HinesSight

Germanwings crash spurs talk of self-flying planes. I'm on board.

Driving home today, I heard some interesting talk about self-flying planes on both the Michael Smerconish show and CNN.

The impetus was the recent crash of Germanwings Flight 9525, which was commandeered and flown into the ground by an apparently suicidal copilot. 

Smerconish asked listeners if they'd be OK with flying on a pilotless plane. Meaning, the "pilot" would be a computer endowed with artificial intelligence. I thought to myself, Sure, why not? 

This will surely come to pass eventually. It's just a matter of time.

Self-driving cars already are being tested. Regular cars are beginning to be equipped with rudimentary self-driving technology, such as systems that activate the brakes if a potential collision with a car in front is detected.

I agreed with Smerconish when he said that people in the future will look back at these 2015 discussions of self-flying planes and marvel, "How could they have doubted that this would be a good thing?"

What's evident is that the Germanwings tragedy has pointed out the fragility of human rationality. Not that this was ever in question, of course. But until recently there hasn't been a viable alternative to our reliance on Homo sapiens' brains for activities demanding complex decision-making. 

With the rise of artificial intelligence, the situation is changing.

Listening to the radio today, I was struck by how rapidly humans are being forced to consider the pros and cons of relying on artificial intelligence to do things that computers can handle better than us.

Looking back, we probably should have seen the current debate over cockpit security coming. The idea that hijackings can be stopped by strengthening the cockpit door is based on an assumption that the "dangerous people" are in the passenger area.

Now, after several pilots have taken over planes and killed everybody onboard, it is clear that the more basic problem is the human brain -- which works in mysterious ways, some life-affirming and some life-denying.

Preventing people from getting into a locked cockpit door has cleared the way for psychologically damaged pilots to take over the cockpit controls and crash the plane. Whatever is done with cockpit security, the weaknesses of the human psyche will produce problematic side effects.

So again, my attitude is Why not move toward self-flying planes? 

As I heard an advocate for this say, a plane's computer artificial intelligence is going to perform better in stressful situations, since it won't feel stress. It also can be programmed to be able to respond more quickly and appropriately to unusual events.

Someone skeptical, though, expressed a concern that a computer wouldn't be able to make a good decision about whether to take off in a dicey weather condition. He wanted a human pilot outside the plane to be able to override the artificial intelligence in certain situations.

In the beginning stages of self-flying planes, that probably makes sense. But it won't take long for worries to recede about the capability of aviation artificial intelligence, once it is clear that computers are better pilots than human beings.

We're standing on the edge of The Age of Robotics. Recently I heard a military expert say that within a couple of decades, wars will be fought by machines, not people. 

So if artificial intelligence soon will be demonstrably better at killing than we are, doesn't it make sense that artificial intelligence also will be better at saving lives?

(Assuming the Three Laws of Robotics are followed, other than in special situations such as war.)

Trevor Noah will be a great replacement for Jon Stewart

My wife and I have been worrying about Jon Stewart's departure from The Daily Show, which comes on the heels of Steven Colbert's ending of The Colbert Report -- two stressful events for us.

So when I saw today that Trevor Noah has been named as Stewart's replacement, I wasn't sure whether this was good or bad news. 

We're not wild about The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore, which is a big step down from The Colbert Report. Wilmore and company are OK, but not nearly as watchable as Colbert. Usually we skip it and just watch The Daily Show.

After watching several clips of Trevor Noah, it looks like The Daily Show will be in good hands.

I actually find his style and sense of humor more enjoyable than Jon Stewart's -- who often is annoyingly over-the-top with all of his laughing at his own jokes. We also don't like his sophomoric on-set pieces with Daily Show "correspondents."

Vox has a good selection of short Noah videos in "How Trevor Noah will transform the Daily Show, explained in 7 of his funniest clips."

The one below is, as the article says, the best way to get a feel for Noah. It's laugh out loud funny, along with some biting social commentary.

 

I also enjoyed another clip, which wonderfully encapsulates my own take on traffic lights from a pedestrian's perspective.

Yeah, they're suggestions, not commandments. If no cars are coming, I cross the street, even if a "Don't Walk" message is beaming at me. Laurel, my wife, is much more British in this regard. 

 

Salem boasts McMenamins #1 "Cosmic Tripster"

Take that Portland, Seattle, Eugene, and every other town in Oregon and Washington with a McMenamins something or other (pubs, historic hotels, movie theatres, etc.). 

You may feel superior to somewhat sleepy Salem in many regards, but we boast the #1, numero uno, top dog McMenamins Cosmic Tripster in the entire universe. 

This is a huge freaking deal.

I have no idea why a statue showing our Cosmic Tripster'ing dude hasn't replaced the Golden Man on top of the state capitol. Or why a major street hasn't been named after him.

Regardless, having learned his identity last night, I want all Salemians to bow down before...

Scott Bassett !!!

Now, you might have these thoughts in your mind: (1) I have no idea what a #1 McMenamins Cosmic Tripster is, and (2) Whatever it is, this guy doesn't look like one.

Well, having heard Scott describe his journey to Cosmic Tripster'dom last night, I can assure you that as mild-mannered as he may appear, Scott Bassett is a Cosmic Tripster through and through (did Clark Kent look like Superman?).

Regarding what a Cosmic Tripster is, you will not find a better use for two and a half minutes in your ever-shrinking life span than watching this entertaining explanatory McMenamins video.

(OK, if that's too much to ask of you, Super Busy Person, just watch the first 30 seconds; it reveals the basic mystery of Cosmic Tripster, while bringing forth another enigma: who the hell is Hammerhead?)

 

Scott held me, my wife, and about twenty other people spellbound in a room at McMenamin's Thompson Brewery in south Salem as he discoursed on how, against all odds, Scott emerged triumphant in what I'm pretty sure was the inaugural Cosmic Tripster event in 2014.

After forking out $25 for a Passport, Scott managed to get it stamped at every McMenamins in Washington and Oregon during five days in November 2013, including one day that featured 16 hours of driving in a heavy rainstorm. 

Fortunately for Scott's driving record, consumption of an alcoholic beverage wasn't required at every stop. In general, no purchase is necessary to earn a location stamp. 

McMenamin's Bagdad Theatre in Portland, though, was closed on the inaugural Cosmic Tripster/ Passport completing kickoff day. So Scott and other participants had to come back on another day to complete their quest at the theatre.

For Scott, it was two days.

Having consumed most of a Terminator Stout on a empty stomach by the time Scott got to this part of his story, I'm a little vague on the Bagdad Theatre details. It sounded to me like he camped out for that long on the sidewalk outside the theatre, relying on the kindness of other Cosmic Tripster competitors behind him to hold his first-in-line place when he needed to depart for bathroom breaks and other survival necessities.

His herculean efforts -- the brewpub-touring equivalent of climbing Mt. Everest, in my admiring opinion -- paid off big time. One of his prizes was what we and the other folks at the Thompson Brewery were enjoying: drinks, food, and other goodies for twenty people.

Scott generously donated this prize to Progressive Salem for a fundraiser.

Twenty of us paid $50 each for the event, which cost Progressive Salem nothing, leaving them a full $1,000 to use for electing liberal candidates in local elections. 

While the general conversation was pleasantly political, I found Scott's Cosmic Tripster talk to be the highlight of the evening. Not far into it, I realized that McMenamins has created a positive "cult" among devotees of their Passport program.

Scott's enthusiasm for the Cosmic Tripster thing was infectious. I felt a brief urge to follow in his footsteps and car tracks, until some sanity burst into my Terminator Stout-infused brain.

But that's the wonderful thing about wild and wacky pursuits like doing all that Scott did to become the numero uno 2014 McMenamins Cosmic Tripster. Like everything out-of-the-ordinary, they seem crazy to those who don't feel the call to embrace the activity, while making great good sense to those who do.

Along with more than 400 other Cosmic Tripsters, Scott was feted at an inaugural Cosmic Tripster Party in a never-before-seen jailhouse at the Edgefield McMenamins. 

Naturally I had to search for photos of the party, though I'm sure that non-Tripsters like myself never will be privy to all of what went on, since that must remain within the confines of the Cosmic Tripster initiates.

What Flicker reveals, though, is strange enough. 

Several photos of Scott on the page confirm his elevated Cosmic Tripster status. And the gleam in his eyes confirms his happy membership in this McMenamins "cult" (though the beer in his hand provides another reason).

Near the end of last night's Thompson Brewery get-together, a drawing was held for 20 door prizes. I had my eye on a Terminator Stout t-shirt, in part because I enjoyed the beer by that name that I'd ordered.

Pleasingly, in the drawing I was the third or fourth person to choose a prize, and the shirt was available. Guess I've joined the McMenamins cult now also -- though nowhere near the exalted level of McMenamins #1 Cosmic Hipster, Scott Bassett.

(I did put on my best Terminator-selfie-face though.) 
------------------------
Update: Scott sent me links to photos of him in line at the Bagdad Theatre with other aspiring Cosmic Tripsters (second from left), and getting his final Passport stamp. Behold, and marvel:

Ted Wheeler makes good case for Oregon Retirement Savings Plan

I headed off to today's Salem City Club noon meeting thinking, this won't be very interesting. The subject was "Retirement Security (Or Not) for Oregonians: Can We Avoid a Crisis?"

Well, I was wrong -- mostly because I'd forgotten how fluently entertaining the speaker, State Treasurer Ted Wheeler, is. Likely he could make a talk on "How Paint Dries" interesting.

I've heard Wheeler speak several times before.

Whenever I see him, I feel grateful that Oregon has talented guys and gals such as Wheeler in state government. This thought also runs through my head: He'd make a great Governor someday. Probably won't happen, but it'd be terrific if it did.

