Baker Resigns; Councilor Calls Damascus a “Hellhole”
Newest Members:
Tom Hogue, Dept Land Conservation and Development, Economic Development Specialist
Jessica LaVigne, Pacific Lutheran University, Student
Next Forums:
June 6 – Heather Gantz, Waldron Senior Consultant, Bend, Oregon
June 12 – Lunch and Learn with Center for Priority Based Budgeting
June 20 – ELGL Willamette Valley Presents Community Rhythms
June 20 – Lake Oswego Police Chief Johnson; Clackamas County Undersheriff Kirby; and Milwaukie Police Chief Jordan
High 5
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Why Is So Much of Chicago a Commercial Desert? Bloomberg Businessweek has a good piece today on the economic costs of crime in Chicago, starting with Jens Ludwig’s oft-cited calculation that gun violence costs the city $2.5 billion a year.
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A year after Times-Picayune announced cutbacks, news habits changing in New Orleans – A year ago today, news leaked that The Times-Picayune would cease daily publication, cut staff and focus on its website, NOLA.com. The paper and ink edition now hits doorsteps and newsstands just three days a week: Wednesday, Friday and Sunday.
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Is Loneliness a Public Policy Problem? Researchers have shown that loneliness—more formally, the want of intimacy—exacerbates a host of ailments, including Alzheimer’s disease, obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, neurodegenerative diseases, and even cancer. The share of Americans who report “not feeling close to people” at any given time is 30 percent and growing, and deemed by some a social health crisis.
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How Cities Can Get Rid of Slums By Supporting Them – Instead, mayors and city managers can help their cities by accepting what exists and working with it.
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Cities for Everybody: Walking the Jane Jacobs Effect in Buenos Aires -In the urban planning circles of the United States, no historical figure embodies both the historical mythos and current trends that have become so important to the new urbanist movement more than Jane Jacobs.
I’m Just a Bill
Oregon Republicans looking for PERS reform to call their own – If there’s a poster issue for Oregon Republicans, shrinking the state’s public pension system is it. Cuts to the program not only save billions of taxpayer dollars, they rile public employee unions, which usually back Democrats.
Lawmakers take another PERS stab – Democratic leaders say their latest proposal would tackle an inequity in the pension system and cut costs
The Skagit River Bridge and our Transportation Priorities – A few days ago, the Skagit River I-5 bridge in northern Washington collapsed. While emergency responders were looking for survivors (everyone survived, fortunately) and engineers were looking for causes (an oversized truck hit a girder), it took less than two hours for the collapse to be used as a justification for building the Columbia River Crossing.
Immunizations, debt collectors, and U.S. forest firefighters: Oregon Legislature today – The Senate is scheduled to take up a child vaccination bill this morning, including a minority report being pushed minority Republicans.
Public Transit Gets Bipartisan Voice in Congress – Congress has an Animal Protection Caucus, a Hockey Caucus, and a Kidney Caucus, so it’s about time the millions of Americans who rely on public transit for their daily transportation needs had a voice in D.C.
Appalachia in Oregon – So, Governor Kitzhaber – along with legislative leaders in both parties – is looking at legislation (HB 3453) that would allow the Governor and legislative leaders to declare a “public safety fiscal emergency” and impose a local income tax.
Fiscal Cliff
Bell disputes state controller’s latest audit – State Controller John Chiang has released a follow-up review of a series of 2010 audits focused on the city of Bell’s internal controls, management of state and federal funds, its dissolved redevelopment agency and use of gas tax proceeds, but reported only “modest progress,” saying many problems “remain unaddressed.”
Oregon City’s budget has a new look and a surprise — higher property taxes – Oregon City is switching to a two-year budget instead of preparing an annual budget. The longer cycle frees up about 800 staff hours a year and allows employees to work on other projects, said City Manager David Frasher. The state and some cities use two-year budgets.
Limit the taxes local governments can impose – Voters have again turned thumbs down on fluoridating Portland’s water, but the proposal might have passed if it had been presented as a tax increase to pay for fluoridation. Portland voters find it difficult to vote against tax increases even when the tax imposed is as crazy (substantively and procedurally) and as unfair as the arts tax.
Oregon human services budget to emphasize jobs as demand for social services remains high – About a fifth of Oregonians use food stamps, and the slow economic recovery hasn’t produced enough living-wage jobs to significantly reduce the number of people relying on public assistance.
The sequester’s toll on tourism – How might the sequester affect your plans at parks, museums and monuments this summer? See what services have been cut.
Does Washington produce any economic value? Sen. Mike Lee(R-Utah) suggests the federal government adds little of value–and neither does Washington itself.
Detroit Vying for X Games, Will the Economic Impact Stay in the City Limits? Well, just like every misty-eyed entrepreneur who doesn’t actually live there will tell you: It’s happening in Detroit. Kevin Krease and Garret Koehler, two 20-somethings that met in college at Miami of Ohio, have put together a bid to bring the X Games — ESPN’s extreme sports-themed answer to the Olympics — to the Motor City. In their PBR-guzzling vision, having the games in Detroit, would raise the city’s profile without raiding the government’s coffers.
