Overnight cooling center opens in Milwaukie - first in area

The white marker in Milwaukie is the first overnight cooling center in the Portland area. Click on any marker at tinyurl.com/PDX-CoolingCenters for more information.


http://tinyurl.com/PDX-CoolingCenters now shows two new cooling centers; one in Oregon City and another in Milwaukie. Centers closing by six are shown in pink; later closing shelters in blue. A dot in the marker shows a center is for seniors only.

Cooling centers in four county area

Click here to visit my first Google Map mash-up,

which shows cooling centers in Clackamas, Multnomah, Washington and Yamhill counties.
Fairly slick, if I do say so myself.

Oak Lodge Community Council agenda

A post from Eleanore Hunter

Dear Members and Friends of the Oak Lodge Community Council -

Here is our agenda for tomorrow evening - 7 pm at Rose Villa.

There will be a brief presentation and query from Barbara Cartmill of Clackamas County, a special report from Scott Weniger regarding the "Learn-to-Burn" incident, and a report from a property owner on his desire for a non-conforming use at 13795 SE Laurie, just north of Courtney.

There will also be some clarification as to the purpose and charge of the Land Use Committee.
Please come contribute your energy, concerns, questions, desires and opinions to your community.

And check out our fab website - www.oaklodgecpo.org

Warning Political Spam 503-210-5697

Suggestion: I just leave the phone and walk away, then hang up a few minuts later, when political spam calls invade our home. Ties up the creep's autodialer and therefore reduces their ability to spam others.

Tonight's Wheel of Interests Announcement

CITIZENS INFORMED and aware (CIA)

“wheel of interests”

Starts at 7:00 pm Wednesday, June 10, 2009

In the Fellowship Hall at Rose Villa Senior Living Community

13505 SE River Road in Oak Grove, OR

(Please do not park on the Rose Villa property itself)

(It is OK to park on either side of River Road or in the lot across River Road from Rose Villa)

==========================================

The Citizens Informed and Aware (CIA) group from the Oak Grove, Jennings Lodge and Oatfield Ridge areas of Clackamas County is hosting an opportunity for all Citizens to become involved in the “Wheel of Interests” that started turning in our communities and/or neighborhoods in November, 2008. The evening will begin with a “Wheel 101” so that people new to the program can find out what we are talking about. We will then have reports from some of the Interest Groups that have already started turning. Lots of things going on in this area and tonight is the time to become ‘informed’ about what all those things are. There will be time for audience questions and participation after the reports.

==========================================

The Oak Lodge Community Council (OLCC) will have a Special Meeting after the CIA meeting to discuss Land Use issues. The OLCC Special Meeting will not start before 8:30 PM.

==========================================

Please feel free to pass this Email along to your neighbors, friends and relatives and to share this information with other Citizens who might be interested in the CIA Programs. The more, the merrier!

Questions may be directed to CIA Program Coordinator - Thelma Haggenmiller at thelma@oaklodgepost or 503/659-5590

Be the match and save a life

Fouty-six thousand folks will get free enrollment into the lifesaving registry for bone marrow donors, thanks to a one-time special donation which started yesterday. Enrollment is very, very easy (think cheek swab; mine took less than five minutes) and very, very important, especially in minority communities and for folks with varegated heritage as well as folks who are:

• Black or African American
• American Indian or Alaska Native
• Asian, including South Asian
• Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander
• Hispanic or Latino
  

The total cost to add a new member to the registry is about $100, and the majority of that goes to the cost of genetic typing. The government doesn't pay for it, insurance doesn't pay for it; it all runs on donations.

You can't save a life if you don't sign up. Here's more info.

Friday times to turn off analog television for good

The National Association of Broadcasters says these are the times when analog channels in Portland will go dark on Friday (with an update courtesy an Oregonian blogger):

• KATU (2): 11:35 a.m.
• KOIN (6): Between 6 a.m. and noon
• KGW (8): 3:05 a.m.
• KOPB (10): About 2 a.m.
• KPTV (12): 9:30 a.m.
• KRCW (32): 9 a.m.
• KPDX (49): 9:30 a.m.

Other small, low-power stations can continue to broadcast in analog; that is, if you need 24-hr. QVC. Ewwww.

Wednesday special community council special meeting

The Oak Lodge Community Council will have a Special Meeting on Wednesday evening June 10th at Rose Villa. It will not start before 8:30 PM.

Z0301-09-SL
Description: Provide recommendation for design review of 19-lot subdivision for attached single family dwelling units at 14811 SE Rupert Drive (between Arista and Rupert near Oak Grove Boulevard).

At the last CPO meeting the subdivision [i.e., zoning, lots, access to lots, etc.] was reviewed. The design of the units is Wednesday night's topic.

An Oak Lodge CPO member wrote, "I urge you all to take a look at the 'design features' of the 3 units currently under construction by the same developer just to the north of where he plans these additional 19 units. Is this what you want in your neighborhood?"

A letter to the county

Subject: Questions regarding Environmental Health and restaurant inspection data
Date: Sat, Jun 6, 2009 at 13:53
To: martifra@co:clackamas:us
Cc: webmstr@co:clackamas:us

As I was doing my round-up on restaurant inspections on Clackablog, I noted a discrepancy. There were two inspections on the same day at the same location, Rigoberto's. The attached snapshot shows them, one with a score of 85 and the second with a score of 100. Neither is shown as a reinspection. Is there a data entry error here?

Also, you may wish to ask your webmaster to fix the missing link for contact for Environmental Health. If you go to http://www.clackamas.us/community_health/contact.htm then click on the link titled Environmental Health, it should take you to http://www.clackamas.us/community_health/contact.htm#eh but the corresponding location #eh on that web page is missing.

However, thank you for making sure this data is publicly available. It would be a significant public benefit, IMHO, if the public could click through to see each inspection result's detail, but that can wait until another day.

--
73s and best regards from John Bartley K7AAY PDX OR USA

Restaurants neither perfect nor gross

The first group of restaurants today made a minor error or two, but no major errors. However, remember, there were 49 restaurants which had a perfect score (see previous posts).

99% Clackamas River Racquet Club 790 82nd Dr 503-657-1806 1/8/2009
99% Gladstone Card Room 420 Portland Ave 503-657-1977 2/23/2009
99% Healing Place Cafe 10330 SE 32nd Ave 503-513-8342 1/21/2009
99% Historic Broetje House 3101 SE Courtney 503-659-8860 11/3/2008
99% Jack In The Box #7123 14811 SE Mcloughlin Bl 503-353-9435 1/13/2009
99% Little Caesars Pizza 4370 SE King Suite 503-634-2572 2/2/2009
99% Oak Grove Cinemas 16100 SE Mcloughlin Bl 503-653-3511 3/24/2009
99% Spring Creek Coffee Hse 10600 SE Mcloughlin Bl 503-496-5555 1/6/2009
99% Sully's Cafe 2035 SE Jefferson St 503-786-0285 10/24/2008
99% Tsunami Cafe 7300 SE Harmony Road 503-659-1756 4/13/2009
98% Dominos Pizza 10586 SE 32nd Ave 503-659-5585 1/21/2009
98% East Side Athletic Club 4606 SE Boardman 503-659-3845 2/9/2009
98% Foxy's 15224 SE Mcloughlin Blvd 503-353-6885 1/12/2009
98% Happy Rock Coffee Co 465 Portland Ave 503-650-4876 2/24/2009
98% Heavenly Donuts 19500 Mcloughlin Bl 503-657-3197 1/5/2009
98% J Gelati 3650 Concord Road 503-382-9450 3/23/2009
98% Jamba Juice - Milwaukie 10814 SE Oak St 503-513-6385 1/5/2009
98% Los Volcanes 480 Portland Ave #c 503-655-0773 2/24/2009
98% Mocha Express Rest 14813 SE Webster 503-654-5177 2/10/2009
98% Pizza Hut #2857 - Gladstone 19640 Mcloughlin Bl 503-722-8834 1/8/2009
98% Tebo's Rest 19120 SE Mcloughlin Bl 503-655-6333 12/3/2008
97% Burgerville #8 19119 SE Mcloughlin Bl 503-655-3932 2/5/2009
97% Buster's Texas Style B-B-Q 17883 E Mcloughlin Bl 503-652-1076 12/2/2008
97% El Vaquero 13456 SE Mcloughlin Bl 503-496-4966 12/31/2008
97% Jay Lee's Gladstone Honda 19400 SE Mcloughlin 503-722-5000 1/8/2009
97% Larry's Restaurant 8081 SE King Rd 503-771-0216 2/19/2009
97% Pizza Schmizza 14624 SE Mcloughlin 503-496-0873 5/13/2009
97% Subway - Milwaukie 15031 SE Mcloughlin Bl 503-786-1660 1/28/2009

Without raw data, I can't tell if the restaurants below had multiple minor errors or a major error. However, since franchises (e.g., Starbuck's, KFC, Taco Bell and McDonalds) have tightly scripted procedures, to see franchise outlets here is uncomfortable.