Wheeler actually made SB 615, which creates an Oregon Retirement Savings Plan, a subject of captivating attention. The bill flowed from the report of a task force he chaired, whose Executive Summary starts off with:

The State of Oregon is facing a retirement security crisis. There is a substantial financial industry in the state and saving for retirement is a rational decision. Yet, many Oregonians are not preparing themselves for retirement. Experts recommend individuals save eight times their last annual income for a secure retirement. However, as of 2011, more than half of Oregon workers have saved less than $25,000 for retirement and more than a quarter have saved less than $1,000. 

Since the Salem City Club usually likes to have a debate/discussion on political issues, Wheeler said that he'd be doing some debating with himself, since he was familiar with the arguments against SB 615.

He did do a bit of Wheeler vs. Wheeler, but the reasons opponents of SB 615 have come up with are so lame, it wasn't much of a debate.

Basically, as one might expect, why is government involved with private sector retirement accounts? The answer being, because workers need a state-sponsored plan. 

Small businesses, Wheeler said, don't have much leverage in setting up a retirement savings plan for their employees. It takes time to do this, and financial firms aren't very interested in businesses with a small number of employees.

Plus, people have gotten used to their retirement savings being managed through their job. Ditto with their health insurance.

So even though an employee of a business that doesn't offer a retirement plan currently could, on their own, put 3% of their paycheck into, say, a Vanguard Total Stock Market index fund, most aren't going to do it unless this happens through an automatic payroll deduction.

Wheeler said that some business lobbying groups have come out against SB 615, but he hasn't heard from a single actual small business owner who had concerns about the bill. 

The Big Government Burden imposed by SB 615, he told the Salem City Club audience, amounts to two things. One, hand out a brochure. Two, add another payroll deduction to employee accounts, which can be done easily by either an outside payroll service or the business owner via Quicken, or whatever.

There would be no cost to employers, and only a small management fee charged to employees.The investment vehicle likely would be index funds, Wheeler said, which have very low expense ratios.

Investment firms would be asked to present proposals to the Oregon Retirement Savings Board (staffed by just two FTEs, which isn't a big expansion of state government). Since these would be existing investment products, the Board wouldn't need to do anything computer or software-wise, an admittedly sore subject in Oregon these days.

After listening to Wheeler, SB 615 looked to me to be a no-brainer "Yes" vote for Oregon legislators. Hopefully that will come to pass. 

I got to ask a question near the end of the program. It went something like this:

This is sort of a philosophical question and comment. You mentioned how some people object to being forced to spend a few minutes setting up a retirement plan for employees. But I suspect that most of these people are either members of churches where they do volunteer work, or otherwise spend quite bit of time doing other sorts of "good works."

So why is collective compassion through a vote of our representatives to help people through a required government program viewed by some as being less virtuous than individual compassion expressed through voluntary action? In Canada and most European countries, morality isn't viewed this way.

Wheeler said "good question." (However, he said that quite often during the Q & A.)

He reiterated some points he made before about individual business owners being fine with SB 615, while business lobbying groups raised more general Big Government objections. Wheeler noted that he'd talked with someone from Australia who couldn't understand what the big deal was with this bill. 

"In Australia," he was told, "this sort of plan is required and everybody offers it. End of story." Wheeler said that the United States is more individualistic and free market oriented. 

Not a good thing, in my view, when it comes to being compassionate to those in need.

There's no inherent contradiction between doing good works individually and voluntarily, and doing good works collectively and via government action. As Americans, we can and should do both.

Encouraging glimpses of Salem coolness in City Council meeting

When I go to a Salem City Council meeting, typically it feels like a dentist visit: I need to do it, but the experience isn't high on my Fun List.

However, last Monday's meeting left me with more positive feelings than usual. I actually came away thinking, "Hey, Salem may be poised for some enervating bursts of coolness." 

Maybe I'm making too much of what amounts to a few vignettes during a lengthy meeting.

But, hey, when I see encouraging glimpses of coolness in, gasp!, a City Council session -- that's eminently worthy of sharing with my fellow Salemians.

I'd gone to the March 23 meeting to show my support for Salem Bike Boulevard Advocates, a recently-formed group that wants to improve this town's bikeability and walkability.

(See my Strange Up Column, "Time to make Salem a bike-friendly town.")

Some Bike Boulevard advocates were handing out yellow Walk + Bike stickers at the door. I was pleased to afix one on my t-shirt, then sat down for what figured to be a lengthy wait before the public hearing part of the meeting when testimony on proposed capital improvement projects would be heard.

Like I said in another column, "Mayor, say yes to intoxication," the customary prevailing mood at City Council meetings is sober-minded seriousness, where even attempts at levity seem artificial and forced. 

The current crop of city officials -- Mayor, City Manager, and city councilors -- don't strike me as wild and crazy guys, to put it mildly. Except for...

Newly elected Tom Andersen. He's sort of our version of Portland's Rep. Earl Blumenauer, a bow-tie wearing, bicycle-riding guy with some pleasing eccentric qualities.

Most of the city officials were settled in their seats around the 6:30 meeting start time. I was sitting in a back row near the entrance doors, chatting with a fellow liberal gadfly, Ken Adams.

Suddenly I felt a disturbance in the Stolid Boring Council Chambers vibe. A hand clapped me on the shoulder. it was attached to a body belonging to Tom Andersen, who was wearing a bike helmet and carrying a bike, while rapidly walking into the meeting room.

A cool entrance. Maybe typical for Portland, Corvallis, or Eugene, but unusual for autocenrtric Salem.

Andersen is a breath of fresh air for city officialdom in this town. He manifested Coolness Glimpse #1, which was refreshed during his frequent cogent energetic comments and questions during the City Council session. 

Coolness Glimpse #2 came during the initial public comment period, where people get three minutes to speak about agenda items that don't have a public hearing associated with them.

Two guys from the Salem Yellow Cab company spoke first. They were at the meeting because "Vehicle for Hire" regulations are being revised in response to Uber's entrance into the Salem market. I liked how they looked exactly like I'd expect Yellow Cab guys to look.

Older. Stocky. Wearing Yellow Cab jackets. No nonsense. Straightforward. 

Somewhat surprisingly, they seemed fine with how discussions about the "taxi" regulation changes were going. They just wanted a level playing field with Uber, which seemed reasonable.

The Uber representative followed them at the public comment podium. He was a thirty-something attorney from Portland, neatly dressed in a suit. I felt a Portland Coolness vibe ooze into the room as soon as he began to speak.

He talked about the new sharing economy, which Uber is a leading part of. A woman, he said, could shift back and forth between her private and public driving roles.

Drop the kids off at school: her car is private.

Then she checks her iPhone and sees that an Uber pickup awaits: now her car is public. Later in the day she does some personal errands: back to private. This new form of being a "taxi" requires a different sort of regulatory structure, the Uber attorney reasonably argued.

I enjoyed the prospect of Salem joining the rapidly growing sharing economy world. Just hearing talk of this made me feel like this town was becoming cooler.

But then came the Big Coolness Glimpse of the evening, #3. I had to view this the next day at home via the CCTV recording, since I left the meeting after an hour and a quarter.

It was during the public hearing on the City's 2015-2020 Capital Improvement Plan. Several Salem Bike Boulevard Advocates folks spoke about the need for more and better bicycling and pedestrian infrastructure in this town. 

They all were interesting, informative, and energetic. Watching them via You Tube, I looked upon them as Salem's present-day Paul Reveres, calling out "The bicyclists and walkers are coming!"

Five years from now, or whenever Salem starts up to catch up to Portland and other cities which are much farther along with the variously named "Bike Boulevards," "Neighborhood Greenways," "Family Friendly Bikeways," or "Quiet Streets" -- this March 23 City Council meeting should be remembered as the beginning of the Bike Boulevard Revolution in this town.

Three members of the Obery family spoke, all persuasively, including Mason, a middle school student. HIs mother, Angela Obery, is the leader of Salem Bike Boulevard Advocates. I've set up the CCTV video of the meeting to start a few seconds before Angela's testimony.

Well worth watching... for a glimpse of how cool Salem could become if her Bike Boulevard Vision becomes reality. Keep watching through some questions for Angela from city councilors.

 

Correction: Wild Pear restaurant isn't worried about food trucks

Hey, nobody's perfect. Certainly not me. (Just ask my wife.)

After noticing a Twitter tweet pointing to a Wild Pear Restaurant Facebook post that said they weren't part of the downtown restaurant owners who expressed concerns about food trucks at the July 14, 2014 Salem City Council meeting, I checked the notes I'd taken during the public hearing on this subject.

Couldn't find a mention of Wild Pear, even though I'd mentioned them in a blog post where I'd (correctly) said that representatives of Venti's, Gamberetti's, and Napoleon's said they worried about the effect of downtown food trucks on their businesses.

So I've edited that post, taking out mention of Wild Pear, and also edited a follow-up post that included that erroneous information. 

Along with looking through my notes of the July 14 City Council meeting, which I attended in person, I also looked at the CCTV recording of the meeting. Nope, no sign of Wild Pear. 

I have no idea why I included Wild Pear along with the other restaurants whose owners did testify at the public hearing. Of course, if I'd had such an idea, I wouldn't have done what I did. Sometimes the reason for what we do in life is mired in mystery.

Anyway, my apologies to the Wild Pear folks. I feel bad about wrongly lumping them in with the other downtown restaurants whose representatives spoke at the City Council meeting.

I need to add, though, that until I read the Facebook post I wasn't aware of the error. Nobody from Wild Pear ever contacted me about the mistake in my blog post. If I'd known about it earlier, I would have corrected it right away. 

The good thing about blogs (and also a bad thing, based on how you look at them) is that they are living information sources. Unlike print newspapers, content can be easily changed.

So anyone who finds an error in a blog -- mine or anyone else's -- shouldn't hesitate to contact the writer of the post. Usually mistakes are innocent errors, as happened in this case, not purposeful attempts to malign someone.

Here's what Wild Pear said in the Facebook post:

Dear Friends, fellow Salemites,

We’d like to make a brief statement on the food cart controversy that brewed on social media last week that was reported on by the Statesman Journal: “Hearsay sparks social media fire after food trucks removal”. The title of that article couldn’t be more accurate.

