MaxRedline

Dangerous Trees In Portland

And the city has demanded that they be removed and replaced with trees that they approve of. They tried that with me as well, a few years back. I told them to take a hike.

Officials required the small business owner pay a penalty, cut down his seven maple trees, grind out the stumps and plant new trees from a list approved by the city.

Urban forestry said staff is available to answer questions about tree care and the responsibility and rules for property owners. An agency spokesperson directed community members to call 503-823-TREE or email trees@portlandoregon.gov.

Additionally, the agency explained pruning must be conducted according to city tree pruning standards available online.

KGW requested an on-camera interview with Portland Parks and Recreation Urban Forestry spokesperson Mark Ross. In an email, Ross provided a one- word response, “No.”

Interestingly, that was my response to the demand by the city of Portland.

They may think they're important - I don't.

 

Portland City Council Srikes Again

In November 2018, the city of Portland voted to pass a ballot initiative called the Portland Clean Energy Community Benefits Fund (PCEF) that is basically Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s failed “Green New Deal” in a smaller, more localized package. In a few months, the city will begin finally investing the money they received.

It's a gross receipts tax on businesses, which are now essentially taxed twice one on stuff that they sell (gross receipts) and again on profits. No matter; the businesses won't pay it - their customers will. But it's a model for the nation, which is what counts as far as the erstwhile mayor of Portland is concerned:

Despite the uncertainty surrounding the tax and the use of subsequent funds, Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler believes that the PCEF should inspire other large cities and perhaps even the entire United States. “It’s a model for the rest of the nation,” he said with pride. “A beacon and a testament to our community’s belief in doing things a different way.”

And the stupider, the better.

I stopped buying things in Portland years ago because of the mind-numbingly stupid policies the politicians foist on consumers. Things are less expensive in Washington County.

 

You Vill Comply!

Starting next Wednesday, Oregon lawmakers' ban on single-use plastic bags at grocery stores takes effect. For Oregonians, the may mean making some preparations before the next trip to load up on groceries and other goods. Customers who don't bring reuseable grocery bags to transport their groceries will have to pay five cents per paper bag provided by the business. 

Democratics are all about control. But they did provide some leeway: retailers are free to charge more than a nickel per paper bag, should they choose.

And these are fees, not taxes, so you can't deduct them come April.

 

Portland: The Insanity Never Ends

If a majority of the Portland Planning and Sustainability Commission has its way, new private buildings downtown will be required to include spaces where houseless Portlanders can "rest," which could include sleeping and pitching tents.

Oriana Magnera, the "brains" behind this latest hairball, has a bachelor's degree in "women's studies", so that evidently qualifies her to hold forth. As if downtown Portland wasn't already scary enough, the idea she's pushing would further degrade already sinking property values, remove more jobs, result in even more income-producers fleeing the city, and further erode an already flailing tourism economy.

Looks like the local government and homeless advocates are still peddling the false narrative that the countless illegal camps filled with garbage and stripped bike frames, open drug use/dealing, discarded syringes and human waste are caused by high rents.

Actually, that's happening - and increasing - because of persistent enabling.

 

Portland Does It Again

PORTLAND, OR (KPTV) – Some shoppers in Portland are noticing a new charge on their grocery receipts and many of them are not happy about it.

Customers reached out to FOX 12 after their receipts showed they were getting taxed for certain items.

The FOX 12 Investigators decided to look into this and found it’s part of a new city-wide clean energy tax.

Personally, I haven't done any shopping in Portland for years; when the city council enacted a ban on plastic bags, I could see the handwriting on the wall. Usually, I go with paper bags, but there are occasions when plastic is best. And I didn't like having a bunch of Democrat politicians unilaterally restricting my choices.

As usual, they felt really righteous. And as usual, they blew it: it turns out that a lot of residents in the city not only used the plastic bags to carry their groceries, they put the empty bags to use as trash-basket liners. The end result of the self-righteous Democrat politicians' ban was easy enough to predict: with their ban on "single-use" plastic grocery bags, residential plastic consumption increased as residents now purchase plastic bags to line their trash-baskets. The idiocy never ceases to amaze.

 

 

Bow-Tie BlueManure Bitten

Provenance Hotels announced Saturday that it has filed a complaint with the Office of Congressional Ethics against Oregon Democratic U.S. Rep. Earl Blumenauer.

Blumenauer called for a boycott of the Portland-based hotel company Wednesday, due to its connection to Ambassador Gordon Sondland; Sondland is currently embroiled in the Ukraine controversy with President Donald Trump. He’s also the founder of Provenance Hotels.

Ellen Carmichael, spokeswoman for Provenance Hotels, said in postings on social media that Blumenauer’s call for a boycott is forbidden by the Office of Congressional Ethics. She said the specific rule Blumenauer allegedly violated states that members of Congress cannot threaten administrative officials over matters of disagreement. “We believe Congressman Blumenauer’s actions constitute a potentially serious violation of Congressional ethics as outlined in multiple sections of the House Ethics Manual,” Carmichael wrote.

