Posted inCurrent affairs Health

Truth about Obamacare insurance policy cancellations

Lies and more lies. That's about all Republicans have been contributing to health policy discussions ever since the Affordable Care Act, a.k.a. Obamacare, became the law of the land. Sure, the rollout of web sites where people can sign up for policies on the new health insurance exchanges has been rocky (to say the least). Criticisms are justified on this front. I can't understand how Oregon, which received lots of federal dollars to get Cover Oregon up and running, still has an unusable web site after a full month of non-operation. Embarassing. Disturbing. But in no way a fatal blow…
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Posted inSalem

Unlimited free parking beautifies downtown Salem

Beautiful!  That was my thought when I parked on Court Street in downtown Salem (Oregon) about a week ago, looked up the block, and noticed that something had changed. No "2-hour parking" signs, with their metal poles. Salem looked so much more welcoming without those rule-filled signs. Now there's a more free feeling to downtown. Want to visit? Shop... dine... do business... just hang out. Feel free. See an empty space; pull in; park; for as long as you want. Simple. Reminds me of the small community where I grew up. This is the vibe that downtown Salem needs to…
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Posted inSalem

Salem Boo Bash 2013: Cavegirl and Senior Citizen Skateboarder

My wife and I thoroughly enjoyed ourselves at last night's Willamette Humane Society Bowser's Boo Bash. Laurel adapted a cavegirl outfit that she had made a long time ago. And it still fit fine!  And I went as a duded-up version of my actual longboarding self: Senior Citizen Skateboarder. The Longboard Sling (nice product) that I used to hang my board over my shoulder when I didn't want to carry it around obscured an important part of my costume, the t-shirt. So here's a photo that I took at home with a different longboard. I was thrilled to find this…
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Posted inSalem

Salem City Manager reveals plans for the Peace Plaza

Below is an update from Salem Community Vision on the $70-90 million proposal by the City of Salem to renovate the Civic Center and build a new police department headquarters. Head over there and give them a Facebook like. This recently formed group is out to bring better urban design, more citizen involvement, and improved efficiency to City government -- all sorely needed. Already Salem Community Vision seems to be having an impact. In this post I shared a message from Gene Pfeifer, who chaired the group's first meeting at the Capitol Theatre. Gene described how seismically retrofitting all of…
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Posted inHealth Home life

Cover Oregon worked for us — much better than Regence

Yesterday my wife had no trouble signing up for a Silver LIfewise health insurance plan through Cover Oregon. So, yay, Obamacare!  True, Laurel didn't sign up online, which isn't possible yet. She tried soon after Cover Oregon went live October 1. Didn't get very far. Couldn't even find a Certified Agent via the web site who could enroll her. Search turned up nothing, even for Salem. But now the "Agent Search" page seems to be working fine. My wife met yesterday afternoon with someone from Valley Insurance Professionals, which has several Certified Agents. She came home satisfied. Especially compared with…
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Posted inSalem

Here’s how City of Salem can save taxpayers $40 million

City of Salem officials want to spend at least $70 million (could easily be $90 million) on a Civic Center renovation and new police department building just north of the current headquarters. See my previous post, "Citizens suggest better ways to renovate Salem's Civic Center." It sure looks like the cost to taxpayers could be $40 million less. This is the rough, but informed, conclusion of Gene Pfeifer. He's got 45 years of design/build experience and was instrumental in finding a lower cost solution to fixing Salem's Courthouse Square. Below is an email message that Gene sent to Geoffrey James,…
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Posted inCurrent affairs Salem

Citizens suggest better ways to renovate Salem Civic Center

Are there better ways for Salem's citizens to spend $70 million than what City Hall is planning -- a brand new police department building and a massive redesign of the civic center, along with seismic upgrades? Sure seems so. That's what I learned by spending my Friday night at a meeting sponsored by Salem Community Vision, a new group formed by some old-timers with a lot of experience in architecture, construction, urban planning, and community involvement.  As reported previously, local architect Geoffrey James came up with the idea for the meeting. Gene Pfeifer, a Silverton resident with 45 years of design/build…
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Posted inSalem

Downtown Salem wins, parking meters lose

\The 2-hour parking limit signs will be coming down soon. And the prospect of parking meters being imposed upon an unwilling downtown by the City of Salem has vanished. Free unlimited parking has become the law of downtown.  Salem’s Downtown Parking District has unlimited, free parking for the first time in decades. City councilors on Monday voted in favor of adopting an initiative that eliminates parking time-limits and bans the installation of parking meters in the Downtown Parking District. Salem City Manager Linda Norris said the changes would go into effect immediately.  Today I was happy to see "We Won!"…
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Posted inCurrent affairs

GOP poised to wreck world economy. Otherwise, have a nice day.