The Wild Pear was not responsible for, and had no part in the asking of the Fusion food cart to vacate its space downtown. From what we have researched it was an issue directly related to and between the property manager and the tenant. In addition, the Wild Pear was not present at a City Council hearing to testify that was held last July, in regard to the food cart ordinances being amended. All the hearsay being printed on social media, and reported on a blog that state otherwise are false. There is evidence to verify that in a live recording of the entire hearing available on You tube and the City recorded minutes dated July 14th 2014.

Before this social media fire storm, there was no Restaurant vs Food Cart war that we were aware of. A select few have stirred the pot, or stoked the coals to try and get one going. What we’re asking of you is to help us STOP it by not being a part of it! Spreading vitriol on social media does unfair damage that can be irreparable. Once something is launched on the internet the ramifications can extend far beyond what your seemingly well-intended comment can do, and with little or no accountability to those words. Just because a person claims it to be, doesn’t make it so. Give each other the consideration of reserving judgement before believing false accusations, and declaring boycotts on people’s businesses. This applies to all of us, in any circumstance, not just businesses with livelihoods to protect of themselves, their employees and their respective families. We appreciate and are grateful to so many of you that have lent us and our fellow restaurant owners your support by not believing or participating in this unfortunate ordeal.

We have our feelings about food carts, and our own desire of perhaps running one someday, and with that, also want appropriate regulation to co-exist with brick and mortar restaurants. There is and can be a way to co-exist and promote the success of both style of food operations that is equitable. One investment or person’s dream does not diminish the other. But that has to happen with civilized, constructive, and reasonable conversation between the people who have a financial stake in the matter and our governing officials that set the guidelines for a fair market. We look forward to the next hearing and furthering the discussion on this issue.

Despite this unfortunate situation there is good news to report! After a long four month closure due to a flood the Wild Pear is finally OPEN again! The food carts got their first pod on Market and Broadway! The farmer’s markets are soon to return to downtown on Wednesdays and northeast of downtown on Saturdays! There are more brick and mortar restaurants and food carts in Salem than ever and our food culture IS growing! Let’s celebrate and report on the good that is happening in Salem, and set our sights on moving onward and upward. 

With gratitude,
Jessica & Cecilia

 

New 2-door "Mini" Cooper is too maxi. I like my 2011 Mini much better.

Recently I had to take my 2011 Mini Cooper S up I-5 for a service appointment at Mini of Portland.  A month or so earlier I'd been there for scheduled maintenance.

Which came with a surprise: a technician discovered that my Mini's computer system needed to be reprogrammed/updated so it wouldn't think that I had a non-existent brake problem. The service advisor told me that it could take up to four hours, so I told her "I'll come back on another day."

That day turned into two, irritatingly.

Rather than sitting in the waiting area, I'd gotten a ride to downtown Portland, enjoying a lengthy visit to one of the world's great bookstores, Powell's, when my cell phone rang. I figured it was the Mini dealership telling me my car was ready and the shuttle driver would be picking me up soon. 

Instead, it was a technician telling me that, three freaking hours after I'd dropped the car off, the reprogramming would take another five and a half hours. Or longer. Meaning, my Mini wouldn't be ready until the next morning.

Bad news, since I live an hour away in Salem.

Mini of Portland ended up loaning me a 2015 Mini Cooper (base model) to drive home and bring back the next day. My plans for mañana hadn't included another two-plus hours dealing with this warranty problem, so I wasn't in the best of moods when I started the loaner car and began to head for I-5.

Soon I cheered up, though.

Not because I was any happier with the two-day-long computer updating process (does Mini use Windows 95?). What elevated my mood was realizing that I liked my 2011 Mini Cooper way more than the 2015 two-door Mini I'd been loaned.

When I returned to the dealership the next day, I told the service advisor, "Thanks. Driving your loaner car convinced me that I'm going to keep my 2011 Mini for as long as I can. I'd been wondering if the newly redesigned Mini was so much better than the old design, I'd be tempted to get one."

Driving the 2015 Mini for two hours dissolved that temptation -- even taking into account my loaner Mini wasn't the higher powered "S" model that I have. It was the basic look and feel of the new Mini Cooper that turned me off, compared to my beloved 2011 Mini.

Here's photos and commentary on the 2015 and 2011 Mini's.

This is the 2015 Mini, parked in our driveway. I've read that it is longer and wider than the previous Mini incarnation. It sure felt larger. To me, this alone is a major turnoff.

Sure, the 2-door Mini is still small in comparison to most cars. But I really like the increased smallness of my Mini. It's a great car to zip around town in, doing errands, shopping, and whatnot. My 2011 Mini seems like a perfect size. 

And remember: it is much larger than the original classic Mini, which I only got to drive once in 1968 or thereabouts. Way fun. The bigger Mini Coopers get, the farther they drift from the basic concept that makes them so appealing -- their unique mini'ness. 

The interior of the 2015 Mini also didn't appeal to me as much as my 2011 Mini interior does. The spare, sparse quirkiness is much diluted. The new model's dash is more traditional. For example, I like how the 2011 Mini window controls are in the center stack, not in the doors.

After four years, my wife (who doesn't like my Mini) still asks me "How do you roll down the window?" I hugely enjoy this, along with her complaints about the 2011 Mini engine being loud (that's a feature, not a problem), and the handling/ride being stiff (ditto). 

This photo of the 2015 Mini I was loaned shows the overly busy/complicated dash. There's way too much information here, as I'll further comment on below. The colored "mood ring" on the center round console was bothersome.

I really don't care if turning up the volume on the radio makes it turn red. Probably it can be turned off, but its very presence told me that Mini Cooper designers have made a wrong turn.

Plus, note the colored bars to the right of the speedometer. That's the new gas gauge lights. Also much less appealing than how my 2011 Mini tells me how much gas is left. And dual climate controls in such a small car? What's the point? To me this just added more unnecessary clutter.

Ah, my 2011 Mini.

It's sort of hard to compare this photo with the one above of the 2016 Mini, given the black tires/wheels on the new car. However, I like the basic look of my Mini better. It just seems, well, more Mini'ish. Cuter, though I really don't like to use that word to describe the car.

The interior of my 2011 Mini also appeals much more to me. I've enjoyed riding a motorcycle and a Burgman 650 scooter. I like how my Mini has almost as minimal a control panel as a motorcycle/scooter does. 

 

Just the basics. Speedometer. Tachometer. Simple display of outside temperature, average mileage, etc. The info display in the round center area is showing a list of my satellite radio presets. Only the names of the stations. I like how I don't see the name of what song is playing, or whatever, as in the 2015 Mini.

At the bottom is a row of orange lights showing how much gas is left. I glance to the side to see this. The lights aren't constantly in my line of sight as they are in the 2015 Mini.

Again, I enjoy how my 2011 Mini feels like a real driver's car. Meaning, a car that you enjoy driving, with minimal distractions -- like a motorcycle or scooter.

In my 2011 Mini, the only color I see is BMW'ish orange. Simple. There's auxiliary "mood" lighting on the doors, but this is unobtrusive. Very little shows on the dashboard. When the headlights are on, there is no indicator of this. Turning the volume up or down just makes the sound louder or softer. Again, no volume indicator.

Steadily, the Mini Cooper design folks have been turning their cars into more mainstream offerings. They're becoming larger, with some models now being mini-SUVs. Undoubtedly this appeals to many prospective buyers.

But it turns me off. The bigger and fancier Mini's get, the less I like them. So I'll be holding on to my 2011 Mini Cooper S hardtop.

Fortunately, since eventually I'd like to consider another Mini, there are signs the Mini Cooper folks are recognizing the error of their ever-larger ways. A small retro Mini may be in the works.

I can only hope. (See here and here.)

Next Monday, tell the Salem City Council "More bike boulevards, please!"

OK, I readily admit that going to City Council meetings really isn't a fun thing to do. But sometimes it is important to show the Mayor and Salem's eight city councilors that people in this town care a lot about some issue.

Such as building more and better bike lanes, and converting busy unsafe streets into bike boulevards -- the much-needed goal of Salem Bike Boulevard Advocates.

They're calling on biking/walking-loving Salemians to attend next Monday's City Council meeting. Their email alert says:

Salem Bike Boulevard Advocates asks you to attend the Capital Improvement Planning Hearing on Monday, March 23rd at 6:30 pm in the City Hall Council Chambers.

We'll be there to give testimony on why we believe bike boulevards are important to Salem's future. Join us to give testimony ... or ... provide your silent support by wearing a "Walk + Bike"  sticker (we'll be passing them out at the door).

This is a significant opportunity in the urban planning process to make a difference. Please bring your friends, family, and neighbors to help bring bike boulevards to the neighborhoods of Salem!

I'm planning to attend the meeting to show support for bike boulevards.

Not sure if I'll testify during the public hearing on the proposed 2015-20 Capital Improvement Plan. It's a ways into the agenda (sure would be nice if, at meetings where the public is invited to share their views, public testimony came early on in the meeting rather than really late).

Browsing through the draft Capital Improvement Plan, I was pleased to see some bicycle/pedestrian projects already in there. A word search for "bike," "trails," and "streetscape" pointed me to these items.

