The Office's blog

Wordstock Starts Thursday, Nov 6

The Office — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 09:16:56 -0800

.Wordstock is among the nation's largest literary festivals and it's growing. Sponsored by the Regional Arts and Culture Council, Wordstock is put together by a large staff of volunteers and hosted by Community of Writers.

Wordstock kicks off its fourth year this Thursday and lasts through the weekend.

For a taste of Wordstock, please see some of the new features of this year's program. For example, 50-word essays on
Portland were submitted by local writers and can be found online. "Sleeping Under Bridges" and "Shanghai Tunnels" can be found at www.wordstockfestival.com if you click on the red button in the top right corner.

WORDSTOCK
November 7-9, 2008
Oregon
Convention Center
Full schedule: www.wordstockfestival.com

Freightliner Job Loss: City Must Boost Job Creation Effort

The Office — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 15:45:43 -0700

Dear Friends,

I will not sugarcoast the news that Freightliner Manufacturing is leaving Portland in June, 2010: it is a punch in the gut for Portland's economy.

The news means that Portland will lose thousands of living-wage jobs, we lose the biggest chunk of our once vibrant truck-building industry, and local suppliers to Freightliner lose a large customer.

As Freightliner describes it, they made the decision, "in response to continuing depressed demand across the industry and structural changes in the company's core markets."

(link: http://www.katu.com/news/business/30944634.html )

With this Freightliner decision maybe global forces are too big for us to change. Nonetheless, this sad development should spur us to act quickly on an economic development strategy that will help lead us through these tough times and prepare us for the better times ahead.

While we recognize that our corporations are impacted by global macroeconomic realities that are beyond our control, our city cannot passively accept the negative effects of global economic trends. We need to identify trends that impact us and where our strengths lie within the global marketplace.

In the meantime, we are busy implementing the actions contained in the 10 Strategies to Keep Portland’s Economy Working document and engaging the public in order to make informed economic choices.

Yesterday we held two initial discussions with community leaders and business leaders around the impacts of the current economic realities on our local business and our families. These brainstorming sessions built on the work we did to prepare for the recession in last year's budget. I'd also appreciate your perspective on the 10 Strategies to Keep Portland's Economy Working, our Jobs Strategy and the notes from yesterday's meeting. (Please click on the attachments below)

These turn of events also underscores the importance of the work Chair Ted Wheeler along with City Commissioner Nick Fish and I are doing to create a Prosperity Alliance of efforts around workforce development, social service and affordable housing providers.

(link: http://www.commissionersam.com/node/3845)

In the meantime, we are doing everything we can to assist those who are immediately impacted by Freightliner's announcement. Working closely with Governor Ted Kulongoski, Mayor Tom Potter and the Portland Development Commission, Worksystems, Inc and Manufacturing 21, we are mobilizing our Rapid Response Teams to provide access to a broad array of resources and services for those workers dislocated from Freightliner.

We have also asked the Portland Development Commission to help local suppliers who will be impacted by losing one of their largest customers. All hands are on deck to ensure impacted workers and businesses have the support they need to find new opportunities and make as smooth a transition as possible.

I have long recognized the importance of Freightliner to
Portland's economy. We visited them during 100 Businesses in 100 Days and have kept in contact with them and offered ongoing support and assistance. In fact, during my last meeting with Freightliner CEO Chris Patterson on July 22, 2008, he talked about the fact that the East coast made more sense for Fieghtliner's North American headquarters because a great majority of their businesses occurs east of the Mississippi. Of course, I asked what we needed to do to keep them in Portland. Patterson said that given global forces and market realities Portland was doing all that it could. However, he mentioned that a lawsuit brought against them by the State of
Oregon was a source of frustration for the company.

As a result, the City of
Portland filed an amicus brief against the state on behalf of Freightliner (link: http://www.commissionersam.com/node/4175). Unfortunately, this unprecedented action by the City against the State in support of a local business was not enough to turn the tides.

