EVERYBODY MUST GET STONED: In Oregon’s mid-Willamette Valley, “Some 522 tons of rocks and boulders have put a stop — for now at least — to a longstanding problem: Squatters camping under the Pacific Boulevard viaduct in Albany where Jackson Street and Seventh Avenue meet.”

Someone pictured the rocks on Facebook, and a bike ride this afternoon took me past the place to see for myself.

This used to be a frequent hangout for apparently homeless people who couldn’t or wouldn’t go to the nearby shelters, Helping Hands just around the corner and Signs of Victory a couple blocks down Jackson Street.

The headline though, in the Hasso Hering, is a great moment in gaslighting: “Rocks in a hard place: No more camping.” As one of the commenters notes:

It is NOT “camping”. It is criminal trespass, littering and other criminal violations. Camping is when you pitch a tent or RV for recreational-vacation purposes. Some want to say this is a housing problem…while repeated studies show it is a mental health and addiction problem. In the meantime, our cities should not be places where people can pitch a tent and destroy the city scape.

Earlier: San Francisco, Hostage to the Homeless.