At today’s Multnomah County, OR Board briefing we were updated on the fentanyl 90-day emergency (aka “Nothing New”) and the County’s use of SHS funds (aka “Fuzzy Math: A Game of Smoke And Mirrors”). Q: How can spending $91M of $205M for homeless services (NONE related to treatment or

Timely ambulance response is a matter of life and death. The ⁦Multnomah County, OR⁩ Chair’s failure to meaningfully act on the ambulance availability crisis for over a year is unconscionable. We didn’t need delay, excuses, fines or mediation - just leadership. wweek.com/news/2024/04/0…

The Joint Office, which has a budget of $277 million this year, does not know how many people need services, what their issues are, who has contacted them, or whether current remedies for homelessness work. wweek.com/news/2024/04/0…

🌞🌡️ Today we released a new, groundbreaking tri-county heat mapping study bit.ly/3PO1XQ2 This community science project mapped heat on a hot July day to help plan for a more resilient future. Once we measure it, we can manage it. Alert sign up: bit.ly/3xu4los

I only just learned of “the County’s” stance on this when I saw it on KGW News. Eviction and tents for asylum seeking families? It’s unconscionable. Thank you KGW for exposing this travesty. We need to get to a real solution (hint: NOT TENTS) kgw.com/article/news/l…

Today is day 61 of our fentanyl emergency. On the county side, I am still concerned that this is now being called a “place-based pilot” as it focuses on a few blocks downtown. This feels less like sound public policy, and more like a public relations campaign. The truth is these

Multnomah County needs to stop trying to govern by press release and get to work. The plan released today is nothing new; it’s a recycled version of three decades worth of similar efforts, all of which have left Portland worse off than before.

Unfortunately, even the most basic

“Multnomah County’s failure to effectively deploy the supportive housing services funds doesn’t mean that the need for services doesn’t exist. Tragically, the need has never been greater. We need a forensic audit and overhaul of Multnomah County’s use of SHS funds, not redirect

Last week, I joined my colleagues at the City of Portland and the City of Gresham, who unanimously passed resolutions asking Multco to fix our ambulance staffing crisis urgently.

Unfortunately, the Chair has denied my request for a similar resolution to be on the Multco board

Second post of the day highlighting the latest lack of transparency issue over at Multnomah County, OR

oregonlive.com/politics/2024/…

The new policy regarding euthanasia at our animal shelters was crafted outside of the board process. I repeatedly asked to be involved to ensure we didn't repeat the disturbing patterns of the past. That didn’t happen.

I remain concerned about the new policy's language and the

It's day 26 of the 90-day fentanyl state of emergency. If I were a City Commissioner now, I would advocate for a public briefing for accountability and transparency with Mult Co Commissioners Julia Brim-Edwards and Sharon Meieran.

You may have heard in the news that I 'removed myself' from a county board meeting in frustration with the board's lack of urgency and action.

The majority of stakeholders have joined me in calling on the county to treat our slow ambulance response times as the crisis that it

Great article exposing one of the main reasons stuff doesn't get done on some of our biggest crises: Apathy, byzantine bureaucratic hurdles, and lack of urgency. Government can allocate ridiculous amounts of $$, but if it doesn't get out the door, it can't be put to use. The

'It’s unclear how many outreach workers fan across Portland streets on any given day. No government agency collects data on their numbers, their work or their effectiveness.' Amazing people doing amazing work despite the appalling apathy and disconnect of local government.