Jack Bog's Blog http://bojack.org/ by Jack Bogdanski of Portland, Oregon en Copyright 2012 Wed, 16 May 2012 11:45:39 -0800 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/ http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss To: Cogen -- Re: Library nixed the proposal to put a new library taxing district on the May ballot, said they would give it a shot later this year if the library's operating levy passed. Well, it passed by more than a 4-to-1 margin, and so whatever message the county commission was waiting for? It has now been delivered. If they don't put the district on the November ballot, they'll be tarred and feathered.]]> http://bojack.org/2012/05/to_cogen_re_library.html http://bojack.org/2012/05/to_cogen_re_library.html Portland Metro Wed, 16 May 2012 11:45:39 -0800 Oregon blogger gets recognized We hear that Bill Harbaugh, the University of Oregon economics professor who stirs up all sorts of trouble with his excellent blog UO Matters, is going to receive a prize this weekend from the Oregon chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. Apparently Harbaugh is being honored for his work in forcing the state to post on the internet, for free, its official manual about its freedom of public information laws. Ironically, the First Freedom award, which Harbaugh is about to receive, "honors a non-journalist’s championing of First Amendment rights." In our book, Harbaugh is a journalist, even though he blogs what he blogs on his own, part time, and without pay.]]> http://bojack.org/2012/05/oregon_blogger_gets_recognized.html http://bojack.org/2012/05/oregon_blogger_gets_recognized.html Academe Internet Oregon Wed, 16 May 2012 10:46:59 -0800 How much will Nurse Amanda spend to keep her job? $50,000 cash, and thrown in in-kind contributions north of another $60,000 worth. Now she's got nearly six months more of campaigning to do against Mary Nolan, who's got the Usual Suspects laying big checks on her right and left. How much more is Fritz willing to scratch up out of the sofa cushions to stay on the council? Another $50,000? Given that she's running neck-and-neck with Nolan, it's going to take some serious jack for her to prevail. In the good nurse's case, the home court advantage of incumbency obviously isn't enough. In any event, we hope she doesn't throw too much more money at opinion polls like this one.]]> http://bojack.org/2012/05/how_much_will_nurse_amanda_spe.html http://bojack.org/2012/05/how_much_will_nurse_amanda_spe.html City of Portland Wed, 16 May 2012 09:44:59 -0800 Who paid for Hales streetcar show? A curious reader writes:
Apparently Charlie gets the streetcar to run for him on election night, stop in front of his office and honk the horn. The Eastside Streetcar hasn't run but for a day or two for testing thus far. Yet it runs for Charlie on election night? Seems odd to me.
The oddities have doubtlessly just begun, friend.]]> http://bojack.org/2012/05/who_paid_for_hales_streetcar_s.html http://bojack.org/2012/05/who_paid_for_hales_streetcar_s.html City of Portland Wed, 16 May 2012 08:45:53 -0800 Why Brady failed noted last night, this photo says it all -- that's Homer Williams, whose serial rape of the Portland city treasury knows no bounds, on the platform behind smiling, victorious Charlie. Regardless of what he might say to get elected, Hales will be all about slipping money, a lot of money, behind him to his right, to Williams and guys like him. And it's not just the developers. Most of the West Hills money was behind Hales. Vera Katz sent up the endorsement smoke signal, Mike Lindberg was campaign treasurer -- it might as well have been Neil Goldschmidt himself patting Hales on the back. The people who own Portland need somebody they can trust to keep funneling the tax dough their way, and Hales is their man. Portland's tired mainstream media -- including Willamette Week, which is no longer an alternative publication, if it ever was one -- couldn't contain their enthusiasm for him. Smith is just the old guard of the Democratic Party machine in a 30-something-year-old's clothing. His parents run that machine, and he has developed a little auxiliary of his own among the younger set. The soccer fops and the bike clowns love his affected weirdness. Then, importantly, he got the police and firefighters' unions to support him, and then the City Hall AFSCME local, and some teacher union types as well. Fireman Randy weighed in, signalling that Lil Jeffy would protect the PERS. Smith picked up some additional votes by opposing the Interstate 5 bridge, and he managed to deflect the many questions about his personal track record, which is spotty, to say the