96% Dillingers Pub 13305 SE Mcloughlin Bl 503-652-8702 2/4/2009
96% Dotty's #20 1503 SE Mcloughlin 503-969-5013 1/5/2009
96% Econolodge 17330 SE Mc Loughlin 503-654-2222 2/19/2009
96% Elk Rock Bar & Grill 14211 SE Mcloughlin 503-786-0410 5/6/2009
96% Figaros - Gladstone 18911 Portland Ave 503-656-5556 1/13/2009
96% Happy Cafe 4620 SE International Way #100 503-654-2488 12/9/2008
96% Mi Pueblo 10543 SE Fuller Rd 503-653-4194 12/9/2008
96% Richards - Mcloughlin 17185 SE Mcloughlin #a 5/6/2009
96% Starbucks Coffee #3374 10826 SE Oak St 503-652-7962 3/31/2009
96% Subway #4239 114815 SE Webster Road 503-786-5950 2/10/2009
95% Best Teriyaki 15009 SE Mcloughlin Bl 503-353-8200 5/13/2009
95% Big Town Hero 4630 Sw International Way 503-652-5428 3/2/2009
95% Clackamas Cty Corrections 9000 McBrod ANNUAL INSP. 11/25/2008
95% El Tapatio Rest 15192 SE Mcloughlin Bl 503-659-8654 2/5/2009
95% Hale's Breakfast & Lunch 17502 SE Mcloughlin Bl 503-659-7566 5/4/2009
95% Kentucky Fried Chicken #313 14715 SE Mcloughlin Bl 503-659-2580 1/13/2009
95% Mars Deli 16690 SE Mcloughlin 503-786-5108 1/14/2009
95% Mcdonalds Restaurant - Mcloughlin 15870 SE Mcloughlin Bl 503-654-6268 3/31/2009
95% Mekong Thai Cuisine 10880 SE Mcloughlin Bl 503-594-2888 12/18/2008
95% Starbucks Coffee #4341 4620 SE Mcloughlin Bl 503-659-3653 3/31/2009
95% Taco Bell #4088 11000 SE Oak St 503-659-2960 1/13/2009
95% The Deli 4160 SE International Way #d10 503-786-9388 8/25/2008
95% Wendys - Milwaukie 17217 SE Mcloughlin Bl 503-653-2472 2/23/2009
94% Chopsticks Express I 10801 SE Main St 503-659-2950 5/4/2009
94% Drift On Inn Bar & Grill 12611 SE Mcloughlin Bl 503-652-7966 11/6/2008
94% Frog Thai Cuisine 18601 SE Mcloughlin Bl #b 503-786-8893 12/2/2008
94% Got Curry 2818 SE Park Ave 503-652-4050 12/31/2008
94% Grove Restaurant & Bar 15300 SE Mcloughlin Bl 503-653-1930 12/16/2008
94% Lighthouse 18010 SE Mcloughlin Bl 503-312-1404 1/6/2009
94% Maddys 18080 SE Mcloughlin Bl 503-786-4761 1/12/2009
94% Mcdonalds - Milwaukie 10970 SE Oak 503-659-0979 3/31/2009
94% Sushi Kata Japanese Rest 13809 SE Mcloughlin Bl 503-653-0302 12/10/2008
94% Vogies Bar, LLC 464 Portland Ave 503-657-3626 1/8/2009
94% Wongs Garden 10820 SE Oak St 503-794-2879 12/17/2008
93% Black Rock Coffee Bar 14423 SE Mcloughlin Bl 503-653-9338 2/9/2009
93% G G's Delicatessen 15717 SE Mcloughlin Bl 503-654-2428 3/2/2009
93% Mcqueens Bar & Grill 14680 SE River Rd 503-736-3308 3/24/2009
93% Original Phillys 17252 SE Mcloughlin Bl 503-594-0303 1/20/2009
93% Ranch Tavern 18601 SE Mcloughlin Bl 503-653-9152 2/5/2009
93% Subway #10335 19516 SE Mcloughlin Bl 503-803-4923 1/5/2009
93% Taco Bell #19200 16300 SE Mcloughlin Bl 503-654-8097 1/13/2009

Now, these below could have multiple major errors, or many more minor errors. Seeing more franchises like McDonalds, Pietro's and Subway concern me, especially since their cohorts above had no problem with better performance.

92% Crossroads Cafe/coffee Haus 250 Princeton Ave 503-657-2999 2/23/2009
92% Desert Inn 14535 SE Mcloughlin 503-654-6380 11/24/2008
92% G G's Restaurant 15717 SE Mcloughlin Bl 503-659-5553 3/2/2009
92% High Rocks Pub & Eatery 915 E Arlington 503-656-1111 4/14/2009
92% Shari's Restaurant 11030 SE Oak St 503-652-4035 2/23/2009
92% Subway - Milwaukie Mktplace 10818A SE Oak St 503-653-2100 1/13/2009
91% Cafe Bon Jour 4360 SE International Way 503-697-3242 3/3/2009
91% Dolphin Seafood Rest 17180 SE Mcloughlin Bl 503-654-9366 3/2/2009
91% Domenics Bar & Grill 16065 SE Mcloughlin Bl 503-654-6969 10/27/2008
91% Hong Kong 97 6128 SE King Road Suite B 503-786-4567 10/16/2008
91% Kwang Chow Restaurant 7980 SE King Rd 503-659-1160 12/18/2008
91% Mcdonalds - Johnson Creek 8151 SE Lamphier 503-774-2960 2/23/2009
91% Mcdonalds Restaurant - Gladstone 820 E Berkeley 503-557-9951 1/13/2009
91% Oak Grove Coffeehouse 2144 SE Oak Grove Bl 503-654-4389 1/15/2009
91% Pietro's Pizza 10300 SE Main St 503-659-7770 3/24/2009
91% Porterhouse Rest. & Par Lounge 14611 SE Mcloughlin Bl 503-794-9450 11/17/2008
91% Quizno's 10983 SE Oak St #107 503-594-2118 2/5/2009
91% Roake's 18103 SE Mcloughlin Bl 503-654-7075 3/31/2009
90% Gaffers Pub 18515 Webster Rd 503-516-5295 2/24/2009
90% Joe's Place Saloon 4400 SE International Way 503-653-6798 1/13/2009
90% Oxford Suites 75 SE 82nd Dr 503-650-0562 2/17/2009
90% Pete's Lair Tavern 17720 SE Mcloughlin Bl 503-652-1430 5/7/2009
90% Soy Grill At Gladstone 20010 Mc Loughlin Bl 503-655-5780 2/24/2009
90% Super Burrito Express 10546 SE 42nd 503-786-9370 10/27/2008
89% Little Caesars Pizza 17038 SE Mcloughlin Bl 971-570-2504 2/9/2009
89% McGrath's Publick Fish House 11050 SE Oak St 503-653-8070 4/22/2009
89% Panda Buffet 16251 SE Mcloughlin Bl 503-652-0515 4/22/2009
88% Panaderia Cinco De Mayo #2 17419 SE Mcloughlin Bl 503-998-2960 12/18/2008
87% International House Of Pancakes #68 114617 SE Mcloughlin Bl 503-653-2710 5/4/2009
86% Happy Restaurant 270 Portland Ave 503-657-4097 5/22/2009
86% Oak Grove Bar & Grill 2099 SE Oak Grove Bl 503-654-6343 12/2/2008
86% Quiznos 18040 SE Mcloughlin Bl 503-652-1633 4/22/2009
86% Rigoberto's Taco Shop 15855 SE Mcloughlin Bl 503-659-8124 5/13/2009
86% Wichita Pub 6106 SE King Rd 503-654-4201 5/7/2009

Now, it's likely these had three or more major errors. That would be embarassing to me, were it my restaurant! If you're feeling uppity, you might just ask WHY they had multiple inspection failures.