Construct, widen, and repave trails in Wallace Marine Park in order to support distance running, walking, and bicycling events and improve general accessibility within the park. [$100,000 in 2015-16]

Construct, widen, and repave trails in Minto-Brown Island Park in order to support distance running, walking, and bicycling events and improve general accessibility within the park. [$100,000 in 2015-16]

The City Council adopted the Central Salem Mobility recommendations in August of 2013 and directed staff to pursue funding for several short term projects. Project includes removing a travel lane and restriping as a bike lane on Church Street between Trade and Union, and High Street between Trade and Marion. Both of these streets may be future candidates for two-way conversion in the long term. [$600,000 in 2015-16]

The City Council adopted the Central Salem Mobility Study recommendations in August of 2013 and directed staff to pursue funding for several short term projects, including Phase I of the Union Street Family Friendly Bikeway. Phase IB of the project includes adding four curb extensions at Liberty/Union Street and design and constructing enhanced bicycle facillties on Union Street, between Commercial and Winter Streets. [$1,500,000 in 2017-19]

Streetscape improvement projects [for downtown] could include new sidewalks, pedestrian/alley lighting, and street furniture. All work would meet City streetscape standards for public works improvements. [$600,000 total in 2017-18 and 2019-20]

Well, much better than nothing. (Two other Brown Road and 22nd Street projects include bike lanes, but are mainly autocentric.)

But these five projects only total to $2,900,000 over the next five years, while the overall proposed Capital Improvement Project spending is $93,532,830. Biking and walking get a bit over 3% of the money.

Since Salem lags well behind Portland, Corvallis, and Eugene in biking/walking infrastructure, this should be a funding priority for the City of Salem. Increasingly, businesses and people thinking about relocating are interested in towns where it isn't necessary to drive a car everywhere you want to go.

So consider attending next Monday's City Council meeting to show your support for bike boulevards and other walking/biking projects.

Alternatively, send the Mayor and city councilors an email, telling them how you feel: [email protected]

Salem food truck dustup connected to downtown politics

Salemians who love their newly-legal food trucks are upset that the Fusion truck was forced to move from its downtown location after some restaurants complained about it.

I've blogged about this hot topic in "So Salem: downtown restaurants kick out a food cart" and "Wow! Fusion controversy shows Salem loves food trucks."

Here's a March 14 Facebook posting by Sean Mulrooney that contributes nicely to the discussion over how downtown Salem should evolve, and who should be involved with that evolution. I'll add some thoughts of my own below Mulrooney's.

Regarding the food truck thing - 

It's hard to know for sure how it shook out but I do enjoy when an organization or group overreaches, as if they are speaking for us, but ultimately it was for themselves, to go on record as specifically opposing food trucks, and have it backfire. Restaurants take a risk and are fully allowed and encouraged to fight for their interests against legitimate threats to their livelihood. I do not believe that food trucks rise to that level of threat though. 

I would love to read a clear and public restatement of the positions held by Venti's and other rumored opponents to food trucks. I plan on asking so I can hear it directly from them. They deserve to be heard too. 

Speaking of being heard, there's an odd-feeling dynamic playing out downtown that seems to be just accepted as the rule now which confuses me: Clearly business owners should have a voice in how they are allowed to conduct their business. But at what point do the citizens of Salem have, at the very least, an equal voice? This notion that business owners get to call ALL the shots seems misguided if not flat out tone deaf.

What if I, as a person of Salem, want a food truck as an option? That's not a rhetorical question. I can't even play devil's advocate and muster a fake argument to support opposition to a food truck option. Unless I was a competitor. And I can't pretend that's a good enough reason. 

Meanwhile if local restaurants feel strongly enough to go on record to oppose food trucks and they feel they have more standing than we do, then they should say it publicly. That's how adults work. 

Finally, it's my understanding that city council has come down on the side of food trucks and that some of these current issues being dealt with are stemming from this being a relatively new agreement and not everybody knows how to implement it. If that's true then that really matters. That's important to note and believe and be patient about and is worthy of trust. No need to get militant or threaten a boycott, in my opinion - With the rules in place, this will sort itself out. Some facts and clarity are welcome.

Nicely put, Sean. You got me to thinking, a good thing.

Reading what Mulrooney said, I understood more clearly that this food truck controversy needs to be embedded in the Big Picture of what has been happening downtown in the past year or two.

There's a lot that can be said about this. I'll try to be fairly brief, linking to previous blog posts where you can get more info.

(1) Absence of a downtown organization. In most cities, there would be a viable downtown organization that could help mediate the debate over introducing food trucks to the area. But Salem's duly-selected organization was taken over by the City Manager, who screwed it up royally. See here and here.

This has created a downtown leadership void that, in my opinion, the ever-scheming folks at City Hall -- Mayor, City Manager, majority of city councilors -- enjoy. Because that way they can do their Machiavellian thing outside of public view.

(2) City Hall has special favorites. As I said in my most recent Strange Up Salem column in Salem Weekly, lack of trust describes the current relationship between this town's citizenry and the folks at City Hall.

Part of this mistrust stems from how the Mayor and City Manager like to play favorites with special interests, rather than representing the broad public interest.

For example, Dino Venti and Jim Vu are downtown parking policy "golden boys" for the City of Salem, which has been using them and their hand-selected Parking Group to bolster the City's push for a return to time limits and, likely, parking meters at some not-too-distant future. See here and here.

This makes it easy for people to think that Venti and Vu, who are both associated with downtown restaurants (directly, and as a building owner), will get some special consideration from City of Salem officials, either explicitly or implicitly.

You know, the whole "you scratch my political back, I'll scratch yours" thing. It's hard to tell if this is going on here, but since this is how City Hall generally works these days, the suspicion is easily justified.

(3) Top-down planning is how City officials operate. As noted above, Linda Norris, the City Manager, personally took over the downtown organization, managing (or rather mismanaging) First Wednesday and other events herself. 

Similarly, the City's first attempt to install downtown parking meters involved a task force that never asked downtown businesses how they felt about this. They thought they could just ram it through without anybody noticing. 

But people did. A petition to ban downtown parking meters and institute free unlimited parking got over 9,000 signatures. City Hall had to back off.

For a while. Soon, though, as noted in (2), City officials used a few downtown businesspeople as cover to reinstate time limits. Again, without conducting a broad bottom-up discussion of downtown parking policies. See here. 

So the Fusion food truck controversy can't be viewed in isolation from broader downtown Salem dysfunction. Lots of people who care about downtown, and businesses there, are fed up with how City officials are screwing up Salem's urban core/Historic District.

And since there isn't a functional downtown organization that can address issues like food trucks in the central area, resolving controversies like this one is made more difficult. Downtown doesn't speak with a single voice, nor does it even have a way of coming up with a consensual perspective.

Which, again, is how I believe the folks at City Hall like it.

This allows them to do their "divide and conquer" thing, favoring some downtown business owners over others and setting up sham public involvement efforts.

What needs to change? Lots of things. As Sean Mulrooney said, the public needs to become more involved, somehow or other. I really liked these words of his:

Clearly business owners should have a voice in how they are allowed to conduct their business. But at what point do the citizens of Salem have, at the very least, an equal voice? This notion that business owners get to call ALL the shots seems misguided if not flat out tone deaf. 

It's our 25th anniversary. And St. Patrick's Day. Green beer + kiss.

Wow. Hard to believe it's our 25th anniversary today. But it's easy not to forget, like I said in "14th anniversary -- take that Dr. Laura!"

We had the smarts to get married on St. Patrick's Day in 1990, which means that as soon as I start seeing mention of green beer in the newspaper or on TV a small still voice in my head starts speaking... “Anniversary, anniversary, anniversary.”

Laurel looks particularly beautiful in this photo. A wedding brings out the glow in a gal.

We got married at our newly-bought house, which entailed a whole lot of scrambling to not only plan the wedding, but also get the home ready for the Big Day.

Ah, so sweet. I hadn't gotten out our wedding photo album for quite a while. Scanning these photos almost made me feel 41 again.

Well, heck, let's trash that "almost." Inwardly Laurel and I feel just about as youthful as ever. It's our bodies that are the age giveaway.

My only wedding regret came months earlier, when I botched the proposal big-time. Still painful to remember. I shared a description of the not-so-romantic moment in the above-linked blog post.

The photo above shows two people who had known each other for about eight months before they got married. And I proposed to Laurel after only about three or four months. The exact date is lost to my memory, probably in part for psychic protection reasons, because the proposal was embarrassingly unromantic and incoherent, being more a spontaneous outflowing than a carefully-planned event. About all I remember now is that when I was through speaking what I thought was a proposal to Laurel she looked at me and said, “Did you just propose to me? I'm not sure.” Poor girl. After forty years of being single, she deserved better.

Well, a life without glitches isn't really living. Our carefully chosen wedding cake developed a decided tilt before being cut and eaten. Didn't affect the taste at all.

I can't resist also sharing one of my favorite non-wedding photos of Laurel. It was taken a few years before we met in 1989. Gorgeous. I can honestly say that Laurel is still just as beautiful in my eyes. 

Wow! Fusion controversy shows Salem loves food trucks

Man, I'm blown away by the support Salemians have for food trucks in this town -- judging by the reactions to my "So Salem: downtown restaurants kick out a food cart" post.

I plugged it on both my personal and Strange Up Salem Facebook pages. In the Strange Up Salem posting, I said:

Crazy -- some downtown restaurants felt so threatened by the Fusion food truck, they got it kicked out from an alley behind the Reed Opera House. I really like food trucks. Hopefully Fusion will return to downtown soon. Even more: we need a whole freaking food truck pod in the city center!

The response was pretty damn amazing.

Because I like food trucks a lot, and view them as sort of an "indicator species" of Salem's cultural coolness, I forked out $15 to Facebook to make the Strange Up Salem posting available to more folks.

Here's the results so far after three days.

15,016 people reached
211 likes
90 comments and replies
32 shares

Most of the comments are strongly supportive of food trucks, both in downtown Salem and elsewhere. Quite a few people thought there's no reason for restaurants in the urban core to be wary of food trucks, since they draw more people to the area, and that's good for all businesses.

Over on the Fusion Facebook page, I resonated with BrIan Hart's comment. My feelings exactly.

Dear local brick and mortar restaurants, yes I am a big food truck advocate, yes I am very excited to see them in Salem, including downtown...
but NO I WILL NOT FORGET YOU or stop supporting you when this happens. This is a promise. 