I hope you will join me and the rest of City Council in working to hold on to the companies and jobs we have and to support the creation of new jobs and companies where we have a competitive advantage. We'll send out more details in the coming months.

Today, however, our thoughts are with Freightliner employees and their families.

Sincerely,

Sam

Attachment	Size
Emergency Budgetary Mtgs Final.doc	41 KB
PortlandJobPlan[1].pdf	113.45 KB
10 Strategies.doc	138.5 KB

Local Coffee Roasting Company Celebrates New Home

The Office — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 14:38:54 -0700

Welcome to the new Coffee Bean International Headquarters and Roasting Facility

Yesterday, Sam joined County Commissioner Jeff Cogen, Director of Portland Development Commission, Bruce Warner, President and CEO Patrick Criteser, and about 40 friends and onlookers for the ribbon cutting ceremony at Coffee Bean International's new NE Alderwood facility.

During the ceremony, Criteser thanked the 150 employees who, he said, are the core reason for the company's success. Sam recognized Coffee Bean International's commitment to Portland, even though it was recently acquired by Farmer Bros. Coffee Co., which is based in California. He also celebrated the sustainability measure the company took in designing its new facility and during its entire history of coffee production. In fact, the new building is set to be the first coffee roasting company in the Northwest (and only the second in the country) to be LEED-certified!

Sam and CEO Criteser look over the roasting facility

While Coffee Bean International has major customers like Nordstrom, Target, and Harry & David, the company has maintained a commitment to quality that is evidenced in this roasting facility. "We're proud to remain headquartered in Portland in a building that showcases our commitment to artisan roasting and to the environment," said Criteser. "While our new building respresents an impressive use of technology, we remain committed to doing business the way we always have, and in particular to our old-world style of small batch roasting."

Paul Thornton leads a cupping for Commissioners Adams and CogenTo impress upon us their commitment to quality, Criteser invited Sam and Commissioner Cogen to participate in a traditional coffee experience - a "cupping."Presided over by nationally reknowned coffee roastmaster, Paul Thornton, Sam and Commissioner Cogen observed, smelled, tasted, and described three diverse single-sourced coffees: Sumatra Mandheling, Guatemalan Antigua, and Ethiopian Yrgacheffe. Commissioner Cogen was surprised and delighted by the bright blueberry notes in the Ethiopian Yrgacheffe. Sam appreciated the low acidity of the Sumatra Mandheling.

Visit the new facility to experience a cupping, see the roasters, and witness the stellar work environment that compels the 150 employees who work for Coffee Bean International stay there for decades.

BYD Auto: Portland and Warren Buffet Agree!

The Office — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 14:11:37 -0700

The Oracle of Omaha, keen investor Warren E. Buffett, announced last week that he agreed to buy a 9.89 percent stake in the Chinese Battery Manufacturer, BYD. Commissioner Sam visited BYD on his recent trip to China to pitch Portland as their North American test market.

Coincidence? or dual foresight?

Read about Buffett's investment and the BYD company here.

Read Sam's blog about the prospects of BYD in Portland here.

Bicycle Industry Helps Portland's Economy

The Office — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 16:53:30 -0700

Not only does growth in bicycle ridership ease the burden on our city's infrastructure and the natural environment as well as increase the health and wellness of our citizens, the industry also contributes to our local economy. In fact, a new report released by Alta Planning + Design, finds that the total economic activity in Portland related to the bike industry is approximately $90 million!

Alta's report expands on a 2006 study sponsored by the Portland Office of Transportation. The report, Alta says, only etimates DIRECT bicycle-related business activity in Portland, and does not include bicycle-related benefits to residents' health, traffic congestion, air quality, or quality of life.