least. So there Brady was, with the real estate sharpies and the Goldschmidtters behind Hales, and the party machine and government employees' unions behind Smith. What did she have to overcome that? Well, she is a strong woman, which counts for something. She had run successful businesses, and she had lots of of rich backers -- including some real estate tycoons that would doubtlessly have moved in as most favored developer-welfare recipients had she prevailed. She said a lot of smart things. But the business on which she hung her star is not a union shop, and that cost her. And when she tried to straddle jobs and "green," it didn't exactly work. We decided not to vote for Brady when we learned she supported (a) building the insane "sustainability center," (b) forcing light rail on Vancouver, and (c) paving over bald eagle habitat for a pointless Port of Portland shipping terminal on West Hayden Island. But it wasn't the issues that killed Brady's candidacy. In the end, her initial traction simply wasn't enough to counter her fundamental lack of connections. This is Portland. You either play along with the unions and the real estate dudes and the Goldschmidt people, or you stay on the outside of City Hall, looking in.]]> http://bojack.org/2012/05/why_brady_failed.html http://bojack.org/2012/05/why_brady_failed.html City of Portland Wed, 16 May 2012 07:45:21 -0800 FBI sniffing around Jamie Dimon perp walk that we'd like to see...]]> http://bojack.org/2012/05/fbi_sniffing_around_jamie_dimo.html http://bojack.org/2012/05/fbi_sniffing_around_jamie_dimo.html Business Law National Wed, 16 May 2012 06:48:40 -0800 Paint still drying another 0-0 tie last night, this time in Houston. The last time Portland scored a goal was in a 1-0 victory on April 21.]]> http://bojack.org/2012/05/paint_still_drying.html http://bojack.org/2012/05/paint_still_drying.html City of Portland Entertainment Sports Wed, 16 May 2012 06:41:59 -0800 Portland voters send important messages lying sack who's going to sell us out further to the condo weasels." Jefferson Smith -- "We want to keep doing the psycho mayor thing until we get it right."]]> http://bojack.org/2012/05/portland_voters_send_important.html http://bojack.org/2012/05/portland_voters_send_important.html City of Portland Tue, 15 May 2012 22:53:55 -0800 Brady's last 15 minutes? Eileen Brady will call Jeffer-Sam Smith at that point and concede. She's already congratulated Condo Charlie. UPDATE, 10:41 p.m.: The new numbers have her down by around 4,000 votes. She's done. Smith killed her candidacy. It will be interesting to see whom she endorses in the general, but we'd bet it will be Hales. UPDATE, 11:14 p.m.: She has conceded, although as usual, Jeffer-Sam had a little problem giving a straight story. He told KGW minutes ago that she agreed to wait until morning to do so.]]> http://bojack.org/2012/05/bradys_last_15_minutes.html http://bojack.org/2012/05/bradys_last_15_minutes.html City of Portland Tue, 15 May 2012 22:15:14 -0800 Worth 1,000 words looks like him -- shorts and all. In any event, Homer's certainly there in spirit.]]> http://bojack.org/2012/05/worth_1000_words_3.html http://bojack.org/2012/05/worth_1000_words_3.html City of Portland Tue, 15 May 2012 21:46:15 -0800 Nena Cook surprise leader in Oregon Supreme Court race nearly 6 percentage points ahead of Richard Baldwin. No one will get a majority, however, and so if we understand Oregon judicial election law correctly, she'll face either Baldwin or Timothy Sercombe in November. Right now, Baldwin's got about 3800 votes more than Sercombe.]]> http://bojack.org/2012/05/nena_cook_surprise_leader_in_o.html http://bojack.org/2012/05/nena_cook_surprise_leader_in_o.html Law Oregon Tue, 15 May 2012 21:35:05 -0800 Egan's ahead in Court of Appeals race surprising news, but not bad news.]]> http://bojack.org/2012/05/egans_ahead_in_court_of_appeal.html http://bojack.org/2012/05/egans_ahead_in_court_of_appeal.html Law Oregon Tue, 15 May 2012 20:58:55 -0800 Potheads hand Holton his head appears to be over, four years after it began.]]> http://bojack.org/2012/05/potheads_hand_holton_his_head.html http://bojack.org/2012/05/potheads_hand_holton_his_head.html Oregon Tue, 15 May 2012 20:57:34 -0800 Say goodbye to Dave Hunt here. ]]> http://bojack.org/2012/05/say_goodbye_to_dave_hunt.html http://bojack.org/2012/05/say_goodbye_to_dave_hunt.html Portland Metro Tue, 15 May 2012 20:49:14 -0800 Brady trailing, Nolan and Fritz neck and neck heading for a runoff.]]> http://bojack.org/2012/05/brtady_trailing_nolan_and_frit.html http://bojack.org/2012/05/brtady_trailing_nolan_and_frit.html City of Portland Tue, 15 May 2012 20:34:22 -0800