Oregon
updated
5:30 p.m.
Contains only posts that are ID'd as local content. An explanation. Want to help improve our local content filter? Add keywords here.
Blossom laden trees, the aroma of flowers in the air, excited basketball fans, and... hours of meetings? It can only mean one thing: Budget season. Unfortunately, spring blossoms do not mean money blossoms, especially this year in Portland. The Council......
Commissioner Randy Leonard - 5:30 p.m.
A few days ago, State Representatives Val Hoyle and Nancy Nathanson along with State Senator Chris Edwards held a town hall meeting in West Eugene at Willamette High School cafeteria. A Eugene contingent of teabaggers attended the town hall. One of them who posts on YouTube as "adb024" posted a heavily edited video on the event, with the usual right-wing pap to go along with it. The Eugene Weekly ...
BlueOregon - 4:27 p.m. - 2 clicks 
The Kitzhaber-Bradbury Democratic Primary Gubernatorial Roadshow rolled back into Multnomah County last night for another debate. Addressing a crowd of Mult Co Dems activists — some of the most important people in the campaign, the ones who can be counted on to work hard for a campaign and bring others with them — the two friends and political opponents covered some new ground, repea...
T.A. Barnhart - 3:04 p.m. - 7 clicks
Portland Fire and Rescue responded to 1,200 incidents last week, including 945 calls for medical service and 48 for fires. While the total number of calls decreased by 69 from the prior week, the number of major incidents remained even......
Commissioner Randy Leonard - 2:01 p.m.
The latest unemployment numbers are out today and the story is essentially the same - holding steady. The February unemployment rate is at 10.5%, and those 1,200 jobs gained in January? Gone. February saw a loss of 1,200 jobs on a seasonally adjusted basis. Leading indicators are up, but the jobs just aren't coming yet - it is going to be a long, slow recovery... ...
Oregon Economics Blog - 1:24 p.m. - 4 clicks
By Alan Moore of Portland, Oregon. Alan describes himself as "an unemployed union organizer who spends his days applying for jobs, doing home remodeling and wondering if the right wing really does want to return to the middle ages." On January 1, I joined over 220,000 (pdf) other Oregonians in the ranks of the unemployed. Despite sharing the anxiety about the future felt by all out of work Oregoni...
BlueOregon - 10:01 a.m. - 2 clicks
Oregonian article about Commissioners Fish and Fritz seeking to delay the Police Oversight reform ordinance. Oregonian Editorial supporting City Council's recognition of Tibetan Awareness Day last week, despite strong objections by the Chinese government. note that the Oregonian used our......
Commissioner Randy Leonard - 10:01 a.m. - 2 clicks
Of the Oregonian: I am befuddled by your editorial's skepticism at the synergy between the Bureau of Environmental Services' "green streets" program and bicycle boulevards ( "Sewer money for bikeways: Does it pass the smell test?" March 15 ). We are under a mandate from the federal government to better manage our stormwater. We have several ways we can do this: 1) Build expensive pipes u...
Portland Transport - 7:40 a.m. - 8 clicks
It's easy to get overwhelmed when you try and study proposals for tax reform. All those "breaks and loopholes and deductions and exemptions and deferrals and exclusions", as the Washington Post's Ezra Klein puts it. But Senator Ron Wyden's recent proposal - in collaboration with Senator Judd Gregg (R-NH) - is an important one. Here's how Ezra describes it: The Wyden-Gregg plan takes the six income...
BlueOregon - 2:06 a.m. - 4 clicks
I'm afraid I'm not very prolific right now. I'm serving on the City of Portland's Budget Advisory Committee and we have work sessions sprinkled over the next several weeks. Coupled with Portland Plan activities, I'm a little stretched... So please excuse the lower output for the next little bit. ...
Portland Transport - Mon 8:49 p.m. - 3 clicks
Oregonian editorial about the graduates from the Service Coordination Team chronic offender program that saves money spent on corrections by putting people through intensive treatment instead. Oregonian article about the Citizen Review Committee meeting at PSU yesterday, where citizens urged......
