How a city works...
Back in the early 50's, like Chicago's river that caught fire,
the Willamette River was a cess pool running through Oregon.
But voters made some important decisions that established
the environmental character of Oregon and the City of Portland.
Here is a link to a well-written article in The Oregonian about sewage !
I recommend it... from beginning to end.
OregonLive.com
The Oregonian
David Stabler
February 25, 2012
River of sewage flows from Sellwood to North Portland treatment plant each day
Portland's water rises in a land of mountains and mist,
a protected wilderness of beauty where clear, cold streams run as they did
when Native Americans drank from them 10,000 years ago.
But after the city's Bull Run water arrives in taps, toilets, showers and industrial pipes,
it heads to one place, a place most of us don't think much about.
A wastewater treatment plant is a relatively new system of treating urban sewage,
where everything must work all the time, day and night.
It's an intermediate step in a process of continuous recycling between sky and ocean.
If a pipe leaks or a pump quits, redundant machinery, including backup systems of backups systems, averts disaster.
Sewage waits for no one.
Very interesting.
... But the reporter frequently abuses the concept of "exact."
The Deschutes River in central Oregon is almost as famous as the Rogue in southern Oregon.
Damage was done in earlier years when an "Army Corps of Engineers" attitude towards flood control prevailed.
Now, [COLOR="DarkRed"]a lot of $ is being spent[/COLOR] on restoration projects, as part of efforts to save the endangered salmon runs.
[ATTACH]37586[/ATTACH]
This is a
link to a 10 min video about one such project near my daughter's home.
It's not the exciting sort of thing that you see in a dam-breech project,
but as Martha Stewart might say: "It's a good thing."
.
Your knowledge of Martha Stewart concerns me.
Next week, we have a video on up to properly fold bath towels.
The cycling community in PDX is very energetic and politically powerful.
Streets in the downtown area are designated for bicycle traffic,
and specially markings at intersections control auto traffic turns
in order to avoid blind-spot accidents with cyclists.
Here is another development...
[ATTACH]37851[/ATTACH]
[ATTACH]37850[/ATTACH]
BikePortland.org
Jonathan Maus
March 12th, 2012
PBOT unveils new [COLOR="DarkRed"]bike share[/COLOR] website with station locator tool
PBOT is expected to release the official Request for Proposals
for a bike share system operator any day now.
Once the process of choosing a vendor is complete, then the real planning will begin.
The system is expected to be up and running by spring 2013.
Having a bike share system means giving Portlanders an efficient, sustainable choice.
Our region has a comprehensive and safe bikeway network that bike share
customers can use to cover short trips quickly. Bike share riders wil
move throughout the city without adding to road congestion and parking demand,
while improving air quality and personal health by forgoing a car trip.
Residents, business owners and travelers want bike share to come to Portland for all these reasons.
Yes, plagiarism and copyright infringement in PDX are no longer crimes.
The operational motto is "Keep Portland Wierd" :rolleyes:
Happened in Minneapolis first. :p:
some of those bikes i ain't sharing
:lol: UT makes a good point.
Calling all cataholics
"Wheels", the 33 lb cat, is up for adoption at the Oregon Humane Society.
For $12 you get a 14 year old cat plus a medical consultation about a diet for him to loose weight.
Wheels is the one wearing white booties, and is the largest cat seen at the OHS.
That cat is so fat he should be on Wall Street.
I hope Dwellars know that I am quite proud of Portland and Oregon.
BUT... in the 35+ years we have lived here, the big black spot is the Portland Police Dept.
Other cities (Denver, LA, New Orleans) have had their problems.
But PDX has a Police Union that is powerful and political.
Over the years, various liberal, moderate, and conservative Mayors have attempted to gain control
of the situation by appointments of the Police Chief, but have ultimately failed.
We've had a black man, a woman, a gay, young and older men...
appointed from within the PPD ranks, and a few outsiders from other parts of Oregon, and from out-of-state.
Each time as the Police Chief gained a modicum of control over the PPD,
the politics kicked in, and ultimately each Chief resigned or was forced out, primarily by actions of the Police Union.
Here is the latest episode...
Statesman Journal.com
4/12/12
Portland mayor won't reinstate fired officer
PORTLAND — Mayor Sam Adams said Thursday he won’t implement an arbitrator’s ruling
that a police officer fired after he shot an unarmed man in the back in 2010 should be reinstated
The city attorney thinks there are sufficient legal grounds to challenge
the reinstatement of Officer Ronald Frashour, Adams said in a statement.
Campbell was distraught over his brother’s death when he emerged
from a Portland apartment, with his back toward officers and his hands behind his head.
One officer fired six bean bag rounds at the man.
Campbell ran toward a parked car.
[Officer] Frashour fired a single rifle shot, killing Campbell.<snip>
[COLOR="DarkRed"]Police training instructors testified at the arbitration hearings that
Frashour followed his training when he used deadly force against
25-year-old man Aaron Campbell on Jan. 29, 2010.
Police Chief Mike Reese has said it was unreasonable for Frashour to believe
that Campbell posed an “immediate threat” of death or serious injury.[/COLOR]
The mayor said if the police union challenges his decision,
he’ll ask that the state Employment Relations Board expedite a decision.
The board is a state agency that resolves labor disputes
between union-represented workers and public and private employers.<snip>
The Portland Police Bureau is already under a Department of Justice
probe for its interactions with the mentally ill.
The Justice Department declined to investigate the bureau over Campbell’s shooting,
but the Campbell family agreed to settle a federal wrongful death suit
against the city for $1.2 million in February.
.
Each time as the politics kicked in, each Chief resigned or was forced out, primarily by actions of the Police Union.
There is
one other constant there... jus sayin'
NY Times
ANNIE LOWREY
5/22/12
Oregon Study Shows Benefits, and Price, for Newly Insured
But in 2008, Oregon opened its Medicaid rolls to some working-age adults living in poverty,
like Ms. Parris. Lacking the money to cover everyone, the state established a lottery,
and Ms. Parris was one of the 89,824 residents who entered in the hope of winning insurance.