Still, the facts are impressive:

There has been a 38% increase in the value of the bicycle-related industry sector in Portland since 2006.
The fastest growing sector is manufacturing and distribution, currently 20% of the total.
The total number of companies in the bicycle-related sector rose from 95 in 2006 to 143 in 2008, a growth rate of 50%. New businesses are primarily small and locally-owned, with the notable exception of Rapha Performance Roadwear, a national company that relocated to Portland.
The bicycle economy provides between 850 and 1150 jobs in Portland.
Hand0built bicycle manufacturers increased from 5 to 17 (340% growth). This sector of the economy is growing fast and gaining significant media attention.
Portland is currently home to nearly 4000 annual races, rides, events and tours (an average of one ride every 27 minutes). This has nearly doubled since 2006, when the number of rides was 2100.

Read an overview of the report and download the summary report here.

Attachment	Size
2008 Portland Bicycle Industry Growth Brochure.pdf	102.41 KB
Bicycle Industry Growth Brochure.pdf (2006 study brochure)	1.26 MB

CBS News; Pedal Power

The Office — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 16:31:09 -0700

Clay Neal -- Small Business Project Manager

The Office — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 16:31:13 -0700

Clay NealClay is an extremely proud, fifth-generation Oregonian. Building off of a family history in the small business community in Portland, he pursued a university degree that embodied the Portlandian "three-lives" ethic. During his undergraduate tenure at Boston University, Clay simultaneously studied international economic systems and trends, environmental philosophy and stewardship, and performance art.

Clay's international and educational experiences ultimately propelled him home to work on the overarching development of his favorite city. He was compelled to apply for a position in Commissioner Adams's office by a desire to be involved with organizations that are at the forefront of shaping the future of Portland per the needs of citizens as well as local and global environments and economies. In his six months of working as a Staff Associate supporting senior policy staff, he gained extensive experience in policy-making, negotiated relationships between parties in the public and private sector, and became comfortable with the inner workings of City Hall.

In August, 2008, Clay accepted the position of Small Business Project Manager. Working closely with the Small Business Advisory Council, he is extremely motivated to represent the small business community with a cohesive voice in City Hall. Contact him with concerns or queries relating to policies that you feel directly or indirectly affect small business and economic development in Portland.

Contact Clay at (503) 823.4128 or clay.neal@ci.portland.or.us

NEW YORK TIMES: Moving Targets

The Office — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 12:30:58 -0700

By JAN HOFFMAN

Hiroko Masuike for the New York TimesIt seemed like a good idea at the time.

Save gas money, be environmentally correct, lose weight - just by biking to work. And so after two decades, Dan Cooley, 41, saddled up a silver 21-speed Raleigh in April to make the daily two-mile commute to his nursing job at a senior citizen center in Louisville, Ky. In four months, he lost 15 pounds. Way to go, Dan!

Friday morning, July 25, around 6:50 a.m., he was pedaling on a residential street, wearing his green hospital scrubs, when a Volkswagen roared out of a driveway in front of him. Swerving to avoid the car, Mr. Cooley cursed loudly and rode on.

The driver and his passenger cursed back. As Mr. Cooley pulled over to the sidewalk, the car turned onto a driveway, knocking him off his bike. In Mr. Cooley's narrative, the passenger, swearing, jumped out and pummeled him. Then he got back into the car, which zoomed away. Mr. Cooley lay prostrate on the sidewalk, bloodied, with a concussion and a torn ligament.

"We've had a car culture for so long and suddenly the roads become saturated with bicyclists trying to save gas," Mr. Cooley said 10 days after the attack, still feeling scrambled, in pain and traumatized. "No one knows how to share the road." He doesn't plan to bike to work again this season.

Every year, the war of the wheels breaks out in the sweet summer months, as four-wheelers react with aggravation and anger to the two-wheelers competing for the same limited real estate.

This summer, the number of new cyclists has increased strongly across the country. In June, nearly 11,000 first-time riders participated in Denver's Bike to Work Day. Dahon, makers of folding bikes popular with commuters, reports a 30-percent sales increase from a year ago, with many models having been sold out since the spring. Transportation Alternatives, a bicycling advocacy group, estimates that 131,000 people cycle daily in New York, up 77 percent since 2000.