I get hungry many times every day and my mood and tastes varies. Please have faith in me and your community and know that there will be plenty to go around. Anything that adds to Salem's culture, flavor and diversity is a good thing. 
“The rising tide lifts all the boats.” - JFK

Fusion's own response to the controversy also struck me as wisely gracious.

Just our thoughts on this unfortunate situation.

As we love to feel the suport, and see the community rallying together, we'd like to remind you, that these restaurants are also local businesses trying to stay afloat. Though we don't agree with how they're going about "protecting" themselves, we understand just trying to make ends meet.

All local businesses deserve the support of the community. If we all work together, we can create a diverse community where everyone can thrive! There is enough business for everyone, and as we provide to different needs, we don't understand the issue of location. Change can be scary, but will happen regardless of the friction.

I think we should all just help Salem morph into the city we want to live in as smoothly as possible, and try to keep it more local than corprate. So please support and live local as much as possible!

We do intend to speak on this topic at city hall, and try to nip this friction in the bud before it gets out of hand. We would appreciate any and all support in this endeavor. Watch for dates and times and come lend your voice, or silent support. 

Thank you, FUSION

Venti's restaurants got some criticism from commenters on my Strange Up Salem posting because of Dino Venti's concerns about downtown food trucks that he expressed at a City Council meeting last year. Representatives from The Wild Pear, Gamberetti's, and Napoleon's also told the council that they feared losing business to food trucks.

In response, Venti's put up a "Dear Salemites" message on their web site. (Note: a respected authority -- me, in my own mind at least -- has decreed that the proper name for residents of this town is Salemians, not Salemites. Heed his/my words, Salemians!)

On the one hand, the message is supportive of food trucks.

Truthfully, we love Fusion. Dino and Leslie, and Conrad and Kari seek them out on a frequent basis. Their product is excellent! We would love to see the Salem food cart owners and operators build a following that will allow them to expand to whatever may be in their plans and goals, be it a brick & mortar or an army of food trucks.

But it ends with some caveats about downtown food trucks that I don't agree with.

The challenge with locating a food pod in the downtown core is that there is still plenty of room for growth within the many buildings and vacant spaces downtown.  Comparing Salem’s ability to sustainably support a food cart pod downtown to Portland’s ability is an unfair comparison.

...Food carts are certainly part of Salem being awesome, but we also see the many obstacles the downtown core may face if a pod is operating downtown.

So  the debate/discussion about downtown food truck continues. Which is good. It's way better to get concerns out in the open, than to let them fester beneath the surface. 

Personally, I'd love to see a permanent food truck pod in the downtown area.

It'd be a great eating option for everybody, but perhaps particularly for vegetarians like me. There aren't many, if any, grab-and-go places downtown where I can quickly get some tasty healthy food that never had a face.

High winds or not, I hate to exercise indoors now

I got my Streetstrider, an outdoor elliptical bike, back in December 2013. Since, I've found it increasingly difficult to exercise aerobically indoors. 

It's just so much more enjoyable to be out in nature, usually on the Minto Brown Island Park paved trails, than chugging away on an indoor elliptical bike at the Courthouse Athletic Club, like I did for many years.

Here I am, selfie'ing myself and my beloved yellow Streetstrider this afternoon in the midst of a day that saw 58 mph gusts at the Salem airport.

Starting out from parking lot 1, heading toward the dog park, I'll admit that my determination to exercise outside whenever possible wavered a bit when the wind was pushing me sideways so fiercely, I could barely make progress pedaling even in one of the lowest Streetstrider gears.

But once I got into treed areas, I thought "Great decision, Brian, to choose being in nature over an athletic club room."

I get into a lot of conversations with other people who are enjoying Minto Brown Park. A yellow Streetstrider is definitely an attention-grabber.  

In the course of explaining how the bike works -- you stand up, using both legs and arms to power it, which makes for a great full-body workout -- I almost always say that the Streetstrider has gotten me addicted to doing my aerobic thing outside, even if it is raining, windy, or whatever.

To me, it's a lot like the classic slogan: The worst day fishing is better than the best day working. Except I make it, The worst day exercising outside is better than the best day exercising inside.

Not surprisingly, since I'm talking to people standing on a Minto Brown Park trail, I get a lot of replies along the line of "I feel the same way."

I realize that biking, walking, or running along in wet, windy, and/or cold weather isn't for everybody. At times I question my own sanity when I'm out and about on my Streetstrider in conditions that are keeping most people away from Minto Brown.

However, my feeling when I get back to the parking lot keeps me biking three days a week as often as I can, year-round, rain or shine.

Summed up in one word: Real. 

These 21st century days we're exposed to a lot of virtual reality. Television. Computers. Smart phones. As much as I enjoy these things, I also hunger for really real natural reality. Feeling the wind push me around today -- joyous. 

It was what it was, as the saying goes.

I had to deal with the conditions as they were, not as how I'd like them to be. Sure, I prefer 85 degrees and sunny. But I've Streetstrided in 32 degrees, windy, and cloudy. Like I said, those outings in the winter were more enjoyable than being on an indoor elliptical machine in a 70 degree room with TV's staring at me.

This afternoon I got out my iPhone, pushed the "video" button, and held it while I (somewhat laboriously) pedaled along with just one hand. Had to document my high wind day. 

 

Since so many people in Salem, as everywhere, are like me -- addicted to being active outside -- I'm hoping that the message of Salem Bike Boulevard Advocates hits home with our Mayor and City Council. 

This town needs more dedicated multi-use trails, as well as safe city streets that can go by various names: Bicycle Boulevards = Family Friendly Bikeways = Neighborhood Greenways = Quiet Streets. 

If you agree, give Salem Bike Boulevard Advocates a Facebook "like." 

So Salem: downtown restaurants kick out a food cart

Only in Salem... we finally get support for a vibrant Food Truck Scene after a restrictive city ordinance is loosened up. 

But now some downtown restaurants have forced Fusion, a Vietnamese food truck, to leave its spot in the alley behind the Reed Opera House.

Where Fusion operated for a whole freaking 4 hours a week!

Deeply irritating. For those of us who want downtown Salem to be cooler. For the evolving food truck industry in this town. And naturally, most of all for Fusion.

Here's what happened, as reported in a recent Facebook post:

Due to restaurants "raising their voices" - this is the last day Fusion will be in downtown Salem. So frustrating that downtown Salem has become a place where a food truck gets pushed out of being here just 4 hours a week. It's a shame. Restaurants were feeling so threatened - they "convinced" the property owner to "ask" Fusion to "move along". Support food trucks, support diversity in our cuisine, support people starting up a business and chasing their dreams! Follow @salemfoodtrucks for news, specials and reviews.

I don't know which downtown restaurants were threatened by Fusion. However, last September I wrote a blog post, "Some downtown Salem restaurants may try to keep out food carts." Excerpt:

Today a Facebook post clued me in to a worrisome possibility: some restaurants in downtown Salem might attempt to keep food carts from establishing a long-term "pod" in the area. Or maybe even ban temporarily positioned carts.

...This seems really dumb to me, a few restaurants trying to stifle dining competition from food carts in Salem's urban core.

I was at a city council meeting where representatives of Venti's, Gamberetti's, and Napoleon's (will be re-opening its crepe cafe soon) testified that they feared losing business to downtown food carts. 

Whoever the restaurants are, they need to rethink their irrational opposition to food carts in downtown Salem. 

Last Tuesday I had to get my Mini Cooper serviced in Portland. Instead of waiting at the dealership, I asked for a ride to downtown. Chatting with the pleasant shuttle driver, I said that I was a vegetarian and needed some lunch.

"Oh, you should go to the 10th Street Food Truck pod. It's a whole block of food trucks. I recently had some great Indonesian food there."

I took her advice. And had an excellent veggie meal from the Rolling Gourmet Fusion food truck. The shuttle driver was right: food trucks lined the entire 10th and Alder block, all four sides. 

Downtown Portland restaurants also are thriving. Here's an excerpt from my Strange Up Salem column, "Embrace downtown food carts." 

Food carts are a big success in Portland, drawing national acclaim from Bon Appétit magazine and CNN. So what’s not to like about having a vibrant food cart scene everywhere in Salem, including downtown?

Nothing. But to some people here change is scary even when it is for the better. Diversity, creativity, more eating options… Eek!

At the July 14 city council meeting I was surprised to hear several councilors and restaurant owners talk about their Big Fear that people would flock to a downtown food cart pod and — oh no, the horror — enjoy eating there!

Theoretically, possibly, just maybe, the worry was that some of these people might choose a quick and easy food cart meal over a sit-down restaurant offering.

Well, this is called competition and free enterprise.

Even in the People’s Republic of Portland, where downtown food cart pods harmoniously coexist with restaurants. On SW 9th and Alder there are more than 60 food carts; on SW 4th and Hall, 25 food carts.

A post on the Fusion Facebook page nailed the problem with whatever Salem restaurants are threatened by downtown food trucks/carts. It quotes Bert Gall, an attorney who is the "patron saint of food trucks."

If you need protection from a food truck, maybe you weren't a great restaurant to begin with.

Right on.

Hopefully Fusion will be back in business soon downtown, along with other Salem food trucks. They don't pose a threat to downtown restaurants. But even if they did, so be it: that's what competition is all about.

I'll share some Facebook comments in reaction to the Fusion-kicked-out news as a continuation to this post. It's pretty damn clear that downtown food trucks have a lot of support from Salemians.

Salem Police Facility Task Force meeting makes my head explode

OK, don't take the title of this post literally. I couldn't be typing these words if my head had actually exploded. 

But after sitting for 90 minutes, watching 3/4 of the scheduled meeting time of the Police Facility Task Force belatedly set up by Salem Mayor Anna Peterson and not-so-ably chaired by T.J. Sullivan, I felt like my head was going to burst from a combination of boredom and amazement.

Not positive, pleasant amazement, like what happens when I watch highly skilled circus performers.

No, this was the "are you freaking kidding me?" sort of amazement as I realized that, some five years (at least) after City of Salem officials started planning for a new police facility, they still are clueless about a few non-minor details.

