Take a flunk
The O comes out against the Burnside-Couch couplet today, in an editorial that probably emanated from the word processor of the troubled daily's resident authority, Randy Gragg. I agree with their position -- I've been stating it here, literally for years -- but I couldn't help but laugh when I read this gem:
Burnside is the city's prime meridian, the east-west axis that divides the city, north from south.When you call in to stop your subscription to go on vacation, the O always asks whether you want to donate the forgone papers to the schools. I propose that subscribers agree to do so only if the paper's editors trade the papers for a fourth-grade geography textbook, and promise to go ahead and open it.
| Posted at 12:42 AM | Permalink |
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Comments (14)
Nice. I'm not sure I'd pop 'em for misusing the very specific term "prime meridian" -- but they did manage to misuse the word "meridian" completely.
Burnside is not the prime meridian, but it's not a meridian of any sort at all.
A meridian goes north/south, not east/west.
It's not quite compass-accurate, but the Willamette River is pretty much our city's meridian.
Posted by Kari Chisholm | February 13, 2007 2:04 AM
Bingo. Rowe and Gragg -- a pair to draw to. Caldwell probably proofed it. Amazing.
Posted by Jack Bog | February 13, 2007 2:14 AM
I'm sure the public editor will make sure this sort of thing doesn't happen again.
Posted by Jack Bog | February 13, 2007 2:45 AM
The thing I found interesting was the lobbying report for "Friends of Burnside/Couch"
http://www.portlandonline.com/shared/cfm/image.cfm?id=123883
Where inquiries are handled by a familiar name.
vrhodes@wddcorp.com
at of course
http://wddcorp.com
Where you can get the dedicated picture of Mr. Brown studying drawings of the latest Condo Tower.
It must be nice for Mr. Rhodes and Mr. Brown to have employment while the rest of the public pays off the $40 million dollar Tram Gap operating at twice the predicted cost per year they forgot to be forthcoming to council about.
Posted by John Capradoe | February 13, 2007 4:32 AM
The label "pimps" would be too kind.
Posted by Jack Bog | February 13, 2007 4:48 AM
C'mon...I thought it was very wise for the City Auditor --our city's elected financial watchdog-- to give up the Auditor's oversight responsibility for project assessments to Vic Rhodes and Matt Brown, so they could "reform" the Local Improvement District process. We're now catching up on the backlog of unimproved streets without sewers and sidewalks, in ways affordable for our existing neigborhoods.
Nah, just funnin' with ya! Vic and Matt gave us trams and streetcars to their new employers' projects...
Let kids and grandma walk in the street. In the gravel. It builds character!
Posted by Frank Dufay | February 13, 2007 5:43 AM
I'd love to see Vic and Matt join Homer and Dike for some quality years together down in Sheridan.
Posted by Jack Bog | February 13, 2007 5:49 AM
Capradoe:
No wonder Matt Brown failed at PHART: he earned a degree in LANDSCAPE Architecture!
Posted by Mister Tee | February 13, 2007 6:04 AM
What worries me is that planners, politicians and designers really do treat Burnside that way, even though residents--other than those living next door to 10 blocks of West Burnside like, oh, the Pearl--haven't ever experienced it that way.
Portland. The City That Hurts.
Posted by Ecohuman | February 13, 2007 8:01 AM
I can't throw any stones. I thought the Prime Meridians was a rock band.
Posted by Bill McDonald | February 13, 2007 8:23 AM
The editorial's author would likely be shocked to learn that the equivalent of the prime meridian for the city (actually for both Oregon and Washington) runs, not along Burnside, but along SW 65th Avenue.
Posted by Isaac Laquedem | February 13, 2007 12:45 PM
It's those changes in latitudes, changes in attitudes...Nothing remains quite the same.
Posted by godfry | February 13, 2007 2:04 PM
Reading the O editorial page is like being in a parallel universe.
Posted by Jack Bog | February 13, 2007 3:28 PM
unless there's a perpendicular universe
Posted by rr | February 13, 2007 5:08 PM