[COLOR="DarkRed"]With that lottery, Oregon became a laboratory for studying the effects
of extending health insurance to people who previously did not have it.
Health economists say the state has become the single best place to study
a question at the center of debate in Washington as the Supreme Court prepares to rule,
likely next week, on the constitutionality of President Obama’s health care law:
What are the costs and benefits of coverage?[/COLOR]<snip>
For the nation, the lesson appears to be mixed.
Expanded coverage brings large benefits to many people,
but it is also more likely to increase a stretched federal government’s long-term budget responsibilities.
The newly insured were more likely to describe their health as good,
and to say that their health was getting better, according to self-reported data
that researchers are now combining with objective measurements for a deeper follow-up study.
The uninsured reported being in worse physical and mental shape and were less likely to describe themselves as happy.
Getting insurance also had powerful financial effects, the study showed.
The insured were 25 percent less likely to have an unpaid medical bill
sent to a collection agency and 40 percent less likely to borrow money
or skip paying other bills in order to cover their medical costs.
<snip>
Here's something else Portland/Oregon can be proud of...
In Vancouver, Washington, this costs $39.65
Three miles away, in Portland, Oregon, it costs $19.45 (Still too expensive, but better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick). Ciggies cost twice as much in Washington, too. Fuckers.
:mad2:
Three miles away, in Portland, Oregon, it costs $19.45 (Still too expensive, but better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick). Ciggies cost twice as much in Washington, too. Fuckers.
Why Glinda, how can you be so critical of capitalism ? :rolleyes:
Washington just did away with their "state-owned" liquor stores.
Oregon is still that bastion of socialism with hard liquor sold only in the state-operated liquor stores.
Also from that article ... located immediately after the (snip)
The insured also spend more on health care, dashing some hopes of preventive-medicine advocates
who have argued that coverage can save money — by keeping people out of emergency rooms, for instance.
In Oregon, the newly insured spent an average of $778 a year, or 25 percent, more on health care than those
who did not win insurance.
hmmm...
and furthermore ...
“The study put to rest two incorrect arguments that persisted because of an absence of evidence,”
“The first is that Medicaid doesn’t do anything for people, because it’s bad insurance or
because the uninsured have other ways of getting care,” Ms. Baicker said. “The second is that
Medicaid coverage saves money” by increasing preventive care, for instance.
Dwellars should read the entire article.
Below are the entire paragraphs of Classic's quotes...
[COLOR="DarkRed"]In a continuing study, an all-star group of researchers
following Ms. Parris and tens of thousands of other Oregonians has found
that gaining insurance makes people feel healthier, happier and more financially stable.[/COLOR]
The insured also spend more on health care, dashing some hopes of preventive-medicine advocates
who have argued that coverage can save money — by keeping people out of emergency rooms, for instance.
In Oregon, the newly insured spent an average of $778 a year, or 25 percent, more on health care than those
who did not win insurance.
[COLOR="DarkRed"]“The study put to rest two incorrect arguments
that persisted because of an absence of evidence,”said Katherine Baicker,
a Harvard economist who worked on the study and served as an economic adviser to President George W. Bush.[/COLOR]
“The first is that Medicaid doesn’t do anything for people, because it’s bad insurance or
because the uninsured have other ways of getting care,” Ms. Baicker said. “The second is that
Medicaid coverage saves money” by increasing preventive care, for instance.
[COLOR="DarkRed"]“It’s up to society to determine whether it’s worth the cost,” she added. [/COLOR]
If you are an economist, $ is unfortunately your only unit of measure.
To say that the uninsured have other ways of getting care is discussed in this same article...
Most of the uninsured described their lack of coverage as a profound problem.
<snip>
Interviews with study participants showed that the insured and the uninsured
got health care in significantly different ways. Lottery winners tended to have
a primary care physician who saw them regularly and helped them navigate the health care system.
In contrast, few of the uninsured saw doctors regularly, and none said that they had regular health examinations.
<snip>
The uninsured described borrowing medication from family members and friends,
taking it every other day, and asking doctors to diagnose multiple conditions
and write multiple prescriptions on a single visit.
The insured said they had largely abandoned such strategies.
Certainly, health care costs more than no health care at all. But better health,
being happier, and financial stability are just some of the basic outcomes of health care
... regardless of how it is financed.
Dwellars should read the entire article.
Below are the entire paragraphs of Classic's quotes...
Thanks, I don't think I missed anything of relevance, I certainly didn't cherrypick.
Certainly, health care costs more than no health care at all. But better health, being happier, and financial stability are just some of the basic outcomes of health care ... regardless of how it is financed.
Agreed. BUT we were sold on this saving money and being LESS expensive. That has been undeniable proven false.
Even the latest CBO study has shown that. AND it could get FAR WORSE as described by the insurance death spiral which many are predicting will happen.
Personally, I don't believe letting the insurance lobbyists have so much control over this was the right solution.
Healthcare for all, NOT insurance insurance for all, is the only viable solution. The only way I see that happening and costing less is to not have insurance companies as they now exist, and even more so - to NOT allow the providers and suppliers to name whatever price they want.
Thanks, I don't think I missed anything of relevance, I certainly didn't cherrypick.
Obviously, I feel you did.
Personally, I don't believe letting the insurance lobbyists
have so much control over this was the right solution.
Healthcare for all, NOT insurance insurance for all, is the only viable solution.
The only way I see that happening and costing less is to not have
insurance companies as they now exist, and even more so
- to NOT allow the providers and suppliers to name whatever price they want.
Wouldn't that be an attack on capitalism and physicians' way of life ?
I thought I was the only closeted socialist on this forum ;)
It's funny... but not really... that for some it's never quite good enough,
or it was not done the right way, or it is not the right time to do it.
