Month: April 2003

According to a United States Department of Agriculture survey, Oregon is the hungriest state in the country. This ranking prompted Gov. Kulongoski to name April 27 through May 3 “Hunger Awareness Week.” But, there is reason to be skeptical of Oregon’s status.

To start, according to other USDA sources, in terms of (more…)

Executive Summary

During the past decade, Portland-area planners have embraced Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) as the dominant land use/transportation strategy. They assert that TOD, especially based on light rail, will reduce traffic congestion, increase transit use, improve air quality, and attract private investment.

Dozens of TODs have been constructed in the Portland region since 1990, with several winning national acclaim. Most have received public subsidies, on the assumption that the public benefits of TOD outweigh the costs. However, little is known about how transit-oriented projects actually perform once they are built, in terms of transit use and auto dependency. The purpose of this analysis—the first in a series of Portland, Oregon TOD case studies—is to begin filling in that gap by analyzing one of the most well-known TODs in the country, Orenco Station. (more…)

The Oregon State Senate recently advanced education freedom by eliminating mandatory testing of homeschool students, and House members will consider the bill in the coming weeks. If this bill is passed into law, it will treat home education the same as private schools by not subjecting either to government intervention.

Senate Bill 761 passed 20 to 9, but there are (more…)

With April Fool’s Day just passed, Governor Kulongoski is poised to break his pledge to make Oregon state government live within its means. The April 13 Oregonian headline reports, “Kulongoski, long against tax increase, says it appears inevitable.” The governor should keep his pledge to work on Oregon’s spending problem. That would be leadership.

The governor must hold legislators’ feet in the fire and (more…)

The Mayor of Oregon’s largest city delivered her annual State of the City address last Friday. The disconnect between her vision for economic development and the business climate reality was palpable.

Mayor Katz’ “new” economic development strategy calls for (more…)

The Sandy, Oregon, Planning Commission held a hearing last week on a proposal to ban large retail superstores. The Eugene City Council will be looking at a similar ordinance within the next few months. Hood River has already enacted such restrictions.

Why do politicians insist on trying to (more…)