Public drinking spurs plan to boycott convenience store
PORTLAND, Ore. - Homeowners in Northeast Portland say they are sick of seeing people passed out in their yard or openly drinking alcohol on their street. So now some in Grant Park plan to boycott a nearby convenience store.
They are focused on high alcohol beverage sales like 24-ounce cans of Four Loko, which contains 12 percent alcohol and cost $2.50 each.
It's the kind of beverage some say is harming their neighborhood and they want a promise from Jacksons convenience store not to sell them.
There's already a Jacksons convenience store on one side of Northeast 33rd Avenue, but on the other side of the street another Jacksons convenience store is set to open next month.
Neighbors in Grant Park argue there's no need for two stores, especially if it means more sales to street drinkers.
"My fear is more transients, more crime, more noise," said Steve Lemon.
Lemon's family is fed up with finding people lying on their driveway and they’ve started taking photos of men urinating in public and drinking in the middle of the road.
"What we're trying to do is kind of take back this neighborhood," Lemon said.
Like many of his neighbors, Lemon says his home is his family's biggest investment and their quality of life is damaged each time someone walks down the street drinking a beverage out of a paper bag.
"What they are, are very low cost, high alcohol beverages, so they can spend not a lot of money and get a pretty good buzz," said Ken Peterson, who has led neighborhood negotiations with Jacksons.
He points to the two nearby schools and scores of empty bottles on the ground in arguing Jacksons should not sell malt beverages and fortified wines and shouldn't sell any alcohol after 1 a.m.
"We don't think it's a great thing for school kids to have to stumble over passed out drunks that are near their school," he said.
So far Jacksons has agreed not to sell beverages like Four Loko for the first 90 days after its new store opens. Neighbors plan to boycott the company if they don't agree to a permanent ban.
Jacksons corporate office did not get back to KATU News Monday but chief operating officer Andrea Jackson wrote in an email to neighborhood leaders Monday afternoon that "Jacksons is committed to working with our neighborhood association to come to a mutually acceptable long term solution."
There is a QFC on Northeast 33rd that agreed 12 years ago not to sell these kinds of drinks.
It's always a doomed effort to try to regulate the activities of idiots. The world has an endless supply of a--holes. The best you can hope for is to lure them into another neighborhood, then they are someone else's problem.
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Or go viligante with a baseball bat until the word gets around to stay out. There, I said it.
The stores can't control what people do with the stuff they buy. The police can arrest those people who litter or urinate in public. The city can collect fines, the stores can stay in business.
 @Lost River ...and people who think they should not be selling that stuff in the first place, can voice their opinion and choose to spend their dollars elsewhere, while the store decides whose business they would rather have. Everyone gets freedom of choice. The system works!
find out their names and put them on a "no charity" list. no free food or shelter until they clean up their acts.
@Phuzz Are you volunteering to monitor the list?
I don't think I would like any person passed out in my yard. If I came home and saw this I would call the police and hopefully they would escort that person off my property or I could call the C.H.I.E.R.S. people, that's an excellent resource. What I wouldn't do is engage said passed out person myself because I don't know this person or if they happen to be violent. Not a risk I'm willing to take. I also wouldn't treat that person like a piece of garbage which is what of lot of you have been spewing on this thread. I would let professionals deal with this person who has a substance abuse problem and/or is mentally ill. I don't think that banning malt liquor or 4 Lokos is the answer either because as history has shown, people will always find a way to alter their state of mind, perception, or just become intoxicated. Personally, I like malt liquor (Mickey's) and I work 8-5 M-F and don't pass out in people's lawns. I understand these folks are trying to find a solution to their problem but it is a temporary one that will not have the effects they desire. It's a complicated issue that involves mental health, addiction, and homelessness. I say let Jackson's sell the booze they want because unfortunately denying them this right will not make this neighborhood's problem go away.
 @MCpizzasliceÂ
Calling CHEIRS is a never ending issue. Once they get out they just go back to the same place and the process repeats itself. It's like an infinite loop.
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What we need to do it to ship them to California and let them lose there.
I say, turn the sprinklers/hose on them. Used to do that with the neighbor brats running through my parents yard.
 @pdxdÂ
That is three times today we agree. Is the end of time near?
@RalphCramden I don't know. You know what, I'm actually fairly conservative, we may actually share more in common than we realize. We both happen to have differing opinions on who may be best capable of handling the nation, but differences are what keeps the world spinning, if we all had the same opinion, it would be a very, very boring place.
" say they are sick of seeing people passed out in their yard" Aw, come on guys!If they pass out in your yard, it's open season! Lots of fun can be had. Paint em black, blue and pink.If it's summer, roll them over close to a ant hill and put a little honey in their nose, drag them over to a tree and duct tape them to in standing on their head. Lots of fun! They don't wake easily when that wasted and god, when they do the hangover from cheap booze is a killer. Hangover added to ants chewing away at your face. WOW!
Bargaining with the store is the only way to see immediate effects. Let's not get idealism confused with reality.