Like Mr. Cooley, the newbies are lured by improved bike lanes as well as the benefits of exercise, a smaller carbon footprint and gas savings. But talk about a vicious cycle! With more bikes on the road, the driver-cyclist, Hatfield-McCoy hostility seems to be ratcheting up. Cycling: good for the environment, bad for mental health?

Having noted the uptick in aggression, Michelle Holcomb, a cycling instructor in Dallas, now carries a secret weapon. Recently, as she cycled into an intersection at a four-way stop and began turning left, a driver at the cross street revved and shot through, laughing as he missed her front wheel by inches. "Smile for the camera," muttered Ms. Holcomb, who videotaped the incident with her new helmet camera.

In this dogfight, bigger's impact is always much, much badder. But smaller is hardly better-behaved. It's especially true in city traffic, where pedestrians add a third volatile element to a compound already wildly unstable.

Last Thursday evening, at the peak of Manhattan rush hour, Howard Savery was crossing Broadway at 40th Street with fellow bipeds. Abruptly he reared back, just avoiding a crash with an impatient cyclist, racing through the red light.

"Well, that's a first!" remarked Mr. Savery, a banker, who was heading home to Staten Island.

First time he'd nearly been knocked over by a cyclist in Manhattan?

No, corrected Mr. Savery: "That's the first time one of them actually beeped at me. Usually they run you down silently."

In spot clashes around the country, the hostility this summer has erupted in baroque violence:

¶A Brentwood, Calif., doctor was charged with assault. Police say he intentionally braked in front of two cyclists, with one smashing into his rear window and the other crashing to the pavement.

¶In bike-utopia, Portland, Ore., where 6 percent of the people cycle daily - the national average is under 1 percent - a cyclist knocked off his bike clung desperately to the hood of a moving car. And a car passenger fought with a cyclist after yelling at him to wear his helmet.

¶Last weekend, Utah state police arrested the driver of a pickup truck, suspected of plowing intentionally into cyclists on a morning ride.

Isolated, freakish events, certainly. Indeed, some cycling advocates say that as riders in their communities have become a customary sight, civility by motorists has improved. But overwhelmingly, on blogs and Web sites nationwide, drivers and cyclists routinely describe shouted epithets, flung water bottles, sprays of spit and harrowing near-misses of the intentional kind.

Psychologists and traffic experts say the tension rises from many factors, including summer road rage and the "my hurry matters more than your hurry" syndrome, exacerbated when drivers feel captive to slower-moving cyclists.

And then there's old-fashioned turf warfare.

One recent morning, BikeSnobNYC, the cycling blogger, was riding to work in a downtown Manhattan bike lane. Suddenly, an S.U.V. pulled in front of him, reversed and slipped into a parking spot. Mr. BSNYC veered and took out a camera.

"I'm working on a project," he told the driver. "I'm taking photos of people who almost kill me."

Recounting the exchange during a phone interview, his dudgeon only grew. "He says I'm lucky he was looking out for me because I don't belong in the ‘most busiest city in the world' on my bicycle," said Mr. BSNYC, whose closely guarded identity is part of his mystique.

Red-flag words, and from a driver "with Jersey plates" yet? A provocation to any cyclist, especially one who later posted the photos on his blog.

Driver-rider hostility has become worse this summer because legions of cyclists are simply inexperienced. At least according to the drivers. "They say the cyclists are all over the road and don't know the rules," said Michele Mount, a spokeswoman for AAA of New Jersey.

"They pull out without looking at traffic," she said. "They don't signal. I get that there is safety in numbers and they're trying to protect themselves, but there's barely room for cars on the road, let alone a bike lane."

Even Mr. BSNYC piled on. "You can't ride a bike in the city as an adult the way you did as a 10-year-old in a suburban cul-de-sac," he said. "I see people riding like children on a sidewalk, or going the wrong way down a street." (Cyclists should ride with traffic, not against it.)

