It was the sort of blue-sky afternoon in downtown Portland that draws people away from their desks, but the dreary scene along Southwest Fifth Avenue chased away the optimism of a spring day.
The patch of sidewalk in the shadow of Oregon’s largest office building represented the latest front in the city’s rolling battle against open-air fentanyl markets. Several dozen people milled about, hollowed out by the uniquely potent synthetic opiate, waiting for dealers to make their rounds.
A few weeks earlier, officers had swept the nearby Washington Center, a blighted block where doorways and...…It was the sort of blue-sky afternoon in downtown Portland that draws people away from their desks, but the dreary scene along Southwest Fifth Avenue chased away the optimism of a spring day.
The patch of sidewalk in the shadow of Oregon’s largest office building represented the latest front in the city’s rolling battle against open-air fentanyl markets. Several dozen people milled about, hollowed out by the uniquely potent synthetic opiate, waiting for dealers to make their rounds.
A few weeks earlier, officers had swept the nearby Washington Center, a blighted block where doorways and...WW…