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Not selling certain products and/or not selling at certain times could off set the blatant dysfunctional drunk fallout we see. Sending the problem somewhere else sucks but diffusion has it's benefits.Â
Real Housing, Real Trade/Career Training, and Real Living-Wage Jobs have been PROVEN to solve most of mankind's BEHAVIOR problems...
@August100 I'd be interested to see proof of that. Got a source you can share? Thx.
 @Kaaarl  @August100Â
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He doesn't have any proof of that so don't hold your breath. I know that you were just challenging him and didn't really expect an answer. If he does come up with some "proof" it is from a far left site that can't back up their data.
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He is fun to play with sometimes. Eventually I can get him to where he has run out of a logical argument and reverts to name calling.
Do you know what is a greater problem than the homeless drinking in MY neighborhood? Its the high schoolers smoking pot wherever they want! Have you seen this? And if you call the cops on them, you could be ruining the rest of their little lives with unintented consequences of this action. All over a silly drug that is not very harmful...
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The people who live in this neighborhood are bunch of whiny rich brats; I could name 50 neighborhoods that have a greater homeless drinking problem than this one!
 @portlandborn83 How much time have you spent in this neighborhood to come up with that assessment?
I see it all of the time, I have lived in the neighborhood for 5 years and before that I would visit often.
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 @August100 Sure -- then they're criminals creating a public health hazard, trespassers, and disturbing the peace. They should go to jail, perform community service, and be held to the same standards as anyone else. Do you feel we should just except all criminals "the way they are"? How about heroin addicts shooting up in the street? Them too? What about child molesters? They need understanding and acceptance too -- it's just "the way they are." Peh!
@badcat You're wasting your time, Badcat. He's a troll that's 15 yrs old.
@badcat ......LOL. Bet you're right!
 @Rob C 503 That a good question. I don't know. Rehab, perhaps? his mom kicked him out and took his computer? =)
Badcat..........wonder what ever happened to soup?
 @August100 Hahahahahahaha!!!!!!!!!!! That was a good one, August. Nice to have you free to post again. Keeps things interesting. =)
 @Rob C 503 Yeah, I know. August used to spout this crap years ago under the old system, until they banned him. Now it appears that no one gets banned.
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 @August100 Repeatedly passing out drunk in the street? Yeah, I'd say that's a chronic alcoholic.
These dozen or so stumbling drunks in town have nothing on the 10,000 DRUNK DRIVERS, who have housing, on the road at any time in Portland...
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Freedom sucks doesnt it... well take it away then... its the American way!
@2easy2berightback....can't we find some way to make this about our first ammendment rights being violated too? or our right to bear arms? c'mon people....where's that insane logic that so many of you are known for?
Excuse me for being able to see, I see that 'Jackson' convenience store is a Shell Station where all the good people gas up.
I have an IDEA! want to hear it ? Of course you do as no one else wants to get their 2 cents in there about your day, Right?!
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 Here's what you do is sell Hard Liquor at QVC even closer to the park and problem solved.
Because then housewifeâs with nothing to do but harangue men shopping for groceries can stand in front of them for 20 minutes telling the clerk about their doggy, kitty and grand-kids while writing a check until the guy gets pissed and red in the face and then from behind the pizza sign their partners in mischief can Proselytize the Guys getting hammered on Booze about going to J.W. Kingdom Hall and the Mormon Missionaries can tell them they are BAD!
@Tall Gaetort ....have a fight with the spouse this morning?
 @Solipsist01  @Tall Ho Hum I can't be bothered.
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I have Facebook to attend too and walk my dog
@Solipsist01 lol!
@Tall Gaetort @Solipsist01 @Tall Zombie alert!
 @Solipsist01 Haha!
@Tall Gaetort.....my sympathies to those you encounter in your travels today.
I live in this neighborhood; what is funny is that I have not seen one drunk person or passed out person anywhere in the neighborhood! They are complaining about something that is a rare occurrance.
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I do see bums at night and in the morning picking up the cans/bottles people put in their recycling bins though...almost every neighborhood has that, no big deal!
@portlandborn83....seeing as it's not a problem for you then I guess it's not a problem.
Do you know what is a greater problem than the homeless drinking in the neighborhood? Its the high schoolers smoking pot wherever they want! Have you seen this? And if you call the cops on them, you could be ruining the rest of their lives with unintented consequences of this action. All over a silly drug that is not very harmful...
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I also feel that the people that live in this neighborhood are a bunch of whiny complainers who need something better to do than worry whats going on outside. I could name 50 neighborhoods that have a greater homeless drinking problem than this one!
NE 33rd? Isn't that pretty close to The Kennedy School? So, you have trendy people with money drinking micro-brews, sampling wine, smoking high grade cigars in the Detention Room, then getting in their CARS and cruising through the neighborhood. Or, smelly bums drinking cheap malt liquors and passing out in your yard. Hmmm.... It's without doubt a problem regardless of which ''class'' you fall in.
 @Lips I've never viewed smoking "high grade" cigars or drinking micro-brews as problematic.  Quite the contrary, actually.....but, I don't black out in someone's driveway or pi$$ in their yard, either.....