A pandemic of obliviousness - earbuds, texting - further ramps up the tension. Recently, Steve Diamond, ride coordinator for the Morris Area Freewheelers, a New Jersey cycling club, saw what he called a trifecta of irresponsible cycling: "A guy riding his bike without a helmet, talking on his cellphone, with his kid in the bike attachment behind him."

There's a whiff of class warfare in the simmering hostility, too. During morning rush, the teeth-gritting of drivers is almost audible, as superbly fit cyclists, wearing Sharpie-toned spandex and riding $3,000 bikes, cockily dart through the swampy, stolid traffic to offices with bike racks and showers.

On a Seattle blog, an observer howled: "Drown yourself in espresso and tears!"

AT the opposite end of the class spectrum are cyclists who can't afford other transportation: often immigrants on clunkers, without helmets or lights, heading to work at dawn or dusk.

"We need to find some way to let them know what the rules are," said Earl Jones, chairman of a bicycle task force in Louisville.

The ability of drivers and cyclists to trash talk and then disappear into the anonymity of traffic further poisons the atmosphere. Dave Schlabowske, the bicycle and pedestrian coordinator for Milwaukee, recalled a car pulling alongside as he pedaled to a meeting: passenger, a child of about 6, rolls down window. No seat belt.

Driver, male, fixes Mr. Schlabowske with a glare, and then gives instruction to small child. Obediently, child complies: he flips Mr. Schlabowske an obscene gesture, shouts complementary epithet. Looking triumphant, driver peels off.

To some extent, the hostility is a byproduct not only of the abdication of common sense, but of widespread ignorance of state and local laws. In every state, cyclists have the same rights and responsibilities as drivers of motor vehicles. But in the particulars, state vehicle codes and municipal ordinances vary. Consider the frustrated driver who shouts to a cyclist, "Get on the sidewalk!"

In Los Angeles, cyclists may ride on sidewalks unless they exhibit "willful" or "wanton" behavior. But in San Francisco, cycling on sidewalks is forbidden, except for bike riders under 13.

The anticyclist hostility even follows riders into court. Just ask a bike lawyer. For as surely as night follows day, with more riders on the road, there is a small but growing peloton of lawyers specializing in bike law, usually representing injured cyclists.

Gary Brustin, a cyclist and California bike lawyer, said anticyclist fervor makes jury selection daunting. "They are white-hot about us," Mr. Brustin said. "They are seething." In California, bicycle plaintiffs lose two out of three cases that go to trial.

The anger has not gone unnoticed by officials around the country. A dozen states now mandate at least a three-foot passing gap. In June, South Carolina passed an antiharassment law to protect cyclists. This summer, Washington, D.C., posted speed limits for cyclists on a popular trail. New York City has been painting a green-striped bike lane down Broadway, from Times Square to Herald Square. Complete Streets bills seek to require that roads be designed for all users.

But the bottom line, say driving behavior experts, is that the learning curve has just begun. Tom Vanderbilt, author of "Traffic: Why We Drive the Way We Do" (Knopf, 2008), said that because drivers do not expect to see cyclists, they don't.

Therefore, said Andy Clarke, president of the League of American Bicyclists, an advocacy group, the turmoil will abate when enough cyclists are on the road, so that everyone learns to share the space. As in Amsterdam. Or Davis, Calif., where nearly 15 percent of the population cycles daily.

Will the Hatfields and the McCoys ever be able to coexist? Ground zero for such tensions may be Woodside, Calif. (population 5,600, 14 square miles), on the San Francisco peninsula, tucked in forested mountains. Its famous switchbacks are so narrow they are often unmarked by white stripes.

Woodside is host to hundreds of recreational cyclists on weekends. And on many weekdays, a peloton known as "the noon riders" - as many as 100 cyclists from Silicon Valley businesses riding during lunch break - blasts through.

"Mention the noon riders to anyone in town and you'll see the blood pressure go up," said Susan George, Woodside's town manager. One day, she said, she rounded a bend and came upon them: "I slammed on the brakes and they swarmed around me, screaming and yelling obscenities. My heart was pounding. It was very scary."