The
only governmental program that I know of that even
comes close to meeting such criteria is the "Do Not Call" list.
More seriously, the main reason I posted this article is that Oregon
has progressively amended this State's Medicare funding to cover
heterogeneous populations, to bring about better physical and mental health outcomes.
Health insurance coverage for
all children was the first step.
Unfortunately there are not sufficient funds in the State's Medicare pot
to cover everyone, so the lottery was implemented.
It now serves yet another purpose of research studies
The warm and fuzzy social outcomes, such as families not having bills
turned over to collection agencies or not being evicted for non-payment of rent
have hidden costs that do not get into the spread sheets, but they are real for the families.
With time and research, I believe these benefits will become part of the "economic equation"
Obviously, I feel you did.
Oh really? Which part specifically?
Wouldn't that be an attack on capitalism and physicians' way of life ?
I don't think healthcare belongs in the business sector.
[QUOTE]The warm and fuzzy social outcomes, such as families not having bills turned over to collection agencies
or not being evicted for non-payment of rent have hidden costs that do not get into the spread sheets,
but they are real for the families.
With time and research, I believe these benefits will become part of the "economic equation"
So will all the added costs associated.
I do not think we are that far apart in our views and our desired end results are even closer.
While I support the notion of universal health care for American citizens, I have no obligation to be concerned if everyone is happy.
Maybe it would be one of those "unintended consequences" people talk about...
Probably so, but not sufficient reason to implement a health system. Makes too easy a target for the naysayers to scoff. The numerous benefits to the community and country are the legitimate points that should be hammered repeatedly. The touchy feely shit will get nowhere.
Without the Willamette Falls locks, commercial shipping and recreational boating
is severely restricted to the south of Portland for the remainder of the Willamette River.
The locks were closed "for repairs" during George W.'s administration,
and since then only a few recreational boats can make it through the locks.
This affects federal funding because $ is based on commercial tonnage.
[ATTACH]39282[/ATTACH]
Portland Tribune
Raymond Rendleman
June 27, 2012
Corps may give up Willamette Locks
A large, multijurisdictional meeting last week launched new partnerships to usurp the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers'
control over the shuttered Willamette Falls Locks between Oregon City and West Linn.
As a rare, intact piece of America's canal-building era, the locks are unique in Oregon as the first significant
navigational construction on the Willamette River and in the greater Columbia River drainage basin.
The locks joined eight other unique Oregon places in gaining the dubious "Most Endangered Places" distinction,
a label that attracts preservation-league resources. The National Trust for Historic Preservation simultaneously
named the locks one of its new "National Treasures."
Local officials are fed up with what they see as the Corps' neglect of the historic, manmade waterway.
Citing public safety concerns in November, the Corps moved the 138-year-old locks into a "non-operational" status,
thereby cutting the navigational potential of the Willamette River in half.<snip>
Corps Project Manager Patrick Duyck offered several excuses in response to the community outcry.
Finding seven gates and anchors that were more than 50 years old and experiencing excessive corrosion,
the Corps determined that the distressed condition of three anchors in particular increases potential for failure.
With the locks "non-operational," as Duyck explained federal law, private partners
can no longer contribute to what he estimates will be a $3- to $5-million repair job.
He acknowledged, however, that the Corps has "no idea" of the actual condition of buried anchors.
[COLOR="DarkRed"]Then the crowd turned what had been a simmering frustration into outright revolt.
During the June 20 meeting at the Ainsworth House in Oregon City,
Lehan was among the more than 50 people raising their hands when
a facilitator asked whether the Corps should give up the locks.
<snip>
The One Willamette River Coalition, whose members have been working for six years
to keep the 1873 locks operating, picked up some powerful new friends May 22
with a joint public announcement by the National Trust for Historic Preservation
and the Historic Preservation League of Oregon.
[/COLOR]
Without the Willamette Falls locks, commercial shipping and recreational boating is severely restricted to the south of Portland for the remainder of the Willamette River.
The locks have been primarily used for recreational purposes, meaning a low funding priority,
since the 1970s when log rafts became a rarity.
Yes, primarily recreational now.
But until the locks were closed for longer "repair" periods,
there was still some commercial traffic to Salem and even Albany
... reduced, and not as much as while logging was still going strong,
but commercial tugs did not cease completely.
Also, one large ship/barge-builder in PDX required use of the locks,
but then moved away when the periods of lock operations became erratic.
Well ... at least it got the Historical designation.
Maybe its a geographic thing & I don't really understand. Is it a major ... err was it a major commerce issue or ???
I think it is important for two reasons...
First, it sets the stage for forcing repairs of the locks ( otherwise nothing would happen),
... either via the Army Corp and/or via State/County/Metro $
Second, Schnitzer Steel Corp is a major Oregon industry,
and has facilities in Eugene (upstream / south) of PDX.
There were defense heavy industries in Albany.
The locks were an integral part of their operations.
And all other shipping is now blocked
- remember Howard Hughes' "Spruce Goose" being moved to Oregon in 1993.
Plus, it sort of tickles me that Oregonians are threatening the Army Corp of Engineers.
"If you're not going to take care of with your toys, we'll take 'em away from you" :rolleyes:
PDX has a layer of regional government called METRO,
that was born out of a need for public transportation over 3 County juridictions.
The original idea was to encourage the public to not drive cars to work,
but instead to take public transportation, mainly buses. So...
The entire downtown Portland area was a free-zone.
You could board a bus anywhere and get off anywhere in this zone without paying.
Outside this zone were three rings of fares, and your ticket
was set by how many zones your trip entered.
Fares were set a very attractive, low levels.
But over the years they increased gradually.
This month the METRO Council did away with the free zone and all three fare zones,
so there is now a single fare to get onto any bus to go anywhere.
Plus, you have to have the exact fare, because the drivers no longer make change.
[SIZE="4"]
[COLOR="DarkRed"]The new fare is set at $2.50 :mad2: [/COLOR][/SIZE]
WTF does this current Council think is going to happen to ridership ?
