Wednesday, May 18, 2011
PSU to donate land to TriMet
He added that the transfer falls in line with PSU's mission to be a sustainability-minded, eco-friendly campus by helping the university reduce its carbon footprint. It will also further solidify the connection between PSU and OHSU by giving them a major transportation amenity in common.
"It's a win-win proposition," Desrochers said. "There's no downside to this."
For what, you ask? Why, the rotten orange line of course! No stopping TriMet when they want their shiny toy trains.
A battery of elected ideologues opens fire on those who serve the public
Thus America is suddenly at war against its own teachers-- along with its firefighters, police officers, public health researchers and caregivers, sanitation workers, census takers, park rangers, air traffic controllers, and the whole horde of 'do-nothings' on the public payroll. Fire 'em, bust their unions, take away their democratic rights, slash their pay, increase their workloads, eliminate their pensions, and (most especially) scorn them."Extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice," declared Sen. Barry Goldwater in his failed presidential try in 1964. Today, though, the billionaires masquerading as Goldwater's libertarian heirs are seeking only to 'liberate' themselves from our democratic society's essential rules of fair play. They resent paying taxes for anything that benefits others, they demand freedom from regulation of their corporate excesses, and they absolutely reject the notion that workers, consumers, environmentalists, and
other community interests should have any power over corporate whim.
Their sense of entitlement is nauseating, and their ongoing militant maneuvering in state after state to dis-empower America's workaday majority constitutes a declaration of war against our people's democracy. "Extremism in the defense of elitism" is their ugly purpose. That is a vice.
Ugly Number One is that theirs is a most uncivil war. It's based on demonizing some of the best and most useful workers in our country, pitting these people's very modest incomes and perfectly reasonable benefits against those who've been knocked down and have less. "Don't look at us," shout the corporatists who've been doing the downsizing and privatizing, outsourcing and offshoring--that have knocked down the middle class and held down the poor. "Instead, look at those just above you who are struggling to stay in the middle class. It's unfair that they have health coverage and you don't, so let's pull them down, too."
http://www.hightowerlowdown.org/node/2650
BoJack
Remember the bill of rights?
Nobody with the slightest bit of power does. The cops, everyone, they crucify you if they want to without good reason every chance they get.
To all the bummed-out Portland public school parents
Nobody with the slightest bit of power does. The cops, everyone, they crucify you if they want to without good reason every chance they get.
To all the bummed-out Portland public school parents
The condition of the schools really is a disgrace. The facilities are getting more rundown by the year, and they need work. So what's to be done?
Here is what we suggest: Open your eyes and see that there already are tens of millions of tax dollars sloshing around Portland for all sorts of public make-work projects. We're about to build a billion-dollar mystery train to Milwaukie and a wildly extravagant streetcar to Lake Oswego, all with tax dollars. The funds come from every level of government -- federal, state, and local. The local dough usually comes through "urban renewal," which robs from schools and public safety to promote condominium projects.
Well what did they expect??
A recent survey of Northwest Portland business owners, residents and visitors conducted by the Northwest District Association shows that most people who responded said that on Timbers game days, parking is harder to find and traffic is more congested in comparison to non-game days.
Survey of Northwest Portland residents reports parking, traffic congestion problems worsened on Portland Timbers game days
Survey of Northwest Portland residents reports parking, traffic congestion problems worsened on Portland Timbers game days
Se Habla MAX?
Nativist straw men notwithstanding, the fact we can’t accommodate everyone doesn’t mean we shouldn’t accommodate anyone: TriMet may not be able to bring enough linguistic gum for the whole class, but it might as well hook up as many folks as it can.
Dr. Know
Dr. Know
The plight of the auto-dependent motorist
And my fear is--things are going to get worse. A big reason I'm a transit supporter is not because I'm hostile to cars (I do drive; though my household is a low-mileage one); but because I'm terrified that sooner or later, the US is going to get the stool kicked out from underneath it. Not by domestic policies demanded by the local green crowd; but by continually rising oil prices (as production gets more difficult, and emerging powers such as China and Brazil start to drive more and increase their thirst for oil), and a decaying infrastructure that we seem to have more and more trouble maintaining. And that's ignoring the environmental consequences of fossil fuels. The nation is dependent on cheap oil, and my suspicion is that this dependency will come back to bite us hard.
Portland Transport
Portland Transport
Look out, DNA, here they go
Meanwhile, there's been some interesting nuke news closer to home. U.S. nuclear power plants use the same types of vents and valves that failed in Japan, causing the explosions that sent the airborne radioactivity all over the Northern Hemisphere. It can't happen here? Don't kid yourself.
http://bojack.org/2011/05/look_out_dna_here_they_go.html
http://bojack.org/2011/05/look_out_dna_here_they_go.html
Follow-up: No 'Bikes in Roadway' signage for Sandy Blvd
http://bikeportland.org/2011/05/18/follow-up-no-bikes-in-roadway-signage-for-sandy-blvd-53162?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+BikePortland+%28BikePortland.org%29
Nice to know they take the public's input so seriously....
Nice to know they take the public's input so seriously....
Clackamas voters say no to $5 Sellwood Bridge fee
While the bridge resides in Multnomah County, it carries a substantial amount of Clackamas County traffic (the $22 million is only 7% of the total bridge cost).
Even so, anti-fee petition leaders are likely celebrating a sweet victory this morning. One of them, Dan Holladay, had an interesting quote in The Oregonian last night (emphasis mine):
"Voters sent the message that Clackamas County isn't Portland, and it's time for some fiscal responsibility," Holladay said. "The county commissioners need to figure out how to use the money they have wisely instead of just tossing it around for the next green sustainable project, bikes, and bike paths. In Clackamas County, we drive cars."
Or you just want an excuse to get out of paying for a bridge that carries quite a few people from Clackamas County...
I think the last sentence is my favorite, though.
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