I guess I would suggest that elderly people who use the MAX apply for a concealed carry permit, but that would involve submitting very personal information to the Multnomah County Sheriff for the FBI background check, and we all know just how trustworthy Bernie and the boys are...

Gresham could always opt out of the smart growth philosophy that seems to have caused all these problems.

High density slums + free mass transit = bad news.

Please refresh my memory. Who is it that withholds the names of (accused)minors that commit a crime? Is it the police or news organizations? I say let's get those names out there. Bring back the shame element for these young criminals and their families!!!

There, I feel better now

I would bet that at some point, the name will be published. The charge is attempted murder. Doesn't Measure 11 apply?

But none of that should make anyone "feel better." There needs to be a serious police response to the MAX crime wave. It's been slow in coming, but maybe now there will be one.

and people wonder why clark county citizens are wary of hooking up to max?

i have a hard time believing that the existence of the Max led to

a)a boy joining a gang and carrying a baseball bat and

b) that boy-gangster viciously attacking an elderly man.

what i'd actually like to see is the Gresham mayor owning up to the glaring reasons gang violence has skyrocketed in his town.

And those shootings in north Portland are just random acts of violence. No gang problem here in the Land of Vera/Sam!

ecohuman.comwhat i'd actually like to see is the Gresham mayor owning up to the glaring reasons gang violence has skyrocketed in his town.
JK: Don't forget Hillsboro gangs. And the Lloyd center trouble. And the downtown drug dealers. And the aggressive panhandlers. All on MAX. And all downplayed by Trimet.

It appears the Trimet provides mobility for gangs to move throughout Portland--any TOD is just a free ride away!.

Thanks
JK

When this guy shows up, Bernhard Goetz ... the police will be all over Max.

Meg,

Nice shot! Too true. And I can just imagine the Oregonian editorials sharing their wisdom on it.

"what i'd actually like to see is the Gresham mayor owning up to the glaring reasons gang violence has skyrocketed in his town."

You must mean:
1) The construction of light rail - a conduit for crime.
2) The construction of "transit oriented low-income housing" - a habitat for crime.

Ask anyone who lives in Gresham - the reasons are obvious.

Frank, you can add #3, the "smart growth" housing policies that have resulted in the gentrification of North and NE Portland. The UGB has worked to make suburban housing unaffordable so people seeking affordable housing purchased and refurbished rental properties in traditionaly low income areas with community support groups. These people have moved to East County and its transit oriented developments.

Frank,

i think your #2 is probably a valid one.

i agree light rail can contribute to the crime problem, but i think it's more in this way: the stations provide natural congregation points.

and, i think most of the crime/violence problem is at the stations--not inside the actual cars.

There is still a little bit of time for Milwaukie residents to realize what MAX will mean to them, and stop Sam's Train to Milwaukie. Speak up, Milwaukie citizens, and don't let the Max Mafia rule.

The Oregonian is reporting the perpetrator of this assault is "Abel Antonio Chavez-Garcia, a 15-year-old suspected gang member".

Yeah lw, Milwaukie should be paying attention.

Metro asked Milwaukie to "imagine what their light rail stations might look like".

Ok so go ahead and imagine.

And while you're imagining what they'll look like imagine the schemes you elected officials will come up with to make you pay millions for the "look".

I do recall that Gresham's former mayor Gussie Roberts was on the LCDC and a BIG BIG fan of density and dark rail. The citizens of Grasham thank you Gussie

Meg, I am sure that Liars Larson is his regular level-headed and completely rationale and never blustery self in relation to this story. Of course it is all the fault of Tom Potter, the daily "fish wrapper" and the liberals who fail to enforce our immigration laws.

