Don't let them cover up the Portland BOOM
Just after 8 PM on Sunday, March 28th 2010, a deafening BOOM was heard throughout SE Portland.
The noise was loud enough to shake windows and set off car alarms in SE Portland, and was heard as far north as Vancouver and as far east as Happy Valley.
Check out a map overlay of people reporting the BOOM
The Pipe Bomb Cover-Up
A Portland police officer checks out the embankment where the PVC pipe bomb was "discovered." (KATU photo)
The official story from the Portland Police Dept. is that it was a "pipe bomb".
But I heard it, you heard it, and we all know it wasn't a pipe bomb. This cover-up is in a word: laughable.
The media says Twitter and some Google Map "solved" the crime. All because the next day cops found a hole on the bank of the Willamette.
Get the facts: a big hole does not equal a pipe bomb. Where is the investigation? Where are the soil samples?
Don't let the Portland government sweep the PDX Boom under the rug.
We, the Portland people, deserve to know what really happened on March 28, 2010.
They tried to cover your ears, don't let them cover your mouth
It is imperative that we make our voices heard. We need to send a loud and clear message to the fat-cats in City Hall that we won't stand for this kind of cover-up.
Who to Email:
- Mayor Sam Adams
- Public Safety Commissioner Randy Leonard
- Police Chief Rosie Sizer (Form that requires registration, ugh)
The Beaverton Boom
On April 8th, 2010 another boom was heard in the Portland suburb Beaverton. Was it a hoax or just some fireworks? Find out more here
Other Loud Booms Throughout the West Coast
March 30th, 2010 - Highland Park, California
Another unexplained "loud boom" was heard two days after the Portland Boom, this time outside of Los Angeles.
Read the news story (or lack thereof)
December 21st, 2009 - San Diego, California
Just a few months ago a deafening boom shook the entire of San Diego, which was again unexplainable. Mysterious booms have been reported in San Diego before, the last major one reported April 4, 2006.
March 14, 2006 - Portland, Oregon
This wasn't even the first time a loud unexplained boom has baffled authorities in Portland. Back in 2006 a very similar incident occurred.
Read about the 2006 Portland Boom (article originally on Katu, but has been mysteriously pulled from their site...please read this synopsis)
What DIDN'T cause the boom
- The National Weather Service reports that "the PDX Boom was not weather related".
- Western Air Defense (part of NORAD) claims the boom was not aircraft related.
- PGE shows no power outages related to the Boom, so rule out the power grid.
- And we all know it wasn't a fucking pipe bomb.
What REALLY caused the Boom?
A meth lab blowing up
With the Portland meth problem, it makes sense that there would be a lot of meth labs in our city. Meth labs are really only good for two things: making meth and exploding.
Perhaps one blew up and the owner was able to put out the fire without alerting the authorities.
Protesting related to the police shooting of Aaron Campbell
On January 29th, Aaron Campbell was shot in the back by Portland PD when emerging from an apartment with his hands above his head. Last week a grand jury found the shooter not guilty, which led to public outrage among everyone from civil rights leaders to militant anarchist groups.
The angrier of these groups staged a "black bloc" the day after the Portland Boom, but someone might have gotten started a bit early.
It seems that the local government might cover up any actions of these groups, especially if they couldn't find a suspect (or scape goat). If they announced that the loud noise was caused by the militant actions of these groups, then it might cause the next days "black bloc" to be more successful both in recruiting new members and inciting panic.
A sonic boom
Another thought is that it was a sonic boom. However sonic booms can only be acheived by breaking the speed of sound, which is against federal air traffic control regulations.
But that doesn't mean that it can't be done illegally. Also, the military might be testing a top-secret supersonic jet over our fair city.
Unexplained phenomena
Now I don't want to come right out and say it was caused by "little green men", but perhaps the Boom was caused by phenomena that we don't yet understand scientifically (whether natural or unnatural).
They might just not know
It might simply be that the local Portland government simply doesn't know what caused the boom. Fire crews were dispatched throughout SE Portland, finding nothing even hours after the Boom.
So maybe they made up the pipe-bomb story to avoid panic and to preserve the illusion that they're in control.
Other Loud Booms
March 18, 2010 - Maysville, Kentucky
A large unexplained boom with possible tremors was heard the night of March 18 in Maysville, KY, and all the way into Ohio.
Read more about the Kentucky boom
Read about the same boom heard in Ohio
February 2010 - Pelham, New Hampshire
New Hampshire was rocked by a number of ground shaking booms for several weeks in January/February 2010.
Read about the New Hampshire Booms
March 16, 2009 - New York, NY
Several neigborhoods in Staten Island heard a loud boom just before 8PM on March 16, 2009, the cause of which was never explained.
Read the New York Times article about the boom
December 20, 2008 - Burlington, Iowa
A unexplained boom that was loud enough to shake a house was heard throughout Burlington, Iowa in December 2008, followed by a series of lesser booms.
February 24, 2006 - Showhegan, Maine
A loud, building-shaking boom was heard throughout a 15 mile radius in Maine in February 2006. Again, this event was left unexplained by authorities.
Read about the Maine boom (Sorry, original article was pulled from its news source, please read this transcript)
What Do You Think Caused The Portland Boom?
