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Originally uploaded by Our PDX photos

My first post here was about Peterson’s Newsstand/Convenience Store. The Morrison store is facing eviction, but the store isn’t going down without a fight.

Doug Peterson, along with friends of the store and large group of employees, will be appearing before city council Wednesday July 9th, at 9:30 AM to address the situation. Prior to that, they will be holding a rally at Terry Shrunk Plaza, across from city hall, at 8:30 AM. While The Real Mother Goose and Bush Gardens are receiving subsidized rent for the next year, Peterson’s is being forced out because they are perceived by certain people to attract an undesirable element.

The last time I walked past the Morrison store, about two weeks ago, I took note of the area. It was about 5:30 PM, and commuters were bustling to and fro. Theo, a local street musician, was covering Stevie Wonder’s I Just Called to Say I Love You. A Wackenhut security guard was watching the action. We spoke to her for a bit, and she showed us a spot around the corner from Peterson’s, where a group of street kids had been panhandling. They’d left the signs behind after scoring the money they needed.

Quite simply, it isn’t Peterson’s attracting this crowd. Had they been in front of the store, security or police would have been called. The ne’er-do-wells know this, and stay out of the sightlines of the cashiers. There’s a Peterson’s on 4th Avenue, not on a MAX line. Loitering is rare, and panhandling is strongly discouraged. The sidewalk is used for its intended purpose, not a social scene.

Both stores sell the same products and have the same employees. Could it be something to do with, oh, I don’t know, the city’s inability to deal with the transient problem downtown?

Doug Peterson will be on the Lars Larson show, KXL 750 AM, at 11:15 AM Tuesday.