Spiffy new jail too expensive to open

United Press International ^ | March 16 | upi

[george76]

A $59 million jail featuring art and flat screen TVs in Portland, Ore., has been sitting unused for more than a year as the city can't afford to open it.

The Wapato Facility took two years to construct and can house 525 inmates at a cost of $20 million per year, ....

The county spent more than $600,000 on art for the jail, including a sculpture out front by the circular driveway.

There are 30-foot vaulted ceilings and private showers.

"I love coming to an empty $59-million jail," Giusto told the Los Angeles Times. "I get tired of telling people how dumb we are."

[george76]

Or move in some of the Katrina refugees who are still tying up expensive hotel rooms.

[Ole Okie]

Yeah, that'll give it that nice earthy, crappy smell.

Along with the reeking odor of ammonia.

[BJungNan]

Link Here

[HuntsvilleTxVeteran]

It could also be made the only place to vote in this city.
People would love to see first hand how their taxes are spent.

[george76]

Your tax dollars at work. /s

[Hegemony Cricket]

Sounds like they could use a few lessons from this guy:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Arpaio

[river rat]

Further evidence that liberalism is a mental illness...

Portland -- a city with too much time on their hands, and too much taxpayer's money to squander...

De-fund the left......

Isn't Portland the city that gave us the stupid and racist Chief Moose of Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C. fame?

Semper Fi

[Ramius]

Speechless. $600,000 for art. for a jail.

I have no response to that.

[george76]

Joe Arpaio is wonderful. He gets it.

[antiRepublicrat]

The county spent more than $600,000 on art for the jail, including a sculpture out front by the circular driveway.

There's a reason. Public projects in the area must give a percentage of the cost to the Regional Arts and Culture Council. Much of the art money didn't even go into the prison, instead into projects such as these at nearby lakes.

[showme_the_Glory]

Portland also tore down a jail because it was too close to the freeway at 205 and Gateway.

[george76]

Nothing too good for a repeat criminal.

Felons need wall to wall carpet, private bathrooms, nice views... /s

[Dark Knight]

Unfortunately it's not just Portland, there is a garbage dunp near Seattle that was forced by code to have a piece of artwork designed for it. Hundreds of thousands of dollars to grace a dump.

Amazing.

DK

[george76]

Too much highway noise ?

The repeat felons could not sleep ?.../s

[Spiff]

Spiffy!? Hey, I might like this jail. :^)

[untrained skeptic]

Maybe they should build a theme park next to it and say it's a themed luxury hotel.

[Wolfie]

That they can't open it is immaterial. Everybody who was supposed to benefit from this publicly funded gravy train is fat and happy. Mission accomplished.

[Ramius]

Heh. Art that replicates nature... placed out in... nature...

Apparently nature just isn't nice enough for them and they think they need to dress it up a little.

[antiRepublicrat]

Flat screen tv's ? Get me one.

It's like that comedy skit with Jeff Foxworthy where he and some friends got themselves thrown in jail over the weekend so they could watch some sports event on the jail's big TV.

[wouldntbprudent]

Exactly.

This reminds me of the thread yesterday about the sponger in England who had 14 children, with more on the way, his wife AND his mistress living with him, as well as a preggers Golden Retriever, and he was complaining that the welfare office would not provide him with a bigger home to house his families.