$2.50 for a few blocks hop down to the store, and another $2.50 to get back home ! :censored:
Why ?
To pay for the construction and operation of the new "light rail" trains
The future ?
There is a huge political backlash forming to prevent the METRO and/or County governments
from initiating any new construction or transportation projects without a vote with public approval.
.
ride free area expiring in downtown seattle at the end of the month.
somewhat worrying is the transition to the Orca card, "one card to ride them all" or somesuch. it is reloadable and uses rfid. so far so good. but it's completely trackable. it is possible to track the usage the card including what routes and what times, and presumably the movements of the cardholder. but not really. what if *I* get a card in my name, but then give it to my son? SonofV's mother can get an Orca card from her employer, but she is reluctant to do so and give it to him, since the company intends the card to be used by the employee for commuting to and from work. since he'd be using it in a completely different pattern, he said she said they said they'd just turn it off.
I don't like this aspect of a cashless society.
"one card to ride them all"
One card to ride them all
One card to find them
One card to charge them all
And on the buses bind them.
Be afraid.
You've captured my unease perfectly.
I misremembered the exact wording of their slogan.
[ATTACH]40563[/ATTACH]Here's a short, but good, article about the farmers' traditional dilemma.
It's a reasonable discussion of the push-pull forces of northwest mega-corporations,
farm cooperatives, union and non-union workers, and local governments
... each following the dictum: "All politics is local"
The Oregonian
Richard Read
October 27, 2012
Wheat growers nervously watch Northwest grain talks, hoping to avoid longshore lockout
MORO, Ore. -- Fourth generation farmer Darren Padget wrestled
with a whirling grain auger last week that loaded wheat seed into a truck driven by his father.
During the past two years, nature blessed Padget's 98-year-old
family farm in rolling hills south of the Columbia River Gorge.
Rains came in June and held off during the summer harvest.
The combine took in 50 bushels an acre, up from the normal 40.
Prices, driven by distant events such as a Russian drought, remain strong.
But at the last step, on Portland-area docks, the outcome is suddenly jeopardized by factors beyond farmers' control.
Wheat, corn and soybeans barged and hauled to the six terminals involved
in the talks come from as far away as the Dakotas and beyond.
[COLOR="DarkRed"]The terminals handle almost half the nation's wheat exports.[/COLOR]
[ATTACH]41380[/ATTACH]
[COLOR="DarkRed"]The threat of a lockout looms as a federal mediator
takes over talks Monday between the West Coast longshore union and terminals
that handle a quarter of the nation's grain exports.[/COLOR]
There's a sense in wheat country that longshoremen and terminal owners are far apart.
"It's a little disheartening when you've got a hiccup in the supply chain," Padget said.
"And whatever agreement they eventually come to, I've got to pay for it, because we're at the end of the food chain."
<snip>
[video here]
My post above is representative of the city where I've lived for 36 yrs.
It is in turmoil over a similar sequence of events mentioned in the article.
Like other cities, we have railroad tracks crossing major roadways.
Now talks are underway to convert/add those tracks into "high speed"
rails for trains carrying coal to a coastal port in southern Oregon.
The NIMBY crowd in this small, highly affluent and influential bedroom community of PDX are gathering.
... a new bridge... jobs... noise... coal dust... d-a-n-g-e-r... think of OUR children...
It remains to be seen whether this island of suburbia can divert
the proposal over to one of the "other" towns along the river.
As I understand it this started a year ago when this new monster grain handling facility built by EGT, a joint venture between one of the big three agribusiness giants Bunge North America, Japanese trading company ITOCHU and Korean shipper STX Pan Ocean, with a big dose of taxpayer money, initially opened negotiations with the longshore union, but then broke off negotiations and sued the port over its right to hire other workers.
In July, the company hired contractor General Construction Co. to operate the $200 million terminal with 25 to 35 members of the Gladstone-based International Union of Operating Engineers Local 701, in violation of the port agreement.
EGT relented when the longshoremen, with the help of Occupy Portland and support of a number of other are unions effectively shut down the port, but demanded concessions.
Now the other terminals are following EGT's lead in demanding concessions from the unions.
Now talks are underway to convert/add those tracks into "high speed"
rails for trains carrying coal to a coastal port in southern Oregon.
The NIMBY crowd in this small, highly affluent and influential bedroom community of PDX are gathering.
... a new bridge... jobs... noise... coal dust... d-a-n-g-e-r... think of OUR children...
My Ph.D. research involves high speed rails. Get that shit done. I want work when I'm done here. :D
...with a big dose of taxpayer money...
... Get that shit done. I want work when I'm done here...
Hmmm... Is it something like the army? "Hurry up and Wait"
Sightline Daily
Eric de Place
June 5, 2012
China Turns Away Coal Shipments
Why you can't count on coal markets.
If you follow coal exports, you’ll be fascinated by new developments in China:
at least 30 vessels loaded with unsold coal are sitting off the coast.
According to the energy industry journal Platts:
At least 30 Panamax or Capesize vessels are floating off China’s coast because traders
who bought them have been unable to resell them to end-users,
two industry sources said Tuesday at a conference in Indonesia…
“The situation is really very bad and is getting worse,” one industry source said.
[COLOR="DarkRed"]Coal market volatility is exactly why the West Coast has such a terrible track record with coal export.
Facilities in Portland in the 1980s and Los Angeles in the 1990s fell apart in spectacular fashion
—stranding millions of dollars in capital and foreclosing better economic development opportunities
—after supposedly reliable Asian coal demand dried up.
[/COLOR]
Coos Bay, Oregon has already spent many millions of $ to create a coal-port terminal... betting on the come.
But even those in support of the terminal have their doubts.
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
October 03, 2012
EUGENE, Ore. — Lane County commissioners have delayed for two weeks
their consideration of a proposed resolution supporting a coal cargo terminal at Coos Bay, Ore.