In September, Woodside will test a campaign known as Honor the Stop. It's the brainchild of Marc Evans, a San Francisco endurance coach whose client was one of two cyclists killed this spring by a driver.

Honor the Stop features a pledge card and a two-tone wristband: black, for those killed or injured on the road, and red, to represent the wearer's commitment to obey stop signs.

Woodside will distribute 5,000 bands. "It's not a campaign just for cyclists," Mr. Evans said. "It's for all road users."

Does Ms. George, the town manager, have a fantasy that the noon riders will wear the bands and politely stop at intersections?

"I have fantasy visions of the noon riders," replied Ms. George, "but it's not necessarily about wearing these bracelets."

To View Original Article

Pollyanne Birge--Community Outreach Coordinator

The Office — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 11:42:27 -0700

Born in the sleepy town of Spokane Washington, Community Outreach Coordinator Pollyanne Birge acts as a liaison between RACC and the office of Arts Commissioner Sam Adams.

A major component of her work, she curates the City Hall First Thursday Art Shows in addition to other special cultural events at City Hall. The City Hall First Thursday Art Show project has been of one of her proudest accomplishments--these events have been an important way to highlight the amazing talent we have in our region as well as making local government more assessable through arts and culture. Polly also coordinates the Art Spark events that act as the social and networking element of the Creative Capacity Strategy-a larger conversation about how local creatives can work together to build support for the arts.

When not in the office Polly enjoys music, her dog, writing postcards (a lost art!), and the incredible comic talent we have in our region.

Pollyanne Birge

Community Outreach Coordinator,

503.823.4182,

pbirge@ci.portland.or.us

The Oregonian: Portland May Ban Plastic Bags

The Office — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 09:09:32 -0700

by Mark Larabee, The Oregonian

Thursday July 24, 2008, 4:45 PM

The next thing you might hear at the cash register is: "Paper or plastic? That'll be extra."

On the heels of San Francisco, Seattle and Los Angeles, Portland may impose a fee on grocery bags by next year to reduce waste and encourage people to shop with reusable sacks.

"It's a simple behavioral change that we have to ingrain in ourselves," said City Commissioner Sam Adams.

He first brought up the idea more than a year ago and now is pushing for a City Council vote, but hasn't decided how much to charge: He's discussing anywhere from 5 cents to 20 cents per bag.

The switch would represent a big lifestyle change for consumers, Adams acknowledged. They'll have to remember to bring their own bags or risk the fee, but he said many people already carry cloth bags in keeping with Portland's "green values."

"This is a totally avoidable fee," he said.

Part of the money raised from the fee would help provide free cloth bags to low-income people. Some would go toward city recycling programs and some would go to stores for administration and programs to educate consumers about the fee.

Adams hopes the fee will be in place by the time he takes over as Portland's mayor in January.

Even though both paper and plastic bags are recyclable, both present environmental problems.

Only 52 percent of the paper and 5 percent of plastic grocery bags given out in the United States are recycled, said Stephanie Barger, executive director of the Earth Resources Foundation in Costa Mesa, Calif.

Plastic bags are made from oil. They don't biodegrade and are considered a serious litter problem because they're lightweight and blow around. They also kill marine mammals who mistake them for food.

Grocery stores collect the bags and send them to be made into plastic "lumber" or flower pots -- Portland doesn't allow them in the city's new blue recycling carts because they gum up the machinery used to sort recycling.

Paper bags easily decompose, but it takes trees to make them. They're also heavier than plastic, so for every truckload of plastic bags shipped to a grocery store, it takes three trucks to ship the same number of paper bags, said Joe Gilliam, president of the Northwest Grocery Association, a lobbying group working on the issue.

"It's consumption without thinking of the resources we're taking and the impact we're having on our planet and our future," Barger said. "If you have a reusable bag, you've eliminated that waste of energy in transporting that bag all over the place."

