Barburian rebels face familiar runaround in Tigard
When the citizen rebellion in Clackamas County placed on the ballot a measure that would require future "urban renewal" shenanigans to be out to a public vote, the county commissioners put another measure on the same ballot as a decoy, to try to confuse voters. It was a dastardly thing to do -- one of the worst performances by local government that we've seen in our 34 years in Portlandia -- and fortunately, it failed.
In September, Clackamas voters will also be asked to require a public vote before the county pays $25 million to Tri-Met for the $1.5 billion (liars' budget) Mystery Train to Milwaukie. There's a good chance they'll say yes, and that could very well kill the county's contribution to the project.
Now, the folks in Washington County are working on similar initiatives, and at least in the City of Tigard, reports are coming in that the City Council is threatening its own decoy measure if the signature drive for an initiative is successful. One of the Tigard rebels writes:
In a conversation on Saturday May 5th about Tigard’s initiative to require a vote on light rail expenditures, with Clackamas County activist Lauri Hein, Tigard City Councilwoman Gretchen Buehner said, "You will never get the signatures needed to put it on the ballot." Buehner added, "If you do manage to get it on the ballot, I will make sure there is a companion measure to stop you." Hein replied, "The Commissioners tried that in Clackamas County and we still beat them."
Another decoy measure? For shame.
Meanwhile, the Pamplin newspapers seem to be doing their best to frustrate the signature gathering. Little wonder, since Steve Clark, former publisher of the Portland Tribune, a Pamplin property, is still on the Tri-Met board, despite having taken a job in Corvallis nearly a year ago.
Anyway, the ongoing regional battle over rail projects, which are largely a cover for taxpayer subsidization of apartment complex construction, promises to get mighty ugly in the months ahead.
Comments (7)
Freedom of the press only applies to those that own the press.
Another reason they are trying to kill the Internet - way too much freedom for the ruling class.
At least in Tigard, we have all seen first hand how wonderful WES Works. As in, an utter and miserable FAILURE.
Survey after survey shows that congestion on 99W is one of Tigard residents' top concerns. But we also know in Tigard that:
1. Removing lanes of traffic will make the problem worse - not better,
2. Restricting access to 99W businesses will make the problem worse - not better,
3. MAX will not solve the majority of traffic issues - for example, residents living towards King City and need to go to Beaverton will not benefit from a MAX line to Portland (but will be heavily and adversely impacted by it),
4. A considerable amount of traffic passing through Tigard on 99W neither originates, nor terminates, along the proposed MAX route. Folks from Yamhill County aren't just going to park their car at a south end park-and-ride, ride MAX a few stops, and then straggle using the poor remnants of TriMet's bus system (if any) to get to the final destination.
5. MAX won't even serve the region's "Metro Regional Center" - Washington Square.
6. Many transit advocates call the Kruse Way business parks another prime transit area. Guess what? MAX won't go there either.
7. MAX won't serve Bridgeport Village, another "Town Center".
So...MAX is a solution to the wrong problem...and it isn't a solution to the correct problem. Many residents would rather see 99W have another lane in each direction, with improved/enhanced bus service. Right now, it is next to impossible for a Tigard resident to even use bus service to get to Kruse Way, or to the industrial areas along 72nd Avenue. Service to Washington Square is often half-hourly or hourly, and TriMet broke their promise to turn the 76 line into a "Frequent Service" route (as well as dropped service on the frequently crowded 12 line which used to be "Frequent Service".)
If Councilwoman Buehner really thinks she is going to trample over the residents of Tigard - she's welcome to start with me. And I'll gladly pay for her bus fare to ride the bus with me - I get on the 94X at 99W and Walnut each morning at 6:50 AM, and I'll be happy for her to experience what I experience each and every day. And as a daily TriMet bus rider - the last thing I need or want is MAX.
"Many transit advocates call the Kruse Way business parks another prime transit area. Guess what? MAX won't go there either."
For Christ's sake, if Max is extended down 99W, sounds like they'll next be pushing for a line crossing the freeway to the Kruse Way business parks. The only problem with that is there's no available property along Kruse Way or surrounding the business park for apartment/condo bunkers. I think there's one or two vacant parcels at the back (south) of the business park, but I'm pretty sure they're zoned commercial and additional office buildings are probably already planned for them.
Anyway, my point is, if there's nothing in it for their developer "partners," then hopefully any such notion is dead in the water.
By the way, Jack Hoffman, in pushing the LO streetcar, once told someone that people who work in the Kruse Way business park (which, of course, is located next to I-5) would drive across LO to take the putt-putt streetcar into downtown Portland for meetings. Fun times!
Politicians like Buehner will do anything in their power to keep the money flowing to their friends. That is all they care about, taking care of those who take care of them. Then they retire with their PERS payout and let someone else pay the debt. And evidently this is what being a liberal is all about these days? I'm not sure how sticking the grandkids with a big bill for your campaign coffers is liberal, but it seems to be the rage these days with the D's.
