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cfbednarek's comments:
on Maya Lin and the Confluence Project
How about a bridge that doesn't obscure the views of Mt. Hood with towers and cables. How can a bridge enhance an already spectacular view?
posted 2 years, 6 months ago
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on Maya Lin and the Confluence Project
I have visited the bird blind at the Sandy River delta many times in most seasons. I love the quiet walk through the fields. The delta is a great place for bird watching. However, it is a shame the materials used to build the blind are not suited to the harsh conditions of the Columbia River Gorge. It is already deteriorating. I think little, if anything has been done to maintain the blind. It would be a shame if the blind lasted only a decade before it had to be removed.
I look forward to the completion of the Celilo memorial. I hope it is constructed to last many years. It would be a shame if it didn't last for decades. Future generations need to be reminded of Celilo and what was once there.
posted 2 years, 6 months ago
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on Spore to Spoon: Mushrooms in Oregon
A person needs to call the office of each specific national or state forest.If you pick on the weekends, most likely you will never see a government employee. They rarely work the weekends. At least deep in the forests. In over 20 years of picking I have never been checked for a permit.
posted 2 years, 6 months ago
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on Spore to Spoon: Mushrooms in Oregon
I am an avid picker. Chanterelle, Matsutake, and Morels all grow in very specific environments in combination with unique tree species. I can not believe anyone has devised a way to grow them on a large scale. However, Sh*take are commercially grown in the Pacific Northwest. I don't think anyone imports the other species from China.
posted 2 years, 6 months ago
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on Turnidge Trial
Hopefully the jury is comprised of intelligent individuals capable of looking at the facts and drawing an appropriate conclusion.
posted 2 years, 6 months ago
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on Turnidge Trial
Blowing up people is not free speech. I have never heard any twisted 'shouting of fire' on conservative radio that encourages killing police officers. Or bombing banks and blowing up innocent people. This is not like any high school bullying I have ever witnessed. These defendants have used their own sick and twisted logic to justify their violent acts.
posted 2 years, 6 months ago
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on Ballot Measure 5 Turns 20
Measures limiting increases in property taxes allow my wife and I to continue to live in our home. We have a mortgage that will not be paid off for another 15 years. We can not afford unrestrained property tax increases. Our income does not increase yearly. Our equity increases slowly. However equity is not money in the bank. The real estate boom of the last 10 years did increase our homes market value, but the market collapse of 2008 wiped out most of those gains.
It is unfair to expect homeowners, with or without mortgages to fund state and local budgets. I would venture a guess there are tens of thousands of rental units in the state. Maybe it is time for a monthly rental tax or surcharge. Let renters bear a real portion of the tax burden. Maybe renters would be less likely to vote for tax increases if they experienced the real cost of a tax increase. A visible extra charge on a rental bill would give renters a feel of the tax burden homeowners experience. I don't think rental rates reflect the tax burdens of rental property owners.
Maybe some one could address the deflated property tax rates for downtown Portland condominium owners. Those properties enjoy 30 year tax breaks. Most residents of Multnomah County don't get any property tax breaks.
I can't wait to hear a guest tell me my property tax rates are not high enough.
posted 2 years, 6 months ago
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on Sustainable Oregon and Iraq
Our cities are not destroying our environments. Most Oregon cities bend over backwards t improve their environmental conditions.
If your landlord and their waste disposal company provides inadequate recycling and waste disposal then you should contact the waste disposal comany and the local municipality. If you live within the Metro controlled region, contact Metro. They will come down on your landlord like a ton of bricks.
Do not purchase LED lamps. They are a waste of money. They are very expensive new technology. I have yet to see an LED lamp capable of producing adequate light.
posted 2 years, 6 months ago
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on Kitzhaber Wins
I do not think Governor Kitzhaber will initiate any bold changes in state government. Now is the time to scrutinize every position in every state agency. Does the state Department of Forestry really need its own meteorologist? What other departments have meteorologists? The federal government provides excellent an weather service free of charge. How many redundant positions are there in the Oregon State bureaucracy? Business as usual can not continue.