Gilliam, who represents most major and some smaller grocery chains, said they'll support some kind of bag fee program as long as they can help shape it because they'll have to enforce it.

It's important that the city notifies shoppers about the fee before they're asked to pay, Gilliam said, so clerks can offer the cloth bags instead. Most of the stores in the region have been selling cloth bags for more than two years, he noted.

"Making our customers angry does not motivate them to work with you," Gilliam said. "Our clerks don't need to be the referees of tax policy."

Other U.S. cities are ahead of Portland. In March 2007, San Francisco became the first city to ban the use of plastic shopping bags, allowing grocery stores to give out paper bags or biodegradable film bags that look like plastic but are made of corn. Those bags caused their own trouble.

Gilliam said the compostable bags are too thin, so stores were triple bagging. That promoted the use of paper bags, he said. And he said the corn bags look and feel like plastic, so they were getting mixed in with plastic recycling. But the corn ruins the plastic during recycling, so contaminated loads of recycled plastic ended up going to the landfill.

Los Angeles voted Tuesday to ban plastic shopping bags from stores beginning in July 2010. Shoppers can either bring their own bags or pay 25 cents for a paper or biodegradable bag.

On Monday, the Seattle City Council will vote on a proposal to ban the use of foam containers by restaurants and implement a 20-cent fee at grocery stores on plastic bags. Portland has already banned foam containers.

With the high price of oil, grocers are bracing for a three-fold increase in the cost of plastic bags next year, Gilliam said. "Grocers are already thinking about the bagless store," he said.

Still, it's not as if Adams' proposal will sail through without opposition. Bag manufacturers are gearing up to make sure their interests are protected. Both paper and plastic bag makers stress that their products are recyclable and that the most appropriate government policy would push more recycling.

Paul Cosgrove of the American Forest and Paper Association, a national trade association for forest product companies, said the group is ready to discuss the fee idea. He's concerned about local job losses tied to a possible declining demand for paper bags.

"Our position is that paper bags are highly recyclable and made with recycled content as well," he said. "There are paper bag plants as well as recycling facilities in Oregon. We would like to have them not adversely affected by what the city is thinking."

Tim Shestek, state affairs director for the American Chemistry Council in Sacramento, said his industry is urging cities to increase plastic bag recycling rather than "unnecessarily taxing or prohibiting the use of carryout bags."

"The city's idea is to push reusable bags," he said. "We don't oppose the idea. I don't know if that's an option for everybody."

READ THE ORIGINAL ONLINE ARTICLE HERE

READ ABOUT HOW PLASTIC BAGS CLOG UP RECYCLING CENTERS HERE

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plastic bags.pdf	23.4 KB

Oregon Cities Plan More Bikeway Projects

The Office — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 14:43:15 -0700

THE OREGONIAN

Sunday, July 20, 2008

JEFF MAPES

The Oregonian Staff

Weird road-rage incidents involving motorists and cyclists have dominated the local news lately, but they're just signs of the bigger story: Bicycling has grown into a vital part of the region's transportation system.

The recent run-up in gas prices has only accelerated the decadelong growth in cycling sparked in large part by Portland's decision in the early 1990s to build a bikeway network.

The big increase in cycling -- which has made interaction with cyclists a daily occurrence for most motorists in Portland -- could be just the beginning.

[READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE]

"Gas-shocked commuters opt for bicycles"

The Office — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 13:32:34 -0700

Downtown Construction Update

The Office — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 15:47:52 -0700

Compared to last summer, the summer of 2008 is shaping up to be a tad more relaxed when it comes to construction impacts downtown. The Portland mall project reached a big milestone on June 30 when the final reach of roadway reconstruction and rail installation was finished. This completed the phase called "heavy civil construction," and from now until mid-November crews will be working on activities with a lot less impact on traffic. They will sometimes need to close sidewalks, parking or travel lanes as they finish sidewalks and stations, set and paint poles and streetlights, and install new traffic signals.

