You can't make this stuff up. Fresh from his hastily convened workshops to figure out which kinds of new taxes the City of Portland needs before it can attend to basic transportation needs like fixing potholes and traffic signals, Sam the Tram is now holding another event. This time, everybody gets to fantasize about all the cool new streetcar lines we need to build:
In addition to learning more about the current and future plans for streetcar corridors, participants will be able to roll up their sleeves and work with friends, neighbors, City of Portland planning staff and Commissioner Sam to discuss where future streetcar corridors could occur....
10:15 AM Streetcar System Small Group Exercise: Workshop participants divide into small groups and work together with maps, trace paper and markers to discuss and diagram what a future streetcar system would look like (note: if you're coming from outside the City of Portland, please bring maps of your location).
No mention in the agenda of how we're going to pay to operate the new lines, each of which costs the city around a quarter of a million bucks a year to run. That's because that money falls from the sky.
Comments (9)
Hey Sam, where is the part where we discuss whether or not we want more costly, obsolete, 100 year old technology, street cars blocking traffic on our streets?
Thanks
JK
(I tried to post this on Sam's blog, but got Access denied. Maybe he doesn’t like dissent from Homer's party line?)
I'd guess that this is being aimed at people living on the East Side. Therefore, the answer to Jack's question is simple: If you have no intention of actually building anything over there, why go through the hassle of dreaming up a funding plan?
Hmmmm, now that the streetcars in Homer Williamsville are all built and running and bleeding the city, let's talk about maybe starting something "over there"...
Not to worry all you Portlanders have deep pockets and Sam the Scam loves to reach in those pockets...never-mind that rail is a terrible scam [ I will not call it an investment]. Whatever Sam wants; Sam gets...now about being mayor...
More than 10,600 of the hefty gray bicycles became available for modest rental prices on Sunday at 750 self-service docking stations that provide access in eight languages. The number is to grow to 20,600 by the end of the year.
The program, Vélib (for “vélo,” bicycle, and “liberté,” freedom), is the latest in a string of European efforts to reduce the number of cars in city centers and give people incentives to choose more eco-friendly modes of transport.
The outdoor advertising company J. C. Decaux is paying for the bicycles, docking stations and maintenance in return for exclusive use of 1,628 urban billboards owned by the city. The city receives the rental income, and city officials say they are hoping the program will bring in millions of euros.
Vélib is the brainchild of Mayor Bertrand Delanoë, a Socialist and longtime green campaigner who has set a target for the city to reduce car traffic by 40 percent by 2020. ...
Not just that it is in the NYTimes, it is their Top Ten most popular emailed items. A 'swarming' consideration.
(I never know if or how long these NYT links last, my apologies if it don't click.)
No mention in the agenda of how we're going to pay to operate the new lines, each of which costs the city around a quarter of a million bucks a year to run. That's because that money falls from the sky.
Well of course it does! Take a look at Metro to see how it's done.
Charamba, Douro 2008
Horse Heaven Hills, Cabernet 2010
Lorelle, Horse Heaven Hills Pinot Grigio 2011
Avignonesi, Montepulciano 2004
Lorelle, Willamette Valley Pinot Noir 2011
Villa Antinori, Toscana 2007
Mercedes Eguren, Cabernet Sauvignon 2009
Lorelle, Columbia Valley Cabernet 2011
Purple Moon, Merlot 2011
Purple Moon, Chardonnnay 2011
Abacela, Vintner's Blend No. 12
Opula Red Blend 2010
Liberte, Pinot Noir 2010
Chateau Ste. Michelle, Indian Wells Red Blend 2010
Woodbridge, Chardonnay 2011
King Estate, Pinot Noir 2011
Famille Perrin, Cotes du Rhone Villages 2010
Columbia Crest, Les Chevaux Red 2010
14 Hands, Hot to Trot White Blend
