Skirmishes on the Street, but War Looms in the Forest
The problem with Oregon and especially Oregon business and civic leaders is that they are usually a step behind, fighting current skirmishes, unaware of the looming war. Consider recent headlines.
From Willamette Week: "Does Portland Look Like Shit? Somebody With a Lot of Instagram Followers Thinks So: Its viewers submit their own photographs and videos, captured on cellphones and surveillance cameras, of fires, filth and mental distress on the streets."
Solutions to Homelessness: Shelter First, Housing Earned
In last month’s newsletter, I asked what if everything we thought we knew about homelessness was wrong? I argued if that is the case, then many of the policies we’re pursuing are doomed to fail. That column had an overwhelming response, and one question kept coming: What are the solutions?
Before we get to the solutions, we have to go over some of the challenges we face.
CRT’s Gain of Function Boost
Politicians love to talk about education on the campaign trail, but it's almost never an issue that swings elections. That's why it was such a shock when the gubernatorial race in Virginia was seemingly decided by the question of how much say parents should have in what the schools teach their children.
Democrat front runner Terry McAuliffe's now famous blunder, "I don't think parents should be telling schools what they should teach," turned the race on its head. Deftly exploited by Republican Glenn Youngkin, the Democrats lost not only the governor race they were leading and expected to easily win, but also lost control of both the State House and the Senate.
Homelessness Is More Than a Branding Problem
Portland’s housing crisis is now in its sixth year. If it was a child, it would be entering first grade this fall. With kids, the first six years are marked by enormous growth and advancement. With homelessness, these last six year have seen enormous growth, but in the wrong direction.
Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler says the homelessness crisis has hurt the city’s “brand.” In a recent Metro Council meeting, Councilor Mary Nolan suggested the crisis is a “visibility problem.” In some ways they are correct. But, in others, they are way off base.
The Fire Next Time
Our 99-year-old family-owned company lost 75 million board feet of timber in last September’s Santiam Fire. Trees of varying ages that were planted on 6,000 acres of company-owned land north of our mills in Lyons, Oregon, went up in smoke.
Salvage logging and replanting began immediately. Last winter, we planted 456,000 new seedlings. Another three million will be planted this year and next.
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