Posted inCurrent affairs Salem

Occupy Salem rally/march — video & photos

Today in Salem, Oregon my wife and I joined hundreds of other 99%ers in a march from the Capitol that ended at a rally in Peace Plaza (in this context, "99%" refers to those people less well-off than the top 1% -- who now own 40% of our nation's wealth). We were part of a vast October 15 worldwide protest against growing wealth inequality. The United States has the fifth-most unequal wealth distribution in the world, and it's getting worse. Our middle class is sinking into lower class status, while the rich keep getting richer. Here's a five minute video…
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Posted inSalem

Occupy Salem march! Saturday, October 15, noon

Just got this info from Laurie Dougherty, a new/old blog friend who I've never met, but who I feel I know well: Support occupiers in Willson Park next to the Capitol and attend the rally and march on Saturday October 15 starting at 12 noon at the Capitol. Occupy Salem is inspired by Occupy Wall Street and the 10/15 rally. The march is connected with a day of action for global change taking place in hundreds of cities in dozens of countries around the world. http://occupysalemoregon.com/ http://occupywallst.org/http://15october.net/ Be there! My wife and I sure will. I marched a lot in…
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Posted inEntertainment Salem

“Smash” — another great Willamette Univ. Theatre play

If you live in the Salem, Oregon area and enjoy going to plays, check out the Willamette University Theatre offerings. For a long time my wife and I had season tickets to Pentacle Theatre, but we came to yearn for edgier, less predictable plays. Belatedly, we discovered Salem Repertory Theatre; unfortunately, just before SRT went out of business. Liking the SRT style (basically, anything goes), we were enthused with the first Willamette University Theatre production we went to, "Aquitania." I didn't understand it, which I assumed meant that it was a deep, thought-provoking, mind-blowing play. Regardless, I'd rather be confused…
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Posted inEntertainment Salem

“Salemia” premiere is October 19. Wake up, Salem!

Maybe this will wake up sleepy Salem, the Oregon blandburger stuck between the spicy buns of Portland and Eugene:   Salemia, our response to IFC's Portlandia, will premiere at the Grand Theatre (191 High Street NE) on Wednesday, October 19, 7:45 pm -- as part of the Salem Film Festival. Check out the You Tube teaser/intro, which features an absolutely perfect theme song by a local band, Axolotl Daydream. (Oh, by the way, just in case you don't notice, my name appears at the 43 second mark, not that I'm into self-promotion, leaving aside this self-serving blog that I've devoted…
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Posted inSalem

Salem’s riverfront development looks like a loser

Salem, Oregon is cursed by a Blah Witch. That's pretty damn clear. Whenever something creative, energetic, and enticing comes on the Capital City scene, it encouragingly flashes into life, then starts to dim until Salem's stultifying atmosphere snuffs it out. At best, a few mildly glowing embers remain to remind us of the luster that a genuinely vibrant urban area, such as Portland, offers its residents. One example is the Sustainable Fairview project that my wife and I bought shares in quite a few years ago. Plans were for a world-class mixed use oh-so-Green development featuring residences, lots of open…
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Posted inSalem Sustainability

“Farming or Folly?” forum in Salem (Oregon)

Friends of Marion County, a land use advocacy group my wife and I are close friends with, is having a "Farming or Folly?" community forum this coming Thursday, October 6, 2011 at the Salem Public Library. See press release info below. I'll be attending, because I haven't made my mind up on the farming or folly expanded uses question. Some people don't like the idea of a winery, say, being able to host marriage parties or other events. They consider that bringing a hundred or more people onto farmland isn't really appropriate, and fear non-farm uses will steadily erode the…
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Posted inSalem

People and places I like in Salem, Oregon

Wow! I'm about to say some positive things about Salem -- the capital city of Oregon, where I've lived for thirty-four years. My usual attitude toward Salem (boring, sleepy, uncreative, lethargic) is reflected in a multitude of other blog posts. (For example, see here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.) But today was a warm, sunny late September day. I rode my maxi-scooter around town and had a thoroughly enjoyable time. That got me to thinking about how much I like some favorite Salem people and places. Betsy at Hair Headquarters. A few blocks south of Mission, on Commercial…
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Posted inCurrent affairs Salem

