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Metro Maligns Hillsboro

Row of charging stations at the Hillsboro Intermodal Transit Facility in Hillsboro, Oregon. 

The only regional government of its kind in the nation - with good reason - is "leading the planning" for a Portland - Tualatin light rail line (though they're also considering BRT for a change). Their term for this is the Southwest Corridor. As part of their process to waste invest more public money, it occurred to somebody at the brain-trust that until now, they've built stuff based upon predictions, but nobody's ever bothered to check to see if those predictions panned out.

So they audited three light rail stations, and what they've determined is that the station at S.E. 8th in Hillsboro is under-utilized when compared with the other two. The reason, they believe, is that the city constructed an "Intermodal Transit Facility" there.

The downtown facility combines a parking garage with electric vehicle charging stations, a bicycle storage and repair shop and retail space at the Tuality Hospital/Southeast Eighth Avenue in Hillsboro.

According to Metro, the convenient parking there is "discouraging" people from riding the adjacent light rail cars. The other two stations they audited don't provide such amenities, so the problem in Hillsboro boils down to too much parking - which goes against the whole idea of forcing encouraging people to quit driving. It seems kind of hard to believe, as a glance at the lines of EV's waiting to charge up there clearly demonstrates the popularity of the facility.

Naturally, the folks who spent a lot of money on this "public-private investment" take exception to the Metro brain-trust's take on this:

Hillsboro Economic Development Director Mark Clemons disagreed with that assessment, however. He said the facility replaced a series of service parking lots and allowed the construction of two buildings by Pacific University. Students are charged a fee to park there, which encourages transit use.

“The Intermodal Transit Facility is essential to an economic development project that benefits Hillsboro and increases light rail ridership,” said Clemons.

Well alrighty then. Metro's prediction for ridership didn't pan out, so it's due to the availability of convenient parking, as opposed to the fact that they've never checked to see if their predictions match reality. Hillsboro, on the other hand, objects to being scapegoated by the regional brain-trust, and it must be admitted that with bicycle storage and repair, solar panels galore, and EV charging stations, they're certainly demonstrating their "commitment to sustainability".

Maybe the problem's more straightforward, as both governments burnish their "sustainability" credentials: maybe sustainability isn't sustainable. Rather than blowing through cash in pursuit of idealism, perhaps governments should buy a clue from business; COSTCO had EV charging stations for a few years, and they removed them. Why? Because they actually looked at them, and they found that on average, one EV a month charged up at a station. And they have better uses for that space.

Oh, right - we're talking about government, here. Nevermind.

 

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CRC: Finally Cooked.

Washington State Legislature adjourned at 6:30 last night without approving a tranportation package that would have included $450 million as "their share" of the I-5 Portland-Vancouver light rail project (known in bureau-speak as the "Columbia River Crossing"); effectively killing it, as "Oregon's share" was contingent upon our neighbors to the north's willingness to similarly dun their taxpayers.

Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber declared the Columbia River Crossing project dead Saturday evening following the 2013 Washington Legislature's refusal to vote on a transportation funding package.

And he's really upset about it, too; both he and the Democrat governor in Washington issued strongly-worded statements expressing their profound disappointment. Over the past decade, "planners" have blown through over $170 million ($20 million remains unaccounted for) and managed to produce exactly two designs, both of which served primarily to advance the Porkland/TriMet agenda of ramming a light rail line into Vancouver, Washington - despite the fact that Clark County residents have rejected light rail four times in one direct vote and three others on raising funds for operations.

The first design, with clearance of 95 feet, was rejected by the U.S. Coast Guard as an impediment to navigation. Subsequently, they came back with a design eleven feet taller; essentially daring the Coast Guard to reject it. However, in their haste, they neglected to include required information; the USCG was still waiting to receive that when the issue was rendered moot by the refusal of the Washington State Senate coalition to fund the thing.

