Posted inSalem

Good questions about the new Boise Cascade proposal

I'm glad that the Pringle Square/Boise Cascade development here in Salem has sprung back to life. This is a PDF version of today's Statesman Journal story. Download A closer look at the new Boise Cascade proposal The rush to rubber stamp the new development approach bothers me, though. Geez, tomorrow the City Council is  planning to approve tax breaks for Mountain West Investment, along with paying a sweetheart purchase price of $2 million for 3.8 essentially undevelopable acres that would be added to Riverfront Park. This project has been stumbling along for quite a few years. How about taking a…
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Posted inSalem

City of Salem spends $25,000 on unethical biased “push poll”

Few people are surprised when a government body wastes money. But there is waste, and then there is waste!!! Spending that makes you think, What the #!@& is going on here? This is absolutely absurd! We have a really good example right here in Salem, Oregon. Bradd Swank described the outrage in a January 23 letter to the editor in the Statesman Journal. Download $25_000 in taxpayer dollars wasted PDF $25,000 in taxpayer dollars wasted on facility campaign In October 2013, Salem approved $25,000 (taxpayer dollars) for a Portland political consultant’s help on an $80 million bond vote for city…
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Posted inSalem

Community forum on how to save Salem taxpayers $30 million

Salem Community Vision is inviting people to come to an open community forum about alternative ways of building a new policy facility and renovating the Civic Center:  Tuesday, January 28, 7 to 8:30 pm, Grand Theatre -- 191 High Street NE, downtown Salem. Doors open at 6:30 pm. Click image to enlarge. Feel free to share. Come one, come all. You'll have a good time! Really.  This is a great opportunity to engage in what democracy is all about: having a say in governmental decisions that affect you.  The City of Salem will be represented by City Manager Linda Norris…
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Posted inSalem

Fairview Addition — looks like a cool Salem residential development

Last year I blogged, "Salem needs an 'Edwards Addition' like Monmouth has." Now developer Eric Olsen and his realtor partner Molly Beecroft have made that dream come true. (I'm on a magical thinking roll, having succeeded in manifesting a Cafe Yumm in south Salem after visualizing such in a 2011 blog post.) Today Eric emailed me from the Mid-Valley Home Show at the Fairgrounds, saying he and Molly were previewing the vision of a Fairview Addition.  My wife and I headed over to the Home Show this afternoon, finding the Olsen non-twins (sorry, couldn't resist) at the same booth location…
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Posted inSalem

Science Night at Salem’s Gilgamesh Brewery: beerific!

My wife and I just got back from Science Night at south Salem's Gilgamesh brewpub. Highly enjoyable. We learned a lot about microorganisms from Willamette University biology professor Melissa Marks.  Almost makes me want to go back to college, listening to someone as engaging as Marks was. Of course, I don't remember any college classes I took where I could drink a craft beer and eat a tasty hummus plate while listening to a lecture.  Which goes a long way toward explaining the appeal of Science Night (every 3rd Thursday, 7-9 pm, all ages welcome). You get to learn about…
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Posted inCurrent affairs

Obamacare is doing just fine. And will do even better.

The rumors of Obamacare's demise have been greatly exaggerated. Every month the news gets better. And we've just started the 2014 open enrollment period, which runs until March 31. Ezra Klein has a good factual overview of what is going on with the Affordable Care Act in "The death of Obamacare's death spiral." Obamacare haters have been fantasizing about the prospect of few young people signing up for coverage. Which explains why they've been running deceptive ads aimed at discouraging younger folk from getting health insurance, an act that borders on malevolence. What kind of morally deficient person believes it…
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Posted inSalem

Salem doesn’t even get mentioned in Oregon putdown

This is pathetic. Salem apparently is so inconsequential in the eye of an Oregon-hype-deflater, this town didn't even merit a mention in her Daily Beast piece, "Hold Up Hipsters: Stop Obsessing Over Oregon." Now, I didn't find Nina Strochlic's observations about Oregon all that insightful. Or believable. She ends with: So, for those ready to pack up a U-Haul after gawking at the Oregonian’s real-estate section and skimming the gastronomy buzz, take a trip down the backroads to see if the state really lives up to all the hype filling your ears and, possibly, clouding your eyes. Most importantly of all:…
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Posted inSalem

First visit to Salem Summit Company: love this place!

