How a city works...

[classicman]

Well ... at least it got the Historical designation.

Maybe its a geographic thing & I don't really understand. Is it a major ... err was it a major commerce issue or ???

[Lamplighter]

I think it is important for two reasons...

First, it sets the stage for forcing repairs of the locks ( otherwise nothing would happen),
... either via the Army Corp and/or via State/County/Metro $

Second, Schnitzer Steel Corp is a major Oregon industry,
and has facilities in Eugene (upstream / south) of PDX.
There were defense heavy industries in Albany.
The locks were an integral part of their operations.
And all other shipping is now blocked
- remember Howard Hughes' "Spruce Goose" being moved to Oregon in 1993.

Plus, it sort of tickles me that Oregonians are threatening the Army Corp of Engineers.
"If you're not going to take care of with your toys, we'll take 'em away from you"

[Lamplighter]

PDX has a layer of regional government called METRO,
that was born out of a need for public transportation over 3 County juridictions.

The original idea was to encourage the public to not drive cars to work,
but instead to take public transportation, mainly buses. So...

The entire downtown Portland area was a free-zone.
You could board a bus anywhere and get off anywhere in this zone without paying.
Outside this zone were three rings of fares, and your ticket
was set by how many zones your trip entered.
Fares were set a very attractive, low levels.
But over the years they increased gradually.

This month the METRO Council did away with the free zone and all three fare zones,
so there is now a single fare to get onto any bus to go anywhere.

Plus, you have to have the exact fare, because the drivers no longer make change.

The new fare is set at $2.50

WTF does this current Council think is going to happen to ridership ?
$2.50 for a few blocks hop down to the store, and another $2.50 to get back home !

Why ?
To pay for the construction and operation of the new "light rail" trains

The future ?
There is a huge political backlash forming to prevent the METRO and/or County governments
from initiating any new construction or transportation projects without a vote with public approval.
.

[BigV]

ride free area expiring in downtown seattle at the end of the month.

somewhat worrying is the transition to the Orca card, "one card to ride them all" or somesuch. it is reloadable and uses rfid. so far so good. but it's completely trackable. it is possible to track the usage the card including what routes and what times, and presumably the movements of the cardholder. but not really. what if *I* get a card in my name, but then give it to my son? SonofV's mother can get an Orca card from her employer, but she is reluctant to do so and give it to him, since the company intends the card to be used by the employee for commuting to and from work. since he'd be using it in a completely different pattern, he said she said they said they'd just turn it off.

I don't like this aspect of a cashless society.

[ZenGum]

"one card to ride them all"

One card to ride them all
One card to find them
One card to charge them all
And on the buses bind them.


Be afraid.

[BigV]

You've captured my unease perfectly.

I misremembered the exact wording of their slogan.

[Lamplighter]

Here's a short, but good, article about the farmers' traditional dilemma.

It's a reasonable discussion of the push-pull forces of northwest mega-corporations,
farm cooperatives, union and non-union workers, and local governments
... each following the dictum: "All politics is local"

The Oregonian
Richard Read
October 27, 2012

Wheat growers nervously watch Northwest grain talks, hoping to avoid longshore lockout

MORO, Ore. -- Fourth generation farmer Darren Padget wrestled
with a whirling grain auger last week that loaded wheat seed into a truck driven by his father.

During the past two years, nature blessed Padget's 98-year-old
family farm in rolling hills south of the Columbia River Gorge.
Rains came in June and held off during the summer harvest.
The combine took in 50 bushels an acre, up from the normal 40.
Prices, driven by distant events such as a Russian drought, remain strong.

But at the last step, on Portland-area docks, the outcome is suddenly jeopardized by factors beyond farmers' control.

Wheat, corn and soybeans barged and hauled to the six terminals involved
in the talks come from as far away as the Dakotas and beyond.
The terminals handle almost half the nation's wheat exports.



The threat of a lockout looms as a federal mediator
takes over talks Monday between the West Coast longshore union and terminals
that handle a quarter of the nation's grain exports.