Salem Statesman Journal shouldn’t reveal retiree info

The Salem Statesman Journal, for reasons known only to its generally right-leaning editorial board, went to court so the newspaper could release hitherto private information about the retirement benefits of Oregon state government workers. My wife is one of them. A few days ago she got a letter from the Public Employees Retirement System (PERS) informing her that because of lawsuits filed by the Statesman Journal and Portland Oregonian, on November 21, 2011 her name and benefit amount will be made public. Download PERS Letter Then, on March 9, 2012 anyone in the world will be able to learn my…
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Posted inSalem Sustainability

OLCV “Wheels & Wine” event in Salem tomorrow

If you live in the Salem area, here's two good reasons to attend a "Wheels and Wine" energy efficient wine tour tomorrow, Thursday September 22. It's sponsored by the Oregon League of Conservation Voters, and will feature...drum roll, please... Our brand new Nissan Leaf! Shown here, getting its first charge in our carport after being driven home from the Jack Scoville Nissan dealership in Corvallis late this afternoon. So Reason #1 is: Come to the event from 5 - 8:30 pm at the Santiam Wine Company, 1555 12th Street in Salem (details here, and below) and you'll get to see…
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Posted inSalem Sustainability

Sunday, support sustainability with the Strongs in Salem

Sesame Street should be proud of me. Look how many "S's" I used in my blog post title! I stretched my alliterative mind muscles because the house party in honor of the Crag Law Center's 10th anniversary that I'm publicizing deserves to be noticed by people in the Salem, Oregon area who care about protecting our state's natural environment. Without attorney Ralph Bloemers and the Crag Law Center our south Salem neighborhood couldn't have successfully fought the threat that a 43-lot subdivision posed to our ground and surface water. So in addition to friends and neighbors, I'm spreading the house…
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Posted inHome life Salem

Why we didn’t buy our Leaf from Salem Nissan

Us bloggers believe in giving businesses praise when praise is due, and also publicizing buying turn-offs. So here's how I just replied to an email from Salem (Oregon) Nissan. I'd gotten a message from Salem Nissan asking if we were still in the market for a car that included this request: If you are no longer looking or would like to be removed from my follow-up list, please send a quick note to let me know. I did just that, saying "We're buying a Leaf from the Corvallis Nissan dealer, so you can take us off your follow-up list." When…
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Posted inCurrent affairs Salem

Patti Milne oversaw the failure of Salem’s Courthouse Square

Today's front page story in the Salem Statesman Journal is headlined, "Courthouse Square's Red Flags." Subtitle: Project's failures extend beyond bad engineering Yeah, no kidding. The county commissioners in office when construction problems first started to become apparent looked the other way, even though the project manager recommended taking action. When cracks appeared at the tops of columns during construction of Courthouse Square in 2000, the defects were taken seriously by Melvin Mark Development Co., a Portland firm hired as a project manager. The cracks were in critical locations beneath the bus mall at Courthouse Square. Melvin Mark wanted to…
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Posted inSalem

“Salemia” intro looks more interesting than Salem

Ever since I heard about this video production I've been excited about "Salemia," our capital city's response to "Portlandia," a television series about Oregon's metropolitian centerpiece of hip, sustainable, cutting-edge coolness. Which doesn't describe Salem in the slightest. Our convention center attracts groups like Center for the Enthusiastic Appreciation of Paint Drying. The most frequent diagnosis at the Salem Hospital E.R. is acute episode of Chronic Boredom Syndrome. But we do have some talented film makers in the personages of Mike Perron and David Jenkins, who recently teased our Salemia-starved appetite with a one minute intro to the production.  …
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Posted inSalem

