Commissioner Sam Adams’ office is busy circulating the city council’s proposed resolution on the Columbia River Crossing, soliciting co-sponsors from the rest of the council before the 5 pm filing deadline. They won’t be getting Commissioner Dan Saltzman’s sponsorship. In fact, he’s “seriously considering” not supporting the resolution at all, according to his chief of […]
Politics
Posted inPolitics
Council Agrees to Amend Cops’ Agreements with Other Jurisdictions, to Increase Oversight
The city council tried to push through a set of intergovernmental agreements between the city and TriMet, to continue to allow officers from other agencies–the Hillsboro or Milwaukie police department, for example–to patrol MAX. But members of the IPR’s Citizens Review Board have big concerns about this legislation, because it continues the status quo–currently, as […]
Posted inBikes
Gas-Free Fridays
Forget those occasional chain-email suggestions to boycott buying gas for a day–those one-day boycotts don’t do any good, especially if you’re still driving that day, and buying gas to refill your tank the next day. Here’s an idea that really can have an impact, via the Bicycle Transportation Alliance: Gas-Free Fridays! In cooperation with groups […]
Posted inPortland
Tonight: Follow-up Meeting Between City and Chavez Street Rename Committee
Tonight in city hall’s Rose Room, members of the Cesar E. Chavez Boulevard Committee will be meeting up with city staffers, to follow up on their June 12 meeting that re-launched the rename effort, which I wrote about this week. Unfortunately, tonight’s meeting is a closed session. But committee co-chair Marta Guembes has previously told […]
Posted inPolitics
Bizarro Letter of the Day
Note the subject line: From: C.K. HoltonSubject: cesar chavez Ave. Madame: I cannot, for the life of me see how you can condone ANYTHING these ILLEGAL ALIENS do while they are in this country ILLEGALLY. What has happened to OBEYING THE LAW??. The fact is these people are in this country ILLEGALLY has been swept […]
Posted inBikes
Riding with Sam Adams
I wish I were more proficient in taking photos while riding a bike–I would have snapped a photo of the massive crowd of folks on bikes, following Commissioner Sam Adams on his commute home to Kenton, part of Pedalpalooza. Luckily Aaron Tarfman is more proficient, and snapped this one at city hall before we left: […]
Posted inPolitics
Rumble! It’s the City Club Forum on the Columbia River Crossing
[Edit: Here’s the audio!] “I believe that spending $4 billion dollars on a freeway bridge is a huge mistake,” says economist Joe Cortright, in his opening statement at today’s City Club forum on the Columbia River Crossing. Metro Councilor Rex Burkholder just finished his intro, making the case for the project–in part by referencing the […]
Posted inPolitics
The City’s CRC Dog and Pony Show Work Session
This is truly adorable. The entire city council is holding a work session this afternoon, on the Columbia River Crossing project. This, despite the fact that they already sent a letter to the CRC outlining what they want in a new I-5 bridge, and this despite the fact that the momentum around a 12-lane sprawl-enabling […]
Posted inPolitics
City Council Outlines Position on Columbia River Crossing—Before the Public Hearing
Last week, the five members of the city council signed onto a letter outlining their thoughts on the massive Columbia River Crossing (CRC) project—a letter meant to guide tomorrow night’s CRC task force when it takes a vote to recommend a “locally preferred option” for the project. The problem is, the council isn’t holding a […]
Posted inPolitics
PolitiCorps Kickoff
School’s out for the summer, but PolitiCorps—a national political leadership training program, or “political bootcamp,” based here in Portland—is now in session. I’m on the campus of the Catlin Gabel School, just over the West Hills, where 24 college-aged future political leaders are listening to the Bus Project’s Emily Kintzer, as she gives an overview […]
Posted inPolitics
Political Rumor of the Week
True or false: New City Commissioner Nick Fish plans to join a camp out on city hall’s steps this Saturday night—a continuation of last month’s long protest against the sit-lie and camping ordinances. False! Chalk that rumor up to a “lame attempt at humor” on Fish’s part, he says. On Wednesday, when Fish presented Sisters […]