There's a sense in wheat country that longshoremen and terminal owners are far apart.

"It's a little disheartening when you've got a hiccup in the supply chain," Padget said.
"And whatever agreement they eventually come to, I've got to pay for it, because we're at the end of the food chain."
<snip>

[video here]

[Lamplighter]

My post above is representative of the city where I've lived for 36 yrs.
It is in turmoil over a similar sequence of events mentioned in the article.

Like other cities, we have railroad tracks crossing major roadways.
Now talks are underway to convert/add those tracks into "high speed"
rails for trains carrying coal to a coastal port in southern Oregon.

The NIMBY crowd in this small, highly affluent and influential bedroom community of PDX are gathering.
... a new bridge... jobs... noise... coal dust... d-a-n-g-e-r... think of OUR children...

It remains to be seen whether this island of suburbia can divert
the proposal over to one of the "other" towns along the river.

[xoxoxoBruce]

As I understand it this started a year ago when this new monster grain handling facility built by EGT, a joint venture between one of the big three agribusiness giants Bunge North America, Japanese trading company ITOCHU and Korean shipper STX Pan Ocean, with a big dose of taxpayer money, initially opened negotiations with the longshore union, but then broke off negotiations and sued the port over its right to hire other workers.

In July, the company hired contractor General Construction Co. to operate the $200 million terminal with 25 to 35 members of the Gladstone-based International Union of Operating Engineers Local 701, in violation of the port agreement.

EGT relented when the longshoremen, with the help of Occupy Portland and support of a number of other are unions effectively shut down the port, but demanded concessions.

Now the other terminals are following EGT's lead in demanding concessions from the unions.

[piercehawkeye45]

Originally Posted by Lamplighter

Now talks are underway to convert/add those tracks into "high speed"
rails for trains carrying coal to a coastal port in southern Oregon.

The NIMBY crowd in this small, highly affluent and influential bedroom community of PDX are gathering.
... a new bridge... jobs... noise... coal dust... d-a-n-g-e-r... think of OUR children...

My Ph.D. research involves high speed rails. Get that shit done. I want work when I'm done here.

[Lamplighter]

...with a big dose of taxpayer money...

... Get that shit done. I want work when I'm done here...

Hmmm... Is it something like the army? "Hurry up and Wait"

Sightline Daily
Eric de Place
June 5, 2012

China Turns Away Coal Shipments
Why you can't count on coal markets.

If you follow coal exports, you’ll be fascinated by new developments in China:
at least 30 vessels loaded with unsold coal are sitting off the coast.
According to the energy industry journal Platts:

At least 30 Panamax or Capesize vessels are floating off China’s coast because traders
who bought them have been unable to resell them to end-users,
two industry sources said Tuesday at a conference in Indonesia…

“The situation is really very bad and is getting worse,” one industry source said.

Coal market volatility is exactly why the West Coast has such a terrible track record with coal export.
Facilities in Portland in the 1980s and Los Angeles in the 1990s fell apart in spectacular fashion
—stranding millions of dollars in capital and foreclosing better economic development opportunities
—after supposedly reliable Asian coal demand dried up.

Coos Bay, Oregon has already spent many millions of $ to create a coal-port terminal... betting on the come.
But even those in support of the terminal have their doubts.

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
October 03, 2012

EUGENE, Ore. — Lane County commissioners have delayed for two weeks
their consideration of a proposed resolution supporting a coal cargo terminal at Coos Bay, Ore.

Such a terminal would handle coal trains shipped through Eugene.

The Register-Guard reports (http://is.gd/HEUBAN ) that all five commissioners
said Wednesday they supported the delay to give the public more time to comment.
Interested parties will be able to comment at commissioners' meetings Oct. 16 in Florence and Oct. 17 in Eugene.

Environmental groups are fighting several proposals for terminals at Northwest ports
that would ship coal from Montana and Wyoming to Asia.
Supporters include business and labor groups.

