Jeffer-Sten Smith is in

http://bojack.org/2011/09/jeffersten_smith_is_in.html

Portland Transit Authority: TriMet's Troublesome Transit Tax

TriMet's payroll tax is also different from most transit agencies in that the tax rate goes up by a small amount each year automatically. Over the next 12 years the rate will gradually increase from .6918% to .8218%. This system has been a key to TriMet's success in building out its frequent bus network and MAX light rail system, since in normal times they have been able to rely on a steadily increasing stream of revenue over time. The recent drop in employment, however, has exposed some problems inherent in using a revenue source that only gradually increases.

Read More: http://transportationchoicescoalition.blogspot.com/2011/09/portland-transit-authority-trimets.html

A cheer from the end zone

http://bojack.org/2011/09/a_cheer_from_the_end_zone.html

More bad news for the Sandi Day Trial

AC Transit has agreed to pay $10.5 million to settle a lawsuit filed by a woman who was severely injured when she was hit by a bus in North Oakland in 2008, her attorney said Monday.
Abby Nichols, 23, was walking across Telegraph Avenue at 51st Street in a marked crosswalk when she was hit by a bus turning right, according to her suit filed in Alameda County Superior Court in Oakland.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/09/12/BA3P1L3K9F.DTL#ixzz1XrgQm79K

How to lose an election

http://bojack.org/2011/09/how_to_lose_an_election.html

Here come the part-time Muni operators!

The reform measure, which won overwhelmingly, gave management more leverage when it came to bargaining a new contract with Muni operators
.One of the biggest changes management sought and won was to cut costs by using part-time drivers instead of having more drivers earning overtime. This also gave bosses more flexibility in deploying operators when they're needed most.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/cityinsider/detail?entry_id=97249#ixzz1XtTrLpFP

Up against the Wall (Street)

http://bojack.org/2011/09/up_against_the_wall_street.html

Can't Stop that Light Rail

$3.1-million LRT study for system between Victoria and Langford draws fire from critics

Why Johnny can't read

Apparently, it's SpongeBob's fault. Get those kids watching PBS -- maybe some day they can work at Powell's.

Posted at 11:40 AM | Permalink

http://bojack.org/2011/09/why_johnny_cant_read_1.html

TriMet adds extra (MAX) service for Race for the Cure

And lower fares that day for a day pass. Bus riders don't get extra service that day for the event, actually, they get more hell because some bus lines will get detoured, only MAX riders get the special treatment.
Check it out for yourself: http://trimet.org/news/releases/sept13-komen-race.htm

Powerwashing pioneer square...

Do they have to? No.
Are they going to anyways? HELL YES!

Oops

Poor Fish

TriMet bridge construction: Crews using giant nets to pull fish out of work zone

Seeing Stars

     None of them has a clue that reality has other plans for the US economy, which is to contract, de-globalize, downscale, and go local. That so-called economy they're trying to bring back? It's gone, baby, gone. I saw the remnants of it in the supermarket yesterday afternoon, endless freezer displays of unbelievable food-like shit such as Fridays © frozen fried cheddar-stuffed jalepeno poppers and something called "Rattlesnake Pasta." What kind of people are we? Is Huitzilopochtli behind all this, fattening us up for the altar? The fact that chili peppers are involved makes me suspicious. Anyway, this trip to the supermarket was like a visit to some unholy museum.  A lot of the stuff behind those glass freezer doors I'd never actually noticed before, and surely never imagined in my wildest Iron Cheffantasies. In a few years, when the US public has become accustomed to a diet of cabbage soup and corn-pone, the memory of all that will astonish us.

Clusterfuck Nation

Another view of the bikes vs. streetcar track construction batttle

Challenging conditions test bike commuter 'tolerance' | Bike Portland
I've got a pretty high tolerance when it comes to things like that. More obstacles in the way of my ride = more fun and interesting! Raining and slippery? Just gotta be more careful and I'll be fine.
How about you other cyclists out there? There must be some of you out there that bother to read this....

An awesome web tool for transit-riding tourists in Portland

Portland AFoot
That thing is cool. Even if you don't need it, click on the link up there to check it out!

Passersby save motorcyclist trapped under burning car

http://www.katu.com/news/national/129736018.html

One Day on the F’in’ Bus

TriMet Diaries