DEALERS MOVE DRUGS ON MAX
      Oregonian, The (Portland, OR)
      February 10, 2003
      JOSEPH ROSE

Summary: Police zero in on an expanded Fareless Square to nab offenders "You can make a deal and TriMet will drive you away. The MAX is their taxi." -- OFFICER CHRIS TRAYNOR OF THE NORTHEAST PRECINCT NEIGHBORHOOD RESPONSE TEAM

      The dealer lingered in the shadows of a MAX platform under the Burnside Bridge. In one of his jeans pockets, $7 packets of heroin rubbed against a trading card-size picture of the Virgin Mary.

      Finding a buyer for the drugs was as easy as waiting for trains to stop and unload riders every few minutes. Busting the seller was just as easy for an undercover cop posing as a street kid on a recent night. Step off the MAX. Make eye contact. Within two minutes, the dealer was in handcuffs.

      "The frustrating thing is there are three more guys in the wings, ready to take his place," said transit police Sgt. John Harrison as he watched a patrol car take the dealer away.

--------------cut from article---------

      "You can make a deal and TriMet will drive you away," said Officer Chris Traynor of the Northeast Precinct neighborhood response team. "The MAX is their taxi."

      After years of being heralded as a jewel of progressive growth, MAX is starting to show the social wear and tear that plagues rail transit in other urban areas.

--------------cut from article---------

As long as trafficking continues quietly, without making other riders uncomfortable, it likely won't be a priority, said Portland police Capt. Mike Bell, who heads TriMet's transit police division.

--------------cut from article---------

      But blaming public transportation or Fareless Square for the addicts chasing a high on MAX trains would be wrong, said Mary Fetsch, a TriMet spokeswoman. "We're part of society, and anything that happens in society can make its way onto the trains," she said.
--------------cut from article---------

____________________________

 ROCKWOOD FRED MEYER CLOSES AFTER 45 YEARS 
GRESHAM RESIDENTS ARE SAD TO SEE THE GROCERGO AND
SAY THE CITY SHOULD HAVE TRIED HARDER TO HELP IT STAY OPEN
      Oregonian, The (Portland, OR)
      January 20, 2003
      CATHERINE TREVISON
--------------cut from article---------

"If Fred Meyer is willing to pull out of an active lease and lose money from that lease, who would be willing to follow in their footsteps?" she said. "It will stay vacant -- for a very long time."

--------------cut from article---------

Fred Meyer is obligated to pay more than $400,000 in rent each year, Talbot said. And while the landowner receives that now, "if Rockwood continues to deteriorate, and we don't get a user in there, and other businesses shut up, then at the end of that contract, it would be worth a lot less than if it were in a growing, vital economic area," Talbot said
--------------cut from article---------
"It's close to transportation," she explained, adjusting her earmuffs as she walked to a nearby light-rail station.

--------------cut from article---------

MORE THAN AN ISLAND NEEDED
      Oregonian, The (Portland, OR)
      March 27, 2003
      Edition: SUNRISE
      Section: WEST ZONER

--------------cut from article---------

Beaverton MAX riders to the rescue I am writing to express my gratitude to Beaverton police and at least five citizens for assistance given to me March 18.

      I was on the 6:05 a.m. MAX light rail eastbound to Portland. At Sunset Transit Center, a rider decided that my belongings should be his. He grabbed my workbag and ran from the train. At least five riders immediately assisted, and although grass-stained and scraped-up, sat on the perpetrator until police arrived.

      My sincere gratitude to Beaverton Officers Richard Rayniak and Jason Cockreham for their kindness and assistance during this traumatic event. I have daily used public transportation since 1988 and look forward to my MAX commutes. I am profoundly appreciative to fellow riders who selflessly became involved, to these police safety officers, to the MAX operator, attendant and to others who assisted and who daily protect us and help us feel safe
________________________________

PUBLIC SAFETY REPORT
      Oregonian, The (Portland, OR)
      April 1, 2003
      POLICE REPORT GRESHAM

--------------cut from article---------

 3:35 to 3:41 a.m. Wednesday, Northeast 188th Avenue and Burnside Street: A 61-year-old man was assaulted by two men, as he was purchasing a ticket at the eastbound MAX light-rail platform. According to the police report, the victim was hit from behind by the two men, who also attempted to use a stun gun. When the stun gun didn't work, the suspects punched the victim, injuring his face and head. 4:45 p.m. Wednesday, 17900 block of East Burnside Street:

--------------cut from article---------
________________________________

SOUTHEAST NEIGHBORHOODS CHIME IN ON LIGHT RAIL
      Oregonian, The (Portland, OR)
      May 21, 2003
      KARA BRIGGS

--------------cut from article---------

      Residents of the Hazelwood neighborhood, where the north end of the line will originate, discussed at their meeting Monday the potential increases in crime and traffic around new stations. Residents of the Lents neighborhood, which will be home to three of the six new stations, are concerned about the line running close to homes, increasing noise and decreasing privacy.

----------------cut from article---------------------

 Hazelwood residents are familiar with car thefts at park-and-ride lots, said Roseanne Lee of the city's East Portland Neighborhood Office. In 2002, there were 48 reported thefts from cars at the Gateway lot, and 23 at the Burnside lot. Some 40 cars were reported stolen from the Gateway lot, 16 from the Burnside lot.

      "Car prowls generally go up in park-and-ride areas," Lee said. "There are great expanses of cars, and you've got eight hours to pick the one you want. They get big tall hedges because neighbors don't want to see the cars. But the chances of being seen doing something bad go down if people can't see into the lot."
 

----------------cut from article---------------------

STREETS GETTING MEANER
      Oregonian, The (Portland, OR)
      August 24, 2003
       ERIC MORTENSON

      Summary: Shorthanded Gresham police struggle against a growing gang problem

 In May and June, Gresham police contacted 136 suspected gang members, made 76 arrests and seized 10 guns.

      From the police chief's point of view, her department can field enough of a presence to keep a lid on the gang problem and perhaps displace it, but poverty, substandard housing and unemployment -- which make a neighborhood ripe for crime -- need to be dealt with.

      Rockwood is crisscrossed by large, busy roads such as Stark, Burnside, Halsey and Glisan streets and 181st Avenue. The MAX light-rail line plunges through the heart of Rockwood, and the area is dotted with large, rundown apartment complexes.

______________________________________

POLICE READY CRACKDOWN ON CAR THEFTS
Oregonian, The
January 23, 2003
RYAN FRANK -

----------------cut from article---------------------
Hillsboro areas with the most problems include parking lots at apartment complexes,
MAX light-rail stations, Movies on TV on Tualatin Valley Highway and Evergreen 
Cinemas in Tanasbourne.

----------------cut from article---------------------
 
 
 

Light Light Crime History Page
Crime  Rail page
ORTEM main page