Spanning the State: "Beware of the Leopard" by: nothstine Sun Apr 19, 2009 at 17:01:14 PM PDT

It's a classic tale of the individual pitted against the indifferent bureaucracy: "But Mr Dent, the plans have been available in the local planning office for the last nine months." "Oh yes, well as soon as I heard I went straight round to see them, yesterday afternoon. You hadn't exactly gone out of your way to call attention to them, had you? I mean, like actually telling anybody or anything." "But the plans were on display ..." "On display? I eventually had to go down to the cellar to find them." "That's the display department." "With a flashlight." "Ah, well the lights had probably gone." "So had the stairs." "But look, you found the notice didn't you?" "Yes," said Arthur, "yes I did. It was on display in the bottom of a locked filing cabinet stuck in a disused lavatory with a sign on the door saying 'Beware of the Leopard'." (Arthur Dent, moments before his home is to be demolished to make way for a new by-pass, in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy) Jonathan Magnus probably has at least some idea how Arthur Dent feels. PDX Pedicab, which Magnus owns, has served bike-friendly downtown Portland for 16 years. It's also one of three pedicab companies now in the cross-hairs of the Portland Revenue Bureau. [T]he Portland Revenue Bureau last week released a new Private For Hire Transportation code without reaching out to many of the estimated 46 pedicabbies in Portland who provide an engine-free alternative to getting around town. The Revenue Bureau, which oversees the city's cabs and limousines, has for safety reasons sought since December to include pedicabs in its revised code. The new regs, 38 pages in length, would require an annual registration fee for all pedicabs, plus mandating that each pedicab have commercial auto insurance, on-board fire extinguishers, and photo ID for each operator.  (The original draft regs required a drivers license, not photo ID; the Revenue Bureau regards this as a significant concession.) Magnus takes exception not to the idea of regulating the pedicab business in Portland--which he and his competitors accept as a good thing, or at least an inevitability--but that he wasn't invited to be a part of the process of rule-making. In fact, it appears that none of the owners saw saw the 38-page draft document until the last minute.  The story sounds a tad familiar: Shane Abma of the city attorney's office says the information has been posted on the city website for months, and that officials have made "change after change" to address pedicabbies' concerns. Although Magnus runs the city's oldest pedicab service, he never got word of the April 8 meeting about the new regulations until the morning it convened. "Really, you couldn't call me?" Magnus says. Good luck to Magnus. Meanwhile, pick up the phone and call us--we're Spanning the State! [More after the jump.]

nothstine :: Spanning the State: "Beware of the Leopard"