Such a terminal would handle coal trains shipped through Eugene.
The Register-Guard reports (http://is.gd/HEUBAN ) that all five commissioners
said Wednesday they supported the delay to give the public more time to comment.
Interested parties will be able to comment at commissioners' meetings Oct. 16 in Florence and Oct. 17 in Eugene.
Environmental groups are fighting several proposals for terminals at Northwest ports
that would ship coal from Montana and Wyoming to Asia.
Supporters include business and labor groups.
Explain to me this one...
The city where I live prides itself on it's manicured lawns and it's "private" lake,
expensive houses, low crime rate, but mostly it is proud of it's good ("best in the state") schools.
There were only two tax $-related referendums on the ballot this time.
One was to create a median strip with trees and flowers, down a major roadway,
the other was to build an new library because the old one was inadequate
to meet the needs of the community.
Which one do you think passed and which one failed... think hypocritically.
:nuts:
Which one do you think passed and which one failed... think hypocritically.
Some people think logically. Most people only the use part of the brain that existed before age 16; think emotionally. It is why advertising is so effective. Preach to the emotional. Therefore the majority of Americans knew smoking cigarettes increased health.
Don't think hypocritically. Think logically. Understand that most only think like an adolescent. Then guess which one passed.
I hope Dwellars know that I am quite proud of Portland and Oregon.
BUT... in the 35+ years we have lived here, the big black spot is the Portland Police Dept.
Other cities (Denver, LA, New Orleans) have had their problems.
But PDX has a Police Union that is powerful and political.
<snip>
Portland citizens have been asking for this for longer than I can remember
... police accountability to the communuity
Portland Tribune
December 18. 2012
City, feds file agreement on police use-of-force issues
Portland city officials and the U.S. Department of Justice filed a proposed settlement
in federal court Monday that will change the way the Portland Police Bureau
handles cases involving people with mental illnesses.
The settlement addresses allegations listed in a civil action, also filed Monday by federal prosecutors,
that claims police have violated the constitutional rights of some people through the excessive use of force.
The civil case alleges that the police bureau “engages in a pattern or practice of
using excessive force on individuals with actual or perceived mental illness...<snip>
Once approved by a federal judge, the agreement will require changes in the police bureau’s policy,
training, supervisory oversight, community-based mental health services,
crisis intervention, employee information systems, officer
accountability and community engagement and oversight.
[COLOR="DarkRed"]The agreement also calls for an independent compliance officer and community liaison,
responsible for maintaining data about the bureau’s use of force and reporting
his or her findings to the City Council, the federal justice department and the public.[/COLOR]<snip>
This was my first post on this topic... there are some follow up postings to help understand the situation.
Here's a short, but good, article about the farmers' traditional dilemma.
It's a reasonable discussion of the push-pull forces of northwest mega-corporations,
farm cooperatives, union and non-union workers, and local governments
... each following the dictum: "All politics is local"
The Oregonian
Richard Read
October 27, 2012
Wheat growers nervously watch Northwest grain talks, hoping to avoid longshore lockout
Today was a significant day in this push-me/pull-you:
KATU
Steven DuBois, Associated Press
Dec 24, 2012
Longshoremen soundly reject contract offer
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - Longshoremen at a half-dozen Pacific Northwest grain terminals
have overwhelmingly rejected what owners describe as their "last, best and final"
contract offer, increasing the odds of a post-holiday lockout.
Terminal owners, in a statement released Monday afternoon,
said they were "disappointed" by the vote and were reviewing their options.
They have replacement workers standing by to ensure grain exports to Asia.
<snip>
Roughly 3,000 longshoremen were eligible to vote on the contract offer and 93.8 percent rejected it,
a union spokeswoman said. The last collective bargaining agreement expired Sept. 30.
More than a quarter of all U.S. grain exports and nearly half of U.S. wheat exports
move through grain terminals on the Willamette River and Puget Sound.
The dispute involves six of those terminals that operate under a single collective bargaining agreement with the ILWU:
<snip>
The owners, who say they would accept either the Kalama or Longview contract,
want to eliminate perks such as paying workers a half-hour's wages for working as little as six minutes.
They also want greater discretion in hiring and staffing decisions and, according to a statement,
"the ability to hold the union to its agreement not to engage in work stoppages."
More than a quarter of all U.S. grain exports and nearly half of U.S. wheat exports move through grain terminals on the Willamette River and Puget Sound.
I guess that puts these grain conglomerates right up there with banks too big to fail. How about the 101 Airborne to make those nasty unions submit to the will of the shippers.
On Nov 22, 2011 Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber announced that the
execution of convicted killer, Gary Haugen, will not go on as scheduled
[COLOR="DarkRed"]and no more executions will happen while he is in office.[/COLOR]
NY Times
3/15/13
Kitzhaber: state Supreme Court loss won't make him OK execution
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Gov. John Kitzhaber said Friday that he won't OK
the execution of death-row inmate Gary Haugen,
even if the Oregon Supreme Court rules that he can't force
the inmate to accept a reprieve.
Haugen, a two-time murderer, wants to be executed,
but the governor has blocked it on moral grounds.
The high court heard arguments in the standoff Thursday
and was expected to issue a ruling by year's end.<snip>
In the 1990s, during his first stint as governor, Kitzhaber twice answered "No"
to the question of whether there was a reason to stop an execution,
decisions he says he has come to regret.
"I do not think the state is better off, safer or more just because we made those decisions," he said.<snip>
He said that governors generally get a call from the warden shortly before executions,
asking whether there is a reason an execution should not take place.
[COLOR="DarkRed"]"If they call me, I will say 'Yes, there is a reason this execution should not be carried out.'"
It was unclear what the warden would do next.
[/COLOR]
"What he did to me was not an act of grace; it's not a gift," Haugen said.
"He used a reprieve to sit back and to nullify my ability to exercise my constitutional rights."
Asked for a response, Kitzhaber said:
"I have no response to Gary Haugen; this isn't really about Gary Haugen.
