Posted inCurrent affairs Science

Some thoughts are like a rainbow, but others are more grounded

After about three months, I'm continuing to enjoy my daily morning Headspace guided meditations. (I've blogged about Headspace before, here, here, and here.) Today I heard Andy Puddicombe -- the Headspace founder who does the guiding -- talk about how thoughts are like a rainbow. Meaning, they are insubstantial, coming and going, while the "blue sky" of the mind is the ever-present backdrop to thoughts and feelings. In We Are Not What We Do, Puddicombe says: Sure, we have responsibility as to whether we choose to engage the thought and take it to the level of speech or action, but…
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Posted inCurrent affairs

More guns, more people killed by guns. It’s obvious!

Another day, another mass shooting. This time, right here in Oregon.  Time to face facts. And get political. Not later. Now! Obama got it exactly right today. I've boldfaced parts of what he said that I especially liked. And, of course, what's also routine is that somebody, somewhere will comment and say, Obama politicized this issue.  Well, this is something we should politicize.  It is relevant to our common life together, to the body politic.  I would ask news organizations — because I won't put these facts forward — have news organizations tally up the number of Americans who've been killed through…
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Posted inSalem

Salem City Council’s irritating axing of Urban Tree Commission

How Salem's city officials treat trees tells us a lot about how they treat people. That's the main message from last night's City Council meeting, where a popular, carefully thought-out proposal for an Urban Tree Commission ran into the chainsaw of Mayor Anna Peterson and six complicit councilors. Councilor Tom Andersen was the only one to stand up both for Salem's trees and citizenry. He ended up on the short side of a 7-1 vote to reject an Urban Tree Commission. Today's Statesman Journal story, "Salem City Council axes Urban Tree Commission," tells part of the irritating tale. The Salem…
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Posted inHome life

Yes, I’m cool. I got an iPhone 6s today.

Oh, I'm sorry. Maybe you were the one I stood next to this afternoon at Bridgeport Village, buying some Peets coffee after picking up an iPhone 6s on the very first day they were available, overshadowing you with the coolness invisibly yet tangibly emanating from the boxed Apple device sitting in my backpack. Couldn't help it. As everyone knows -- except for those who shun all things Apple, and what can I say to them except, I'm so sorry for you -- owning an iPhone, MacBook Pro, iPad, or whatever else Apple makes adds immeasurably to a person's Coolness Factor.…
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Posted inSalem

Pope Francis’ remarks challenge Salem’s leaders to do better

Being non-religious, I don't see Pope Francis as possessing any special divine inspiration. However, there's no doubt that the Pope is a wise, caring, compassionate person, with messages we here in Salem should take to heart. After learning about Pope Francis' remarks at the White House yesterday, and at the joint meeting of Congress today, I got to thinking about how some policies of Salem's Mayor, City Council, and other leaders in this town stack up against papal views. There's a lot to unpack and consider in what Pope Francis said. Here's three "one liners" that offer a beginning for…
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Posted inCurrent affairs Marijuana

Marion County might ban marijuana businesses — secretly

[September 26, 2015 update: Yes, the Marion County Board of Commissioners did prohibit marijuana businesses in the unincorporated parts of the county, aside from "grandfathering" in two currently licensed medical marijuana dispensaries. A vote in the November 2016 election will determine whether the prohibition on marijuana businesses continues. If it doesn't, the 3% tax on recreational marijuana sales passed in another ordinance will go into effect.  Here's what the county Public Information Officer, Jolene Kelley, told me when I asked what happened at the September 23 meeting. Attached are the two ordinances the commissioners approved on Wednesday. Ordinance 1358 "opts out"…
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Posted inSalem

