AS THE Oregon Department of Environmental Quality prepares to release new air quality rules targeting local glass factories, Mayor Charlie Hales says Portland should look closer at setting its own pollution regulations.
At a Portland City Council meeting March 30, Hales said outcry over the discovery of heavy metals emissions at Bullseye Glass and Uroboros Glass "has risen to the level that we probably ought to have a work session" on establishing a local regulatory body to enforce air quality rules.
That's news—Hales previously said he'd explore a local authority only if the state's response proved too weak. So what changed? Nothing, according to mayoral spokesperson Sara Hottman. She walked back the mayor's statement somewhat, saying any future work session will depend on what the DEQ comes out with in coming days.
"The city wants to see what they propose," says Hottman. "It's sort of contingent on how the proposed rules look." DIRK VANDERHART
WE'VE FINALLY GOT a look at how voters might be feeling about this year's mayoral race, and they don't bode great for... anybody but Ted Wheeler, really.
A SurveyUSA poll of 567 likely voters, commissioned by KATU and released April 1, suggests Wheeler may have 38 percent of support ahead of the May 17 election. Multnomah County Commissioner Jules Bailey had 8 percent support, according to the poll. None of the other 13 candidates attracted more than 4 percent. Around 31 percent of respondents were undecided.
The results were a surprise to many. To the Bailey campaign, they were flat-out false. The campaign sent out a statement calling SurveyUSA's methodology and accuracy into question.
Under Portland law, if any primary candidate gets more than 50 percent of the vote, they win the election. If not, the top-two vote getters compete in a November runoff. DVH