The legislature has only one task this up coming session. Produce a balanced budget. The legislature and governor can not improve the economy. They have no real power over. The governor and legislature need to admit this, balance the budget and go home.
posted 2 years, 6 months ago
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on Election 2010: The Morning After
John Kitzhaber has done nothing for the state of Oregon in the last 8 years. Ted Kulongoski spun his wheels giving out tens of millions of dollars in energy tax credits that have only benefited large energy companies. What did Kulongoski do to improve the state's economy? Oh yeah now he's in Iraq with members of the Oregon Forestry Department. There are no forests in Iraq! Why would anyone vote Democrat?
Many Americans voted for Barrack Obama. A man with no voting record in the Illinois state legislature and no accomplishments in the U. S. Senate. What did he do prior to the Illinois legislature? Oh yeah, he was a community organizer. Truly qualified to be president.
Chris Dudley has extensive business experience and no political baggage. He would not have bowed to all the public employee unions. Kitzhaber is their pawn. He will do nothing to trim state spending. Look for new taxes to pay for public employee benefits.
posted 2 years, 6 months ago
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on Having Fun in the Forest
I agree completely. I have had many negative encounters with horse back riders. I have not had any negative encounters with ATV riders. Equestrians trash all areas they visit. Visit a regularly used horse camp to witness the mess equestrians leave.
posted 2 years, 8 months ago
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on Making Economics from Lemonade
As budding capitalists children should learn, government is your silent partner. It is a partner that will always take. It never gives. Your silent partner will do all it can to control you under the guise of helping. When things go bad, your partner will tally your debt, hold out their hand and say, "Pay up. Good luck. I have to go find a new partner.".
posted 2 years, 9 months ago
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on No-Fly List
What are the details? How did Mr. Kariye end up on the list? How long has he been prevented from traveling to Dubai? What is the appeal process? Have Oregon's congressmen done anything to help him? I really don't think a lawsuit is necessary. The no fly list affects .0026% of the U.S. population.
What about the successes of the no fly list? Does it work overall? Are people safer because of it.
posted 2 years, 10 months ago
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on Northwest Passages: Young Oregon Writers
Maybe students could volunteer to shelve books. Or would that piss off the unions.
posted 2 years, 10 months ago
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on In Public View
Very good idea. All employers should have access to this information.
posted 2 years, 10 months ago
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on In Public View
This is not true. If you don't like the content of a ballot measure, then use factual persuasive arguments to defeat it. Publishing the names of initiative signers is an attempt at intimidation not persuasion.
posted 2 years, 10 months ago
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on In Public View
The Washington Secretary of State refers to exemptions. What are these exemptions? Please list them. Who lobbied for them? Why do some special groups receive exemptions?
posted 2 years, 10 months ago
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on Drawing for a Living
This is a little off subject.
I am no big fan of Sarah Palin, but I am amazed by the fear liberals have of her. I think a Palin administration would be just as unprepared as the Obama administration to handle a large oil spill..
posted 2 years, 11 months ago
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on The Big One
Earthquakes don't give any warning. Watch out for those massive concrete blocks on the Steele and Hawthorne bridges. You don't want to be near those when they fall.
posted 3 years ago
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on The Big One
Would the state bridge engineer please discuss which Portland bridges are likely to fail during a large earthquake. Which bridges are likely to survive? What about Portland's tunnels? Will the Sunset tunnel collapse. What about the light rail tunnel, and big pipes on either side of the Willamette River. Will Portland's open reservoirs be affected? There are numerous natural gas and petroleum pipelines in the Portland area and Willamette valley. How does a major earthquake affect pipelines.
Considering the gridlock Portland suffers after a dusting of snow what happens when most of the aging bridges over the Willamette river, and many bridges along the regions freeways collapse? Has Portland's Office of Emergency Management planned for the chaos that will follow a major earthquake? I realize many bridges and structures have been 'retrofitted', but until there is an earthquake no one really know which will survive and which will collapse.
posted 3 years ago
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