Commissioner Randy Leonard - Mon 1:21 p.m. - 4 clicks
I was reading Matt Davis’ report on the CRC meeting yesterday and all the trouble Portland is having getting its act together on the police. Like almost everyone else in the City, I’m wondering why this mess continues without ceasing. It’s not that people don’t care, or that we’re indifferent to abuse of power, or that we have stupid people running City government. Yet we haven’t even begun ...
T.A. Barnhart - Mon 12:48 p.m. - 17 clicks
I hereby apologize to Bill Bradbury and his fans for posts seeming dismissive of Bill and his proposal to raise $2 billion for schools. As to the $2 billion, I should not have dismissed Bill’s vague promise to get $2 billion out of tax expenditures with equally vague assertions of my own. In this post, I will go through the major items in the Tax Expenditure Report, and explain why I think Bill wa...
BlueOregon - Mon 11:39 a.m. - 2 clicks
For the sixth year in a row (see last year's blog), Commissioner Leonard is proud to host a performance by the "Molly Malone Irish Dancers" at Portland City Hall. All are welcome to attend this fantastic performance. We look forward......
Commissioner Randy Leonard - Sun 10:08 a.m. - 7 clicks
In Friday's Oregonian, Eric Mortenson has a terrific profile of farmer Dave Vanasche, who is farming on foundation farmland that's been placed inside urban reserves for Washington County. You should click through if for no other reason than to view Randy Rasmussen's great photo work. At ground zero in Cornelius, Dave Vanasche leads fight to preserve Washington County farmland: But there's more to ...
BlueOregon - Sun 9:07 a.m. - 5 clicks
here is the speech i gave Monday, March 8: Good evening. I am Nancy Ellen Rawley, the mother of two students, a 2nd and a 5th grader at North Portland school. I am co-publisher of PPS Equity.org and a PPS employee. I am also a member of PFTCE. But tonight I am here as my kids’ [...]...
PPS Equity - Sat 3:26 p.m. - 5 clicks
By Jesse Cornett of Portland, Oregon. Jesse is a candidate for Portland City Council. Today is Ben Westlund Day in my household. However, one day will never suffice to pay respects to this Oregon statesman. I grew to admire Ben Westlund, the Republican, during the 2001 Legislative Session when he appeared to be the only House Republican with compassion in a House full of slash-and-burn-I’m-only-go...
BlueOregon - Sat 11:02 a.m. - 9 clicks
C.O. “Rock” Bright, my grandfather, passed away a short time ago in Columbia, South Carolina. His death won’t make the papers but for our family he was everything. Nearly 92, he lived a full life that focused on his family......
Chuck Currie - Fri 4:42 p.m. - 16 clicks
Last night, KATU Channel 2's Kerry Tomlinson reported on the dispute between Commissioners Leonard and Saltzman over how to proceed in the Hurley case. Oregon Editorial about the need to strengthen Police oversight....
Commissioner Randy Leonard - Fri 2:07 p.m. - 11 clicks
By Tony Crawford of Canby, Oregon. Tony is a 30-year classroom teacher. He is currently at Ackerman Middle School in Canby. The purpose of the Oregon Education Association is to assure a quality public education for every student in Oregon by providing a strong, positive voice for school employees. This is the mission statement of OEA and one that reflects the first interest of members, such as me...
BlueOregon - Fri 1:41 p.m. - 5 clicks
Warning: This post is really long. Only read if you’re obsessed with K-12 policy and/or are especially concerned with OEA / Kitzhaber relations. In 2008, the Oregon Education Association and John Kitzhaber were among my more important supporters. (Heck, all of them were important! - but you know what I mean.) This last weekend, I went to Eugene to try to get my friends at OEA to endorse my friend ...
BlueOregon - Fri 11:17 a.m. - 6 clicks
By Jon Bartholomew of Portland, Oregon. Jon is a policy advocate for OSPIRG. It’s been about a year and a half since the crash of the global financial system that was brought on by deregulation and what have we done to prevent the next crash? No significant financial system reforms have yet been enacted that will help consumers trust they aren’t being victimized by their banks and lenders. No sign...