I can't believe it took me so long to visit the Salem Summit Company outdoor store here in Salem, Oregon. It's been open for, what, a year and a half?  Whenever I thought about stopping by, I was on my way to somewhere else. Hey, being retired doesn't mean I'm not hugely busy. I've got Tai Chi classes, coffee shop blogging, Minto Brown Park exercising, and so much else to do. Today, though, I finally did the deed.  Hugely impressed. Great store. Friendly staff. Excellent selection of merchandise in a compact space. Kind of like REI compressed down to the…
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Posted inSalem

Smart urban design can turn Salem into Happy Town

Like most long-time residents of the Salem, Oregon area, I've got a love-hate relationship going with my town.  I can't leave her. I adore her many wonderful qualities. But man, sometimes she drives me freaking crazy. When she's annoying, she really is hard to live with. Or rather, in.  My Strange Up Salem column in this issue of Salem Weekly is called "How Salem Can Become Happy Town." Check it out.  I talk about how good urban design can make Salem, or any town, into a much happier place. This simple appealing notion is the focus of Happy City, by…
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Posted inSalem

City of Salem planned new police facility in backwards way

The more I learn about how the Mayor, City Manager, and other public officials went about planning a new Police Facility for Salem, Oregon, the screwier that process looks.  In fact, it was backwards -- based on how the International Association of Chiefs of Police say things should be done in "Police Facility Planning Guidelines -- Desk Reference for Law Enforcement Executives." Download Police Facility Planning Guidelines Here's the key steps in what the City of Salem did, as documented under "Timeline of Council Actions" on the web page devoted to Public Safety Facility and Civic Center Seismic Need. (1)…
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Posted inSalem

Salem (Oregon) needs a Pringle Creek “riverwalk”

Over on the Salem Community Vision Facebook page, a great question has been asked: Members of Salem Community Vision are looking for some positive suggestions on how to make the Civic Center a more vibrant, people centered gathering place.If you have some suggestions how to make the Peace Plaza better, or the Mirror Pond more inviting, or even how to liven up the interiors of the Center, please post some of your ideas.SCV thinks that we can enhance what we already have without having to tear down our valuable assets. This reminded me of a night not long ago, Christmas…
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Posted inStreetStrider

My StreetStrider riding tips — after 35 fun miles

I'm two weeks into my StreetStrider riding experience. After eight enjoyable outings, totaling 35 miles according to my RunMeter iPhone app, I'm a believer in this outdoor elliptical machine.  Which I usually call a "bike," since it has three wheels and bike parts -- brakes, shifter, chain, etc. As noted in my first StreetStrider post, I had it assembled by a local bicycle shop. After my first 2.6 mile ride, I felt like the StreetStrider had kicked my butt. And I'm a 65 year old guy in very good shape. Now, StreetStrider and I are like good buddies rather than…
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Posted inSalem

Salem Community Vision answers questions about police facility proposal

Over on Salem Breakfast on Bikes, a must-read blog for anyone who cares about transportation and land use issues in our city, there's an interesting comment conversation. It is on this post about the City of Salem's proposal to spend $70 million plus on a new police facility on Civic Center property and seismic retrofitting of some or all of the Civic Center. The Breakfast on Bikes blog administrator chimed in with some comments and questions of his own. Geoff James, an architect involved with Salem Community Vision (recently formed group that seeks more and better community input into decisions that…
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Posted inSalem

Salem Community Vision ready for New Year

Thanks, guys, you who checked out the Salem Community Vision web site after I whipped it up recently in a flurry of Wix-inspired creativity and asked for feedback. I've become a believer in the Wix web site creation service. It's a winner for people like me -- those who feel comfortable doing some site designing, yet are about as familiar with HTML coding as with Sanskrit.  I'm also a big believer in the potential of Salem Community Vision to do some good for our fair city, which could be way fairer, in 2014. Here's a key reason.  If there's anything…
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Posted inSalem

Is City of Salem trying to screw up downtown parking?