It's about the larger policy of capital punishment in the state of Oregon. "
Oh yes, policy is more important than an individual person. That's why there are millions in jail for using drugs, it's policy. :rolleyes:
Government stopped Dr Kevorkian. And now stopped death by executions. If I need to kill myself, then the only reliable method is suicide by cop? Why are they subverting my rights?
50 virgins just still waiting for me.
I once had free sex and drugs and rock and roll. But now I must have a drug plan. The pope says I cannot have sex without being married or a priest. Thank god for rock and roll.
Thank god for rock and roll.
Damn. They now want me to pay for my rock and roll. God has no mercy. No wonder he picked this pope.
How NYC works. 11 years, 440,000 pot busts, 1,000,000 police man hours.
I am highly impressed by the sophisticated statistical method used to generate the 1,000,000 hours... NOT
<snip>
We multiplied 2.5 hours by the number of lowest level marijuana possession arrests
(charged under NYS Penal Law 221.10) for each year since 2002
when Mayor Bloomberg took office
... a bunch of statistical wonks !
But I agree with Governor Cuomo, as cited in that same report::
We agree with Governor Cuomo who said in his 2013 State of the State address:
"These arrests stigmatize, they criminalize, they create a permanent record.
[COLOR="DarkRed"]It's not fair, it's not right, it must end, and it must end now." [/COLOR]
On the other hand, Bloomberg's initiative "stop and frisk" initiative
has had other effects more beneficial to the community.
Staten Island live
Ken Paulsen
December 28, 2012
The murder rate -- 3.8 homicides per 100,000 population --
has dropped 19 percent compared to 2011,
and [COLOR="Red"]35 percent since Bloomberg took office in 2002,[/COLOR]
at a time when many observers felt that outgoing Mayor Rudolph Giuliani
helped push that rate as low as it could be.
It's easy to believe 2.5 hours per bust. First the cops usually work in pairs. Then those dangerous criminals have to be transported, booked, and housed until they can see the judge, all handled by cops.
And that doesn't even include the whippers, beaters, fingernail pullers, and gruel sloppers in the dungeons.
I thought it would be more than 2.5 hours. We toured our jail recently, and they made it sound like booking took a real long time.
IMO, the intended message of that report-cover graph was that officer time was being wasted,
and made it too easy to assume marijuana possession cases were the only purpose.
There are other effects and implications to the "stop and frisk" initiative
... some positive and some negative.
The long term implications for someone found guilty of "possession"
are far out of proportion to the seriousness of their "crime".
At the same time, the"tan skin" profiling found up to now
in the "stop and frisk" has serious implications for civil rights.
That's not what the report says.
Members of the New York City Council and the New York State Legislature asked us to determine how many hours New York City police officers have spent making hundreds of thousands of lowest-level marijuana possession arrests. This is necessarily a range from lower to higher because the number of officers involved in a single arrest varies, and the time each
spends varies considerably.
Stop and frisk sometimes turns up pot, but this report is only concerned with the resulting bust, which would not have happened if they just sent the person on there way.
We are not in disagreement here.
One small step at a time...
The Oregonian
Nicole Dungca,
3/22/13
Grant High's transgender students get unisex bathroom option
Northeast Portland's Grant High School, addressing an issue schools
increasingly face across the nation, has created six unisex bathrooms
in response to concerns from transgender students uncomfortable with traditional bathrooms.
Officials say four student restrooms and two staff restrooms -- all single-stall --
will be open to all students but create another option for the five to 10 transgender students
at the high school, Portland Public Schools' largest.
The move is a first in the district and relatively uncommon nationwide for K-12 schools,
which typically make staff or other small bathrooms available.
But then there is Arizona...
Transgender rights has become a more prevalent concern
in recent years as such situations become more common.
In Colorado, a family is suing a school district for not allowing a transgender
elementary-school student who identifies as a female to use the girls bathroom.
[COLOR="DarkRed"]In Arizona, a bill could require people to use only
restrooms designated for the gender on their birth certificates.[/COLOR]
Portland Po Po on the job...
[YOUTUBEWIDE]rEhYBkggftk[/YOUTUBEWIDE]
"He ducked that one"
"How did the cops miss a sitting duck like that speeding sedan? By the waddling ducks."
"Drakeblocked!" (wait.. that doesn't work either, a drake is the male duck like a cock is a male chicken, but it was likely the hen [what's the female duck called anyway? mama?])
I really can not believe the lack of political savvy in this...
KATU News
May 29, 2013
Report suggests sales tax on new bikes to fund bike programs
PORTLAND, Ore. – A new report from Portland's City Club suggests
a statewide sales tax on new bikes in Oregon as one way
to pay for bike programs it says are underfunded.
The study says federal funding cutbacks leave bike programs underfunded.
One solution the City Club suggests is a 4 percent sales tax on every new bicycle sold in the state.
<snip>
Yeah, this will work :facepalm:
Oregon has no sales tax... only an income tax based on the federal income tax.
Oregon voters have formally already voted against any sales tax 7 or 8 times.
The rest of the state essentially politically hates Portland (and Eugene).
A large portion of automobile drivers hate bicyclists.
The Portland City Club is the remnants of "old Portland", and
while still influential in Portland-politics, it carries little weight elsewhere.
Their lack of political savvy comes from their world view. Only they, the wise seers, can lead the unwashed away from motor cars, back to the temple of the holy bicycle. :rolleyes:
We moved to PDX in the mid-70's, and found life here was different - very different.
The City Council was attempting to cope with cable TV,
so there were onslaughts by the broadcast networks,
the phone company, the electric company, and most importantly,
the unique and "weird" neighborhoods of Portland.
Eventually, the cable was installed, but among the concessions to the neighborhood groups,
the City Council demanded one channel be set aside for "public access" - with NO editing or censorship.
As a result, Portlanders were treated to TV as they had never seen before.