85% Amadeus Manor 2122 SE Sparrow St 503-659-1735 12/16/2008
85% Brew Bar & Grill 10933 SE Main St 503-653-6369 10/15/2008
85% Hong Kong 97 17405 SE Mcloughlin Bl 503-654-3336 4/22/2009
85% Lew's Drive Inn 14911 SE Mcloughlin Bl 503-654-6648 1/13/2009
85% River Road House Pub 11921 SE 22nd 503-653-5885 12/8/2008
83% Casa De Tamales 10605 SE Main St 503-654-4423 1/20/2009
83% Tartan & Thistle 11050 SE 21st 503-365-7150 x7 10/27/2008

These likely had four or more major errors. Ouch!

80% Chang's Mongolian Grill 18925 SE Mcloughlin Bl 503-655-2323 3/31/2009

80% Mai Wah Restaurant 18088 SE Mcloughlin Bl 503-659-0323 9/23/2008
P. S.: On a previous 5/13/2008 inspection, Mai Wah had an 85% score.

Hall of shame of restaurants

It works like this at Clackamas Co. Public Health's restaurant inspection program:

A minor error loses 1-2% from a perfect score of 100%; a major error loses 4-5%.

Each of these restaurants had to have at least four major errors in sanitation to score so low.

Do you want to dine in, or take out from, places with so little concern for your health?

Score - Restaurant - Address - Inspection date - and, a previous rating shown on the line below may help show if this was an isolated incident or a repeating pattern.

75% Imperial Garden 15350 SE Mcloughlin Bl 2/23/2009
91% on 3/17/2008

77% Chan's Steakery 10477 SE Main St 10/27/2008
79% on 12/17/2007

79% Dragon Inn 14411 SE Mcloughlin Bl 4/22/2009
70% on 5/22/2008


The remaining restaurants will be listed tomorrow.

Dining hall of fame

These 49 restaurants and food service outlets in Milwaukie, Oak Grove and Gladstone had a PERFECT 100% score in their most recent inspection by County Public Health. Fourty-nine. You might congratulate them the next time you dine there.

Tomorrow, we'll roll out the Hall of Shame of markedly imperfect restaurants.

All of these were semi-annual repeating inspections, with one exception, noted as a REINSPECTION below.

Restaurant - Address - Phone - Date of inspection

American Legion Post #180 2146 Se Monroe, (503) 659-1300 12/29/2008
Arrivederci Wine & Gifts 17025 Se Mcloughlin Blvd, (503) 781-3873 12/3/2008
Baskin Robbins 19510 Se Mcloughlin Blvd (503) 656-0311 1/5/2009
Baskin Robbins 13735 Se Mcloughlin Blvd (503) 654-2474 1/8/2009
Bistro Catering 6025 Se Alderhill Loop, (503) 659-6216 10/29/2008
Bo's Pub & Eatery 18650 Se Mcloughlin Blvd, (503) 652-0302 5/7/2009
Cha Cha Cha Mexican Taqueria 11008 Se Main St, (503) 659-2193 2/3/2009
Chans Garden Restaurant 14790 Se Webster Rd, (503) 652-2828 12/29/2008
Christ The King Parish 7414 Se Michael Dr, (503) 659-1475 1/12/2009
DaVincis Italiano Ristorante 12615 Se Mcloughlin Blvd, (503) 659-3547 12/30/2008
Doll House Tea Room 3223 Se Risley Ave , (503) 653-6809 2/5/2009
Dominos Pizza 15117 S Mcloughlin Blvd , (503) 659-4950 1/28/2009
Dotty's #10 10812-B Se Oak St, (503) 969-5013 1/6/2009
Dotty's 34 17060 Se Mcloughlin , (503) 969-5013 1/6/2009
El Taco Loco 4607 Se Boardman Ave, (503) 653-1715 12/2/2008
Flying Pie Pizzeria 16691 Se Mcloughlin (503) 496-3170 2/17/2009
Foxy's 11094 Se Main St, (503) 654-8800 1/28/2009
Full Gospel Community Church 4007 Se Llewellyn, (503) 774-2663 3/5/2009
Gladstone Senior Center 1050 Portland Ave, (503) 655-7701 1/13/2009
Gray Gables Estate 3009 Se Chestnut St, (503) 654-0470 5/5/2009
Great American Video & Espresso 6130 Se King Rd, (503) 653-2680 2/2/2009
Great Waldo & Pepper - Warehse 13515 Se Mcloughlin, (503) 513-4949 2/26/2009
Holly Station 3610 Se Concord, (503) 724-9896 3/24/2009
Kellog Bowl Inc 10306 Main St, (503) 659-1757 1/8/2009
K-mart Deli #4406 13750 Se Johnson Rd, (503) 659-6773 3/23/2009
Laceys Bomber Inn 13515 Se Mcloughlin Blvd, (503) 659-9306 2/19/2009
Latitude Bar & Grill 10608 Se Main St , 2/2/2009
Libbeys Restaurant 11056 Se Main St, (503) 653-2044 2/17/2009
Main Street Soda Fountain 10909 Se Main St, (503) 659-7632 1/13/2009
Mikes Drive In 3045 Se Harrison St, (503) 654-0131 12/17/2008
Milwaukie Bowl 3056 Se Harrison St (503) 654-7719 1/8/2009
Milwaukie Center 5440 Se Kellogg Creek Dr (503) 653-8100 1/14/2009
Milwaukie Christian Church 5197 Se King Rd, (503) 654-6597 1/13/2009
Milwaukie Cinemas 11011 Se Main, (503) 653-2222 2/2/2009
Milwaukie Elks #2032 13121 Mcloughlin Blvd, (503) 654-9588 12/30/2008
Milwaukie Lutheran Church 3810 Se Lake Rd, (503) 653-0250 1/13/2009
Mo Betta Deli 6110 Se King Rd, (503) 653-5487 5/7/2009
N. Clack. Parks & Rec Dist Concession Stand 5440 Se Kellogg Creek, (503) 654-3030 1/14/2009
Pogy's 17185 Se Mcloughlin Blvd , (503) 652-0120 REINSPECTION 3/5/2009
Providence Hospital 10150 Se 32nd Ave, (503) 652-8300 1/21/2009
Rigobertos Taco Shop 15855 Se Mcloughlin Bl (503) 659-8124 5/13/2009
Round Table Pizza - 16550 Se Mcloughlin Blvd, (503) 653-6444 10/24/2008
St John The Baptist Church 10955 Se 25th Ave, (503) 654-5449 1/12/2009
St Johns Episcopal Church 2036 Se Jefferson, (503) 653-5880 1/13/2009
Stanleys Corner 19905 Se Mcloughlin Blvd, 97027 (503) 655-5544 10/30/2008
Tonys Bistro 6400 Se Lake Rd #101, (503) 353-8900 3/3/2009
Waterfalls Cafe 12705 Se River Rd, (503) 652-6330 2/12/2009
Westwood Tan & Beauty 6960 Se Theissen, (503) 654-8171 1/14/2009
Wind Horse Coffee & Tea 10611 Se Main St, (503) 659-1000 1/21/2009

NewCity at a glance flyer

The New City at a Glance flyer

A flyer distributed by the 'convenors' who advocate incorporating the area of the Oak Grove Water District into a new city. (Ed. note: No list of all the convenors, identifying them, their backgrounds and interests, has yet been published by the 'convenors'.)


BENEFITS OF BECOMING A NEW CITY

New City will give our community a strong voice with direct, local representation to county, state and federal agencies.

New City will form a community of 30,000 citizens that is run and represented by friends and neighbors, rather than the Board of County Commissioners. *

New City will collect about $1,225,000 from ODOT as our share of state highway/road funds. **

New City will have available three times more money for road maintenance than the County provides to the area today.

New City will provide dedicated law enforcement with a 55% increase in police protection for the community. ***

New City will have the tools to attract, promote and nurture new business and better serve existing businesses. (Ed. note: How?)

New City will provide a local place where residents can call, e-mail or visit to get solutions to government issues.

New City will give our community local control with ZERO additional cost! (Ed. note: See A4 below for a likely contradiction to that unenforceable promise.)

FOR MORE INFORMATION:
E-mail: newcityor@gmail.com

Rev. 05-14-09

(Editor's notes:

* Does that mean there will be a requirement that the city employees who would run a new city, be residents of the city?


** It was represented at the 6/01 meeting these roads funds can only be spent for road maintenance; state and county roads are maintained at the expense of the state and county, so these funds would be used to pay for maintenance of roads other than McLaughlin and other than other state or county roads.


*** ELED meetings have heard the Sheriff's intent to increase the rate charged to cities for law enforcement provided on contract, which would effectively decrease the number of patrol officers available to a New City. Therefore, the 55% increase is questionable.