 @'CouvGuy Agreed. I also like a nice cigar and a shot of bourbon from time to time. My point is the perception. We base everything on perception. I don't need a study to tell me that there's more threat from the hundreds of people leaving these fine (and they are fine) establishments, nightly, than what a passed out bum presents. It just 'looks' ugly.
 @badcat I think this neighborhood is stretching the severity of the problem, a bit. I think that's a bag of trash some loser threw out of his car. I think the bums do a good job picking up cans and bottles. I think I've lived in  Portland and the surrounding areas over the course of almost 50 years and our bum problems are minimal. I'd do what some have suggested, make them NOT want to crash in my yard, ever again. lol.
 @Lips I see your point. But, they did the same thing downtown -- the ritzy restaurants still serve whatever they want, and the quickie marts are restricted. What do you think should be done?
 @badcat  @Lips Nope. Not saying we should ignore the bums. Just saying that it's a slippery slope when we tell Jackson Market they can't sell cheap malt liquor because it's the drink of choice for bums. But Kennedy School can sell me one pint of beer that puts me over the legal limit to drive. That's all.
@Lips @'CouvGuy Lips - I'll take my chances any day with the few hundred McMenamins patrons driving on the road versus walking past a dozen or so transients drunk out of their mind.  Mental illness runs rampant in the transient community and booze makes them even more irrational. On the other hand, patrons at an establishment are generally professional people who make wise choices in their lives (which is why they are not bums on the street). Don't get me wrong, both the drunk driver and the drunken transient are dangerous and need to be arrested. Both establishments need to be held responsible if they are selling alcohol to people who are visibly drunk. My experience is that convenience stores are much worse offenders for doing this than a place like McMenamins. The drunks go there to get cheap booze and are a huge hassle for the employees when they are denied the sale. It becomes easier for the employee to just sell them the booze and let them go on their way. Bars do this as well, but it is more likely they will be held financially accountable so they are more careful. I see this boycott as an attempt by the locals to hold the convenience store accountable for selling to people who are obviously drunk.
 @portlandborn83 Nonsense.  Without income, they resort to theft or other disgusting and illegal activities to fuel their chosen addiction. Â
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If they aren't dangerous, and you're so concerned about their welfare, I would ask how many you have living in your home...?? Â Thought so....
@portlandborn83 yes, but, how do you presume to speak for the bums, and what about the crazy ones? You think kids haven't been threatened by drunk street people? Must have grown up in the suburbs.
@'CouvGuy @Lips @'CouvGuy it's an interesting thought, and probably has merit. How many people have a pint or three at The Kennedy School and then go drive off to the next adventure? Drunks drivers kill more people in PDX than yard-bums.
The bums are not dangerous, this is a misperception. Just because they live a lifestyle you wouldn't live does not mean you should be afraid of them.
 @Lips Are you really proposing that we should just ignore the bums passed out drunk on lawns and pissing in people's bushes, because there's a McMeniman's establish up the road? I get your point about perception, but no one's property value is going down due to Hammerhead Ale and spicy tots. Kids aren't having to cross the street on their way to school in the morning, because of some puke-covered hipsters sprawled across the sidewalk. There are laws against drunk driving and they should be enforced. I'm pretty sure there are also laws against public drunkness, public urination, trespassing, and sleeping on the sidewalk. We should enforce those too. Just my opinion as a property owner. Nice to see you posting this morning, Lips. xo ;-)
 @Lips  @'CouvGuy I guess we can agree to disagree, though I see your point and it's valid to a degree.  I would suggest that those that are "overserved" did it to themselves but that's a different discussion.  And, the hipster that can't drive is equally offensive to me....drunk and dangerous is drunk and dangerous.  However, I would guess that maybe 5% of the Kennedy hipsters are actually dangerous, while I'd venture that 95% of the bums passed out in the yard are dangerous.  While perception plays a role there are socially accepted limits.  Drinking to the point of passing out, doing IV drugs and committing sex acts in public are not readily accepted societal behaviors.....
 @'CouvGuy  @'CouvGuy It's okay, Couv, I doubt a study exists. It's just common sense. You have 1000 people drinking in the space of a city block, driving in and out, and you're going to have an elevated risk of death an injury to themselves and others, than you do with a handful of bums on foot in any given city block. I love hanging out at Edgefield, Kennedy School, etc... I do it often. I see over served people bouncing down the halls, and getting in cars, all the time. The only point I was trying to make is much in life is based on perception. We're turned off by stinky, drunk bums. But the trendy hipster who is equally drunk, doesn't bother us at all. Even though he is likely to drive home. And, we really only concern ourselves after he kills someone. Or, at the very least, after he gets caught.
 @Lips  @'CouvGuy Hmm.....more dangerous?  I disagree, but since i'm at work I can't really do the research to back up my beliefs.  I will get back to you on this one, though....
 @'CouvGuy  @'CouvGuy No, I'm saying statistically they are more dangerous. We can start by looking at drunk driving verses bum sleeping. Like I said... it's the perception.
 @Lips  @'CouvGuy I guess I'm not getting your point.....are you saying the Kennedy School folks are as dangerous as the drunks in the yards?  I would disagree on that point.....