Salem’s riverfront: frustrating concrete wasteland

Making my annual visit last Saturday to Salem, Oregon's wonderful World Beat Festival, I was struck by a couple of dichotomies. Arriving at the multi-cultural event, after just a few minutes of booth browsing at least one reason why some displays were crowded and some were empty became evident. Looking good is popular. Being good -- that truthfulness, benevolence, and forebearance stuff -- not so much. Leaving the World Beat Festival, another dichotomy was frustratingly evident. The main entertainment stage is near the Willamette River. It was great to watch Chinese dancers with such a beautiful natural backdrop of water,…
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Posted inSalem

Photos of opening day at Salem’s Trader Joe’s

Well, I wasn't one of the first in line this morning to enter the new Salem (Oregon) Trader Joe's on opening day. But I got there early in the afternoon, which is pretty damn impressive for a retired guy like me -- especially since I indulged in a 30 minute nap just before I left, expecting that I'd need all my energy to fight the crowds cramming the aisles. The reality was sort of like I anticipated, and sort of not. Here's photos of my Trader Joe's shopping visit, with accompanying narrative (and some comparative price analysis). The parking lot…
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Posted inSalem Strange Up Salem

Break the blah-curse that hangs over Salem, Oregon

Over on my Strange Up Salem blog I've put up a post which conclusively answers the question that plagues residents of our city: why is Salem afflicted with so much blah'ness? We're cursed. That's got to be it. Check out "Is Salem, Oregon cursed by a 'blah spell?" The answer is yes; the solution is described. Excerpt: Thus the curse of Oregon's capital isn't to be infected with evil. Hey, that'd be interesting, cool, something to be proud of. (Las Vegas does just fine with that sort of curse.) No, Salem's curse is existential. It's to be doomed with a…
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Posted inSalem Strange Up Salem

#Salemia tweets show need to strange up Salem

Check out another Strange Up Salem post on my blog that's dedicated to weirding up Oregon's excessively blah capital. "Salemia video aims to Strange Up Salem" is the last of my three Salem Weekly columns that made it into the blogosphere rather than print. Here's some excerpts: In early February “Salemia” touched off a craze among Salem’s Twittersphere. It all began when filmmaker Mike Perron tweeted, “Salemia. Opening scene: five hipsters fighting over a half smoked cigarette outside Chelsea's place...” ...Keep Portland Weird is a rallying cry for residents who want to preserve their city’s uniqueness. Since I feel an…
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Posted inSalem Strange Up Salem

How stranging up Salem is a job creator

Over on my Strange Up Salem blog I've put up another marvelously persuasive post that uses the example of Trader Joe's to show how strangeness is a key to economic development -- not to mention the secrets of the cosmos. Check it out. Here's a sample: Bottom line: A place and the people who live there are intimately intertwined. If we want Salem to be a more interesting and lively place, we have to cultivate those qualities in ourselves. Free enterprise is adept at filling voids. When there is unfulfilled demand for new and different, a.k.a. strangeness, individuals and businesses…
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Posted inSalem Strange Up Salem

Why I’m not a Salem Weekly columnist

Oh, man. I could almost taste my Pulitzer prize -- leaving aside the minor details of (1) whether a Pulitzer is given for alternative newspaper column writing, and (2) the questionable edibility of whatever the Pulitzer folks give out as awards. Regardless, I came so close to becoming a columnist for Salem Weekly, which actually is published bi-weekly, but alternative publications shouldn't be held to obsessive-compulsive journalistic standards. That's part of what attracted me to the notion of writing for Salem Weekly when publisher A.P. Walther phoned me early in 2011 and said he wanted us to chat. Soon we…
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Posted inCurrent affairs Salem

Oregon legislature starting to look giddy

Hanging around the Oregon capitol building, waiting to testify at a legislative hearing, isn't my idea of fun. But the two hours I spent there this afternoon gave me some interesting insights into a political world that I observe rather rarely. I arrived at Hearing Room C, where the House Agriculture and Natural Resources committee was to meet at 3 pm, about twenty minutes early -- wanting to be one of the first to sign up to testify on House Bill 2871. (It has to do with how Metro deals with urban growth boundary expansion in the Portland area. I…
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