Salem City Councilor Warren Bednarz caught in a lie

So what should I call a false statement by a public official, in this case Salem City Councilor Warren Bednarz? "Misstatement"? "Falsehood"? "Untruth"? These are fine words, and sometimes they are the best to use. But in this case I feel justified in using "Lie" in the title of this blog post. As you can read below, I got a report that Councilor Bednarz spent several minutes at a Salem neighborhood association meeting criticizing me and this blog -- claiming that I spread "half truths" on it. That got me fired up. I do my best to be accurate in…
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Posted inCurrent affairs

Republicans, including Fiorina, lie in their presidential debate

Though I'm a proud progressive, I readily admit that Democrats, and liberals in general, shade the truth at times.  But Republicans, and conservatives in general -- they often engage in total eclipsing of the truth, blanking out virtually every semblance of factual reality.  The New York Times editorial board tells it like it is in "Crazy Talk at the Republican Debate."  Eleven presidential candidates had three prime-time hours on the national stage on Wednesday to tell the American people why they should lead the country. Nobody forced them to be there. They were there freely, armed with the best arguments they…
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Posted inHome life

Apple Upgrade Program credit check — what credit agency is used?

Frustrating.  That's my reaction after spending time today trying to learn what credit agency will be used to check my Credit Score when I go into the Bridgeport Village Apple Store on September 25 to, hopefully, pick up my new iPhone 6S bought under the iPhone Upgrade Program. Which says I'll need to bring... Your personal information and credit card. You will be asked to provide your Social Security number and date of birth for a credit check. You will also need a valid U.S. personal credit card. Debit cards and prepaid cards are not accepted. Several times this week…
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Posted inHome life Marijuana

Tips for “vaping” marijuana if you want to go first class

Oregon, where I live, has legalized recreational marijuana, along with medical marijuana. Early sales through medical marijuana dispensaries start October 1, 2015 -- just two weeks away. Since many people are going to either be buying pot for the first time, or getting back into imbibing marijuana after a long absence, I wanted to share my preferred approach to "smoking" marijuana. I realize this sort of openness will sound weird to people used to Demon Weed being, well, demonized. But on July 1 of this year marijuana became legal to use, possess, and grow in Oregon. Before too long more states…
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Posted inSalem

Salem City Councilors admit I was right and they were wrong. Sweet!

Ah, it feels so good to have called out Salem City Councilors Brad Nanke and Jim Lewis about their erroneous assertion at a recent council meeting that I got things wrong about early sales of recreational marijuana in this town. I was confident that I was right, and told them so in my testimony at the August 31 meeting. You can see me speaking truth to power in a video Salem Community Vision made of my remarks at the contentious meeting, where citizens were disrespected, big time. But I didn't want to leave it there. It deeply irked me that Nanke…
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Posted inHome life Marijuana Salem

How did I know how many marijuana stores are in Colorado?

It was my favorite moment of yesterday's Salem City Club lunch event, "Marijuana: It's Legal, Now What?" And not just because I was the centerpiece of it. The moment pointed to something profound -- yet not easily understood -- about how memory, intuition, and that well-worn adage Trust Yourself tie together.  Salem Police Chief Jerry Moore was one of the speakers, along with Margo Lucas, owner of West Salem Cannabis, a medical marijuana dispensary that after October 1 will be selling recreational (a.k.a. "adult") marijuana. Moore said he had done some Googling about Colorado's experience with legalized recreational marijuana. After…
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Posted inSalem

My KMUZ interview about early sales of marijuana and Salem city council dysfunction

I always enjoy talking with Ken Adams, host of the Willamette Wake-Up show on Salem's KMUZ community radio. Here's a link to a podcast of our recent interview/conversation about prohibiting or allowing early sales of marijuana in Salem, which was on the agenda of the August 31 city council meeting. http://kmuz.org/willamette-wakeup-09072015-brian-hines-interview/ Ken has a knack for saying things that usually blend perfectly with the remarks I was contemplating for my next side of the conversation. Here's a photo of Ken and Salem Weekly publisher A.P. Walther. I ran into them, figuratively, at last month's Salem Sunday Streets event. I just…
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Posted inSalem