BlueOregon - Fri 11:17 a.m. - 4 clicks
The annual Rail~Volution conference , founded in Portland, is coming back home this year from October 18-21. Would you like to contribute to a conference presentation? The call for proposals is out: Rail~Volution is a conference for passionate practitioners - people from all perspectives who believe in the role of land use and transit as equal partners in the quest for greater livabilit...
Portland Transport - Fri 9:06 a.m. - 11 clicks
I acknowledge this is an unusual use of BlueOregon but - I have a speaking engagement Saturday in Portland during Ben's Salem memorial service. I was going to drive down to Bend and back tomorrow (Friday) for the 2 pm Bend memorial but I am not good at all at driving in snow and both passes look troublesome as of now. Was anyone else going to do the same thing, someone with 4 wheel drive who knows...
BlueOregon - Thu 10:25 p.m. - 8 clicks
The faculty at Klamath Community College will soon be bargaining for a contract that will provide them desperately needed stability and benefits. BHMK attorney Christine Moore represented the Klamath Community College Faculty Association in its petition to the Employment Relations Board seeking certification as a bargaining unit at the College. The Association requested a bargaining unit compose...
Bennett Hartman - Thu 4:29 p.m. - 6 clicks
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 11, 2010 Contact: Francisco Lopez, Executive Director, 503.269.5694 Erik Sorensen, Communications Director, 503.488.0263 Immigration Reform Advocates to March on Washington D.C. Tens of Thousands preparing for March 21st Action, while White House holds meetings to plan reform on immigration Salem, Ore.-- Immigration Reform advocates are stepping up pre...
CAUSA:blog - Thu 4:05 p.m. - 4 clicks
Minutes ago, former state treasurer Jim Hill filed the paperwork to withdraw from the State Treasurer's race. I got the tip from a friend who happened to be in the state capitol - and I've confirmed this with the elections division directly. More updates shortly....
BlueOregon - Thu 3:20 p.m. - 12 clicks
By Ashley Henry of Portland, Oregon. Ashley describes herself as a "desert protection activist turned fish habitat restoration organizer turned campaign manager turned renewable energy and sustainability consultant." While there are a lot of changes afoot -- including the recent announcement about Ted Wheeler's appointment -- I respectfully submit this reflection on the death of Ben Westlund. I ho...
BlueOregon - Thu 11:10 a.m. - 10 clicks
Maxine Bernstein of the Oregonian writes a front page article about the Police oversight reform ordinance that will be discussed at City Council next Thursday at 2:00 pm. The Crime Report summarizes the police oversight issue here. The Portland Mercury's......
Commissioner Randy Leonard - Thu 11:10 a.m. - 6 clicks
Many political candidates dream of going viral on the internet - with people all over the country taking note of what they're up to. Even more so for long-shot minor-party candidates. But this isn't the attention that Marc Delphine wanted. Delphine is the libertarian candidate running for U.S. Senate here in Oregon. The chatter on Twitter continues to percolate. He's been mentioned on ESPN and Yah...
BlueOregon - Thu 10:30 a.m. - 6 clicks
A group of local environmental organizations issued a letter today critical of the response from Governors Kulongoski and Gregoire to the request of local leaders to have more control of the Columbia River Crossing project: March 10, 2010 Dear Governors Gregoire and Kulongoski, We are writing on behalf of our organizations, which together represent thousands of Oregonians and Washingtoni...
Portland Transport - Wed 10:43 p.m. - 10 clicks
Portland Fire and Rescue responded to 1,269 calls last week, including 1,011 medical calls and 53 fire calls. The total number of calls for last week was 10 fewer than the week before, but the number of fire calls was......
Commissioner Randy Leonard - Wed 1:45 p.m. - 4 clicks
Without making a judgement on the benefits of the wars in Iraq and Afganistan, here is an interesting take on the opportunity cost of the wars. I chose Portland as a reference point, you can go and choose your own . ...
