polymerwitch

pro tip: add "?outputType=amp" (without the quotes) to the end of any paywalled Oregonian article to get the goods.

What's happening with PSR is so frustrating. I had a coworker ask me the other day what he should do to get help for an unhoused guy who seemed to be in distress but not need an ambulance. The police weren't really the right answer (the unhoused guy wasn't doing anything), but my coworker wanted someone to go talk to him. PSR was the only answer we could find for him to call.

Regardless of people's positions on funding the police, regardless on their complaints on addressing the symptoms of poverty, I can't understand why anyone would not want a group of people to be on call to help with these types of situations. Let the police tend to other priorities.

PSR is a really popular program in Portland. Most people want it expanded. A single city councilor leading it to failure makes me angry.

I wonder how the requirement for having half the pumps be attended still will affect overnight self-service? One of the big benefits of self service is you can just get gas pretty much any time.

My politics don't really fit in a tidy box, and I'm not really interested in wielding my personal ideology to craft this space (beyond rejecting hate). As we figure out what this place will be I hope we can work together to make it a space for those that use it. As we need more mods and new perspectives we should add those as well.

For transparency though, I am of course biased (like everyone). I was born and raised in Portland. I'm a union member. I'm middle aged. I'm socially and fiscally far-left, but I'm also a bit of an individualist who loves freedom and guns. So, if I start wielding power to enforce those ideas (again beyond rejecting hate) then call me out on it.