2012 conventions 2012 election 2013 session 2013 special election arts arts and culture author ballot measures basketball bomb books boy scouts budget bullying business charlie hales children clackamas climate change coal college courts crime culture culture club democrats drugs economy education environment family film fluoride food gay rights guns handguns health health care health insurance high school history housing immigration international internet kitzhaber law legislature lgbt literary arts living marijuana marriage media medicine mental health military minor parties mohamed mohamud movies music native americans news newspaper obama olympics oregon our town parenting pers photography police politcs politics port portland portland business journal president prevention public safety religion republicans rnc romney rural salem sam adams sandy hook schools science shooting sports suicide supreme court taxes technology television terrorism theater third parties transportation union university of oregon washington wildfire women

Even if we had today the current equivalent of a WorldWar II economy -- shipyards, full employment, lots of overtime being consistently earned  --  the Best of Times -- the proposed (& just rejected by the City Council) LT2 water filtration plant.....spending .8 of a billion dollars to "purify" what is already universally recognized as the purest, healthiest water on Earth....would be a terribly bad idea.      In what are really the Worst of Times...(Oregon's  employment rate second highest in the nation) every dollar spent on this fantasy is one less available  for really practical remedies...  What DOES make sense is that we all support Senator Jeff Merkley's promising, ongoing effort to obtain an administrative (not legislative) exemption from the EPA, especially now that a new official, Peter Silva, has just become in charge of the issue...  The wise use of funds currently available has never been more important.

posted 3 years, 9 months ago
view in context