Like...

-- How big it should be.
-- What the basic design should be.
-- Where it should be.
-- What sort of parking it should have.
-- Whether courts should be part of it.
-- How much it will cost.
-- Who will pay for it.

Now, if you're thinking that these are pretty much all of the questions that should have been asked and answered five years ago -- bingo, you're absolutely right!

Instead, as I documented in "City of Salem planned new police facility in backwards way," a few City officials with no expertise in this area decided that a police facility should be crammed into the current Civic Center, then instructed a bunch of college students to come up with a plan for it.

Not surprisingly, things haven't gone very well from that inauspicious backwards-way beginning. Citizens were upset that they hadn't been informed about the Civic Center scheme before it was unleashed on the public as a supposed done-deal.

Supposed, because once questions began to be raised about the cost, design, and location, it became apparent that nobody at the City of Salem had good answers.

Mayor Peterson and City Manager Norris just wanted taxpayers to pay a lot for something or other, which would be built someplace, someday. Pass a bond measure, please! Don't worry about the lack of details regarding what will be done with the money. Just give us the cash!

Realizing that this unrealistic dream wasn't going to happen, Peterson formed a Blue Ribbon (whatever that means) task force to do the planning for a new police facility that should have been done years ago.

As a cogent Breakfast on Bikes blog post said today, the task force has been spinning its wheels, getting nowhere fast.

While the "Blue Ribbon Committee" has been meeting since November, it hasn't been as much an inquiry and investigation as it has been the end of a sonata, a restatement of previous themes, reworked and developed somewhat, but nonetheless introducing very little in the way of truly new material. It's been just one giant "recapitulation" of he said, she said.

Unless something astounding happened in the last half hour of tonight's meeting, which I deeply doubt, the recapitulation mentioned above continues on in an expensive, frustrating, time-consuming version of Police Facility Groundhog Day. 

All the questions I listed above keep on being asked, with no agreement on the answers. 

Tonight, the 90 minutes I watched mostly involved consultants from the Mackenzie firm, which has considerable police facility planning experience, talk about the design, cost, location and other questions that are only now beginning to be grappled with by the task force and City of Salem staff.

Again, five years after planning began for a new police facility.

The two guys from Mackenzie obviously were familiar with the screwed-up planning that has gone on so far. Not wanting to step on anyone's toes (they're hoping to land a big contract, after all) the consultants agreed with everybody and disagreed with nobody.

Which, so far as I can tell, left the task force facing the same unanswered questions.

If anyone reading this took seriously my plea to attend tonight's Police Facility Task Force meeting, I apologize. You probably wasted your time, just as I did. As feared, the task force approved an agenda that had public comments/testimony at the very end, 8 pm at least. 

So any concerned citizen who wanted to speak had to wait two hours, at minimum, for a two minute chance to talk to the task force. Since this supposedly is the next-to-last meeting of the task force, that's shameful.

And ridiculous. From what I saw tonight, the task force is floundering. It needs as much wise advice as it can get from citizens with common sense. 

The task force really should call "time out."

It needs to start fresh and do the sort of logical, reasoned, step by step planning and community consensus-building that should have been started five years ago. So far, this is a massive failure by City of Salem officials. 

Steiner drops Oregon vaccine mandate bill. Disappointing day for science.

On the whole, I've been happy with how the Democratic leadership in the Oregon legislature have been going about the people's business. 

But not today. 

Killing the much-needed bill that would eliminate non-medical reasons (philosophical and religious) for not vaccinating children was a stick in the eye both to the health of Oregonians, and to those, like me, who care about using science as a guide to social policy-making.

I just sent an email to Elizabeth Steiner-Hayward, after learning from a Statesman Journal story that she has dropped Senate Bill 442. 
Download Senator drops Oregon vaccine mandate bill

That's a big loss for Oregon, and a big win for science-deniers. We can now expect global warming deniers, evolution deniers, and others to emulate the tactics successfully used by the vaccine effectiveness deniers.

Here's what I said: 

Wow. I just learned that you’ve given up on the vaccine bill. Very disappointing for those of us, like my wife and myself, who believe sound science should guide legislative policy-making, not science-deniers.

You have just given global warming and evolution deniers a big boost, along with the many crazies who refuse to acknowledge scientific knowledge in other areas.

 

I guess you felt that the bill wouldn’t pass, so it wasn’t worth standing up for. Well, you’ve just made it more difficult for science to be taken seriously by the Oregon legislature in the future. 

 

It looks like all it takes to get Democrats in Oregon to surrender on a much-needed scientifically sound bill is for 150 science-deniers to assemble on the capitol steps, and generate a bunch of emails. Along with spouting lies about discredited scientific research.

 

Believe me, there are more of us in Oregon, I’m confident — people who want governmental policies to be based on facts rather than fantasies. Killing this bill has insulted and disrespected us.

 

Sorry to be so blunt. But that’s how I feel, as a proud liberal, Democrat, and supporter of science.

 

     — Brian

 

This is Steiner-Hayward's email address, if you want to share your own thoughts about what she did:

[email protected]

Let's make daylight saving time permanent, in Oregon and everywhere

Some Oregon state legislators want to do away with daylight saving time in this state. Bad idea!

We need to make daylight saving time permanent, giving Oregonians an extra hour of light in the evening year-round. 

Great arguments for doing so can be found in a Vox post that is aptly named, "It's time to make daylight saving time year-round."

Looking at the lobbying groups in favor of DST, however, hints at the real benefit. DST means that people who work a standard day shift (and kids who go to school during the day) get more daylight after work. Manufacturers like this because we tend to engage in leisure activities, take short trips, and buy things after work — but not before — so a longer DST slightly increases sales.

For the same reason, a year-round DST would also be nice for anyone who works inside and simply likes to occasionally see the sun during the short days of winter. It'd mean getting up when it's a bit darker out in exchange for an extra hour of light after work. In Washington, DC, for instance, sunsets in the dead of winter would be at roughly 6 pm, instead of 5, and sunrises would be at 8:30 am instead of 7:30.

In my extensive personal research regarding this issue, which includes (well, totally encompasses) brief conversations with friends and asking a plumber who is working in our house right now how he feels about daylight saving time, everybody loves it. 

They prefer having more light in the late afternoon and evening than early in the morning. After all, after work/school is when people have an opportunity to go for a walk, bike, run, or otherwise get outside and do stuff.

When daylight saving time ends and we put our clocks back an hour in the fall, I've never heard someone say "Oh, joy, now it is going to get dark at 5 rather than 6. I can walk the dog with a flashlight!"

Likely two anti-daylight saving time bills being sponsored by state Senators Kim Thatcher and Brian Boquist aren't going anywhere. Still, daylight saving time lovers need to send them and the Senate Rules committee a strong message:

Keep your damn hands off of my spring and summer evening daylight! Further, instead of doing away with daylight saving time, it should be made permanent, so Oregonians can have more light at the end of the day. 

Testimony in opposition to the bills to end daylight saving time can be sent to the committee administrator, Erin Seiler -- [email protected]

It'd be even better if Congress would make daylight saving time permanent everywhere, in which case DST would end up being simply... time. So says the end of the Vox article. 

Lots of social problems are really hard to solve. There are often big, powerful players with a stake in keeping the status quo, or the actual solution is messy and hard to implement.

This isn't the case with yearlong DST. An act of Congress — just like the act that extended DST in 2005 — could instantly fix this problem, saving us the annoyance of switching our clocks and giving us more sunlight to enjoy during our leisure hours. Over time, even farmers' opposition to DST has softened, and most people simply want to stop switching their clocks twice a year.

...Let's make this weekend the last time we set our clocks forward — and let's leave them there forever.

Why Salemians should come to the March 11 Police Facility Task Force meeting

Richard Reid, a founding member of Salem City Watch, has put out an informative email message about the urgent need for people concerned about the direction Salem is going, and the quality of life here, to come to one of the final meetings of the Mayor's Blue Ribbon Police Facility Task Force:

Wednesday, March 11, 6 to 8 pm, Broadway Commons (upstairs), 1300 Broadway St. NE, Salem

I went to the last Task Force meeting, but got there late and didn't speak during the public comment time.

Which, appropriately, was at the beginning of the meeting, when it should be. Disturbingly, the agenda for the March 11 meeting shows public comments at the end -- very closed-minded and insulting to Salem's citizens.
Download Police Facilty Task Force Agenda

Even if you don't want to say anything to the Task Force, just being there sends a positive message: "I care about how the City plans to spend up to $80 million of our tax money. I want you to do the wisest and most cost-effective thing."

Here's Reid's message.

I've corrected the starting time of the meeting to 6 pm, and how long members of the public can speak to 2 minutes. Below it I'll share a Facebook post from Salem Community Vision about the upcoming meeting which includes some additional important information.

City Council’s goals have included a new police facility since 2007. A few years ago a tiny group of citizens and some city councilors fixated on rebuilding the police facility where it is now in a seismically risky location.

 

Finally at its last meeting there was general agreement on the Blue Ribbon Task Force to consider alternative sites other than the Civic Center. However, some task force members are still insisting that ONLY the Civic Center should be considered no matter how risky or costly. 

 

Meanwhile, other Task Force members have found alternative sites they would like to propose but they but have been precluded from doing so. 

 

Even though the Task Force is about to be disbanded, discussion of alternative sites is NOT on the Wednesday, March 11 Task Force Agenda! 

 

It is possible that the Task Force may recommend that council ONLY consider rebuilding the Police Facility in the same unworkable site at City Hall. If so, eight years of effort to site the police facility where it will serve the police and the public best would be wasted. 

 

That’s why your city needs you to come to the next Task Force meeting. WE CAN end nearly a decade of head-scratching and urge the Blue Ribbon Task Force to simply choose the best alternatives.

 

Just like at the last Task Force meeting, it would make a huge difference if you could attend the 6:00 pm meeting and:

 

Invite the Task Force to consider alternative sites. (30 alternative sites were screened on May 23, 2011.)