Gretchen has also been a huge supporter of the Lake Oswego-Tigard Water Agreement which is going to cost Tigard water rate payers a bundle. The Lake Oswego water rates have skyrocketed. Both City Councils have greatly deceived the residents of both cities and entered into this without the citizens vote. It will cost over $250 million when done--greatly overbuilt, poorly engineered and not needed--like the LO streetcar. The Tigard citizens have been mostly silent on this. They better wake up quick and reverse this decision by their inept Council. The Tigard Mayor is as bad as LO Mayor, Hoffman too. Gretchen is another Donna Jordan, bad LO Councilwoman.
Very similiar tactics, MO.
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 (7)
Freedom of the press only applies to those that own the press.
Another reason they are trying to kill the Internet - way too much freedom for the ruling class.
Posted by Tim | May 10, 2012 1:03 PM
At least in Tigard, we have all seen first hand how wonderful WES Works. As in, an utter and miserable FAILURE.
Survey after survey shows that congestion on 99W is one of Tigard residents' top concerns. But we also know in Tigard that:
1. Removing lanes of traffic will make the problem worse - not better,
2. Restricting access to 99W businesses will make the problem worse - not better,
3. MAX will not solve the majority of traffic issues - for example, residents living towards King City and need to go to Beaverton will not benefit from a MAX line to Portland (but will be heavily and adversely impacted by it),
4. A considerable amount of traffic passing through Tigard on 99W neither originates, nor terminates, along the proposed MAX route. Folks from Yamhill County aren't just going to park their car at a south end park-and-ride, ride MAX a few stops, and then straggle using the poor remnants of TriMet's bus system (if any) to get to the final destination.
5. MAX won't even serve the region's "Metro Regional Center" - Washington Square.
6. Many transit advocates call the Kruse Way business parks another prime transit area. Guess what? MAX won't go there either.
7. MAX won't serve Bridgeport Village, another "Town Center".
So...MAX is a solution to the wrong problem...and it isn't a solution to the correct problem. Many residents would rather see 99W have another lane in each direction, with improved/enhanced bus service. Right now, it is next to impossible for a Tigard resident to even use bus service to get to Kruse Way, or to the industrial areas along 72nd Avenue. Service to Washington Square is often half-hourly or hourly, and TriMet broke their promise to turn the 76 line into a "Frequent Service" route (as well as dropped service on the frequently crowded 12 line which used to be "Frequent Service".)
If Councilwoman Buehner really thinks she is going to trample over the residents of Tigard - she's welcome to start with me. And I'll gladly pay for her bus fare to ride the bus with me - I get on the 94X at 99W and Walnut each morning at 6:50 AM, and I'll be happy for her to experience what I experience each and every day. And as a daily TriMet bus rider - the last thing I need or want is MAX.
Posted by Erik H. | May 10, 2012 1:55 PM
How about a REAL 21st century solution?
New HOT lanes combined with modern express bus service?
So many benefits over rail it is crazy they are not even being considered.
Posted by John | May 10, 2012 2:51 PM
"Many transit advocates call the Kruse Way business parks another prime transit area. Guess what? MAX won't go there either."
For Christ's sake, if Max is extended down 99W, sounds like they'll next be pushing for a line crossing the freeway to the Kruse Way business parks. The only problem with that is there's no available property along Kruse Way or surrounding the business park for apartment/condo bunkers. I think there's one or two vacant parcels at the back (south) of the business park, but I'm pretty sure they're zoned commercial and additional office buildings are probably already planned for them.
Anyway, my point is, if there's nothing in it for their developer "partners," then hopefully any such notion is dead in the water.
By the way, Jack Hoffman, in pushing the LO streetcar, once told someone that people who work in the Kruse Way business park (which, of course, is located next to I-5) would drive across LO to take the putt-putt streetcar into downtown Portland for meetings. Fun times!
Posted by realitybasedliberal | May 10, 2012 3:01 PM
Politicians like Buehner will do anything in their power to keep the money flowing to their friends. That is all they care about, taking care of those who take care of them. Then they retire with their PERS payout and let someone else pay the debt. And evidently this is what being a liberal is all about these days? I'm not sure how sticking the grandkids with a big bill for your campaign coffers is liberal, but it seems to be the rage these days with the D's.
Posted by Andy | May 10, 2012 7:17 PM
I got word they are gathering signatures in Tigard, Tualatin & King City.
They are recruiting help and donors.
To donate email to swrailvotepac@gmail.com
To volunteer e-mail swrailvote@gmail.com
Early Web site www.swrailvote.org
Posted by Barburian messenger | May 10, 2012 9:42 PM
Gretchen has also been a huge supporter of the Lake Oswego-Tigard Water Agreement which is going to cost Tigard water rate payers a bundle. The Lake Oswego water rates have skyrocketed. Both City Councils have greatly deceived the residents of both cities and entered into this without the citizens vote. It will cost over $250 million when done--greatly overbuilt, poorly engineered and not needed--like the LO streetcar. The Tigard citizens have been mostly silent on this. They better wake up quick and reverse this decision by their inept Council. The Tigard Mayor is as bad as LO Mayor, Hoffman too. Gretchen is another Donna Jordan, bad LO Councilwoman.
Very similiar tactics, MO.
Posted by Another Barburian messenger | May 10, 2012 10:03 PM