I made this post's title a question. But it easily could have been a statement: City of Salem trying to screw up downtown parking, given the evidence to support this.  Today Carole Smith, a downtown business owner and resident, told it like she sees it in a Statesman Journal guest opinion. I'm going to share the entire piece so it will be available when the newspaper moves "Council insincere on parking" to its archives. The parking petition mentioned by Smith was signed by about 9,000 people. It called for a ban on parking meters downtown and elimination of onstreet parking time…
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Posted inSalem Web/Tech

I’m a web site creator! Now, tell me if it works.

Wow. Now I kind of understand how a genuine web site creator geek spends his or her evenings. Having fun. Obsessed. Being frustrated. Happy. Worried. Yet in the end... feeling good. I just spent a couple of hours with a template-based web site creation service, Wix. I had the idea that a service like that could be a good way for Salem Community Vision to put up a functional web site quickly and cheaply. So I Googled "web site creation service," or something like that. After a few minutes of looking at Ten Best listings and such, I got intrigued…
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Posted inHome life

Here’s the Hines 2013 Christmas Letter — not unduly uplifting

Shameful admission: for a few brief seconds this year I actually thought about not writing a 2013 Christmas Letter.  Laurel and I share so much on Facebook and my blog, went through my mind. Haven't we already shared enough dog, granddaughter, and longboarding photos? But there was an immediate next thought: Nyah, of course not! So I got into the Christmas Letter writing spirit a few days ago and dashed out this:Download 2013 Christmas Letter PDF To relieve anxiety among people who fear that this is one of those dreadfully positive and uplifting Christmas letters, fear not. We start out…
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Posted inCurrent affairs Salem

Geoffrey James tells City of Salem how to save $30 million

A few days before Christmas Architect Geoffrey James gave Salem, Oregon taxpayers a great present: $30 million. Well, let's call it a potential present, because this is how much James believes a City of Salem bond levy could be reduced if some viable alternatives to the City's proposal are pursued. The project under discussion is a new police facility and seismic retrofitting of the Civic Center. Plus the City wants to tear down the current Council Chambers and construct a new Chambers close by.  James, a founder of Salem Community Vision, describes a better way in a December 20 guest…
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Posted inFamily Home life

My Metolius River tubing video goes anti-viral on You Tube

Wow! I'm an anti-viral You Tube sensation! After finally getting around to putting up a video of me, my granddaughter, and her parents tubing down the beautiful Metolius River last August, in less than a day I've already gotten... (drum roll, please)... 4 views! All of which, of course, are the result of me checking again, and again, and again, and again, to see how the video looks.  Have a look. Make me even more ecstatic. Let's go for 5. Then -- dare I hope? -- 6, 7, 8, 9, to who knows? Don't mathematicians say the number of integers…
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Posted inHome life StreetStrider

StreetStrider — my new fun non-traditional exercise

Here's a hot-off-the-iPhone photo of my Christmas present to myself, which I opened early. A StreetStrider, which is an outdoor elliptical bike. It's on a hitch rack that is made for the unusual machine -- two wheels in front, one in back. I decided to get a StreetStrider to supplement my other non-traditional outdoor exercise, senior citizen land paddling on a longboard/skateboard. (You can peruse my land paddling blog posts here; scroll down for earlier ones.) Longboard land paddling is a lot of fun. Most of the time. Not so much, though, when Oregon storms leave the Minto Brown Island…
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