Portland proposal to ban daytime camping draws both forceful opposition, praise at City Council hearing

Portland residents Wednesday packed City Hall to pillory and praise an effort to ban people from pitching tents on public land anywhere in the city during daytime hours and restrict camping activity around-the-clock near schools and other locations. More than 100 people testified during a five-hour City Council hearing punctuated by jeers, laughter and applause. And while Portland leaders seemed poised to push ahead with the proposal, which appears to have broad public support, most speakers offered impassioned pleas for them to reverse course. The measure, unveiled by Mayor Ted...