--------------- I understand that this is a good thing, and in fact part of me thinks it's fascinating--but isn't there a better headline we can give it than this? Oregon researchers need amputees for brain study University of Oregon researchers are looking for volunteers who have lost an arm or hand, or were born without them, to take part in a brain study. People from ages 18 to 65, with or without prostheses, can participate in the study designed to explore the effects of limb loss on brain organization. The research, conducted for the university's Lewis Center for Neuroimaging, will try to identify the mechanisms involved in helping the brain adapt when a limb is lost or absent. --------------- The Oregon Humane Society, perhaps leveraging the publicity attendant upon the First Family's adoption of a Portuguese water dog for Malia and Sasha--is Bo a genuine "rescue" or not?--is heavily promoting HB 2470: This new bill creates one of the most effective and comprehensive puppy mill laws in the nation. It would cap the number of breeding dogs in mass breeding facilities and require basic humane care standards including provisions that dogs be allowed out of their cages daily, and be kept in clean, well-ventilated facilities. The bill will not affect responsible hobby breeders. Maybe it will help, in these difficult times, to promote any piece of legislation with the word "puppy" in the title. --------------- Update: Is it an unusually bad month for whales? Another whale washed ashore near Heceta Head this week, not far from the dead whale that washed up last month.   But Oregon marine biologists aren't worried--yet: "I think it's a coincidence," said Jim Rice, the Oregon State University researcher who coordinates the Marine Mammal Stranding Network.  "Certainly if we get more whales in the next month or two, it will raise suspicions further." --------------- There were still some reported pump prices that were a hair under $2.00/gal, but the average price continued to climb back up, increasing a little over 3 ¢ per gallon, to $2.226/gal.  Meanwhile, Eugene won the high-low: Cheapest pump price: $1.99/gal at the Costco at 2828 Chad Dr & Coburg Rd & Beltline Hwy in Eugene. Highest pump price: $2.54/gal, at the HP Car Wash, 1796 Willamette St & W 18th Ave., in Eugene. --------------- It was a moment last October somewhat reminiscent of the classic Monty Python sketch: Mr. Praline: I wish to complain about this parrot what I purchased not half an hour ago from this very boutique. Owner: Oh yes, the, uh, the Norwegian Blue...What's,uh...What's wrong with it? Mr. Praline: I'll tell you what's wrong with it, my lad. 'E's dead, that's what's wrong with it! Owner: No, no, 'e's uh,...he's resting. Mr. Praline: Look, matey, I know a dead parrot when I see one, and I'm looking at one right now. Turns out that State Attorney General John Kroger and State Treasurer Ben Westlund know a dead investment fund when they see one, too--no matter what the fund manager might insist: Oregon officials sued the managers of the state's college savings plan Monday, seeking to recover at least $36.2 million that they claim investors lost as a result of taking "extreme risks in a search for speculative large returns." The suit, filed in Marion County Circuit Court, accuses OppenheimerFunds of negligently placing aggressive bets with money that the investment firm described as "conservative" and "ultra-conservative" plans. Oregon is the first state in the nation to sue OppenheimerFunds on behalf of about 70,000 investors with about $770 million in Oregon's 529 College Savings Network. The network lost about 23 percent of its value in last year's stock market plunge. The suit follows a three-month investigation by Attorney General John Kroger's office that contends OppenheimerFunds misrepresented its strategy to investors and the state board that oversees the plan. [...] Kroger and state Treasurer Ben Westlund, who chairs the state's college savings board, allege OppenheimerFunds managers first told the college savings board of the fund's change in risk in October 2008, well after the fund began taking on significant losses. Even then, the state alleges, the disclosure "occurred only in an offhanded manner." At that meeting, Kevin Dachille, an investment director at OppenheimerFunds, assured the board the losses were recoverable, with double-digit returns possible. "The cavalry isn't just coming, it's on its way," Dachille said, according to the complaint. Instead, the fund piled up even more double-digit losses. Mr. Dachile: The fund isn't piling up double-digit losses--It has ceased to be! It's expired and gone to meet its maker! It's a stiff! Bereft of life, it rests in peace! --------------- While right-wing teabaggers, in little groups sprinkled from coast to coast, used Tax Day as the occasion to protest government spending by presidents they don't like, Steve Novick and state school superintendant Susan Castillo organized a rally in Salem to educate Oregon taxpayers on the benefits their taxes pay for. "We know people have a misconception about how much of our budget goes to education, health care" and other services Oregonians depend on, Castillo said. She noted that the biggest chunk of the state's general fund -- 41 percent -- goes to K-12 education. When community colleges and universities are factored in, education eats up about 60 percent of state discretionary spending. Another 30 percent goes to public safety and human services. --------------- Bad news, good news: Oregon's March unemployment numbers were 12.1%, the second-highest in the nation. But our high school dropout rate dropped to 3.7%, an all-time low. Since the lack of a high school degree makes job-seekers even more vulnerable in this ugly economy, this is at least a small bit of good news. --------------- Federal economic stimulus opponents are welcome to explain why this is an evil communist plot: The [child care assistance] program helps 10,500 low-income Oregon families with the cost of paying for day care for nearly 20,000 children, with an average $547 monthly subsidy per family. It also helps create employment for hundreds of day care providers across the state. However, like other human services, the child care program was targeted for reductions as Oregon legislators work to find a way to pay for critical services with state revenue plummeting in the deepening recession. That's where the $787 billion federal stimulus package passed by Congress and signed by President Barack Obama comes in. As part of its share of the stimulus dollars, Oregon received about $20 million to retain the child care assistance program through September 2010. "Safe, affordable, high-quality child care gives working parents the peace of mind they need to be stable, dependable employees," Vice President Joe Biden said in a recent White House statement highlighting the amount Oregon will receive for that purpose. Without the federal stimulus money, the state likely would have had to reduce the program by about 15 percent by cutting aid to about 1,500 families with 3,000 children, said Eric Moore, a Department of Human Services official who's overseeing the stimulus funding for the program. ---------------

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