In addition, convenors are quoting a different number of patrol officers assigned to the ELED than I have heard in ELED meetings, and the assumed baseline number of patrol officers does not include the baseline number of patrol officers available to all the area of the county. Further investigation may be warranted to validate the assumption of a 55% increase of patrol officers to a newly incorporated city.)



PROPOSED NEW CITY BUDGET (APRIL 2009) (with editorial comment)

A Taxation Analyst at the Clackamas County Department of Assessment and Taxation has reviewed the "Frequently Asked Financial Questions" for New City. "I don't see anything glaring that would be incorrect." - J. Mayo.

REVENUE
$2,166,094 Property Taxes at rate of $1.2922, per $1,000 of assessed value (abbreviated PTDAV)
$1,928,449 Franchise fees, state allocated funds, revenue from Municipal Court, other sources

EXPENSES
$1,058,000 Administration
$ 260,000 Operating the Municipal Court
$ 150,000 Enforcing Code Compliance
$2,100,000 Police Service


Frequently Asked Financial Questions

Q: How will the new city affect my taxes now?

A1: Property owners in the area are currently charged a rate of $0.7198 PTDAV, for the Sheriff's Enhanced Law Enforcement District. Since cities cannot be in the Enhanced Law Enforcement District, the New City could charge $0.7198 PTDAV in taxes, and that rate could be charged by the New City with no net difference to the public.

A2: Clackamas County bills property taxes in unincorporated areas at a rate of $0.5724 PTDAV more than it bills for properties inside cities, and that rate could also be charged by the New City with no net difference to the public.

A3: Add (A1) and (A2) to get $1.2922 PTDAV which the New City could levy at no net cost to its citizens. That would yield $2,166,094 nowadays; assessments can increase at up to 3% per annum under current law, so a slow increase in city budgets is likely.


Q: How will the new city affect my taxes in the future?

A4: State law requires cities to establish a base tax rate at the time of incorporation. Once set, the city can increase taxes, but never exceed the established base. To provide for future needs, the convenors proposed the base rate be set higher than the aforementioned $1.2922 PTDAV.

(Ed. note: That's an open door to new taxes; hence the sobriquet, New Tax City, earned by the convenors' desire to enable new taxes beyond the 'zero-base' budget which has been a lure to this discussion, as well as prior failed attempts to incorporate.)


A5: Part of the city charter for incorporation will include the requirement that, to raise taxes, the city must hold a general election vote, requiring 60% of votes cast to enable an increase, for it to pass. (Ed. note: Has the constitutionality of a supermajority vote for a tax hike been validated? If not, such a requirement could be overturned without a supermajority vote, for these has been agitation to overturn supermajority requirements for tax increases.)


Q: How will the new city affect businesses?

A6: There would be nominal fees for business licenses. Local utility districts (sewer and water) would not be charged franchise fees.

(Ed. note: Convenors have noted franchise fees can be charged to Qwest, Comcast, Portland General Electric and other non-local utilities. Would not that justify rate increases by those utilities, resulting in an indirect tax through rate increase? Who ultimately would pay those increases? )

(Ed. note: The 'nominal' fees to businesses for occupational and business licenses are an added cost which would be passed on to you, the customers. Would the fees always be 'nominal'? Will that be specified in the city charter?)



Inquiring minds want to know more.

NewCity convenors next discussion

Next Monday night (June 8th) at 7PM, the 'Convenors' (Dick Jones, William Wild, et al.) will meet with interested parties at Clackamas County Fire District No. 3, 2930 SE Oak Grove Blvd., one short block west of McLaughlin.

New City files

Here's a link to a new Group I created to hold any documentation provided by the 'New City' convenors.

Those convenors may be e-mailed at newcityor@gmail.com which is a clickable link if you have an e-mail client installed.

Enhanced Law Enforcement District annual Budget Committee meeting

Today, I sat in on yet another annual Budget Committee meeting for the Clackamas County Sheriff's Enhanced Law Enforcement District, with predictable results; the recommended budget saw no dissent in its adoption, following little discussion.

The committee was called to order at 0834, this time in the Development Services Building at 150 Beavercreek Road (which, amazingly, NAVTEC and other geodata providers to Google Maps and Mapquest could not locate).

Paul Ellison was nominated, seconded and elected chair for this meeting; Dan Hunker was elected secretary.

Sheriff Roberts was then called to present the budget. He read his letter of 28th May nearly verbatim, and I'll attach a copy to this post in short order once I fire up the scanner.

The gist of the letter is, to keep up with the promises made when the ELED was enacted, 12 deputies should be added to patrol the District. However, The People, In Their Infinite Wisdom, have also enacted Measures 5, 37 and 48, which placed a cap on how much property tax can be collected, and then also voted for other taxation measures which compete (under the constitutionalized provisos of said aforementioned Measures) with the taxes needed for the ELED.

Result (IMHO): When folks vote themselves other services (e.g., Park District), the taxation for those other services reduce what can be collected for the ELED, and the ELED is boxed in and can't deliver what folks want.

One county commissioner asked about the area of the Rosewood CPO (west of the Willamette), which is not part of the main mass of the ELED, and is taxed by the ELED, yet does not have a dedicated patrol car. Do they get what they think they should get despite their isolation? Should the Sheriff contract with a nearby law enforcement agency to patrol there?

BACKGROUND: There are 25, count them, 25 isolated portions of the ELED outside of the main mass of the District. A map can be seen at http:/groups.google.com/group/new-city-group/files named ELED boundaries 2006.pdf ). As Cities grow, and expand their boundaries so those cities may tax desirable portions of what were before unincorporated areas of the county, parts of the District get cut off, and the map gets even more gerrymandered.

Sheriff Roberts, quite sensibly, answered there is a lower frequency of calls there, so cars covering those widely separated areas are the first to be pulled. He added the department believes a patrol car is needed there.

Captain Ellington did note DUII & other self-initiated arrests were up when there was more regular patrolling in that area, but the CCSO had to pull back when budget cuts occurred. He did confirm that Stafford, Rosemont, and other areas out to border of Wilsonville plus other areas almost to Estacada are part of the ELED.


The subject of pay hikes required by the contract with the union then arose, as increases in salary/benefits also reduce the numbers of offices on patrol. County commissioner Lynn Peterson asked, have we lost that much buying power over the years? The Sheriff confirmed Commissioner Peterson's query.

Mr. Hunker asked if Metro expands the Urban Growth Boundary, would the ELED expand automatically? Sheriff Roberts replied to say he was uncertain, and added the matter could be referred to a vote of the people when the levy is renewed.

Commissioner Peterson added such expansion is about three to four yrs away and there is time to consider the matter.

A motion was made to adopt the budget, and after some technical language was ironed out, was seconded and adopted with no dissent. The committee then adjourned at 08:47, not to meet for another year.

June 4 light rail design workshop

Come, help decide what color the benches will be!

Vote by 8 tonight

Voting closes for the special election at 8PM today. Make sure to turn in your ballot at the Oak Lodge library or another authorized location; call the elections office at 503 655 6510 if you can't find your ballot. Can't find your Voter's Guide? It's on the web.

NewCity and their first public meeting

Joe Crumb convened a meeting of over four dozen people in a dimly lit meeting room at Rose Villa at 07:02 PM tonight (5/18/2009), noting he lived nearby and was asked to moderate by the convenors (the people exploring the idea of whether to create a new city).

ED. NOTE: For historical background, please consider visiting these posts:

The Story of a Neighborhood that Fought Metro

Portland Suburb Successfully Staves Off Densification

http://clackablog.blogspot.com/2004/11/uncity-declines-honor-of-assimilation.html

http://clackablog.blogspot.com/2004/11/complete-communities-talk-talk.html

http://clackablog.blogspot.com/2004/12/tonight-monday-conclusion-of-complete.html

http://clackablog.blogspot.com/2004/12/complete-communities-completes-process.html

The agenda of the self-appointed convenors is to talk about a governance model, outline issues, explain some assumptions, demonstrate how the finance works, and then listen.

Convenors: Dick Jones, Henry Schmidt, Lynn Fisher, Carol M**, William Wild, Leonard Voldemar, Bob ***, George Payne and Joe Crumb. ** = could not hear clearly.

(ed. note: Convenors did not wear name badges or labels, so unless I knew who it was answering a question, I just will specify 'proponent' or 'convenor'.)

Joe started with two salient questions:

Will it raise my taxes?

Who's behind this?

