Portland’s glass factory pollution controversy has its first law suit, ICYMI. Seven Southeast Portland residents filed suit yesterday, on behalf of thousands more residents who live near Bullseye Glass. The company has been using cadmium, arsenic, and chromium to color its glass products for decades, but hasn’t been required to use common pollution control devices.
The glass concerns also got their own mayoral debate—sort of. The worry over air and soil pollution were a prime topic at a debate sponsored by a trio of environmental groups last night. Surprise: Sarah Iannarone, Jules Bailey, and Ted Wheeler all think its uncool glass companies have been dumping toxics into the air. The debate touched on other things, too. Like birds! And bikes, where apparently Wheeler didn’t shine so bright.
So just FYI @tedwheeler didn’t know about Sunday Parkways, thinks we have zero protected bikeways, thinks n’hood greenways are parks. OK.
— BikePortland (@BikePortland) March 4, 2016
Oh, and the legislature closed up shop days earlier than it had to, yesterday, capping a short session that saw all manner of angsty high jinx, but which also got Oregonians inclusionary zoning, a higher minimum wage, and an end to coal-fired power. But will legislators have to reconvene to consider Portland’s air problems? Activists think they should, but Kate Brown’s not making any promises.
Remember, races for mayor and two city commissioner positions aren’t the only reasons you’ll need to make sure to vote in May. There’s also a 10-cent gas tax that’ll be on the ballot. The state fuels lobby yesterday asked a judge to change the ballot language for that tax. It failed.
Hey! Ammon Bundy found a piece of government land he doesn’t like occupying.
The city, as you may know, is orchestrating a complicated maneuver to get that enormous US Postal Service facility out of the Pearl District, at long last. And it turns out the plot where we hope to move the USPS might cost nearly twice what it’s actually worth. Officials swear we’ll ultimately recoup those costs.
Watch this Portland vice cop go out of his way —stopping his SUV en route to what must be very important business—to block the camera of one of the guys who are continually filming officers downtown. The city’s Police Review Board says there’s nothing wrong with behavior like this. Another group, the Citizen Review Committee, will look into it.
Kudos to KEX’s Michael Castner, whose news talk show we at the Merc sometimes grace. He came out to listeners yesterday.
March in Portland. In like a drowned rat, out like a drowned rat, amirite?
Is the NRDC involved in the glass factory litigation? Seems like they’d be good people to get on board.