I live in the House District of State Representative Greg Macpherson, who epitomizes everything one could want in an elected official. He’s smart, diligent, thoughtful, approachable, fair, and kind. I’m especially thrilled that…

The columbines aren’t out yet, of course, but some early crocus flowers are blooming in my lawn. The fuzzy catkins on the willows and filberts are bursting out, too. We’re supposed to hold…

From 1000 Friends of Oregon: In a statewide survey of 500 Oregonians conducted in late January by Moore Information, 52% of respondents said they would vote against the measure if Measure 37 were…

No, not switching to campaign mode following the Portland City Council’s referral yesterday of horrible Charter amendments to the May ballot – although that will indeed require an attitude shift. The “Adjustments” of…

Yesterday, Portland saw a vivid example of the power and influence of the Mayor, under the current Commission structure. Mayor Potter persuaded Sam Adams and Dan Saltzman to vote in locked step with…

Train site; History of Union Station on its 100th anniversary in 1996. This post is not really about the train or the station, though. It’s an illustration between yesterday’s Charter hearing reports and…

Possibly the single most famous Monty Python sketch of all time was The Dead Parrot. Whether you know it by heart, need a refresher, or have never seen it, please click that link…

It is 4 p.m. I left my house a little after nine this morning, for the Charter Reform hearing starting a little after 9:30 a.m. The hearing stopped for ten minutes a little…

South Falls, Silver Falls State Park OK, let’s all think good thoughts as we start the day … wherein the Portland City Council will likely vote to send four unwise Charter changes to…

I’ve spent the afternoon researching the rules in the proposed Portland City Charter revision for the new Chief Administrative Officer (CAO). It’s hard to track and understand, because the regulations are scattered all…