Tomorrow is going to be interesting. If all goes well, the Republican Tea Party crazies in Congress are either going to come to their senses or be bypassed (Boehner could allow a vote and pass a Senate bill with Democrat votes plus 20 or so moderate Republicans). But if Ted Cruz or some other wacko Republican Senator puts up a procedural roadblock, the Senate won't be able to pass a bill until the weekend to re-open the government and pay our nation's bills on time. By then, the financial markets could have taken a big tumble -- 10% or more.…
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Posted inCurrent affairs Salem

City Council hears from Stop Parking Meters Downtown leader

Here's a terrific letter that Carole Smith, one of the leaders of Salem's highly successful Stop Parking Meters Downtown movement, has sent to the City Council. The Council meets tomorrow, Monday, October 14, to decide whether the Stop Parking Meters citizen initiative petition should (1) be placed on the May 2014 ballot, where it likely would pass, (2) implement the initiative petition provisions immediately via changes to City ordinances, or (3) submit a competing ballot initiative for citizens to vote on. A City staff report lays out the supposed fiscal implications.  It also reports the results of a survey of…
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Posted inSalem

Help Save Salem’s Community Vision: meeting Oct. 18, 2013

Kudos to Geoffrey James, a Salem architect, for organizing a community meeting next Friday, October 18, 2013, Grand Theatre (191 High Street, downtown), 6:30 pm. Everyone who cares about the future of the downtown area should attend. See info below from James. What makes this meeting even more important than it otherwise would be is that James recently met with the Salem City Manager, Linda Norris, and three other high-ranking City officials. Basically he was given a brush-off and told that the City wasn't interested in hearing what citizens think about the important issues below. That's a horribly heavy-handed way…
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Posted inWeb/Tech

I hate the useless MyDigitalO Oregonian

Ten days after I said the new online Portland Oregonian that replaces the print newspaper for screwed-over subscribers three days a week sucks, I am not pleased to report that... it still sucks! Why my subscription price hasn't been reduced by 3/7, or thereabouts, baffles me. There is absolutely no way I can read the Oregonian on my Retina MacBook Pro laptop or iPhone 5.  At least, not without experiencing so much frustration, any interest I have in the newspaper's content vanishes within seconds.  Early in October, right after the dreadful digital rollout, I expressed my dissatisfaction to the powers-that-be…
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Posted inCurrent affairs

Obama, stand firm on federal shutdown and debt limit

I watched President Obama's press conference today. He made a heck of a lot of sense. No, a hell of a lot of sense.  President Obama intensified his pressure on House Republicans on Tuesday, calling on them to “lift these threats from our families and our businesses” as the federal government remained shuttered into a second week and the possibility that the United States would default on its debts grew closer. Mr. Obama, holding firm to the position he first took more than a year ago, said at a lengthy news conference that he would not negotiate over the essential…
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Posted inEntertainment

“Gravity” movie messes up some basic physics

Last night my wife and I saw Gravity, 3-D style, at Salem's eating/drinking-friendly Cinebarre movie house.  My overall impression was great movie. Not least, because no matter how bad a day I have from now on, remembering what it was like for Sandra Bullock to be lost in orbit, oxygen almost depleted, with no apparent way back to Earth, utterly isolated, will remind me that there are way worse sorts of days. Watching Gravity, though, there were times when my semi-scientific mind went Huh? How could that be? It turns out that I was justified in my skepticism about the…
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Posted inSalem

REI comes to Salem, but not to downtown

Good news. REI is coming to Keizer Station.  REI has signed a lease for space at Keizer Station. Bethany Hawley, an REI spokeswoman, confirmed today that the outdoor gear retailer had leased space at the Keizer shopping mall. “Unfortunately, that’s all the details I can share at this moment. We will have a formal announcement next week,” Hawley said. Several stores recently opened by REI have hired about 50 employees, according to the company’s website. The size of its newer stores has been in the range of 23,000-square-feet, Founded in 1938, REI is the nation’s largest consumer cooperative with 5.1 million…
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Posted inCurrent affairs Salem

Salem City Council asking strange downtown parking questions

Hmmmm. Something is strange here, and not in a good Strange Up Salem way. Take a look at how a survey of downtown businesses requested by the Salem City Council at its last meeting starts off. City Council is considering whether to remove time limits for on-street parking in the Downtown Parking District.  In the meantime, the holiday season is rapidly approaching. Last year, the time limits for on-street parking were extended from 2 hour limits (once a day per block face) to 4 hour limits. City Council would like to have feedback from downtown businesses about your preference for…
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Posted inCurrent affairs

Proud to be a Democrat on October 1. Obamacare rocks!

This image says it all. About the difference between Republicans and Democrats these days, the Party of No vs. the Party of Yes. On October 1 the Affordable Care Act, a.k.a. Obamacare, started to provide health insurance to the 30 million or so people in this country who live under the fear that they will be unable to get and pay for needed medical care. That same day, Republicans in Congress shut down the federal government in an effort to deny millions of people the health insurance they desperately desire. If you doubt this, read the stories about the Obamacare…
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Posted inUncategorized

New online Oregonian sucks. But could suck less.

Bottom line: one day into the Portland Oregonian's venture into being an online newspaper for subscribers on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday, I hate it. The online reading experience sucks. But maybe, just maybe, it could suck less. Here's my reasons for saying this. (1) A digital facsimile of the Oregonian is stupid. The Oregonian's quasi-erotically-named URL for its online version is www.mydigitalo.com. Clicking on that leads to a digital.olivesoftware.com site. So the Oregonian has signed up for an off the shelf Olive Software digital newspaper. It should have been left on the shelf. There's a wonderfully simple and effective way to…
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