Photos of 2015 Salem Sunday Streets event

Here's photos of, and commentary on, the third Salem Sunday Streets event that was held August 28. I'm a big fan of Salem Sunday Streets, where some downtown roadways are closed to traffic and opened for the sole use of cyclists, walkers, and other human-powered ways of getting around. I'm also a big fan of Portland Sunday Parkways, as I wrote about in "What Salem Sunday Streets can learn from Portland Sunday Parkways."  Over time I hope and expect that our local open streets event will become more like how Portland does things. This isn't really a criticism of Salem…
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Posted inSalem

City of Salem kills another beautiful ancient White Oak

A friend sent me photos of a very old (maybe 500 years?) White Oak that the City of Salem cut down recently. It was near the intersection of Fir and Bush streets. Since the City has a habit of removing street trees for no good reason -- see here and here -- I'm determined to find out if this was another case of "get out the chainsaws first, ask arborist questions later." What I was told is that several weeks ago a woman who lived near the tree asked that some limbs be trimmed because she was worried about branches falling…
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Posted inHome life

DirecTV, rot in hell for not carrying Pac 12 Networks

I don't think I'm overreacting by telling DirecTV staff to rot in hell for -- after THREE FREAKING YEARS -- being unable to reach an agreement with the Pac 12 Networks to carry their sports events. Like the opening Oregon State and Oregon football games that I'll be unable to see today and tomorrow, just like I have for the past THREE FREAKING YEARS. (See here and here.) Today I emailed DIrecTV again through their online help center. I told them not to send me their deeply irritating canned response about why they don't carry the Pac 12 Networks. I"ve…
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Posted inSalem

Michael Rose is missed at the City of Salem

While I was checking our VISA statement against our credit card receipts this evening, a task that doesn't consume all of my cognitive assets, I was idly thinking about what I'd like to say to the Salem Mayor and City Council the next time I testify at a council meeting. (Yeah, I know, I'm weird.) Wanting to throw in some positive observations and advice about the City's often-shaky P.R. and communications efforts, I was mentally rehearsing some lines regarding how postings on the City of Salem Facebook page have improved.  But then another thought came to mind: No, wait. They…
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Posted inCurrent affairs Salem

Basic facts about Oregon’s early sales of recreational marijuana

Today I got an email message from a friend who'd been contacted by someone who thought I had my facts wrong about early sales of recreational marijuana in Salem, and Oregon as a whole. That "someone" (I don't know who it was) wrote to my friend: I think he got the dates wrong for the early sales of pot.  Legal sales from rec dispensaries can begin on Jan 4 2016 if i am not mistaken... meaning that early sales (from medical dispensaries) would go from Oct 1 to Jan 4.  Brian would have you believe from his blog, that the City Council's action would ban…
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Posted inCurrent affairs Salem

Are Salem City Council votes predetermined prior to meetings?

It's an open question, the title of this blog post. But this is something people have been talking about for a long time here in Salem, Oregon, because it sure seems like important policy decisions often are voted on with very little discussion or debate between councilors at City Council meetings.Today I emailed the message below to Kacey Duncan, the Acting City Manager, and other city officials. After last Monday's city council meeting, I figured it was time to ask some pertinent questions that revolve around whether the City of Salem is complying with Oregon's public meeting law. The way…
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Posted inSalem

“Trust us” says Salem’s right-wing City Council. “Why?” ask citizens.

As the saying goes, there can be a universe in a grain of sand. Likewise, those attending last night's Salem City Council meeting got insights into how things at City Hall are generally going. In short: not well. Not for those of us concerned about government transparency, trust, and citizen participation. The three go together. Transparency. Trust. Citizen participation. For example, when people feel like the Mayor, city councilors, and other officials are being open and honest with them, trust is fostered. When people trust that what they say will be listened to, and can make a difference, they're more…
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