UPDATE: OSP now says eight injured, one dead in big car wreck
Posted by The Oregonian November 05, 2007 12:01PM
Categories: Breaking News

KLAMATH FALLS - One person was killed and at least eight were injured this morning in a multi-car traffic accident along U.S. 97 between Midland and Worden

UPDATE: Wrecks kills one, closes road near Estacada
Posted by The Oregonian November 05, 2007 10:37AM

Emergency personnel from Estacada Fire and Clackamas Fire District 1 responded to a two-vehicle collision about 10 a.m. today in the Estacada area that killed one person and injured four.

Another illegal alien? A sanctuary city?

Thanks, Jim. These kinds of stories often lack any kind of context. In the same way, a mugging on or near MAX is played up, while a car-jacking is back-page news. It would be nice if reporters could try to understand what kind of sensational headline would be slapped on their pieces, and then try to give the story a broader context that might diminish a Lars-like response. Then again, the editors would likely cut out the context, as it would diminish the sensationalism.

Looks like buses aren't the answer.

Group of teenage girls swarm female transit bus driver

VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) - Vancouver Police are investigating a disturbing swarming attack on a transit bus driver last night in East Vancouver. Police say it happened after the woman driver stopped at Commerical Drive and Napier around 10:30 pm.

Police say when she offered Halloween candy to a group of teenage girls, they dragged her out of the bus and beat her up, with 2 teenage girls wearing Santa Suits doing most of the assaulting. The VPD says it was unprovoked, with no evidence the bus driver did anything to trigger the assault. The driver was traumatized but police report no serious injuries.

Drew Snider with TransLink says the incident brings up the ongoing issue of driver safety. "We have been taking measures with the union and other experts to improve that. One of the things we're doing is bringing in a new radio transmission system, which will allow drivers to communicate immediately if there's a threat to their safety."

That's not the end of the story. Later, TransLink got a call from the Vancouver Fire Department saying the bus was set on fire.

These kinds of stories often lack any kind of context.

Yes, 7,000 people died in the United States yesterday, but only one person was senselessly clubbed in the head on MAX. Therefore, there is nothing wrong with MAX. Everything is fine... green... sustainable... progressive... mmmmmm...

Frank, I'm pretty low income and I don't do crime. Where would YOU have low income people living?

Craig,

My Mom still takes the MAX from that station, on occasion. Let's suppose it were her (or ANYONE else) and that Jack's cynicism were the issue at hand.

Perhaps I should give you a recipe for Upsidedown Upsidedown Cake and let you figure out just where the Pineapple goes.

We instead need a little force of two to five folks to just hang out with cameras and walkie talkies with a direct line to the police, with the line stuck on open. If we can get a few good mug shots, like Dave's, they should sit on the left column here for a good month or two . . . after the names and stories of the characters have been affixed to the pics.

We instead need a little force of two to five folks to just hang out with cameras and walkie talkies with a direct line to the police, with the line stuck on open. If we can get a few good mug shots, like Dave's, they should sit on the left column here for a good month or two . . . after the names and stories of the characters have been affixed to the pics.

Right....and when the cops finally show up those in the little "force" would be laying on the ground with head wounds of their own.
Oh, and when the cops finally catch someone, they will be accused of racial profiling and nothing will get done about the real problem.

And lets be honest...putting more Wackenhut rentacops on the trains is not going to do anything. They are unarmed and potential victims just like the rest of us. I very rarely seen more than one at a time. And even if they were in pairs, what are they going to be able to do against a gang of thugs with bats?

perhaps some of the Portland/Gresham police need to get out of their cars and into the Max cars....make that their beat?

Perhaps our brilliant Commissars shall once again put Portland in the national spotlight, and strictly regulate the sale of baseball bats, tire irons, and other blunt objects that can be used as weapons, with all stores being required to keep detailed logs and the merchandise locked away.

If I were raising nursery stock would I need to do any racial profiling?

When I was a young punk, as opposed to old punk, one "test" was trying to toss a bale of hay on a flat bed truck.

Less race -- more opportunity.

Gresham's fate was sealed when the Inverted-Thinking Economic Development planners elevated retail sales of other people's stuff above that of peddling local goods elsewhere. (That and some cheap water.)