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About Street roots. (Portland, OR) 1998-current | View Entire Issue (April 1, 2009)
^CELEBRATINC A DECADE m street roots F Education •Dialogue ♦ Independence so little sense MONEY, from page 8 Riyadh, and Beijing what’s going on and no one really knows. Money is on the way. That’s all we’re told.” Meanwhile the world’s leading economists and insiders at the Federal Reserve and Treasury Department told more than 400 television reporters that they aren’t even clear about what’s happening. “We live on an axis. The tide must turn,” said one state economist “When will things turn around? How do we lead ourselves out of this dark recession depression? What is the meaning of life? And how do local economics play a role? These are all questions we ask ourselves. Time is all we have. The answers will reveal themselves.” Asked if the economist who has written two New York Times’ bestsellers, was sleep-deprived and possibly needed medical * attention, he just said, “No, this is life’s journey. It’s possible I had a nervous breakdown back money to go to housing people like that There’s a process for this stuff. We’ve already been burned once.” Multnomah County Chairman Ted Wheeler was the only politician willing to talk oneon-one with Street Roots after the roundtable. Wheeler said he’ll do whatever it takes to expedite the process of getting dollars on the ground for projects in the pipeline. “Look, things are bad. Real bad. I mean I don’t know why on earth I ever ran for this position," says Wheeler. “And one day, when the smoke clears and I am eventually governor, I’ll remember some of these folks. And I tell you what - they’re going to remember me too. They’re going to remember when Uncle Ted force-fed them - Wheeler Road Kill Café burgers. Why is that? Well, that’s how we’re going to be covering costs for the next two years for our animal road maintenance crew. I’ll wait for my shot and then, bam. It’ll be possum stew for some of these characters. They’ll regret crossing me if I don’t end up in the Oregon State Hospital before the economy turns around.” Meanwhile a spokesperson for City Hall pointed towards a new soccer stadium and a proposed Convention Center Hotel for signs that the economy is not that bad for everyone. “We may be cutting crucial services and moving things around a bit,” said one chief of staff. “But the in November, and again in reality is Portland is resilient and we’ll perservere.” . February, but now, I’ve just, . I Asked about the decline in home, values, the record accepted things to be ... number of foreclosures in the city, the dozens of vacant When people ask me for storefronts downtown and throughout neighborhoods, advice. I just tell them things the conversion of condos to rentals, the rising are going to be OK. Keep unemployment and homeless figures, and the cutting of investing. Go green.” important social services, the City Hall staffer said, As Street Roots was going to “We’re the city that works. And we’ll let you know press, President Obama announced what’s going on as soon as someone in Salem tells us that a second round of stimulus what’s going on with the money. Until then, we’re going package money totalling nearly a to have to live with it” trillion dollars was being proposed to In a written response from Sen. Jeff Merkley s office hire staffers around the country to report in Washington, D.C., on the matter of the failing on how the first stimulus package was being economy, Merkley told Street Roots, “Tell me about it I handled. Dozens of high-level administrators need some help paying down my debt for those with Fortune 500 companies on Wall Street have applied for the positions, promising to lead local commercials. Times are tough. Asked if anyone in Washington, D.C., was helping governments around the country out of the black hole Merkley’s colleagues in Salem figure out what was they created. ’ going on so they could help their colleagues in Eugene, Local officials declined to comment on the subject, Medford, Bend and Portland figure out what was going but did say they are hopeful. on he said, “To be honest, we’ve been asking our colleagues in New York what’s going on and they ve been asking their colleagues in Paris, Berlm, London, k street roots W CELEBRATING A DECADE ^Education ♦ Dialogue ♦ Independence Your online recurring donation keeps Street Roots strong and independent! It’s safe and easy and a great way to support the organization. For 10 years. Street Roots has published the voices of the streets while bringing readers ££Sbe« j—n«»«V Kes » ofc Wove put more the hands of people experiencing homelessness and poverty. And we produce the mo comprehensive list of resources in the Rose City Resource Guide. Your support means that Street Roots can remain sustainable, especially during these hard times when the organization is more relevant than ever. Go to www.streetroots.org and become a recurring donor today! Levels of donors: Rainy Day Supporter - $5 a month will provide the necessary materials (rain jackets, hand warmers, Up balm, etc.) for 10 vendors to stay warm and dry during the winter months. Coffee Break Supporter - $10 a month will provide fresh water, tea and coffee to more than 200 indi- viduals who sell the newspaper. Tech Support - $25 a month will provide computers and Internet service for more than 200 vendors experiencing homelessness and poverty. Front-Page Supporter - $50 a month helps produce one page of the paper a month. This is a great way to support Street Roots. rnver to-Cover Supporter - $100 a month covers the cost of one entire edition of the paper each year. A Single print-run puts up to $10,000 directly in the hands of people experiencmg homelessness and poverty. _____ ___