Inside Portlandia
Meeting to focus on Milwaukie’s roads – In identifying and prioritizing transportation needs, plans also relate to neighborhood traffic management and downtown parking. Since it was completely overhauled in 2007, city planners say the current plan is fundamentally sound, but it needs an update to remain consistent with Metro’s Regional Transportation Plan by Dec. 31.
Aquatic center poll shows city prefers a big splash – Results from the city’s aquatic center poll were presented during Monday’s city council meeting, showing tepid support for the construction of an indoor facility located on city-owned property near Tanner Creek Park.
Clackamas Town Center shooting: Report offers chilling glimpse inside a monster – The Clackamas County Sheriff’s office recently released their 926-page police report on the shooting last December at the Clackamas Town Center. It is heart-wrenching to read.
Outside Portlandia
State, city foresaw $93M for Nike deal – In their effort to grab a piece of Nike Inc. for Clark County, it’s no secret that state, regional and local economic development officials considered putting taxpayers on the hook to help acquire a hot — but complicated — property and then lease it to the Fortune 500 apparel giant.
State receives 14 applicants for climate job – Fourteen candidates want to become state government’s consultant on climate change.
City Heights Finds a Workaround for Streets Funding – Infrastructure funds for neighborhoods like City Heights are scant. Low-income communities fare well in competition for planning grants, but not for construction grants. Local funding streams are set to a trickle. And the city’s once-dependable reservoir of capital funds — redevelopment — is all dried up.
Manager optimistic for brewery property – Matthias is the brewery redevelopment project manager for the former Olympia brewery, hired for two years by the City of Tumwater and the Thurston County Economic Development Council to try and inject some life into a site that is set to face a decade of inactivity after Miller Brewing Co. closed the doors in June 2003.
What would happen if a tornado hit Salem? The Statesman Journal used the outlined path of the Moore tornado, provided by the National Weather Service, and laid it over the city of Salem, envisioning a hypothetical path of destruction.
In Whatcom County, small cities are growing fastest – If relative population growth is a measure of economic strength, then Bellingham and Whatcom County lag the rest of the state, according to 2012 population estimates released last week by the U.S. Census Bureau.
Camas’ finance director is retiring after 24 years – Joan Durgin, the city’s finance director, will retire Friday. A 24-year veteran of the city, Durgin balanced Camas’ books during a period of rapid growth.
EmX engineering to proceed – Lane Transit District will soon begin surveying along the controversial Eugene route to prepare for construction
County seeks low-cost way to recruit – Clark County commissioners will meet with the county’s human resources department this week to discuss what it takes to replace County Administrator Bill Barron, 68, who announced this month he will retire Sept. 10.
The Feds Are Fighting Forest Fires Wrong – Skyler Lofgren shouts above a din of buzzing chainsaws, leans into his own, and with a final heave topples another 40-foot Ponderosa pine.
Out for a Spin: City’s Bike Share Program Begins – The system, whose start had been delayed since last summer, has thousands of bicycles stationed in parts of New York City for use by people paying a membership fee.
Major League Soccer Headed to New York, Wants Free Land – Major League Soccer (MLS) is expanding to New York. The MLS announced on Wednesday,with Mayor Michael Bloomberg standing by, that the league’s 20th franchise, New York City Football Club (NYCFC), will be operated by the New York Yankees and the English football club Manchester City. The club will join the league in 2015.
Career Center
More leadership, less spin – For the president, image seems to be everything.
Texting hurts your grammar – Many communicators around the world insist that it does. If you’re in this camp, there are now facts that can back you up. How gr8!
No paid vacation? You must be an American – The United States is the only highly developed nation that doesn’t require employers to offer paid vacation time, according to a new report from the Center for Economic and Policy Research, a left-leaning economic think tank.
Social Network
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25 Clever Twitter Keyboard Shortcuts – If you use the main Twitter website, we can help you out with some seriously useful keyboard shortcuts. Whether it’s navigational tricks or keyboard actions, these handy shortcuts will save you tons of time.
Man sues Twitter and a resort for taking his Twitter handle – It started in 2011, when Leonard Barshack, of Ketchum, Idaho, registered @SunValley. It was a nod to the nearby resort town, and doubled as “a nickname my friends have used for me for years,” he later claimed in a letter to Twitter. Barshack’s tweets were those of a fan of the local area, posting “Power day!! First tracks or stay home!” and “Overcast today, but tomorrow should be epic! Beat the tourists, ski tomorrow!”
BUZZFEED AND CNN PARTNER WITH YOUTUBE TO BRING SERIOUS NEWS TO THE SOCIAL WHIRL – WILL THE NEW SITE HAVE A HEAD FOR BUZZNESS AND A BOD FOR CNN?
Breaking ground – Online start-ups are rallying citizens to revamp their neighbourhoods.
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