It's worth reiterating that the insistence upon light rail was the sole reason for such low-clearance designs; the little trains are unable to navigate steeper gradients. In any case, absent Oregon and Washington's "shares", the "federal money" upon which the entire thing hinged goes away. In view of the amounts of money involved, the ineptness and ham-fistedness of the CRC group, and the repeatedly expressed will of Clark County voters, that's probably a good thing.

The Transportation package already signed by Governor Inslee included “$200,000 for a specialized audit to see whether the project had misused public funds” Sen. Benton said in a news release this evening.

“The CRC project officials spent around $170 million dollars without even getting all the necessary permits – and out of that huge sum, they can’t explain where 20 million dollars went. This forensic audit is going to find out. We owe that to the taxpayers,” added Benton.

Perhaps Porkland and TriMet can now be persuaded to abandon their long-cherished dream of ramming light rail down the throats of unwilling Clark County residents. Likely not, but they've certainly cost taxpayers a lot of money in this demonstration of arrogance.

That alone is reason enough for the CRC group to be disbanded, and if a new bridge is to be built at some point it might be a good idea for the states to hire engineers who actually know what they're doing.

 

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In The Heart Of Africa

As our Racist-in-Chief blows $100 million on a family vacation in Africa (Mooch, the kids, and Mooch's mom in tow), an American President is in Africa as well: Dubya and his wife, Laura are in Zambia at the moment, working on a clinic that will become a cervical cancer screening and treatment center. And they aren't spending millions in taxpayer dollars, either.

Hey, wait - is that Barky on the ladder? He seems to be looking around, not doing anything; could it be he dropped in for a photo-op?

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Great Moments In Bureaucracy

A rabbit 

A magician based out of Ozark, Missouri uses a three-pound rabbit in his magic act, and the USDA has decided that he must have a "rabbit license" and write up a "disaster plan" detailing how he would protect the rabbit in event of fire, flood, or other disturbance.

My USDA rabbit license requirement has taken another ridiculous twist. I just received an 8 page letter from the USDA, telling me that by July 29 I need to have in place a written disaster plan, detailing all the steps I would take to help get my rabbit through a disaster, such as a tornado, fire, flood, etc. They not only want to know how I will protect my rabbit during a disaster, but also what I will do after the disaster, to make sure my rabbit gets cared for properly.  I am not kidding–before the end of July I need to have this written rabbit disaster plan in place, or I am breaking the law.

In his email message, Hahne also explained the timeline via which he must comply: 1) the new regulation became effective Jan. 30, 2012; 2) the written plan must be completed by July 29, 2013; 3) Hahne and his wife, Brenda, must be trained to implement the plan as written; and 4) the written plan must be available for review by USDA inspectors by Sept. 28, 2013.

 

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The Latest From The Religion Of Pieces

They've been very effectively setting up enclaves within cities across Europe in which non-muslims are not free to step.

Neighborhood streets have been plastered with posters declaring "You are entering a Sharia controlled zone: Islamic rules enforced."

Time to buy more ammo; it's only a matter of time before they start this idiocy here.

What Portland Strives Toward

Portland politicians hate cars, so this is surely their idea of paradise.

It's unclear how freight, food, and other essentials are transported in the only town in the USA to have banned cars and trucks (having enacted that law on July 6, 1898). Probably horse drawn wagons or cargo bikes....

 

Beavers Take Connecticut Town

Beaver dam, northern California, USA 

Back at the end of May, a beaver dam failed upstream of the town of Warren, flooding the place and causing a fair amount of damage. They started cleaning up, but really didn't do anything about the root of the problem. Sure enough, it failed again a couple of weeks ago, causing more damage. Now the residents want all of the beavers trapped out and killed. That's idiotic; for one thing, more will simply move in. Besides, the little engineers provide substantial benefits for fish and other wildlife.

What they should do is fairly simple, though it involves a bit of understanding of the behavioral biology of the critters. You hike up to the dam and determine what level of retention pond depth seems reasonable, then you chop holes in the dam to achieve your optimal level. Beavers, however, are attracted to the sound of running water and to currents, and will quickly - often overnight - repair any damage to their structure. This is where you need to be smarter than the beaver.

