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Lamplighter

02-25-2012 10:21 AM

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

Quote:

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.

HungLikeJesus

02-26-2012 03:40 PM

Very interesting.

... But the reporter frequently abuses the concept of "exact."

Lamplighter

02-29-2012 08:37 PM

1 Attachment(s)

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, a lot of $ is being spent on restoration projects, as part of efforts to save the endangered salmon runs.

Attachment 37586

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."
.

HungLikeJesus

02-29-2012 09:04 PM

Your knowledge of Martha Stewart concerns me.

Lamplighter

02-29-2012 11:11 PM

Next week, we have a video on up to properly fold bath towels.

Lamplighter

03-12-2012 02:43 PM

2 Attachment(s)

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...

Attachment 37851
Attachment 37850

BikePortland.org
Jonathan Maus
March 12th, 2012

PBOT unveils new bike share website with station locator tool

Quote:

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.

piercehawkeye45

03-12-2012 02:46 PM

Minneapolis came out with that years ago...

Minneapolis > Portland

:p:

Lamplighter

03-12-2012 02:57 PM

2 Attachment(s)

Yes, plagiarism and copyright infringement in PDX are no longer crimes.
The operational motto is "Keep Portland Wierd" :rolleyes:

piercehawkeye45

03-12-2012 03:09 PM

Happened in Minneapolis first. :p:

Undertoad

03-12-2012 04:12 PM

some of those bikes i ain't sharing

ZenGum

03-12-2012 06:35 PM

:lol: UT makes a good point.

Lamplighter

03-17-2012 09:16 AM

1 Attachment(s)

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.

ZenGum

03-17-2012 05:58 PM

That cat is so fat he should be on Wall Street.

Lamplighter

04-13-2012 09:24 AM

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

Quote:

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>

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.

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.

classicman

04-13-2012 03:52 PM

Quote:

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'

Lamplighter

06-23-2012 09:03 AM

NY Times
ANNIE LOWREY
5/22/12

Oregon Study Shows Benefits, and Price, for Newly Insured

Quote:

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.

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?<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>

Glinda

06-23-2012 11:01 AM

Here's something else Portland/Oregon can be proud of...

In Vancouver, Washington, this costs $39.65

http://lh5.googleusercontent.com/pub...ToqnDextCEQYCA

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:

Lamplighter

06-23-2012 11:24 AM

Quote:

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.

classicman

06-23-2012 11:34 AM

Also from that article ... located immediately after the (snip)

Quote:

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...

classicman

06-23-2012 11:36 AM

and furthermore ...
“The study put to rest two incorrect arguments that persisted because of an absence of evidence,”

Quote:

“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.

Lamplighter

06-23-2012 02:15 PM

Dwellars should read the entire article.
Below are the entire paragraphs of Classic's quotes...

Quote:

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.
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.

Quote:

“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.
“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.
“It’s up to society to determine whether it’s worth the cost,” she added.

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...

Quote:

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.

classicman

06-23-2012 02:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lamplighter (Post 816557)

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.

Quote:

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.

Lamplighter

06-23-2012 03:56 PM

Quote:

Thanks, I don't think I missed anything of relevance, I certainly didn't cherrypick.

Obviously, I feel you did.

Quote:

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"

classicman

06-23-2012 04:01 PM

[quote=Lamplighter;816574]Obviously, I feel you did.
Oh really? Which part specifically?

Quote:

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.

xoxoxoBruce

06-23-2012 04:04 PM

While I support the notion of universal health care for American citizens, I have no obligation to be concerned if everyone is happy.

Lamplighter

06-23-2012 04:51 PM

Maybe it would be one of those "unintended consequences" people talk about...

xoxoxoBruce

06-24-2012 11:49 PM

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.

Lamplighter

06-27-2012 08:43 PM

1 Attachment(s)

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.

Attachment 39282

Portland Tribune
Raymond Rendleman
June 27, 2012

Corps may give up Willamette Locks

Quote:

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.