... silliness of all sorts, amateurs of all sorts, evangelists of all sorts,
and NUDITY
--- nudity in the studio and films of public-nudity on beaches, city streets, etc.
To say the least, the public access channel was a guilty-pleasure success.
Many people watched, but only a very few defended publicly
... and so eventually it's policies became compromised and the channel failed.
It was a great social experiment.
But, Larry Nielsen held on, and stayed in the public eye
with his-to-her store-front church and street-evangelism,
all at a time when such complex images and messages
were unacceptable to most of society.
OregonLive.com
Nancy Haught, The Oregonian
6/13/13
Sister Paula Nielsen, Portland's transgender Christian evangelist, tells all
<snip>
Born in Portland, the former Larry Maclean Nielsen often jokes
that she was born "with my mother's features and my father's fixtures."
May 1 marked her 50th year living as a woman, and part
of her anniversary celebration is the publication of her book,
"The Trans-Evangelist: The Life and Times of a Transgender Pentecostal Preacher."
It covers 70 of her 74 years, a childhood of teasing and bullying for being "different,"
her conversion when she was 12 and her gradual understanding of what it means to be a transgender person.
<snip>
[YOUTUBE]hvikKUYcP9Q[/YOUTUBE]
This Bill is a bit unexpected to the Oregon public,
but at the same time it is not all that surprising.
Fox News
Associated Press
July 03, 2013
Plan would make tuition free at Oregon colleges
PORTLAND, Ore. – The Oregon Legislature this week gave its final approval
to a bill that might someday allow students to attend public university without paying tuition.
The concept, called Pay It Forward, calls for students to pay a small percentage
of their future income into an education fund to support the next generation of students.
The bill that passed unanimously directs the state's Higher Education Coordination Commission
to develop a Pay It Forward pilot project for consideration by the 2015 Legislature.
Though the timing was coincidental, the bill won final approval on Monday,
the same day that federal student loan interest rates doubled from 3.4 percent to 6.8 percent.
It's expected to be signed this month by Gov. John Kitzhaber.
Just a week or so ago, the School of Medicine at OHSU,
announced that tuition for existing AND incoming med students
would remain constant.
Tuition rates have been rising, and people are concerned
about the "student loan" debt of graduates that is climbing.
This is particularly true for students of higher (post-graduate) degrees
because the Federal student loan is being cut for them.
(Thanks to the Republican Party)
.
ETA:
Oregon Live
Nick Budnick, The Oregonian
7/1/13
Updated: Oregon Health & Science University to lock in tuition for new, existing students
<snip>
This year, dental students face a 10 percent tuition jump in resident tuition;
while resident medical students face a 2.5 percent increase;
nursing and bachelor's degree students will be met with 5 percent boost in cost.
Specifically, OHSU first year medical students who are in-state residents
will pay tuition of $38,428; including fees the cost jumps to $44,463, according to the university.
Non-residents pay tuition of $53,596 or, with fees, $59,631.
These hikes come after years of increases:
tuition for first-year medical students averaged 6.6 percent hikes
over the previous five years, and first-year dental students averaged 13.5 percent
in the same period, according to figures provided by the university.
[COLOR="DarkRed"]The problem is that students with huge debt loads and high interest rates
have little choice but to seek high-paying employment rather than
where they are most needed: underserved rural areas, inner cities and primary care.[/COLOR]
So without curbing tuition costs for at least some people,
"we just won't have the spectrum of providers that we need," Mladenovic says.
.
The concept, called Pay It Forward, calls for students to pay a small percentage of their future income into an education fund to support the next generation of students.
When you pay back a loan, it is also "paying a small percentage of one's future income." Is the difference here that it is literally tied to income level, and people in rich careers (Pre-med students) will be paying more back than shitty careers (English majors?) Does this also apply if one is unemployed? Say I'm a young lady who decides to go get myself an MRS degree, knowing full well that as soon as I meet the right frat boy I'm going to settle down, have kids, and never use that Anthropology degree I coasted through... and then I'll never have to pay for it?
I see those incentives backfiring. People will likely still seek high-paying jobs, they will just get to keep more of it.
Also, it's easier to do a cost/benefit analysis on a loan. If you have to pay, say 5% of your per annum earnings in perpetuum, you are potentially (definitely, from my experience) taking a much bigger hit than any student loan.
From what I am reading, the issues are along the lines of...
1) If a student can't afford today's tuitions, he/she won't go to college at all.
2) Student loan programs are getting major cuts for graduate degrees
3) On graduation, the student is not in debt with student loans.
Here is one
article...
The Pay It Forward solution offers students access to higher education without debt.
Students at public universities and community colleges would pay no tuition up-front.
In exchange, they would agree to pay a small percentage of their income
(1.5% for community college, or 3% for a 4 year school) for 20 years
to “pay forward” the cost of instruction for the next generation of students.<snip>
Over time, the Pay It Forward plan will create a stable funding stream for Oregon public higher education.
As more students graduate and pay in, the fund will grow, allowing more students to participate.
In the article's example, even at an eventual income of $60,000/yr,
the "student" would be paying about the same total as the current student loan debt
(e.g. $1,800 x 20 yrs = $36,000)
In the article's example, even at an eventual income of $60,000/yr, the "student" would be paying about the same total as the current student loan debt
In tandem is the benefit of that education. Listed are some of the worst. How to finance it is analogous to what is being purchased.
13 Colleges That Aren't Worth the Money
and
13 Colleges That Aren't Worth The Money
One college is nearby The Cellar.
1) If a student can't afford today's tuitions, he/she won't go to college at all.
In my opinion, the entire reason the tuition market is painfully inflated to begin with is because of the big push over the last 25 years that "everyone" should go to college.
Everyone should
not go to college. In my imaginary world, college scholarships would be strictly merit-based, with a secondary discrimination based on need, but not before weeding out the dumb ones who also happen to be poor. "Wanting" to go to college isn't enough, in my book.
