If you missed it, there’s a really excellent piece in the Sunday New York Times about how America’s highway and urban planning policies in the last 50 years have undermined the cultural centers of cities, fueled sprawl and heightened class and racial divisions. Architecture critic Nicolai Ouroussoff basically points out, hey we’re about to spend […]
Sarah Shay Mirk
Sarah Shay Mirk reported on transportation, sex and gender issues, and politics at the Mercury from 2008-2013. They have gone on to make many things, including countless comics and several books.
Posted inSex
“Krabby Patty” is the new “Vagina”?
Red alert! Teens make sex jokes! Up in suburban Washington, a high school student body government is making headlines for printing t-shirts covered with ridiculous, possibly sexual innuendos. According to the Seattle Times, as part of a “Battle of the Sexes” week the student body printed up shirts with slogans for each class — Freshman […]
Posted inPolitics
Oregonian Slams BTA for CRC Stance
Today’s Oregonian editorial “Betting on the Wrong Bridge” issues a harsh critique of the Bicycle Transportation Alliance for speaking out against the 12-lane Columbia River Crossing: It takes less strength to demolish a fragile political alliance than to cement and sustain one. Unfortunately, the 5,000-member organization has chosen exactly the wrong place to plant its […]
Posted inNews
Good Morning News!
3,000 More Troops to Afghanistan: Obama lays out his benchmarks for the war in Afghanistan, including $1.5 billion in infrastructure aid to Pakistan. Reminiscent of Bush, Obama announces that al Qaeda “is actively planning attacks on the U.S. homeland from its safe haven in Pakistan.” Howdy, Chaiwalla: IBM lays off U.S. workers and offers them […]
Posted inFood and Drink
The Farm & Factory Origins of “Sustainable” School Lunch
Last Thursday, I went to the place where food is invented. Not cooked, not grown. Invented. It’s a nondescript office building called the Food Innovation Center located on the more industrial edge of the Pearl. I snagged a behind the scenes tour as part of the 4th National Farm to Cafeteria conference, which last weekend […]
Posted inNews
Good Morning News!
A Good Time to Invest in Washboards: Tent city “Hoovervilles” pop up all over California. Safe! Hard-fought national land conservation bill passes, preserving thousands of acres around Mt. Hood and elsewhere in beautiful, beautiful Oregon. “Friends” and Foes: Is Pakistan helping the Taliban fight American forces in Afghanistan? Our government thinks maybe. The English at […]
Posted inNews
Debt Diggers
Attorney General Targets Illegal Debt Harassment
New bill may squelch illegal debt harassment.
Posted inTransportation
TriMet Cuts Five Bus Lines
On the same day New York City announces its “disasterous for commuters” transit cuts, TriMet released its final proposed MAX and bus cuts. The big difference between the final cuts and the ones proposed a month ago is that TriMet is only completely axing five bus lines instead of twelve but also MAX service will […]
Posted inSports
Another Rose Quarter Redesign Idea
Remember the Blazer’s recently released really horrible “Water is Magic!” redesign idea for the Rose Quarter? Another idea cropped up in the Sunday Oregonian. In a guest column, architect Doug Obletz (who as president of a Portland-based design firm, could have a stake in the redesign if his idea gets traction) says instead of tearing […]
Posted inHomo
Anti-Gay Hate Crime in Seaside
From a normally sleepy tourist town comes some terrible news: a gay couple say they were attacked by a group of men on the beach and beaten to the point of unconsciousness. The two 22 and 23 year-old men, Samson Deal and Kevin Petterson, came to Seaside on spring break from nursing school in Washington, […]
Posted inGreen
When Will Phone Books Die?
There are seven phone books at my house. I’ve piled them up in the kitchen so that they now form a convenient side table. But it’s still unsettling. When will phone book companies realize their product is now defunct and wasteful, useless in the age of the internet and cell phones and offensive to people […]
Posted inGreen
BTA Clarifies Anti-12 Lane Bridge Position, Other Green Groups Still AWOL
The Bicycle Transportation Alliance finally issued an official written condemnation of the Columbia River Crossing bridge. The bike advocacy group’s initial position on Mayor Adam’s 12 lane bridge proposal was a little muddled, thanks to wishy-washy comments BTA executive director made on BikePortland.org. Taking no firm stance for or against the 12-lane commuter bridge, Bricker […]