Portland / Oregon

bdm105 said:
Yea most likely why the city is doing it. But without getting into too much political talk the way to get people back downtown is to get it to be safer/cleaner.
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Yeah, totally. I work for the city and the lack of getting that done is frustrating.
 
Matt M said:
Yeah, totally. I work for the city and the lack of getting that done is frustrating.
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Yeah I'm over in the couve and have only been out here since September 2019 so I don't have much to compare to. But I wish I had spent more time in downtown pre covid
 
Matt M said:
It's solid and can be beautiful, I'm hoping it returns to that point sooner than later.
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Not to minimize anything that’s being said, but I do think it’s all relative. I think it says a lot about how welcoming and friendly downtown Portland used to be that people there are so concerned about safety downtown these days. Every time I’ve visited over the past year or so, I’ve noticed a difference (mostly more vacant storefronts downtown) but not enough to avoid going downtown and walking around. My parents and sister (who live there) though, all talk about it as if it’s some kind of apocalyptic hellscape. The one time I rode the MAX to go to zoolights this year, it was kind of unreal how many people on there looked like they were in some kind of distress (there was also a pile of what appeared to be human feces on the platform at the stop for the zoo [smeared on the nearby wall, too]). But even that doesn’t surprise me as much as it would have if I hadn’t spent the last decade living in DC.

One thing that I do notice though in Portland is the volume of unhoused folks all over the more residential neighborhoods (especially in SE). We have pockets of camps like that in DC but doesn’t seem nearly as widespread. It just seems like they don’t have the same access to certain resources (waste removal, restrooms etc) that they used to have. I remember driving by one this past winter near MLK (kind of near that old burger king) and there was a huge fire because everything was just too close together and they were trying to cook over a flame but they were on tall/thick grass. It just seems like it’s a growing problem that gets more and more visible each time I visit.
 
I don't want to be the guy to say "downtown has always sucked," but in the dozen years I've lived here (a dominant portion of which I've worked downtown and participated in comedy took me downtown often), downtown has never been all that great. It's where people go to work, then they leave, and then the bridge and tunnel folks come to visit the skeezy clubs that shut down the alphabet district Friday and Saturday nights. I've always found it claustrophobic and dirty, and while Portland is a more houseless-friendly city than others it's more tolerant/look-the-other-way than assistive, and downtown has always been the safe space in the city's "I don't care what happens as long as I don't have to look at it from my house/apartment window" approach.

So of course the pandemic has hit downtown really hard; with businesses going remote and bars/restaurants closing down or pivoting their business models, there's little reason to be down there. I do think a lot of businesses boarded their windows preemptively, which can lend an air of destitution and disarray, even if the windows behind them are clean and intact; this has especially been the case for corporate entities (I recall seeing a boarded-up Target near the airport, where nobody is protesting/acting out). And I think the lack of upkeep is partially a financial issue as well as part of PPD's penchant for looking the other way ever since they heard people cry "defund the police."

I will say I have spent more time downtown over the last few months, hitting up the farmer's market, the art museum, and my office in slabtown, and there are more people out and fewer shuttered windows. It can get my hackles up to hear people complain about the state of the city, because there's a lot of nuance to why things are as they are, yet to speak to friends/family out of state, heck even coworkers in Tigard, our downtown was a complete war zone during summer '20 and it's "such a shame."
 
desperately in search of tickets to Black Midi in Portland this wednesday, please hmu if you know someone who would sell some!
 
Anyone know of a local resource to flatten a record? I bought a record on Discogs that’s pretty warped in a way that affects sound. Seller refunded entire purchase and told me to keep the record. I‘ve read that it’s easier to flatten some warps than others, but this one is worth salvaging if it’s possible to flatten it. I’ve never had this done before and would prefer not to have to mail the record back/forth, which is why I’m hoping to find someone local. thx.
 
Piggybacking: does anyone have a recommendation on a PDX area phonograph repair? I need a new needle, but foremost my tone arm seems unbalanced and I, being the one to have unbalanced it, should consult an expert.
 
Hey, you guys ever sell records to local stores? I have never, and my particular brand of anxiety disorder makes it VERY SCARY, but I have too many records and no desire to try to sell them individually online. They aren't great or super rare, I am comfortable with store credit, I just need to make space and wondered if you darlings had any low-hassle local recommendations?
 
When I was home there for the holidays, I took some CDs to the Everyday Music on Burnside and they gave me like $3 each for them which was more than I expected. The guy at the counter seemed pretty friendly and suggested that if I had a bunch of things to sell, it might be better to bring them into their Sandy Blvd location. Not sure on their vinyl pricing though.
 
GritNGlitter said:
Hey, you guys ever sell records to local stores? I have never, and my particular brand of anxiety disorder makes it VERY SCARY, but I have too many records and no desire to try to sell them individually online. They aren't great or super rare, I am comfortable with store credit, I just need to make space and wondered if you darlings had any low-hassle local recommendations?
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I have! For records that would be too much hassle to sell online, I usually go to Mississippi Records to trade in. They've given me the most in return per record (sometimes as much as up to $15 per if somewhat valuable). Other stores like Jackpot! and Music Millennium would never provide me more than $6 in credit for a trade in.
 
GritNGlitter said:
Hey, you guys ever sell records to local stores? I have never, and my particular brand of anxiety disorder makes it VERY SCARY, but I have too many records and no desire to try to sell them individually online. They aren't great or super rare, I am comfortable with store credit, I just need to make space and wondered if you darlings had any low-hassle local recommendations?
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Also worth considering Prospector Records (SE Foster). I’ve never traded in there, but they have a pretty good consignment option for more valuable stuff (either 70/30 or 75/25, I can’t remember which, but the higher number is the person in your shoes) so maybe their trade in prices are reasonable. If you have jazz, Dig Vinyl (Sellwood) may also be good, and they also do consignment. Speck’s records in Kenton is owned by a very nice and fair guy, but I think he’s fair bc of his very reasonable selling prices, which I think may translate into less $ if you’re trading in. The guy who runs Tomorrow Records (SE Hawth) is also a nice guy, so maybe they’re a good option, too. They don’t do consignment on used items.
 
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