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.

classicman

06-27-2012 09:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lamplighter

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.

Lamplighter

06-27-2012 10:38 PM

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.

classicman

06-27-2012 10:41 PM

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 ???

Lamplighter

06-28-2012 10:06 AM

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:

Lamplighter

09-07-2012 09:08 AM

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.

The new fare is set at $2.50 :mad2:

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.
.

BigV	09-07-2012 04:20 PM

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.

ZenGum

09-07-2012 08:00 PM

Quote:

"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.

BigV	09-07-2012 08:13 PM

1 Attachment(s)

You've captured my unease perfectly.

I misremembered the exact wording of their slogan.

Attachment 40563

Lamplighter

10-28-2012 09:58 AM

1 Attachment(s)

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

Quote:

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.
The terminals handle almost half the nation's wheat exports.

Attachment 41380

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.

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]

Lamplighter

10-28-2012 10:49 AM

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.

xoxoxoBruce

10-28-2012 04:00 PM

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.

piercehawkeye45

10-28-2012 04:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lamplighter (Post 836124)

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

Lamplighter

10-28-2012 06:16 PM

Quote:

...with a big dose of taxpayer money...

Quote:

... 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.

Quote:

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.

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.

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

Quote:

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.

Lamplighter

11-07-2012 08:56 PM

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:

tw	11-08-2012 11:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lamplighter (Post 838023)

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.

Lamplighter

12-18-2012 12:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lamplighter (Post 806253)

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

Quote:

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.

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.<snip>

Lamplighter

12-24-2012 09:11 PM

This was my first post on this topic... there are some follow up postings to help understand the situation.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lamplighter (Post 836119)

Today was a significant day in this push-me/pull-you:

KATU
Steven DuBois, Associated Press
Dec 24, 2012

Longshoremen soundly reject contract offer

Quote:

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."

xoxoxoBruce

01-02-2013 12:12 PM

Quote:

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.

Lamplighter

03-16-2013 09:08 AM

On Nov 22, 2011 Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber announced that the
execution of convicted killer, Gary Haugen, will not go on as scheduled
and no more executions will happen while he is in office.

NY Times
3/15/13

Kitzhaber: state Supreme Court loss won't make him OK execution

Quote:

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.
"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.

"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. "

xoxoxoBruce

03-16-2013 11:23 AM

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:

tw	03-16-2013 04:00 PM

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.

tw	03-17-2013 07:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tw (Post 857195)

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.

xoxoxoBruce

03-21-2013 09:05 PM

1 Attachment(s)

How NYC works. 11 years, 440,000 pot busts, 1,000,000 police man hours.

Lamplighter

03-22-2013 08:54 AM

I am highly impressed by the sophisticated statistical method used to generate the 1,000,000 hours... NOT

Quote:

<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::

Quote:

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.
It's not fair, it's not right, it must end, and it must end now."

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

Quote:

The murder rate -- 3.8 homicides per 100,000 population --
has dropped 19 percent compared to 2011,
and 35 percent since Bloomberg took office in 2002,
at a time when many observers felt that outgoing Mayor Rudolph Giuliani
helped push that rate as low as it could be.

xoxoxoBruce

03-22-2013 09:38 AM

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.

glatt

03-22-2013 09:56 AM

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.

Lamplighter

03-22-2013 10:27 AM

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.

xoxoxoBruce

03-22-2013 10:39 AM

That's not what the report says.

Quote:

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.

Lamplighter

03-22-2013 10:46 AM

We are not in disagreement here.

Lamplighter

03-23-2013 08:34 AM

One small step at a time...

The Oregonian
Nicole Dungca,
3/22/13

Grant High's transgender students get unisex bathroom option

Quote:

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...

Quote:

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.
In Arizona, a bill could require people to use only
restrooms designated for the gender on their birth certificates.

xoxoxoBruce

05-16-2013 11:49 PM

Portland Po Po on the job...

BigV	05-17-2013 02:56 PM

"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?])

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