Familia Bianchi, Malbec 2009
Terrapin Cellars, Pinot Gris 2011
Columbia Crest, Walter Clore Private Reserve 2009
Campo Viejo, Rioja, Termpranillo 2010
Ravenswood, Cabernet Sauvignon 2009
Quinta das Amoras, Vinho Tinto 2010
Waterbrook, Reserve Merlot 2009
Lorelle, Horse Heaven Hills, Pinot Grigio 2011
Tarantas, Rose
Chateau Lajarre, Bordeaux 2009
La Vielle Ferme, Rose 2011
Benvolio, Pinot Grigio 2011
Nobilo Icon, Pinot Noir 2009
Lello, Douro Tinto 2009
Quinson Fils, Cotes de Provence Rose 2011
Anindor, Pinot Gris 2010
Buenas Ondas, Syrah Rose 2010
Les Fiefs d'Anglars, Malbec 2009
14 Hands, Pinot Gris 2011
Conundrum 2012
Condes de Albarei, Albariño 2011
Columbia Crest, Walter Clore Private Reserve 2007
Penelope Sanchez, Garnacha Syrah 2010
Canoe Ridge, Merlot 2007
Atalaya do Mar, Godello 2010
Vega Montan, Mencia
Benvolio, Pinot Grigio
Nobilo Icon, Pinot Noir, Marlborough 2009
Portuga, Rose 2011
Revelation, Chardonnay, Pays d'Oc 2010
Beaulieu, Cabernet, Rutherford 2005
Monte Alto, Tinto Reserva 2005
Chateau Ste. Michelle, Cabernet, Indian Wells 2009
Espiral, Vinho Rose
Vin-Koru, Pinot Gris 2011
14 Hands, Hot to Trot Red 2009
Rodney Strong, Cabernet, Sonoma 2009
Abacela, Vintner's Blend #11
Portuga, White 2010
La Bourgeoisie, Red 2009
Januik, Red 2009
Three Rivers, River's Red 2008
Kirkland, Alexander Valley Merlot 2008
Muga, Rioja Rose 2010
Quinta das Amoras, Vinho Tinto 2009
Mauro Molino, Barbera d'Alba 2009
Garda Chiaretto Rose
Columbia Crest, Two Vines Vineyard 10 White
Chateau Ste. Michelle, Pinot Gris, Columbia Valley 2009
L'Hortus, Rose de Saignee 2010
Maculan, Pino & Toi 2008
McKinley Springs, Bombing Range Red 2008
Trader Joe's Pinot Gris 2009
Montes Alpha, Cabernet 2007
Gran Sasso, Sangiovese, Terre di Chieti 2009
Garda, Classico Chiaretto Rose
Beaulieu, Cabernet, Rutherford 1999
Picos del Montgo, Tempranillo 2008
Chateau de Montmirail, Vacqueyras 2008
La Granja 360, Syrah 2009
Montgras, Carmenere Reserva 2009
Lange, Pinot Gris 2009
Columbia Crest, Horse Heaven Hills Cabernet 2008
Kirkland, Pinot Grigio 2010
Trader Joe's Coastal Syrah 2009
Columbia Crest, Horse Heaven Hills Merlot 2008
Trader Joe's Coastal Chardonnay 2009
Vieux Papes Red
Domaine de l'Aujardiere, Chardonnay 2009
Santa Rita, Cabernet, Medalla Real 2007
Penfold's, Koonunga Hill Shiraz Cabernet 2008
Guild, Red, Lot #02 2008
Dievole, Dievolino Sangiovese 2008
Laforet, Burgogne Chardonnay 2009
Columbia Winery, Merlot 2007
Bonterra, Cabernet 2008
Elk Cove, Pinot Gris 2009
Maquis Lien 2006
Scott Paul, Pinot Noir, Le Paulee 2007
The Occasional Book
Neil Young - Waging Heavy Peace
Mark Bego - Aretha Franklin, the Queen of Soul (2012 ed.)
Jenny Lawson - Let's Pretend This Never Happened
J.D. Salinger - Franny and Zooey
Charles Dickens - A Christmas Carol
Timothy Egan - The Big Burn
Deborah Eisenberg - Transactions in a Foreign Currency
Kurt Vonnegut Jr. - Slaughterhouse Five
Kathryn Lance - Pandora's Genes
Cheryl Strayed - Wild
Fyodor Dostoyevsky - The Brothers Karamazov
Jack London - The House of Pride, and Other Tales of Hawaii
Jack Walker - The Extraordinary Rendition of Vincent Dellamaria
Colum McCann - Let the Great World Spin
Niccolò Machiavelli - The Prince
Harper Lee - To Kill a Mockingbird
Emma McLaughlin & Nicola Kraus - The Nanny Diaries
Brian Selznick - The Invention of Hugo Cabret
Sharon Creech - Walk Two Moons
Keith Richards - Life
F. Sionil Jose - Dusk
Natalie Babbitt - Tuck Everlasting
Justin Halpern - S#*t My Dad Says
Mark Herrmann - The Curmudgeon's Guide to Practicing Law
Barry Glassner - The Gospel of Food
Phil Stanford - The Peyton-Allan Files
Jesse Katz - The Opposite Field
Evelyn Waugh - Brideshead Revisited
J.K. Rowling - Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
David Sedaris - Holidays on Ice
Donald Miller - A Million Miles in a Thousand Years
Mitch Albom - Have a Little Faith
C.S. Lewis - The Magician's Nephew
F. Scott Fitzgerald - The Great Gatsby
William Shakespeare - A Midsummer Night's Dream
Ivan Doig - Bucking the Sun
Penda Diakité - I Lost My Tooth in Africa
Grace Lin - The Year of the Rat
Oscar Hijuelos - Mr. Ives' Christmas
Madeline L'Engle - A Wrinkle in Time