Oregon Economics Blog - Wed 1:01 p.m. - 13 clicks
Following last week's Mayoral Proclamation declaring March 10, 2010 "Tibet Awareness Day" in Portland, Commissioner Leonard gathered with a large group of Tibetans to raise the Tibetan Flag over City Hall. Here are a few pictures from the event: The......
Commissioner Randy Leonard - Wed 11:23 a.m. - 11 clicks
I am an interested party in the Portland high school redesign effort . I will have children that I expect will attend Portland high schools. In the case of my kids, they will most likely attend Cleveland, one of the high schools that seems to do reasonably well in various metrics. The schools the district is worried about are schools like Jefferson, Franklin and Marshall th...
Oregon Economics Blog - Wed 10:09 a.m. - 7 clicks
On multiple fronts: Multnomah County is finally ready to open the new bike path on the Morrison Bridge Google Maps has added bicycle directions - try it! Actually, my first attempt with Google was a little rocky. I asked it to route me from my home down to the Bureau of Planning and Sustainability and it tried to send me across Highway 26 on 18th Ave. Some of you may be aware that the...
Portland Transport - Tue 11:41 p.m. - 10 clicks
I doubt that our senior senator here in Oregon, Ron Wyden, is losing sleep over Jim Huffman's announcement that he's seeking the Republican nomination to challenge Wyden next November. At least, I assume Huffman is running as a Republican. You......
Hines Sight - Tue 9:44 p.m. - 18 clicks
From Michael Munk: The Northwest History Network presents "We're going to defend ourselves": The Portland Chapter of the Black Panther Party & Local Media Response A presentation by Jules Boykoff & Martha Gies (Publication planned in the Oregon Historical Quarterly) with special guests Kent Ford & Percy Hampton, original members of the Portland chapter, Black Panther Party Thursday, March 18 a...
Willamette Reds - Tue 8:02 p.m. - 3 clicks
From Michael Munk: If you missed OCHC's first ever and long over due exhibit of Dorothea Lange's 1939 Oregon photographs in Portland, it has been extended to March 28 at Bay City on the Oregon coast. It's at the People's Museum of Art in Artspace, 9120 Fifth Street, where regular hours are Sun-Wed, 11-7 and Sat, 11-4 or by appointment 503.377-ART2. Bay City is just north of Tillamook. The day b...
Willamette Reds - Tue 7:45 p.m. - 12 clicks
Tualatin Riverkeepers are inviting everyone to a "Restoration Tree Planting with Tualatin Riverkeepers" event on Saturday, March 20 at 9:00am. Event: Restoration Tree Planting with Tualatin Riverkeepers Start Time: Saturday, March 20 at 9:00am End Time: Saturday, March 20 at 12:00pm Where: Metro Natural Area on Munger Lane Thank you! ...
Willamette Reds - Tue 7:45 p.m. - 5 clicks
CAUSA Oregon, the Census Bureau and the Chemeketa Community College Multicultural Center invite you to a forum with Civil Rights leader Dolores Huerta DATE & TIME: Friday, March 12, 2010 at 7pm LOCATION: Chemeketa Community College, Building 2, 4000 Lancaster Dr. NE, Salem THEME: WE ALL COUNT, THE IMPORTANCE OF U.S. CENSUS 2010 For more information call: (503) 984-6816 or ...
CAUSA:blog - Tue 6:30 p.m. - 8 clicks
Janie Har and Steve Duin of the Oregonian cover the Chinese Consulate General's visit to Portland to protest the City's proclamation in recognition of Tibet Awareness Day. Kalsang Rinchen from the media outlet Phayul, reports on the issue. Furthermore, the......
Commissioner Randy Leonard - Mar 9 - 11 clicks
Eugene, Ore --Last night, the Eugene City Council passed a Resolution supporting the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act. The DREAM Act, which was introduced in Congress last year, authorizes the cancellation and the adjustment of status for certain immigrant youths who are college bound and are long term United States Residents. It would also permit states to determin...
CAUSA:blog - Mar 9 - 11 clicks