[Lamplighter]

Explain to me this one...

The city where I live prides itself on it's manicured lawns and it's "private" lake,
expensive houses, low crime rate, but mostly it is proud of it's good ("best in the state") schools.

There were only two tax $-related referendums on the ballot this time.
One was to create a median strip with trees and flowers, down a major roadway,
the other was to build an new library because the old one was inadequate
to meet the needs of the community.

Which one do you think passed and which one failed... think hypocritically.

[tw]

Originally Posted by Lamplighter

Which one do you think passed and which one failed... think hypocritically.

Some people think logically. Most people only the use part of the brain that existed before age 16; think emotionally. It is why advertising is so effective. Preach to the emotional. Therefore the majority of Americans knew smoking cigarettes increased health.

Don't think hypocritically. Think logically. Understand that most only think like an adolescent. Then guess which one passed.

[Lamplighter]

Originally Posted by Lamplighter

I hope Dwellars know that I am quite proud of Portland and Oregon.

BUT... in the 35+ years we have lived here, the big black spot is the Portland Police Dept.
Other cities (Denver, LA, New Orleans) have had their problems.
But PDX has a Police Union that is powerful and political.
<snip>

Portland citizens have been asking for this for longer than I can remember
... police accountability to the communuity

Portland Tribune
December 18. 2012

City, feds file agreement on police use-of-force issues

Portland city officials and the U.S. Department of Justice filed a proposed settlement
in federal court Monday that will change the way the Portland Police Bureau
handles cases involving people with mental illnesses.

The settlement addresses allegations listed in a civil action, also filed Monday by federal prosecutors,
that claims police have violated the constitutional rights of some people through the excessive use of force.
The civil case alleges that the police bureau “engages in a pattern or practice of
using excessive force on individuals with actual or perceived mental illness...<snip>

Once approved by a federal judge, the agreement will require changes in the police bureau’s policy,
training, supervisory oversight, community-based mental health services,
crisis intervention, employee information systems, officer
accountability and community engagement and oversight.

The agreement also calls for an independent compliance officer and community liaison,
responsible for maintaining data about the bureau’s use of force and reporting
his or her findings to the City Council, the federal justice department and the public.<snip>

[Lamplighter]

This was my first post on this topic... there are some follow up postings to help understand the situation.

Originally Posted by Lamplighter

Here's a short, but good, article about the farmers' traditional dilemma.

It's a reasonable discussion of the push-pull forces of northwest mega-corporations,
farm cooperatives, union and non-union workers, and local governments
... each following the dictum: "All politics is local"

The Oregonian
Richard Read
October 27, 2012

Wheat growers nervously watch Northwest grain talks, hoping to avoid longshore lockout

Today was a significant day in this push-me/pull-you:

KATU
Steven DuBois, Associated Press
Dec 24, 2012

Longshoremen soundly reject contract offer

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - Longshoremen at a half-dozen Pacific Northwest grain terminals
have overwhelmingly rejected what owners describe as their "last, best and final"
contract offer, increasing the odds of a post-holiday lockout.

Terminal owners, in a statement released Monday afternoon,
said they were "disappointed" by the vote and were reviewing their options.
They have replacement workers standing by to ensure grain exports to Asia.
<snip>
Roughly 3,000 longshoremen were eligible to vote on the contract offer and 93.8 percent rejected it,
a union spokeswoman said. The last collective bargaining agreement expired Sept. 30.

More than a quarter of all U.S. grain exports and nearly half of U.S. wheat exports
move through grain terminals on the Willamette River and Puget Sound.
The dispute involves six of those terminals that operate under a single collective bargaining agreement with the ILWU:
<snip>

The owners, who say they would accept either the Kalama or Longview contract,
want to eliminate perks such as paying workers a half-hour's wages for working as little as six minutes.
They also want greater discretion in hiring and staffing decisions and, according to a statement,
"the ability to hold the union to its agreement not to engage in work stoppages."