Both SW 6th and SW 5th avenues are now open to traffic from one end of downtown to the other, with space for on-street parking. TriMet will close both streets between Taylor and Washington this Saturday, July 19, for a giant Street Fair to mark the progress of light rail construction. You are invited to join in celebrating the transformation of the transit mall into a vibrant and inviting place! From 11:30 a.m. to 8 p.m., the celebration promises lots of family fun, with music and merriment, performances of all kinds, food and face-painting, and sidewalk sales.

The one major traffic impact of the Mall project this summer is that the Steel Bridge remains closed to motorists and buses through August. The closure is necessary while crews connect the new MAX tracks to the existing MAX system on the bridge. Access for walkers and cyclists is being maintained on the lower deck and intermittently on the south side of the upper deck.

The Portland Mall has been the biggest -- but by no means the only -- construction project downtown for the past couple of years. A slew of other public works projects to replace the central city's aging infrastructure, plus private investment of nearly a half-billion dollars, meant at times last summer it felt like much of downtown was under construction.

This summer, while there are still several downtown towers going up and a new park to be completed, most public works projects, other than the Mall, have wrapped up and are out of the way. There is one major downtown sewer repair project underway, but most of the work will be done inside the sewers, at night, and won't require excavation.

Come on downtown and see for yourself: with all the new businesses that have opened and stores that have expanded, downtown is more fun than ever. Take TriMet for a hassle-free trip, or check online for traffic impacts before you drive, at Keep Portland Moving!

A Creek Runs Through It

The Office — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 12:45:07 -0700

Now that the non-native species have been removed, the Sylvan Area Natural Park is ready for some locals. PCC Sylvania students and teachers uncovered the hidden treasures of this park by removing invasive plants over the last several years. Enjoy the creek that runs through it and a new interpretive sign while showing some support for the volunteers who are continuing to work to restore natuarl areas.

The greenspace will be shown on an upcoming tour by one of its most esteemed admirers. This Saturday, June 28 at 10 a.m., meet PCC biology teacher April Fong for a public introduction to the park near taped-off Parking Lot 10 at PCC Sylvania (Parking Lot 10 is the most northeastern parking lot on campus).

This guided walk is free and appropriate for adults and families. No pre-registration is necessary. Call Sue at 503-823-6303 for more information.

PCC Sylvania

12000 SW 49th Ave.

Portland, OR 97219

Saturday, June 28 at 10 a.m

Parking Lot 10

A Commitment to Sustainability

The Office — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 17:27:18 -0700

Sam and Commissioner Saltzman display the freshly signed "Commitment Statement"On Tuesday, June 10th, the Commissioners Dan Saltzman and Sam Adams welcomed community leaders to sign a commitment statement to create a Sustainability Center of Excellence to establish Portland and Oregon as the global leader in sustainability. This commitment statement has been embraced by leaders from the business, academic and nonprofit sectors, and sets in motion a process for working together to develop a large, multi-faceted center.

While individual momentum has propelled Portland forward, the Center will centralize diverse and innovative skills in a way that promotes cross-fertilization, collaborative decision-making and greater visibility in the national and international arena.

"To achieve the vision of being the world's best we all need to come together in one initiative. I believe our collaboration improves the scope, reach and probability of success for each of us," Sam offered the group in his opening remarks.

The City is working to find an interim space for the center, which could open as early as this fall. At the same time, a working group is being convened to determine the long-term location and programmatic development for the center. Recommendations will be made to the broader group in September.

More than 100 businesses, academic institutions and nonprofit organizations have expressed their support for this visionary approach, and many more are expected to join in their support as the center begins to take shape. These include Oregon Museum of Science and Industry, Gerding Edlen Development, Oregon BEST, Portland State University, Multnomah County, Green Building Services, Lewis and Clark Law School, and the Association of Portland Neighborhood Business Associations.

To sign up your organization, please contact sustainable.portland@gmail.com