Frustrated with OPB

I am frustrated with OPB. No, it’s more than that. They have let me down.

I have been an OPB member for 16 years. And for the last few years, I have been an NPR-tote-bag carrying member. But no longer. I cleaned out my NPR bag today and placed my wallet, phone, notebook, and pens in a plain brown and maroon cloth bag. I will not advertise for NPR any longer. For the first time in my life, I am mulling over whether or not to cancel my OPB membership. I am not quite there yet, but I am very troubled by their reporting.

Why has OPB let me down?

1. OPB’s coverage of the months-long November PPS teachers strike: In short, OPB’s coverage was overly neutral, giving both sides an equal voice. That did not inform the public on what was happening when the union kept misrepresenting the numbers in PPS' budget. 

2. OPB’s recent article about crime in NW Portland

Let’s look at the recent article: “A Portland cathedral has offered a food pantry for 40 years. Some neighbors blame it for recent crime spike.”

There has been a spike of crime around Trinity Episcopal Church in NW Portland, but no neighbors that I know blame it on the food pantry. The neighbors that I know blame Trinity for the permissive attitude they take towards open drug use on their property. 

I understand that many Portlanders do not have enough food. I think it is honorable work to feed the hungry. However, I take issue with LeRud’s assertion about what Jesus would do in this situation. LeRud says, “I have a sense of where I think Jesus would be on this campus,” he said, “and it’s probably in that food pantry line hanging out with people who are marginalized and generally invisible to most of society.”

My question is not about what Jesus would say about the food pantry. My question is about what Jesus would say about the open drug use on the Episcopal campus. Would Jesus say, “Go ahead, smoke up all you want”? Would Jesus say, “I am sorry for your suffering, but it’s not okay to do drugs on the church grounds”? 

As a neighbor, I am sorry that people are struggling with drug addiction. However, it is not acceptable for people to openly use drugs in the many dark corners on Trinity’s campus or on the sidewalk in front of Trinity. 

The other glaring omission from the article is it barely mentions the Portland People Outreach Project’s needle exchange (PPOP). There is one sentence dedicated to the needle exchange in the entire article: Those interviewed for this story point to a local McDonald’s, a weekly needle exchange event and Trinity as contributing reasons.

Neighbors take issue with the needle exchange, mostly for its proximity to three schools (Lincoln High School, Metropolitan Learning Center, and the Cathedral School). Their location, next to the  McDonald’s on Burnside, is also located along a Safe Route to School. The needles are handed out on Friday evenings. After PPOP hands out clean needles to users, drug dealers show up to sell them drugs. Come Monday mornings when students walk or bike to Lincoln, the sidewalks are strewn with needles. Too often, there are several people passed out from drugs on the sidewalks too. Not much of a Safe Route!

Many neighbors reached out to share their concern with PPOP. For months, no one returned phone calls or emails. When someone from PPOP finally reached out, they spoke about how important their harm reduction work was. However, they showed no concern about the harm their work had on our neighborhood. Our distress over how close the needle exchange was to three schools did not sway them in any way.

The open drug use on Trinity’s campus and near McDonald’s is very troubling to our neighborhood, and OPB’s careless reporting does nothing to help the situation. The article places the blame on neighbors, makes Trinity look like a saint, and gives PPOP a complete pass.

UPDATE, Nov 8, 2024: OPB modified the title of this article, taking out the word "blame." The new title is "A Portland cathedral has offered a food pantry for 40 years. But a recent spike in nearby crime is alarming neighbors."