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

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, 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."
.

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...

Attachment 37851
Attachment 37850

BikePortland.org
Jonathan Maus
March 12th, 2012

PBOT unveils new bike share website with station locator tool

Minneapolis came out with that years ago...

Minneapolis > Portland

:p:

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
.

There is one other constant there... jus sayin'