Issues

Change is coming, one way or another
Increased density through infill
Local representation
Light rail: A greater role in its future
McLoughlin redevelopment

Redevelopment - a resident spoke out to ask, "What are you talking about, and why?" A convenor replied, county has started process to discuss McLoughlin Development. Another noted McLoughlin become a transport corridor, that high-rises be built along McLoughlin. Dick Jones then said he represents special districts on Metro's Public Advisory Committee, and Metro is pushing building up, not out, pushing for mixed use with apartments above stores and offices. An audience member asked if becoming a city will slow such development; Joe Crumb said it is not stoppable.

A member of the Portland-Milwaukie Light Rail Advisory Committee spoke up to say TriMet has identified McLoughlin has identified as a Transportation Corridor, and the Park Ave terminus will be altered for money (i.e., if they run short of funding).

I noted the only reason Park Ave became the terminus was because Milwaukie found their first choice could not be used, for the land at their original first choice location was legally obligated by the terms of its donation not to use it for light rail.

Why not become a hamlet or village? Dick: Hamlets and vllages are only recognized by the county, and not state-entitled to funding, e.g., 20% of ODOT road taxes. Planning requires becoming a city, and cities would object strongly if there was a hamlet or village within the Urban Growth Boundary. The intent of the new city is to provide more services than now with no new taxes, and get funds available only to cities.

What would population be? Dick Jones said the advocates used the Oak Lodge Water District boundaries because that was cheap to determine the property tax area. It would be about 30,000 pop., making it about the 14th city in the state by population rank.

This would not change our property tax, he said, which are now $2.97 per thousand dollars assessed value (the unincorporated county rate; FYI $2.40 is county tax rate for property in cities) plus 71.89 cents per thousand for the Sheriff's Enhanced Law Enforcement District. They followed a Gladstone-like model for sizing of city government, which has 3 staffers; he projected six city staffers based on relative population sizes. He noted this would not affect parks, schools, water, sewer and fire. Police service could be contracted, as Damascus, Happy Valley and Wilsonville now pay the Clackamas County Sheriff's Department for dedicated law enforcement*; fire service would remain with Clackamas Co. Fire District #1, unlike Gladstone, which has its own fire department.

Emphasized code compliance; would have one person working code issues.

$650,000 goes to Gladstone for their library; maybe we could have a branch library at a more centralized location? (I will ask a librarian friend on the next block over what we could get for $650,000/year, and report back later this week.)

Susan, a resident, noted ORS 221.760 requires cities to provide 4 of 7 services; Dick replied that services provided by existing providers, but contracted to the city through Inter-Governmental Agreements, meet that state requirement.

The second largest revenue item in the model is franchise fees; Comcast, PGE and Qwest charge franchise fees now to unincorporated areas, at the same rate as incorporated areas, but only pay fees back to cities. (Since utilities have a guaranteed rate of return, paying fess to Yet Another City will justify their rate increases, so there's a likely hidden tac on us all.)

Dick Jones said 8 officers from the 32 assigned to the Enhanced Law Enforcement District cover the 99E corridor (i.e, the heart of Yet Another City) and that number is not fixed in law by the ELED; they could be withdrawn if the sheriff has problems, whereas the Yet Another City budget objective is 14.

It was also Dick's idea that pothole fixing could be delegated to the water or sewer districts, but street maintenance, for which the county spends $450,000/yr, would use the 20% fraction of ODOT receipts which only cities get. Another proponent noted 99E is state-maintained and therefore would not be an expense to a new municipality.

I addressed the virtue necessity of having a city traffic court to maximize revenue (as city courts handling traffic tickets and her minor violation get more of the fines than if that's handled by other courts). I added more rigorous speed enforcement could be applied along McLoughlin, for the Sheriff is state-prohibited from radar speed control along McLoughlin, as the Oregon State Police claims that for its own.

Another lady was concerned about law enforcement costs; representation was made that labratories, training facilities, insurance and all costs would be rolled up in the suggested estimates.

What impact on business was another question. Helping business grow in the committee was the reply from a proponent.

What are state mandates which becoming a city would activate? That question was logged for later resolution.

A lady asked how would we have only one planner for 30,000 people, where Milwaukie has five? Dick replied that permiting and inspection would still be handled by the county; contingency fund was suggested as a solution. That was rejected by another member of the public who said only one planner makes no sense and dipping into a contingency fund if more were needed would only work for one year.

Lady says Gladstone has a senior center and other senior services; will we need to pay for those? Dick said a city could work with the parks district for such.

A gentleman mentioned the incorporation of Damascus resulted in underestimates of many, many costs, partly due to lack of a lawyer on their team, and advocated legal advice in planning.

Another gentleman said the contingency fund might not be enough; Dick Jones says a new city could incorporate with a higher speicifed tax rate yet not use the higher rate unless required, because Measures 5-37-48 requires a city to set a rate which could not grow more than 3% per year thereafter.

Dick noted Damascus also has signigicant revenue from development fees and has a chartered tax rate of $3.88/thousand dollars assessed. We could have a higher ceiling rate but require a supermajority to approve using the full rate, and start on an economy basis, raising it later.

Lady; No finance person in budget, admininstration costs not addressed, and contracting is expensive.

Lady: What is the best estimate for a base rate now? Ans: Don't know.

Proponent: Our first question is, are our neighbors interested in forming a city? If so, then we will study further.

A gentleman thinks 14 police not enough in a recession.

GOVERNANCE ASSUMPTIONS (another PowerPoint slide)

Mayor (Ed. note: elected volunteer)
Council or commission (Ed. note: elected volunteer)
City Manager (Ed. note: paid) and staff (Ed. note: paid)
Code enforcement and staff
Contracted services - sewer, fire, water, police, parks

I noted a judiciary and staff of appropriate type and size is required to capture enforcement revenue from citations, traffic violations, code violatons and other minor transgressions. It was suggested that also might be contracted out.

OTHER ASSUMPTIONS (another PowerPoint slide)

Bounded by the river, Gladstone, Milwaukie and (Ed. note: the Alder Creek gully beyond) Oatfield Ridge.
Nov. 2010 to bring to a vote
We're already like a city, but without a goverment to rule us
No sole leader can achieve this; if tied to one person, chance is less
Change will be challenging.

A lady was concerned with street crossing, security and safety. That question was logged for later resolution.

Another lady was concerned with preserving what's uniquely Oak Grove, why we live here. That question was logged for later resolution.

Another lady asked where discussions are, Oak Grove Coffee House? Joe said at Oak Grove firehouse, most Monday nights, 6:30 PM.

The proposed map was discussed; the NE boundary is beyond Oatfield Ridge, and more closely follows Alder Creek in that area.

A gentleman asked if we need more laws to observe; a proponent said No Name City would replace the county laws in specific areas; Dick Jones said city laws would address our local needs and concerns, not what the County wants.

More folks needed to advocate this, says Joe; he will not moderate the next such meeting.

Susan talked to a Metro counselor who advocated a larger property tax base, and annexation of property all the way over to 205.

The next PowerPoint slide specified:

Need agreement from seven nearby cities
Establish boundaries
Extensive legal research and work
Political and informational campaigns
Approval of the electorate

A gentleman said the costs will be greater than what's outlined, and suggested very strongly the governance should be much larger with much greater costs, to plan realistically.

WHAT ARE YOU THINKING (the last PowerPoint slide)

Rules: Want to hear from as many people as possible
Be concise, serve the issue
Don't assume, ask the question on your mind
We want to hear your thinking
WHy create a city? Is this a good idea? Is this the best answer?
Why not? Is there a better idea?
Why have we not incorporated before?
What do you still need to know? What's unclear?
Wat is important to you about this community?
What will people in the community want to know?
What are your questions, concerns, ideas, fears?

Proponent: County has separately engaged a consultant firm, again, to study what we want.

Why live here; Proponent says our suburban nature is under threat for infill, density. We are called the 'last urban frontier'. I replied that putting that in the charter, that incorporation is intended to preserve the character of Oak Grove, makes it very difficult to justify embracing Webster Road and the east-to-205 area. A county employee, Oak Grove 28 yr resident and Gladstone landlord, countered, as he is concerned about generalities as folks beyond Alder Creek have needs, too.

Thelma, a 45-yr resident, who notes the seven (!) previous attempts to incorporate failed because the effort came from 'up here'; but these people are all residents, and there are many other things in this community working from the bottom up. The county's study is for outreach and communication, not to tell us what to do.

Joe again asked us to make sure to help us with the WHAT ARE YOU THINKING talking points. "This is the ultimate DON'T TREAD ON ME community" 80% of voters decide from the Voter's Guide; how can we reach them first? What is the value to us of making this move?