Steven Hart - The Last Three Miles
David Sedaris - Me Talk Pretty One Day
Karen Armstrong - The Spiral Staircase
Charles Larson - The Portland Murders
Adrian Wojnarowski - The Miracle of St. Anthony
William H. Colby - Long Goodbye
Steven D. Stark - Meet the Beatles
Phil Stanford - Portland Confidential
Rick Moody - Garden State
Jonathan Schwartz - All in Good Time
David Sedaris - Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim
Anthony Holden - Big Deal
Robert J. Spitzer - The Spirit of Leadership
James McManus - Positively Fifth Street
Jeff Noon - Vurt
Road Work
Miles run year to date: 21
At this date last year: 52
Total run in 2012: 129
In 2011: 113
In 2010: 125
In 2009: 67
In 2008: 28
In 2007: 113
In 2006: 100
In 2005: 149
In 2004: 204
In 2003: 269
Comments (9)
Hey Sam, where is the part where we discuss whether or not we want more costly, obsolete, 100 year old technology, street cars blocking traffic on our streets?
Thanks
JK
(I tried to post this on Sam's blog, but got Access denied. Maybe he doesn’t like dissent from Homer's party line?)
Posted by jim karlock | July 17, 2007 12:35 PM
Sam needs to quit playing "Sim City".
Posted by Dave Lister | July 17, 2007 12:49 PM
How about some funding for social services and housing before we add more options to help the yuppies scream around town?
Posted by Hula | July 17, 2007 12:56 PM
Sam, the hypocrite, should advocate a moratorium on any new lines as he did with Hayden Island development.
Or hey just let the public decide with a vote.
More streetcars and PDC stuff or
fix the steets
Make it a 7 year comittment.
Sorry, citizen Smith.
Posted by Ben | July 17, 2007 2:41 PM
I'd guess that this is being aimed at people living on the East Side. Therefore, the answer to Jack's question is simple: If you have no intention of actually building anything over there, why go through the hassle of dreaming up a funding plan?
Posted by Roger | July 17, 2007 3:30 PM
building anything over there
Hmmmm, now that the streetcars in Homer Williamsville are all built and running and bleeding the city, let's talk about maybe starting something "over there"...
Posted by Jack Bog | July 17, 2007 5:58 PM
Not to worry all you Portlanders have deep pockets and Sam the Scam loves to reach in those pockets...never-mind that rail is a terrible scam [ I will not call it an investment]. Whatever Sam wants; Sam gets...now about being mayor...
Posted by KISS | July 17, 2007 7:32 PM
Paris Journal -- Let Them Ride Bikes, By KATRIN BENNHOLD, July 16, 2007.
PARIS, July 15 — “I’m never taking the subway again,” said a beaming Justin Hill, 47, a real estate broker from Santa Barbara, Calif.
More than 10,600 of the hefty gray bicycles became available for modest rental prices on Sunday at 750 self-service docking stations that provide access in eight languages. The number is to grow to 20,600 by the end of the year.
The program, Vélib (for “vélo,” bicycle, and “liberté,” freedom), is the latest in a string of European efforts to reduce the number of cars in city centers and give people incentives to choose more eco-friendly modes of transport.
The outdoor advertising company J. C. Decaux is paying for the bicycles, docking stations and maintenance in return for exclusive use of 1,628 urban billboards owned by the city. The city receives the rental income, and city officials say they are hoping the program will bring in millions of euros.
Vélib is the brainchild of Mayor Bertrand Delanoë, a Socialist and longtime green campaigner who has set a target for the city to reduce car traffic by 40 percent by 2020. ...
Not just that it is in the NYTimes, it is their Top Ten most popular emailed items. A 'swarming' consideration.
(I never know if or how long these NYT links last, my apologies if it don't click.)
Posted by Tenskwatawa | July 17, 2007 11:05 PM
No mention in the agenda of how we're going to pay to operate the new lines, each of which costs the city around a quarter of a million bucks a year to run. That's because that money falls from the sky.
Well of course it does! Take a look at Metro to see how it's done.
Posted by Max | July 18, 2007 7:58 AM