 2020 with M 110) the "hidden" problem has manifested itself in Deschutes County for decades.
I moved to Bend in 1990 to take the job of Chief Deputy DA and the first couple weeks was a human-caused forest fire so large it lit the entire night sky. Over the following four years both as a state prosecutor and a special federal prosecutor I handled "wildland arsons" and discovered how many of the quickly devastating fires were caused by extreme recklessness or outright arson.
It is hard enough to get tourists (whose license plates we track) to avoid dangerous camp fires oir fireworks, when a population exists outside all the rules and lines, there will be fire...
Your reporting is interesting as always, but it's also wild to me that you've written two articles analyzing the root causes of homelessness in Bend without mentioning the fact that the median home price is now over $800,000.
How many outreach workers would it take to effectively reduce homelessness, when the median home price is still going to be $800,000?
Also, "don't feed the wildlife?"
It got me, too, until I saw it was a quote from one of the homeless guys he was interviewing.
Yes, it was a homeless man, speaking about *other* homeless people, not himself.
I'm just saying I think its an interesting phrase to repeat.
I met other homeless people with similar sentiments living on that road in Bend. They were getting tired of being treated like children. They felt stupid being fed every day. What they wanted was an opportunity to work. Bend and many other cities tend to enable, not empower.
Do you think so? I got the impression he was also saying it was a hazard for himself. I could be wrong, the segment concerned me also but I don't think for itself, it just sounded close to some other ideas I disagree with.
I felt a bit skeptical when you gave that guy with the motorhome and family 800 bucks or so. I’ve met plenty of people like that who are very convincing looking and sounding yet lie straight through their teeth, then commit some sort of crime other than living the way they do. Where was he and his family going? Why were they living in a motorhome regardless for however long? There are tons of well meaning nice folks in the area he could have leaned on (especially being a black man in such a liberal state).
I wish Substack had post-voting emojis other than "♥️"...such as "😨" or "🙀"...because I would be using them daily.
I’m shocked ! Shocked !
Those of us who live on the east side call Bend “Little Portland.”