Another gentleman was concerned when this became big news that negatives not outweigh the positives.

A lady said if she is going to sell this to her neighbors, she needs to be able to explain what we have that's unique, and what we have to lose without creating yet another city.

Next meeting June 1st at 7PM, also at Rose Villa.

Another lady wanted a copy of the ideas delivered to her; she was promised, as were all present, a copy would be emailed to her.

Another woman suggested neighbor contact, inviting two or three neighbors to the next meeting.

Another lady said it was important not to directly oppose light rail, she's a light rail proponent. A committee member on the TriMet CAC replied that security, parking, and other issues are being addressed by the county.

The meeting adjourned at about 9PM.

(Ed. note: The handout provided at the meeting will be scanned and added to this post later this week, but since it was printed on colored paper, it needs some adjustment before a legible copy can be placed in this blog.)

Also, a higher resolution map may be had by going to http://groups.google.com/group/new-city-group/files and right-clicking on OLWD.PDF

Questions may be addressed to the proponents at newcityor@gmail.com

California flu - not swine flu

Medical detectives in SoCal have sussed out the origins of the A/H1N1 epidemic to southern California. So, let's give Mexico City some slack, folks.

Also, you absolutely, positively, cannot get it from eating pork, ham or bacon. Don't alter your diet because of this.

Here's today's WSJ live blog on the flu.

Social distancing now - just stay home this month

Portland is a well-studied city, when it comes to studies as to how contagious diseases spread. One thing we know is that social distancing works, and works far better at the beginning of an epidemic. That's confirmed by another study, and by fall-off in common flu cases after 9/11 and detailed statistically here.

It's probably reached Oregon now, with a Portland case awaiting final confirmation, now considered 'probable' by CDC guidelines.

Here's today's WSJ flu blog.

WHO declaration of pandemic

Today's WSJ Swine Flu live blog

Index to all WSJ Swine Flu live blogs

Here's a live blog post from the WHO meeting where a pandemic was declared. Remember, a pandemic just means a disease spreads person-to-person and it is circulating in more than one country.

The primary way to avoid any person-to-person disease is 'social distancing', and folks in the US and Canada are better at social distancing than any other country in the world.

Homeland Security Secretary Napolitano said, dealing with the swine flu virus will be "a marathon, not a sprint" which is the best metaphor I've heard. We'll have it around for a while, just like we've had AIDS around for decades, and have adapted our behavior accordingly. Who's smarter; us, or this virus?

She added individual citizens have a responsibility to help; well, wash your hands for at least 20 seconds after you applied liquid or foam soap.

Thorough hand washing includes getting under the nails, and at the seams of your fingernails. If you don't want to get a nail brush, then change your toothbrush to the new one the dentist gave you; soak the old one in peroxide or bleach for a few minutes to clean it, and then the toothbrush can become your nail brush.

Veratect swine flu surveillance

http://twitter.com/veratect is a Twitter feed from Veratect, which also offers a blog explaining their surveillance of communicable diseases.

CDC twitter feed for porcine influenza

http://twitter.com/cdcemergency

Threat of Pandemic Influenza free download

Microbial Threats to Health: The Threat of Pandemic Influenza is a free download from the National Institutes press. Dense and technical, but gives a good overview; not as fun a read as John Ringo's THE LAST CENTURION on the same subject can be... and the latter is only $6.

Still, it's hard to argue with the medical experts when they unequivocally state "A CASE IN POINT: INFLUENZA—WE ARE UNPREPARED" unless you're really good at buryin your head in the sand.

WSJ Swine Flu Blog Today

http://blogs.wsj.com/health/2009/04/27/tracking-the-swine-flu-outbreak-monday/tab/print/ shows today's Wall Street Journal swine flu blog posts; pithy, to the point, with links to more. Recommended.

Also, here's their Q and A page from which I excerpt:

What are the symptoms?

Symptoms are similar to those of regular flu: fever, along with problems such as cough, sore throat, body aches, headaches, chills and fatigue. Some cases have also included reports of vomiting or diarrhea.

What should I do if I feel sick?

People with ordinary flu symptoms do not need to seek emergency care, New York City officials said. But people with certain warning signs in addition to basic symptoms should seek urgent attention. In children, those signs include difficulty breathing; bluish skin color; flu symptoms that begin to improve, then return with fever and worse cough; and fever with a rash. In adults, warning signs include difficulty breathing, pain or pressure in the chest or abdomen, sudden dizziness, confusion, and severe or persistent vomiting.

Can the swine flu be treated with drugs?

Two drugs, sold under the brand names Tamiflu and Relenza, may reduce the severity and the duration of the disease. But most of the patients who contracted swine flu in the U.S. have recovered without taking the drugs. Both drugs have also been approved to reduce the risk of contracting the seasonal flu. But, unlike a vaccine, they do not provide long-lasting protection. So their preventive use is typically for short-term situations, such as for people who are at high risk of complications from the flu and who have a family member who has the flu. The drugs, which are included in the federal government’s pandemic stockpile, are only available with a doctor’s prescription.

Swine Flu Maps and Data

HOWTO, thorough hand washing:
1 Wet hands
2 Apply liquid or foam (preferred) soap
3 Scrub for at least 20 seconds. SCRUBBING IS THE MOST EFFECTIVE STEP HERE; DON'T SKIP OR CUT THIS SHORT.
4 Rinse thoroughly
5 Dry with paper towels
6 Pull one more paper towel from the dispenser, use that to open bathroom door. Since flu viruses can survive several days on dry surfaces, and be passed hand-to-hand-to-hand even if the person in the middle does not catch the flu, this step is also important.

tinyurl.com/porcineinfluenza No dot = fatal case.

WHO: Influenza-like illness in the United States and Mexico

24 April 2009 -- The United States Government has reported seven confirmed human cases of Swine Influenza A/H1N1 in the USA (five in California and two in Texas) and nine suspect cases. All seven confirmed cases had mild Influenza-Like Illness (ILI), with only one requiring brief hospitalization. No deaths have been reported.

The Government of Mexico has reported three separate events. In the Federal District of Mexico, surveillance began picking up cases of ILI starting 18 March. The number of cases has risen steadily through April and as of 23 April there are now more than 854 cases of pneumonia from the capital. Of those, 59 have died. In San Luis Potosi, in central Mexico, 24 cases of ILI, with three deaths, have been reported. And from Mexicali, near the border with the United States, four cases of ILI, with no deaths, have been reported.

Of the Mexican cases, 18 have been laboratory confirmed in Canada as Swine Influenza A/H1N1, while 12 of those are genetically identical to the Swine Influenza A/H1N1 viruses from California.

The majority of these cases have occurred in otherwise healthy young adults. Influenza normally affects the very young and the very old, but these age groups have not been heavily affected in Mexico.

Because there are human cases associated with an animal influenza virus, and because of the geographical spread of multiple community outbreaks, plus the somewhat unusual age groups affected, these events are of high concern.

CDC web page

http://darwin.zoology.gla.ac.uk/~rpage/flu/ contains a timeline.

New Seasons tomatoes and slavery

Yesterday, in a story on farmworker slavery back where I came from, I said I'd ask New Seasons to tell how they avoid supporting slavery in the tomato industry. Their response (minus salutation and similar stuff) is (quoted with consent):

We work hard to build relationships with the growers of our produce. While Florida remains the number one supplier of winter tomatoes, none of our tomatoes come to us from Florida. We buy local whenever we can, and during the cold months our organic tomatoes come to us from Mexico. We are just moving into early spring when California tomatoes will ripen and then Oregon’s tomatoes will arrive in full bounty as they always do.

Our growers are currently working towards Fair-trade certified tomatoes, and we hope to see those fair-trade stickers by next year. I encourage you to talk with one of our staff members about the tomatoes we have available. They will be able to steer you toward our most local options and often times tell you a little about the farms your tomatoes are coming from.

So, their Mexican tomatoes might be slave-picked, as yesterday's article noted. So could their California tomatoes, as what happens in Florida could well happen in California. How about the conditions of Oregon's produce pickers? Tomatoes from B. C.'s greenhouses?

I will ask, on my next trip to New Seasons.

Slaves Pick Your Tomatoes ?

Does New Seasons explicitly support the anti-slavery movement of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers ? How?

----

That was the very simple letter I just e-mailed to talktous at newseasonsmarket dot com - for, although Whole Foods is on board, along with A&W, Burger King, KFC, Long John Silver’s, McDonald’s, Pizza Hut, Subway and Taco Bell. It cost them a whole extra cent per pound of tomatoes. One penny per pound extra.

