Retail everywhere has been hard hit by Amazon. I don't know the answer for this but when a spark plug for my car from OReilly's costs $12 a plug and I can get a box of 4 of the exact same plugs from Amazon for $20 I don't see how you are going to recover it.
Most of the problem with places looking scummy isn't the retail businesses IMHO it's that current tax law and local laws all favor keeping retail space intact even when it would be better to demolish it and put in housing. We need housing badly we need more retail space like a hole in the head. If we didn't have an oversupply of retail space that gun shop couldn't afford the stripmall space and wouldn't be there. Ted -----Original Message----- From: PLUG <[email protected]> On Behalf Of Ben Koenig Sent: Tuesday, March 7, 2023 6:57 AM To: Portland Linux/Unix Group <[email protected]> Subject: Re: [PLUG] Venue for next month ... Sidewalks are apparently not a thing in Hillsboro. For all the talk about big tech in Hillsboro the actual center of the city has yet to re-discover ancient Roman technology. Last time I was actually down there the whole area closed up because someone made a run for it during a murder trial. Last 2 MAX stations were closed and the entire area was on lockdown. TBH Hillsboro is like a white ghetto... people say great things but when you actually go there it's nothing but dingy SMBs and semi-homeless dudes looking for an opportunity. The whole place is spooky. I've learned recently that the "Hillsboro experience" is not uniform. People love to mention all the tech companies out here but there are places where you can look behind the curtain and see a completely different world. Kinda like at the Olympics where they built that wall to hide the actual China from everyone. LOL That giant Salesforce building always makes me laugh. It's right across from a dingy strip mall that has a church AND a gun store. That street is like Corporate America, God 'n Guns, and Woke culture staring each other down in a good 'ol Mexican Standoff. -Ben ------- Original Message ------- On Monday, March 6th, 2023 at 5:21 PM, Ted Mittelstaedt <[email protected]> wrote: > There's lots of places afterwards near Hawthorne Farms. But like any > suburban place they expect you to be driving cars to get to them. Mass > Transit is sort of a novelty out there. It's kind of like the token > green thing they drag out and show people to prove they care about the > environment. LOL (disclaimer I grew up a few miles from there) > > Ted > > -----Original Message----- > From: PLUG [email protected] On Behalf Of Keith Lofstrom > > Sent: Monday, March 6, 2023 2:52 PM > To: Portland Linux/Unix Group [email protected] > > Subject: Re: [PLUG] Venue for next month ... > > On Sun, Mar 05, 2023 at 01:54:29PM -0800, Michael Ewan wrote: > > > If you can find a member at Intel or a sponsor there, the > > auditoriums are free to use and are outside the security area. The > > Hawthorne Farms site is ideal since it is on the MAX line. Of course > > that implies people will want to travel to Hillsboro. > > > I've attended many IEEE meetings at Intel Hawthorne Farms. > The Max Blue Line stop is a 7 minute walk south of HF3. > A meeting at Intel might attract some interesting speakers and attendees. Not > much nearby for afters. > > But then, I live in Beaverton, and I've noticed that many Portlanders > encounter an invisible force barrier west of Washington Park, perhaps the > same force barrier that I encounter near Vancouver and Gresham and Gladstone. > > Keith > > -- > Keith Lofstrom [email protected]
