hey sam, thanks for all the enlightening information on this blog. in my opinion, you are doing better than your colleagues in communication and action, etc. of course, being the smartest kid in the special needs class does not get you into harvard...

there is a growing sentiment, among some, that you do not pay attention to your constituents. there is also a wide spread belief that your problem solving abilities are as poor as your cocouncil people. either way, I want to talk about big pipes.

look, obviously, the river is naturally suited for dealing with rain. it is called flooding. now, the problem we have is that because of all the past civic "improvements" undertaken, the river has no where to go. instead of billion dollar boondoggles, why don't we adopt a more sensible approach? to wit, we could mandate or encourage rain barrels. while this is annoying simple, every barrel could hold 40 gallons of extra water. you do the math, how many barrels would it take for the excessive water problem to vanish? on a similar note, please explain to me/us why composting toilets are illegal in portland? by avoiding 3 to 7 gallons a flush, we could mitigate many of these issues. of course, smoking in pioneer square is important to(remove your sarcasm filter if you don't get it).

lastly, on a personal note, can you post an update on Car Free Last Thursday? I expect it to happen by May. I really hope it does. Any update would be appreciated.

now, go hang off the side of the tram or whatever is on your schedule...