----

I'll post the answer here.

On-Demand Street Lights Save $$ and Carbon Emissions

Here's a BBC video, at http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7795492.stm which shows an eighty-one second video of how an innovative German town saves on street lighting by allowing local folks to turn on street lighting as needed from their phones. You might consider asking County Service District No. 5 or the County Sustainability Office to talk to PGE about a demo project.

Unlike the German project shown in the video, there's no reason why folks could not use landline or VOIP phones to call in to turn up the lights, no need to require the caller to have a cellphone.

Open Source software to run it like MySQL, Linux and Apache are free, and a server from Freegeek suitable to run them are free for the asking.

Each light pole could mount a custom cellphone device which, when the correct text message is received, turns the light on. I'm sure that PGE could get a very good rate for text-only service (based on what I know cellular companies charge large-volume customers) which, with the amortization of the cellular device and the service cost, would be cheaper than wasting power when not needed; and, in volume, the cellular controller would be much cheaper, too, than one-hundred-and-thirty quid.

Then, there's a little bonus; when these cellular devices go off the air, PGE knows the power has failed. Cellphones check in (they call this 'polling') every 30 seconds with a very short data burst on a control channel. PGE could use this data to more accurately determine power outages, and map them based on every streetlight in an area which is silent.

All That Glitters Is Not at Cash4Gold

This blogger reports how Cash4Gold would like to recast... err, cover up their practice of offering one-quarter of what gold objects are worth... on the first offer, that is. His story shows how, if you refuse their first offer, they offer a fair and competitive offer... the price you could get by visiting a local pawn shop, only weeks later.

Credit card tricks documented

Visit the Get Rich Slowly blog for a list of credit card company tricks and how to counter them.

DTV Conversion Day postponement?

June 12th looks like the new deadline for DTV conversion, says the NASDAQ newswire.

Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John Rockefeller, D-W.V., and committee ranking Republican Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas said their staffs are drafting a few changes to Rockefeller's proposal to postpone the digital switch until June 12.
{snip}
In the House, Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman, D-Calif., has introduced his own bill that would put off the digital TV transition until June 12. Waxman's bill also would extend the expiration date for all outstanding or not-yet-issued converter box coupons to Sept. 15. People who previously ordered coupons and didn't redeem them would be allowed to reapply.{snip}

Numbers to ignore: 506 or 062 Costa Rican robocalls

This company, representing themselves as "CardMember Services", but really in San José or Heredia in Costa Rica, calls with a robocall opening and a request to press 1 or 2. Pressing 2, as their prompt suggests to remove the called number, does not work; we keep getting calls on all our numbers.

Sometimes, caller ID drops the first digit of international calls, so you get "062" (not a valid country code at present).

The call is blandly phrased, purportedly about "our credit card balance" so someone unaware might think it was legitimate, but they fish for credit card information in order to switch us to another company.

Pressing 1 goes to an agent who always insists, in violation of the law, we need to re-register yearly. Asking that agent to put us on their Do Not Call list results in a hangup.

On the last call, I was told their offices are in Spokane WA. Unfortunately, the state-owned Grupo ICE or Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad and its subsidiary RACSA own all telephone switches, so trying to peel information away from a Banana Republic ministry is less than fruitful.

(data from Vonage call log)
Jan 12, 2009 at 01:09 PM using 506 2 209 9729
Dec 12, 2008 at 02:05 PM using 506 2 205 8435
Nov 06, 2008 at 12:05 PM using 506 2 234 659
Sep 08, 2008 at 05:15 PM using 506 2 272 4154
Jul 23, 2008 at 06:29 PM using 506 2 200 9870

KGW's Parent Company pushes for more Digital Conversion coupons

The Wall Street Journal reports Belo, the owners of KGW (Channel 8 in the old analog system) is pushing for more converter coupons. Meanwhile, police-fire-public safety folks want the frequencies which conversion to digital TV will give them, and they're lobbying for no delay in Conversion Day.

Clear about the Internet

Clearwire AKA 'Clear' opened up Metro Portland as its second city where individuals and businesses can get high speed wireless internet at reasonable cost, and after a cost analysis, we took the plunge.

The home service pricing below includes $5/mo to rent a Clear-only special 'modem.' You can buy instead of rent, but since hardware gets cheaper, we figured we'd rent at first... besides, if there's a failure, they're responsible for the 'modem' if they own it.

$25/mo provides up to 768 kbps down, 128 kbps up.
$35/mo provides up to 3,000 kbps down, 384 kbps up.
$35/mo provides up to 6,000 kbps down, 512 kbps up.

There's no $35 sign-up fee if you obligate for 2 years of service instead of month-to-month, and there's a seven day 'remorse' period for cancellation. There's also mobile service and business service, both spendier than home service.

The hookup took 5 minutes; plug in power, let it find the signal (two towers within a mile from Oatfield Hill), then unplug the DSL 'modem' and plug the ethernet cable from the DSL 'modem' into the back of the Clear box, then power cycle the WiFi router/switch. Did not have to make ANY changes in the settings of the WiFi router/switch.

Speedtest.net reported an average around 5,400 kbps down, 400 kbps up, which is not too shabby at all, better than advertised and better than the mean of 1,204 down, 588 up which $55/mo. DSL provides.

We'll still keep our landline, as we're belt+suspenders when it comes to calling 9-1-1, but the Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) line is probably going over to Clear when they're ready to start offering voice service, depending on the entire feature set once they're ready to talk about their $25 VOIP package. The salesrep in their Clackamas Promenade store, John L., knew his product, wasn't pushy, and was easy to deal with. He was able to show me the tower location and calculate whether it would work OK based on my street address, and said the metro area had been mapped with drive testers, street-by-street, to make sure those estimates were accurate.

Their other stores are at 1512 N.E. Broadway, the Uptown Shopping Center and 1233 N.W. Lovejoy, and they sell through oodles of dealers, e.g., Grate Computers in NoPo, Agility Computers in Gresham, Budget Computers in Beaverton, Gadget Guyz in Vancouver as well as numerous others.

Is your TV digital ready? And, no more converter discount coupons.

This National Association of Broadcasters web page allows you to enter the make and model of your TV set to find if it's digital-ready.

And, OBTW, it's official; the Feds have run out of converter coupons, says the NY Times. Yesterday's blog post reviewing the less-spendy converter boxes seems to have been a good idea.

Don't overlook post Number One on the Tele-Apocalypse which gives you a very simple flowchart to show what to do.

Questions and Answers about Digital TV Converters

Q: I need an explanation in another language. Where can I find that?
A: https://www.dtv2009.gov/

Q: When does conversion happen?
A: It happens Tuesday, February 17th, by Federal law.

Q: Why?
A: Digital channels can fit closer together without interfering, so the Federal government can sell the old frequencies to use for police, fire, public service, and new cellular data services. Sometimes, reception quality improves even on older analog-only sets using converters. There are other advantages to television stations; they can split their channels into sub-channels and have multiple signals with different programming.

Q: What does a converter do?
A: All converters receive the digital signals from new transmitters and convert the signals to analog so they can be used with older TVs and VCRs.

Q: Are all the stations ready now?
A: Most stations have digital signals, plus analog signals, now. The digital signals are now on different channels to avoid interfering with analog channels. Some major stations will switch on February 17th. Some small stations will stay on analog channels, but only small channels and small transmitters. Here's a chart which shows channels now and after for Portland.

Q: Do I need a converter if I have an HDTV set or a Digital-Ready Set?
A: No.

Q: Do I need a converter if I have cable TV?
A: If you use cable TV, you don't need a converter. The cable system handles conversion for you.

Q: Do I need a converter if I have satellite TV?
A: If you use satellite TV, you don't need a converter. The satellite system handles conversion for you.

Q: Do I need a converter if my building has a community or shared antenna?
A: Maybe, so check with your building management to ask if they will be doing the digital-to-analog conversion for you.

Q: I use 'rabbit ears' or an indoor antenna now. Do I need an outdoor antenna for the converter?
A: Maybe. My next blog post on this subject will explain how to estimate if you do. Many indoor antennas will work well in the Portland Metro area, especially if you can see Council Crest from home. There is no 'digital' antenna; the same antenna design works for digital as analog, but you may need a better antenna because your favorite stations are changing to UHF from VHF (like our ABC and CBS affiliates) or because digital requires a better quality of signal; snow now equals problems later.

Q: I use an outdoor antenna now. Do I need to change it?
A: Maybe, see above.