But that sort of thinking would put Google Search out of business...
[ATTACH]44586[/ATTACH]
:rolleyes:
In my opinion, the entire reason the tuition market is painfully inflated to begin with is because of the big push over the last 25 years that "everyone" should go to college.
And lets admit it, the big four-year universities have been turning into all-inclusive resorts over the past 25 years as well. They have services for anything you would imagine needing and all of that costs money.
Everyone should not go to college.
We desperately need college graduates. But a serious problem (this side of the pond) is developing. Number (by percentage) of college graduates is diminishing. It would be even worse except that girls are going to college in larger numbers.
As a result we now have more 'dumb ass' boys. A majority never learn how to know something. College is supposed to teach one how to think and therefore know. How not to entertain emotions (like a child). How feeling do not make an informed citizen.
A perfect example demonstrated by a light bulb. A light bulb is observed to fail when switched on. That proves power cycling a light bulb causes bulb failure. A complete scam based in junk science reasoning. Because the observer did not see the many other times bulbs burned out. Even ignored the traffic lights that blink all night long with less failures. Only observation 'proved' that bogus conclusion.
Reality. Bulbs are not damaged by power cycling. Because knowledge from observation is classic junk science. Too many, with insufficient education, would not even know why that conclusion was bogus.
We now have more boys who don't even know how to think. Which means the Tea Party and other extremists have a larger pool to recruit from. So it must be good?
But that sort of thinking would put Google Search out of business...
Problem is not scholarships. Problem is college loans provided in greater numbers. Which therefore financed increased tuitions of many 'for profit but we will not teach you anything useful' colleges. Leading that charge were U of Phoenix and Strayer. However the worst offenders have lesser known names.
It goes right back to a fundamental question. What is the purpose of a business. Scumbags, communists, and even the mafia say it is to make a profit. Only fools recite that business school lie. The purpose of every business is - number one - its product.
Many 'for profit' colleges are profit centers. The product is irrelevant. Leaving students to pay off massive debts decades later.
Unfortunately price of college has increased significantly without any demand for better product. For example, where is the increase in professors and basic research? Instead, most money goes into more administrators and new buildings.
Prices went up because so many more college loans were made available. Supply and demand - economics that is taught in college. This 'free money' has also been especially profitable for religious colleges. Tuition increased. They still teach virtually no math or science.
...Say I'm a young lady who decides to go get myself an MRS degree, knowing full well that as soon as I meet the right frat boy I'm going to settle down, have kids, and never use that Anthropology degree I coasted through... and then I'll never have to pay for it?
That's ok, you will be better edumacated to home school your sprogs, thereby easing the tax burden on your fellow Oregon grinders.
It takes a lot of beer to get make up $400,000
Portland Tribune
8/30/13
Bar fined $400K for keeping transgenders away
A north Portland bar owner will have to pay a big fine,
after the state finds he tried to keep some cross-dressing transgender customers away.
Chris Penner is owner of the Twilight Room Annex, formally known as the “P Club.”
Bureau of Labor and Industries investigators found Penner left voice mails
asking the customers to not come to his bar, fearing people would think it’s a gay bar.
BOLI has now ruled that Penner pay $400,000 to the group of people he banned.
He’ll also has been ordered to pay a $5,000 penalty for violating the “Oregon Equality Act.”
The Oregon Equality Act is...
In 2007, the State of Oregon enacted the Oregon Equality Act (also known as SB2),
the landmark law to protect lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people
from discrimination. <snip>
Q What does this anti-discrimination law cover?
A The Oregon Equality Act forbids discrimination based on sexual orientation
or gender identity or expression in several critical areas
► Employment in all state, municipal and private workplaces
► [COLOR="DarkRed"]Public accommodations, meaning places open to the public such as businesses that
sell goods or services[/COLOR], recreational facilities and providers of medical services
► Housing and financial transactions such as real estate rental and sales, as well as
applications for credit and insurance
► Jury service
► State institutions such as prisons, jails or any facility operated by the Department of
Corrections
► Foster parenting and the provision of adult foster care
► Public school education, including public charter schools
But Oregon does not yet allow same sex marriage.
The issue will likely be on the 2014 ballot.
So because he tried to keep them away by being civil, rather than a confrontation, he hung himself. Guess that'll send a message to other business owners. :cool:
"Don't try to keep them away".
Or have the thugs make them feel unwelcome. I can see all kinds of unintended consequences, non of them good. :headshake
THEY're BACK....
The Vaux Swifts have returned to Chapman Elementary School in PDX.
It's part of their annual migration, as they provide a moving buffet for the hawks.
[ATTACH]45374[/ATTACH]
This is an 2010 video, but it's short and shows the event crowds form to see.
It takes more than 5 minutes of real time to get everybody into the chimney.
[YOUTUBE]8Bn2H8wdmbU[/YOUTUBE]
Reviving an old thread ... in anger :mad:
Oregon Live
Brad Schmidt
1/3/14
Portland Building: Four commissioners, four approaches for dealing with Portland's $95 million 'white elephant'
[ATTACH]46401[/ATTACH]
The Portland Building, the city's administrative headquarters, needs $95 million
to fix structural and water problems, officials say.
The City Council, however, isn't unified about whether such an overhaul makes sense.
(The Oregonian)
This is what you get when you hire an architect to design an "award-winning" public building.
It was home to two of my IT clients when it first opened.
Politicians were jubilant, but the minions who had to work there hated it.
No real windows so every floor seemed to be down in a basement
Now, none of the current Council members wants to set aside $
for maintenance on this building or any other city-owned structure.
WHY ?
Well, when you build a new public building, you get your name of a brass plaque in the lobby.
After all, that's what every politician wants.
ETA: The building cost $41million in 1983
Original design by Los Angeles architect Frank Gehry.
It won an AIA award and also is on lists of "The Uguliest Buildings"
Local architects campaigned against it being built.
It costs 20% more to heat/operate than engineering analysis predicted.