I don't get it. What's Issac's agenda?

To push food carts as the solution to all of downtown's problems.

I thought porn was the solution?

Give 'em a break, it's a grad school project. It has more fluff that a pillow factory.

Good work, Matt. You've discovered that yet another character-defining thing about Portland that most people love is actually a nefarious plot on the part of The Man. Or something. If it weren't for you making the personal sacrifice of moving here and forming opinions, we wouldn't realise how much Portland actually sucks.

Report sure skips over regulatory issues with what seems like a HUGE overstatement: "Despite the persistent misconception that food carts are under-regulated, the Multnomah County Health Department regulates carts in the same way that all businesses that prepare and sell food are regulated."

Then why don't carts have hand washing and toilet facilities?

So, how about toilet carts? These are micro-enterprises that business owners near cart sites might welcome.

PHLUSHer: How is that an overstatement?

Matt: OK. I get it. It's hip to rant about "liberal Nazi gentrifiers."

In other words, The Mercury blog seems to be degentrifying from an alt-college mindset to an alt-middle school mindset.

First off, let me admit my bias here: I'm dating one of the co-authors of that report, and have been privy to much of the decision-making that went into what to include, and what areas to measure, and how to present the results.

Read the rest of the report. They address the issue of fairness, the perceptions and preferences of storefront competitors, and actually (gasp!) go so far as to make constructive recommendations for how to support cart owners who want to make the step up to brick-and-mortar shops.

You don't have to agree with their conclusions, but don't skim the opening pages of a scientifically-measured and carefully-prepared report and dismiss it because it doesn't play into recent "controversy" mostly constructed by your colleagues in the press.

The report is fulffenbutter produced from the City of Portland "The City that always sleeps"

The PSU kids haphazardly asked some of my staff members while doing the interviewing investigation process. They were already on a preprogrammed agenda holding a selective perception when they started the interview. They have no idea of the impact food carts have on small business nor really wanted to hear it.

The City of Portland The City that always sleeps...