Q: What are the rules for the converter coupon program?
A: You must buy a converter on the NTIA approved list after getting a coupon.
http://www.ntia.doc.gov/dtvcoupon/rules.html explains more and lists a phone number.

Q: Must I have a coupon to get a converter?
A: No. If you don't use a coupon, you can buy whatever converter you wish.

Q: How much does the coupon get me?
A $40 credit on the spot from participating dealers.

Q: Are all converters $40?
A: No, some have extra features and are as spendy as $300.

Q: Which converter boxes are NTIA-approved?
A: They're listed at https://www.ntiadtv.gov/cecb_list.cfm - see the next item.

Q: What are the NTIA-approved converters available for sale nowadays? What makes and model numbers can be bought with coupons?
A: Here's a list. * = Manufacturer says it has Analog Pass-Through.

AccessHD: DTA1020D, DTA1020U, DTA1010D, DTA1010U, DTA1020AD *, DTA1030D *, DTA1050D *, DTA1080D *, DTA1080U *
Airlink101: ATVC102 *, ATVC101
Alpha Digital: AT2016
AMTC: AT2001
Apex: DT1001, DT250 *, DT502 *, DTA250A *
Artec: T3A, T3AP *, T3AP Pro *, T3APro
Cadence: DTVC-9
CASTi: CAX-03 *
Channel Master: CM-7000
Cleartech: CT DCB100A *
Coby: DTV-102 *
ComponexX: CX-900A *
Coship: N9900T, N9901T *, N9988T
Craig: CVD506 *, CVD508 *
Digital Steam: DSP6500C *, DSP7500T, DSP7700P *, DSP7700T *, DTX9900, DTX9900D, DTX9950 *, DX8700 *
Dish Network: DTVPal Plus *, DTVPal *, TR-40CRA *
GE: 22729, 22730, 23333 *, 23334 *
Goodmind: DTA1000, DTA1100 *
Gridlink: GLT-200
iNet Access: SSR 1921 *
Insignia: NS-DXA1, NS-DXA1-APT * (Note: A BestBuy house brand)
Kingbox: K8V1
Lasonic: LTA-260
Magnavox: TB-100MG9 *, TB100MW9, TB100MW9A *, TB110MW9 *, TB110MW9A *
MaxMedia: LuTRO *
Memorex: MVCB1000 *
MicroGEM: MG2000
Philco: TB100HH9 *, TB150HH9 *
RCA: DTA 800B, DTA800B1 *, DTA809 *, STB7766G1 *
Sansonic: FT300A
Spica: AT 2018 *
Sunkey: SK-801ATSC *
Tivax: STB-T8 *, STB-T9
Venturer: STB7766G
Winegard: RCDT09A *, RC-DT09
Zenith: DTT900, DTT901 *
Zentech: DF2000, EZTV DF2000L *
Zinwell: ZAT-857, ZAT-950A *, ZAT-970, ZAT-970A *

Q: What are important features?
A: You may find some of these important:
1) Analog Pass-Through, so you can easily switch to low-power channels which can still transmit analog after 2/17, and to switch to stations which won't go digital before 2/17 if you install before then.
2) An improved Electronic Program Guide (EPG), so you can search for programs you want and find the channel they're on now, as well as find program details.
3) Resistance to interference from VCR, DVD player, and other electronics.
4) Remote control to let you switch in and out of 'letterbox' mode.
5) Complete with a coaxial cable from converter to TV, a 'balun' adapter from flat antenna wire to the cable TV-stype "F" connector on the back of the converter, and a video+stereo cable to attach to a VCR or TV video and audio in sockets.
6) A longer warranty with local or very fast exchange if it fails. However, buying an 'extended' warranty is not recommended, for most electronic devices, if they're going to fail, fail soon after installation.


Q: What are the converters with the best reviews?
A: Here's what I found in a search for reviews I thought were worthwhile reading.

The DIGITAL STREAM DTX9900 http://www.hdtvexpert.com/pages_b/DTVconverters.html remembers channels you scanned for before and was sharper than brand-name competitors.

The DISH NETWORK TR40-CRA http://www.dishnetwork.com/dtvpal/tr40CRA.shtml is $40, hass Analog Pass-Through, and was liked for its advanced EPG (Electronic Program Guide).

The INSIGNIA NS-DXA1 http://blogs.consumerreports.org/electronics/2008/06/dtv-converter-1.html was essentially the same than the DIGITAL STREAM DTX9900.

The MICROGEM MG2000 http://blogs.consumerreports.org/electronics/2008/06/dtv-converter-1.html was small but sharp.

The MAGNAVOX TB100MW9 http://reviews.cnet.com/tv-hdtv-tuners-receivers/magnavox-tb100mw9/4505-6487_7-33255284.html?tag=mncol;lst is a basic converter with good resistance to interference http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/electronics-computers/tvs-services/non-digital-tvs/digital-converter-boxes/digital-tv-converter-boxes-first-look-3-08/overview/digital-tv-converter-boxes-first-look.htm and is only $25.

The PHILCO TB100HH9 http://blogs.consumerreports.org/electronics/2008/06/dtv-converter-1.html is a simple converter with pass-through.

The RCA DTA-800 http://reviews.cnet.com/tv-hdtv-tuners-receivers/rca-dta800/4505-6487_7-32887593.html?tag=mncol;lst has good reception, respectable video quality, and a basic EPG.

The RCA DTA-800B1 http://reviews.cnet.com/tv-hdtv-tuners-receivers/rca-dta800b1/4505-6487_7-33280761.html adds its own remote control for analog pass-through switching.

The TIVAX STB-T9 http://blogs.consumerreports.org/electronics/2008/06/dtv-converter-1.html was praised for its clarity and an improved Electronic Program Guide which shows details abou each show, not just the bare listings.


Other reviews are found at http://www.hdtvantennalabs.com/converters/reviews.php



My next post on this topic is an explanation of how anyone mechanically handy with a few hand tools can make Do-It-Yourself antennas from recycled or inexpensive materials that rival the reception from spendy store-bought antennas.

Best Hospitals in Metro Portland - None of them in Clackamas Co.

A Wall Street Journal article on rating hospitals led me to WhyNotTheBest.com which, as per the WSJ, is

... from the nonprofit Commonwealth Fund (and) compares care at 4,500* hospitals nationwide, using data from Medicare's Hospital Compare Web site and the federal government's Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems survey.

So, here's the ranking, using all rating measures, scoring two As, seven Bs, one C and one Incomplete.

Grade A

• 93.6% Providence St Vincent <-- Ranked 373rd/2,052 hospitals nationwide scored in the top 10% *
• 93.0% Providence Portland

Grade B

• 89.3% Kaiser Sunnyside
• 88.9% Adventist
• 86.9% OHSU
• 85.4% Legacy Good Samaritan
• 83.7% Legacy Meridian Park
• 82.5% Tuality Community
• 81.8% Legacy Emanuel

Grade C

• 77.7% Willamette Falls

Grade Incomplete

• Providence Milwaukie - despite having 77 beds, they could not, or did not, report 30 or more outcomes, so their data is incomplete.

You may not care about some of the measures... if you're going under the knife for knee surgery, you may not care if the staff if friendly. I do, but you can roll your own stats by going to WhyNotTheBest.com and selecting your own things to rate by.

Now, here's more data. Click below to see all the graphs for all the above hospitals, trimmed and then concatenated, far sharper than the thumbnailed graphic would indicate.




* Obviously, there's a LOT of non-reporting going on, since the total count of hospitals is nowhere near the actual number of hospitals in the country. Why? Reporting is still voluntary. Ask your state legislator why.)

What to do about Digital TV conversion?

Update: Reuters says a shortage of discount coupons is likely. Get yours now! Sorry, converter coupons are not available. Folks who ask now are waitlisted with no promise they'll get coupons, says the NY Times.

WHAT TO DO ABOUT DIGITAL TV CONVERSION


Thanks to The Consumerist blog for this diagram.


If your set is NOT digital-ready, then you will need to buy a converter IF and only if you don't have satellite or cable. Call 888-DTV-2009 or go to www.DTV.gov and provide your name and address to get $40-off coupons. Move fast, as coupons could run out.

Many Portland-area channels will change their channel numbers. Click on the chart below to see it enlarged and sharper.




Since the list above shows every VHF station in Metro Portland will also have a UHF channel, you can go UHF-only, and therefore a VHF antenna isn't needed.

Below, please find a model antenna made for less than $10 in materials. Specifics on antenna design will follow over the next few days.