 

Help the Task Force to understand that considering only sites within 1.5 miles of city hall is unrealistic and unnecessary. (What would happen if all cities forced their police to operate with this limit?)

 

Remind the Task Force; at the last Task Force meeting the City Manager said $5 million to $8 million “might be found” and used for land acquisition for an alternative site.

 

See you there!

Richard Reid

 

PLEASE NOTE:

Time for public comment has been limited to the END of the meeting and each speaker will have 2 minutes maximum. 

 

Please consider emailing your support for police facility siting alternatives to:

Blue Ribbon Police Facility Task Force Chair TJ Sullivan [email protected]; 

Mayor Anna Peterson [email protected]

 

Also, here's the content of the Salem Community Vision Facebook post mentioned above. It was written by Geoffrey James, a Police Facility Task Force member.

 

PLEASE ATTEND THE POLICE FACILITY MEETING ... this Wednesday March 11 at 6.00 p.m. (until 8.00) upstairs at Broadway Commons. The Mayor's Blue Ribbon Task Force on the Police Facility meets for a couple of hours.

 

Attendance and testimony by the Public at their February meeting was largely responsible for the committee finally doing something. They actually voted to exclude the Civic Center site because "it is not viable" for so many reasons. That site is a lake and a swamp.

 

The community insists that their trees and open space and lake not be destroyed. The cost there is prohibitive. Parking alone would be $55,000 a space for those employees. A surface parking lot would only be $4,000 a space, so the committee should focus on sites within a couple of miles of downtown. 

 

1. The committee so far has shown it has no clear course of action (except the chair still seems focussed on the civic center area, an option that would surely be rejected by the voters).

2. The "discussion topics" are always so vague and do not communicate much to interested citizens.

3. What is the purpose of this meeting ? The mayor announced that the committee has served its purpose. The chair announced that he is writing a draft of a final report, and that draft mentions the Civic Center six times.

4. What outcome is being targeted ? The Finance Director gave a report on an $80.5M [million] bond measure, which the polls indicate will surely fail.

Some committee members are intent on setting some sensible Site Selection Criteria, e.g. 4+ acre site, surface parking, expandability, but no real criteria has been adopted yet, and the chair has indicated this might be the next to last meeting.

 

Six years of invisible meetings have gone on, and this promising committee has not done much, and is about to be terminated.

 

Meanwhile the Salem Police Department is in impossible working conditions of only 29,000 sq.ft. mostly in the basement of unsafe City Hall. They really need 70,000+ sq.ft. of efficient space to operate, with 200+ parking spaces, for police, employees, and public.

 

This is an urgent matter, and Salem Community Vision has urged the City to move along on this, i.e. an affordable and efficient facility, that can indeed be developed for less than half the $80M cost that the City contemplated at the Civic Center.

 

[Note: I believe this lower-cost alternative includes both a $20-30 million police facility and the $15 million seismic upgrades mentioned below.]

 

The seismic strengthening of the Civic Center also makes sense, and is only $15M. The committee has discussed a separate bond for that piece.

 

So the new Police Facility of 75,000 sq.ft. building on a 4 acre site, with surface parking, and an adjacent Municipal Court, should only cost $20M to $30M, which is more acceptable to the voters.

 

SCV would work hard to help get voter approval of such a sensible and badly needed facility.

 

DO ATTEND THIS MEETING. The agenda shows public testimony to be at the end, which is when the chair is anxious to adjourn and go home. We should demand that the public testimony be FIRST, i.e. before any bad decisions are made. See you there at 6 p.m. on Wednesday.

 

 

Another City of Salem "what the hell...?" moment

I'm used to City of Salem officials doing stuff that makes me scratch my head in bafflement.

In fact, it's amazing that I've got any head hair left, given the many "what the hell is going on here?" moments those of us who follow goings-on at City Hall have been exposed to recently. 

-- Cutting down the five beautiful U.S. Bank trees for no good reason.
-- Trying to take over part of Riverfront Park for an access road to a private development.
-- Planning to install downtown parking meters without first talking to businesses there.
-- Demolishing historic Howard Hall against the recommendation of the Historic Landmarks Commission.
--Letting Salem Hospital go ahead with building a parking lot and clear-cutting an urban forest even though a legal ruling went against the City. 
-- Persisting in plans for a way-overpriced Police Facility in the face of citizen opposition.
-- Doing away with the duly-selected downtown organization.
-- Working to foist an unneeded $430 million third bridge on local taxpayers even though fixing the current bridges would cost way less and accomplish way more.

The head-scratching craziness goes on and on. Salem's Mayor, City Manager, city councilors, and others just keep on coming up with notions that don't pass a reasonable person's make-sense test.

Here's another to add to the what the hell...? list. All I know is what was shared in a City of Salem Facebook post today. It sure sounds decidedly sleazily suspicious.

I've bold-faced the passages that set off alarm bells in my Sleaze Detector.

Salem’s Urban Renewal Agency Board on Monday, March 9, will be asked to approve an agreement that would authorize a performance-based grant of up to $749,999 to a developer of the former Boise Cascade site. 

The developer, Salem LTC Properties, intends to purchase a portion of the property known as the North Block from its private owners. The site is east of the railroad tracks at the former industrial property, which is now part of a master plan called Pringle Square.

Salem LTC is a subsidiary of Milwaukie-based Marquis Companies. The developer’s plans call for a 38,000-square-foot acute rehabilitation center and 24,000-square-foot office building. Construction of the $11.6 million rehabilitation center is expected to start by spring 2016.

The grant structure is based on performance. Only the additional property taxes generated by development -- which would ordinarily go to the urban renewal area -- would be paid to the developer as an incentive to build the project. The grant only applies to rehabilitation center, not the office building.

The grant guidelines were approved by the urban renewal agency’s board in January.

Salem’s aspirations to buy 3.8 acres for an expansion for Riverfront Park also depend on offering the performance grant. 

In January 2014, the city entered into a purchase and sale agreement to buy riverfront property for a park expansion. Offering a performance grant is a condition to close on the sale. The deal is scheduled to close no later than March 31.

Urban renewal agency staff have recommended that the board approve the development agreement with Salem LTC Properties.

The urban renewal agency board meets just before the Salem City Council meeting at 6:30 p.m., Monday, at the Vern Miller Civic Center, 555 Liberty Street SE. 

OK. Let's ponder the facts here. There may be more than meets the eye, but what my eye sees isn't very pretty.

Mountain West Investment, the new owner of the former Boise Cascade site, already has gotten a lot of "corporate welfare" for the Pringle Square development. (See here and here.)

I believe this includes about $750,000 in tax abatements, and a sweetheart deal on the City's purchase of the above-mentioned acreage that could be added to Riverfront Park -- which Mountain West has no access to, since it is on the wrong side of the railroad tracks.

Now we learn that part of the sweetheart deal is even sweeter for Mountain West Investment, and more sour for Salem citizens.

It requires the Mayor and City Council, who are one and the same as the "Urban Renewal Agency Board" (they just meet under a different name when doing urban renewal business) to cough up $750,000 -- oh, sorry, $749,999, which sounds so much less -- in urban renewal funds to give to a subsidiary of Marquis Companies so it can buy land from Mountain West for... get excited, Salemians, about what's coming to your downtown riverfront... a nursing home.

Hmmmmm. This sure doesn't sound like what "urban renewal" is supposed to do.

Marquis is a large provider of long term care services. It already has 30 other rehabilitation, assisted living, and similar sorts of facilities.

This urban renewal money isn't going for infrastructure to revitalize a neglected area. Apparently it is going directly to Marquis' Salem LTC corporation to subsidize the building of the planned $11.6 million rehabilitation facility on bare land.

I'm not sure what sort of performance this so-called "performance grant" requires. Just going ahead and building the facility that Marquis already wanted to construct? Again, can you say corporate welfare?

No, let's make that shakedown corporate welfare.

Because the not-so-hard bargainers at City Hall not only want to pay $2 million for 3.8 acres of prospective park property appraised at $800,000 or thereabouts, along with forking out $200,000 to investigate pollution on the Mountain West parcel, they also acceded to Mountain West's demand that Salem LLC get $750,000 in urban renewal funds to subsidize a rehab facility on land bought from Mountain West.

To me, a nursing home/rehab facility on prime downtown riverfront land is a horrible idea. If someone wants to do this, they should pay for the whole horrible idea themselves. Why should taxpayers dish out $750,000 more to a private developer?

I suspect that if the City of Salem had widely advertised, "We're willing to give $750,000 to a business interested in building on downtown riverfront property; give us a call, and we'll talk," some much more creative and attractive development proposals would have been elicited.

Instead, what we've got here smells of the sort of backroom cronyism that marks City Hall deals these days.

With big corporations, at least. Ordinary citizens get no special consideration, because they don't have the money and power in this town that comes from buying elections for the Mayor's office and city council seats.

If you're as tired of this crap as I am, head over to Progressive Salem.

They're seeking to restore openness, honesty, citizen involvement, and smart spending at City Hall. Stuff that sure seems to be lacking in this deal.  

Salem Weekly's A.P. Walther gets Media Environmental Award

OK, it isn't a Pulitzer prize.

But pretty darn close: the Salem Business Journal has awarded A.P. Walther, publisher of Salem Weekly, the first SBJ Media Environmental Award for outstanding coverage of environmental topics.

I'll admit that I was surprised to come across this story on the very last news page, p. 25, of the March 2015 Salem Business Journal.

When I see a fresh issue of the monthly SBJ, I usually pick one up -- since they lurk in a free box on the Court Street sidewalk next to a Salem Weekly box where I'll also score a bi-weekly free copy.

The Salem Business Journal is considerably less progressive than Salem Weekly, this town's alternative paper. Yet whoever wrote the award story did a pretty good job.

