Oregon City to Ban Would-Be Criminals

Upset With Drugs and Petty Crime, Eugene, Ore., to Ban Miscreants From Downtown Fed up with drug dealing and petty crime, Eugene, Ore., officials want to ban people who have been accused or convicted of crimes from the downtown area. In the designated zone of downtown Eugene, Oregon, people accused of crimes will be banned for 90 days from the area under a new city council exclusionary ordinance proposal. Some say the proposed ordinance is an overreaction that's unconstitutional and would never stand up in court. Others, like Eugene Chief of Police Robert Lehner, defend the proposal as an effective way to fight crime and blight, and say the exclusion is not as broad as it seems. Store owners and residents in Eugene, population 153,000, have been complaining about unsavory people who loiter downtown, hindering business and... [read full story]