Pro tip: never walk, drive, or try to run a business on any street named "Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard"

Years ago, when he had just started driving, I warned my son to steer clear of any street called Martin Luther King Boulevard because, I told him, politicians faced with the intractable woes of slums did nothing except rename a street in the worst part of town after the civil rights leader and then moved on to other matters, leaving the poverty and crime untouched. Quite a bit later, after he’d traveled about the country, John reminded me of that warning: “You were right, Dad — that’s exactly what they’ve done.” I’d have given the same advice to Nike had they asked, but they didn’t, and now it’s too late.

Nike announces that it will not reopen its Portland Oregon store on Martin Luther King Boulevard, which was closed due to massive shoplifting and crime.

Local ABC affiliate KATU reported in February that the retail giant had offered to pay for off-duty police officers to help beef up security at the store on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard — a proposal that never came to fruition — before announcing that it would ultimately abandon the store that community activists had fought to get opened in the neighborhood.

Portland Police expressed doubt about officers' ability to fulfill Nike's proposal at the time, citing an officer staffing shortage in a city that previously voted to defund its police.