Since April 2003 Walther and his newspaper have effectively covered a vast range of environmental issues. A.P. has more than just a passion for earth friendly reporting, for him it's a mission.

Nothing stands in his way. As Editor and Publisher of Salem's only alternative newspaper he has taken on big banks, big government and big business. For more than ten years he has proven his dedication to all that is green or is not green.

Those in our community that know Walther, respect his values, opinions. Look for future strength in numbers with the addition of the Salem Weekly "Editorial Board" including: Lois Stark, Richard Reid, Russ Beaton, Jim Scheppke and William Smaldone.

The green community thanks you A.P. The SBJ is very proud to present you with our first annual "Media Environmental Award."

Way to go, A.P.! 

I enjoyed the photo of him that accompanied the story. There A.P. is, pursuing his cutting-edge investigative journalism on a -- I am not kidding you -- corded phone. 

I wasn't even aware they still existed. However, I did know that Salem Weekly needs some upgrading of its office equipment, and that photo proves the point. 

(See my December post, "Make a donation to Salem Weekly. Here's how and why.")

As well-deserved as this award is, I'd be remiss if I didn't point out how pitiful the competition was.

The Salem Statesman Journal, our so-called community newspaper which actually is a Gannett Corporation USA Today near-clone, does a horrible job on environmental and investigative reporting. 

When editors at the Statesman Journal killed an already-written story about my tell-all report regarding the utterly needless killing of the beautiful, healthy U.S. Bank trees, after the City's Public Works Director made an unethical back-room deal with the bank president, I knew that the Statesman Journal's journalistic standards had sunk to a disturbing low.

So kudos to A.P. Walther and Salem Weekly for being the honest, open, courageous voice that this town needs. May you bring us many more great stories in 2015. 

And maybe even get a cordless phone.

Some 1970'ish photos stir up wonderings about time and identity

It was like seeing a ghost. Except, the ghost was me, and I'm still alive.

The first startling image that popped up in my Facebook feed yesterday was of the 1970 (I believe) wedding of my best friend in elementary and high school, Ken Hart.

There I am, standing to the groom's right in the photo, all bearded, long-haired, and dressed-up. 

I have absolutely no memory of the wedding. I haven't given a single thought to it, so far as I know, for as long as I can remember.

Yet... I obviously was there. Well, let's put it this way: Brian Hines was there. Is this the same person as the guy who is writing this blog post?

We have the same body. We have the same name. There is a certain continuity between the me of 1970 and the me of 2015. 

But also important discontinuities. Being surprised by this photo made me realize how little I recall of most of "my" life. Having forgotten this wedding until now, what else has escaped my conscious memory?

A hell of a lot. Almost everything, in fact. 

Plus, the images I do have of what happened to me in the past are highly selective. Neuroscientists assure us that memories aren't like photos or videos -- reliable replicas of actual occurrences. 

Memories quickly turn into second-order reflections of themselves, memories of memories, so to speak. With every retrieval, every pondering, the brain adds and subtracts from the original memory. 

So not only have I forgotten most of my life, what I do remember is almost certainly far from an accurate account of what I actually experienced. Thus, the me of today arguably is a very different person from the me of yesterday.

Which helps explain why, when I look at the photo above, I sort of feel like I am viewing myself, while also feeling like I am gazing upon another person.

Same applies to another photo that someone shared soon after the first.

A commenter asked, "Were you in church?"

Since at this time (1970'ish also, I assume) I was heavy into Eastern mysticism/meditation, though Ken and I seemed to be in a church -- the photo is reversed, so the sign behind us is hard to read -- I wasn't there to worship.

So what was I doing in a sports coat and tie, standing rather formally next to my old friend? I don't know. I'm clueless. 

If someone else other than me had been photographed standing next to Ken, I would know just the same amount about what they were doing at the time. Nothing. 

But since this is me, not someone else, shouldn't I have at least a glimpse, a hint, an intuition about what the photograph represents? 

No. That's not how life works.

Except, I guess, for those rare people blessed, or cursed, with the ability to remember in detail everything that they have ever experienced. I definitely am not one of those people. I've already forgotten much of what I did and thought today.

Thinking about what I might say in this blog post during my dog walk a few hours ago, my thoughts were pleasantly distracted by a full moon, a setting sun, and the community lake we were walking around.

At first I just tried to absorb the beauty of what I was seeing, feeling that if I was mindful enough of this moment, maybe it would remain with me for the rest of my life.

But those old photographs argued against that.

So I snapped a few photos with my iPhone. Just for the heck of it. The present moment really is mostly (maybe all) we have. Yet moments don't last, while photos do. 

People -- me, you, everybody -- also don't last. Ken died a few years ago. I don't remember exactly when. I hadn't seen him for a long time. I wish we had kept in touch, but wishes aren't reality. Only what actually happens is.

So I'm grateful for those old photos of Ken and me. Even though I don't remember those times when we were together, I do remember many other moments with my old friend. Those, I hope, will never fade from memory.  

Yet if they do, so be it. The moon also is no longer over Spring Lake, nor is the sun setting over the coast range. 

Warmest winter in Salem. But are City leaders global warming deniers?

Meteorological winter -- December, January, February -- is over. It's official. This past winter tied with 1934 for the warmest winter ever in Salem, Oregon.

Portland also had its warmest winter. 

It's pretty damn obvious that the weather here in the northwest is getting weirder. Not only here, of course. All over.

The cause is global warming. Almost certainly. I'd leave out the "almost," but I'm scientifically minded, and science is never 100% sure about anything. Just very highly sure.

Three years ago we had a unusual spring cold spell. This year, we had an unusual winter-long warm spell. Just as would be expected if global warming is happening, as it is. 

I talked about the reasons why in this post. Extreme weather is going to be more common as the jet stream becomes "wavier" and more persistent in its wavy pattern. According to climate scientists, this likely is caused by the Arctic warming, which leads to a less powerful jet stream.

Oregon's snowpack is at record low levels for the second year in a row. Like Bob Dylan sang, 'You don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows."

Global warming is real. It is impacting Salem. It is impacting Oregon. This city, this state, indeed the entire world, need to do something about it.

Yet like I said in a recent Strange Up Salem column, "Salem fiddles while the planet burns." 

We've got a Mayor and city council majority who are pressing for an unneeded billion dollar third bridge that will substantially increase Salem's carbon footprint.

We have a local newspaper, the Statesman Journal, that regularly publishes opinion pieces and letters to the editor by global warming deniers, and has editorialized in favor of the Keystone XL pipeline -- which climate experts say must be stopped to prevent the catastrophe that would result from using up Canada's oil sands.

If our City's leaders believe in global warming, they sure aren't acting like they do. So my theory is... they don't believe in it. 

I know. This is Oregon. Western Oregon. Willamette Valley Oregon. Where Portland, Corvallis, and Eugene are. Not Texas or Oklahoma.

But Salem is a different city animal from the towns around us. We're way behind the times when it comes to things these cities do much better than us at.

Bike lanes. Mass transit. New urbanism. Social equity. And also, scientific literacy.

Yeah, it's embarrassing. Along with disturbing. Optimist that I am, though, I'm hoping that this year's record-breaking warm winter and low snowpack will wake up the climate change deniers in this town to the reality that faces us.

Do something about global warming, or it is going to do a lot to us.

Civilization won't be the same if temperatures caused by human greenhouse gas emissions keep on rising as they are. 

The question is: do our Mayor, City Manager, city councilors, and Statesman Journal newspaper executives care enough about this town, and the entire Earth, to stop hiding their heads in science-denying sand?

Bike boulevards are cool. Help Salem get them.

A great new group in town, Salem Bike Boulevard Advocates, needs your help. They're pushing to make Salem, Oregon a much more bike-friendly town.

Which was the subject of my Strange Up Salem column in Salem Weekly a few weeks ago. 

Angela Obery seeks to change things.

She’s a long-time resident of the Highland neighborhood who has formed a Salem Bike Boulevard Advocates group.

After talking with Obery I’m super-enthused about her vision. This could be a game-changer for enhancing our quality of life, along with making Salem more attractive to people and businesses thinking of coming here.

A bike boulevard is a residential street that’s been optimized for bicycles, which also makes the street friendly for pedestrians, skateboarders, joggers, and other people outside of a vehicle “cage.”

Salem Bike Boulevard Advocates has put out an action alert. I've copied in the most pertinent information below, adding in a direct link to email the Mayor, City Manager, and city councilors.

Help us spread the word...

Salem Bike Boulevard Advocates needs your help to spread the word about bike boulevards.  Here's how:

1) Learn more about bike boulevards and how they can benefit Salem neighborhoods. These two videos are a great place to start:  "What are bike boulevards?" at  http://youtu.be/CyQHSdhIYCg and "Who benefits from bike boulevards?" at http://youtu.be/fJ8IlX2g_js

2) Write to Salem Leaders and tell them that you "support the development of bike boulevards in Salem." Contact info here: http://www.cityofsalem.net/CityCouncil 
Email address is: [email protected]

3) Forward this e-newsletter on to friends and encourage them to join our mailing list at: http://eepurl.com/bcFbVP

4) Invite SBBA to present at your organization/school/ church. Let us know the day & time and we're happy to share our message with all of Salem: [email protected] 

Together we can bring safer, more comfortable biking routes to our home town! 

Pleasingly, the Salem Breakfast on Bikes blog is reporting that enthusiasm is growing for Bike Boulevards.

I believe the City Council is having a work session on March 16 to come up with their 2015-2017 goals. The Mayor and City Councilors need to hear from Salemians that this needs to be a top priority. 

So email them!

And give Salem Bike Boulevard Advocates a Facebook like.

If you need convincing that Salem should put a lot more emphasis on walking and biking, take a look at this video. Other cities are way ahead of us in this regard.

Pedestrians First from Knight Foundation on Vimeo.

[2017 update: Progress! Here's a PDF file of the draft City of Salem Winter-Maple Bikeway plan.]
Download Winter-Maple Bikeway Plan