Into each of your cuts, place a length of PVC pipe, capped at both ends with a 90-degree elbow pointing downward. One end of the pipe, with its downward-pointing elbow, is thrust against the back of the dam itself; the rest of the pipe, with the other downward-pointing elbow, extends out into the pond itself. Leave.

When you return, you'll find that the pipes have been effectively cemented into place by the beavers themselves as they've repaired the cuts you made. The dam is back to its usual height, but water is released by the pipes, through the dam, where it runs harmlessly down the back of the dam and rejoins the stream. Problem solved, with minimal effort and expenditure. No beavers were harmed in the production of this solution.

 

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Bloomie Strikes Again

The Nanny's latest crusade - in addition to those against guns, tobacco, and large sodas - is...sparklers. Because Terrorists.

Citing national security concerns and the war on terror, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg asked New York Gov. Michael Cuomo to ban the sale of children’s fireworks.

City officials worried that sparklers — handheld fireworks that emit colorful sparks and are often waved through the air by kids on the Fourth of July — could be used in terrorist attacks, according to The New York Post.

Ah, we've entered the frightening world of terror by sparkler.

It's surprising that he hasn't tried to ban air travel. Yet.

 

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Faith-Based Regulation

Oh noes - with the end of the legislative session only days away, Oregon's legislature has yet to pass its "top bill" to "fight climate change". Well, this may call for a special session or something. SB 488 would remove, or extend, the sunset date of 2015 for Oregon's Clean Fuel regulation, which is the main reason why your gas mileage ranges from mildly sucky to really sucky, depending on what you drive.

The purpose was to reduce fuel's "carbon content" by 10% in order to Save The Planet™ - which as we all know, Oregonians can accomplish all by themselves if only they spend more money. It's why your gas has 10% biofool in it, which reduces mpg because it produces less energy than plain old, evil gasoline. Perhaps equally important, ethanol attracts and absorbs moisture in the form of water vapor, which further acts to reduce your mileage.

"The Legislature has not done anything on climate change since (it) passed the clean fuels program," said Jana Gastellum, climate protection director for the Oregon Environmental Council. "If they don't lift the sunset, they're really rolling back existing environmental laws.

So says the gal who gets paid to advocate for intrusive and nonproductive policies under the guise of Mental necessity. And of course, the folks who profit from subsidized biofool are rolling out their standard line as well:

Alternative fuel producers and suppliers say it would spur innovation, reduce reliance on foreign oil and increase investment in refineries and fueling stations.

Oh, yeah. It's always going to "spur" this or that, and "reduce reliance on foreign oil" - never mind that we're already doing the latter, and could do even more if Barky'd free up some public lands for drilling. That line's sort of the same kind of dog-whistle that's so popular with Porkland voters: It's For The Children™! Sucks 'em in every time.

The program relies on expected advances in biofuels that have been slow to materialize to reach the carbon-reduction target, said Brian Doherty, who represents the Western States Petroleum Association. Fuel suppliers would have to pay for credits if they don't hit the targets.

Yep - sort of like EPA mandating that refiners incorporate cellulosic biofools into their blends, then tries to fine them millions of dollars when they don't do it because there is no cellulosic biofool available: it hasn't been produced by anybody. Funny; EPA lost in court when they tried it. Maybe Oregon can do better. Maybe not. Tell ya what - how about we just let California lead the way on this, and then after a couple of decades they can get back to us with their results (assuming they're still around). Then we could at least be somewhat cost-effective about designing a workable program.

Nah - that'd make too much sense.

Politicians Save Elderly Woman

Oh, sorry - maggots did (probably). It's so easy to confuse the two.

“The maggots may have helped keep (the woman) alive due to the fact that they were eating the rotting skin that was infected and helping to slow the infection,” King County Sheriff's Det. Marylisa Priebe-Olson said in court papers, recounting a statement from a paramedic.

The doting daughter's in jail, but claims it's all just a misunderstanding. The old lady was pretty hefty, after all. On the other hand, the daughter's not exactly pageant material, either.

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