Well, technically, Manure's an Oregon Representative, but in fact he's a Portland Democratic - and that's a big difference. Portland Democratics in general seem to believe that they can do anything they want, as Manure has demonstrated. Rules are for the deplorables.

In fact, the House Ethics Manual clearly indicates that Representatives are not to intervene in private matters, “specifically when it comes to attempts to pressure private actions".

In calling for a boycott, which would (if carried out) negatively impact hundreds of hotel workers - ostensibly his constituents - Manure's conduct can rightfully be viewed as outrageous.

 

We May Not Have To Fall Into The Pacific

Just over half of California’s registered voters have considered leaving the state, with soaring housing costs cited as the most common reason for wanting to move, according to a new poll. Young voters were especially likely to cite unaffordable housing as a reason for leaving, according to the latest latest UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies poll conducted for the Los Angeles Times. But a different group, conservatives, also frequently suggested they wanted to leave — and for a very different reason: They feel alienated from the state’s political culture.

One in five Californians pay more than 50% of their income for housing, according to the state Department of Finance.

The Berkeley IGS poll found that 82% of the 18- to 29-year-olds considering leaving the state cited housing costs as a reason, as did nearly 80% of 30- to 39-year-olds. The poll suggests some “real threats” to California should those voters actually leave. “That impacts the young workforce. The old folks are growing in number, and you can’t have the young folks shrinking in number.”

California's just not as attractive as it seemed to be in the 60s. But Oregon's not very far behind: in Portland, the city's latest "ban plan" to promote "gender neutrality" and demonstrate how "progressive" they are involves -

Yep.

So to make things gender-neutral, the most radically left-wing city in America has reportedly banned urinals from its most iconic building, the Portland Municipal Services Building.

Standing 15 stories high in downtown Portland, Oregon, the building is currently being remodeled, and part of the remodeling involves making its bathrooms gender-neutral.

And it just so happens that in a gender-neutral world, urinals simply cannot exist.

“The City of Portland banned urinals in the remodeled Portland Building,” local station KGW reported last week, adding that this means urinals must be banned “even in the men’s room.”

The Chief Administrative Officer Tom Rinehart wrote to employees,

“I am convinced that this is the right way to ensure success as your employer, remove arbitrary barriers in our community, and provide leadership that is reflective of our shared values."

Well, I don't "share" Tom's "values". And so if I have to visit a city building, one of the first things to happen will involve me peeing on a wall - where the urinals used to be.

 

Politicians Move To Protect Their Own

California is moving toward an all-out rat poison ban statewide. AB-1788 cleared the State Assembly earlier this summer. But the problem with the ban is that some California cities are being overrun by rats. Kiet Do reports.

Of course, in many species, poisons become ineffective over time as the targets develop resistance, so from that perspective they may have a point.

But they've already had outbreaks of typhus and other diseases associated with Medieval times in L.A. and S.F., so it's probably not the best time to ban control measures.

Avoid Dunedin (Or Dune-Dumb)

DUNEDIN, Fla. – Kristi Allen read the letter and thought it had to be a scam.

It said she owed $92,600 in fines for overgrown vegetation and a stagnant swimming pool at a house she no longer owned. She must pay in two weeks, the letter said, hinting that she could be sued if she didn't. Including interest charges and other fees, her debt swelled to $103,559, about twice her yearly income.

Dunedin, a small seaside city outside Tampa, cracks down on code violations, saddling homeowners with massive fines while its revenue grows. In 5½ years, the city has collected nearly $3.6 million in fines – sometimes tens of thousands at a time – for violating laws that prohibit grasses taller than 10 inches, recreational vehicles parked on streets at certain hours or sidings and bricks that don't match.

The Supreme Court ruled in February that local governments can't impose excessive fines. The decision is among the first constraints by the federal government on how much money cities and states can charge people for everything from speeding to overgrown lawns.

Of course, they didn't define the term, "excessive".

The city fined a man nearly $30,000 because of a “chronic” overgrown yard.

It fined a couple $31,000 for fixing their roof without a permit after a tree fell on it during a hurricane.

After a tree smashed a corner of the roof of Picot’s rental property during Hurricane Irma two years ago, he bought $300 worth of wood and other supplies at Home Depot and fixed the damage himself. The city fined him $200 a day for fixing the roof without a permit. The fines racked up while Picot scrambled to find a locally licensed roofer who would sign off on his repairs. He and his wife owe about $31,000.

According to Chad Orsatti, a lawyer who deals with these issues:

“It’s almost Gestapo-like,” Orsatti said. “You can have a screw in the wrong spot. It’s an easy fix, but until you get that contractor to come back out there and sign off on it, those fines are running every day.”

In Florida and elsewhere, unpaid fines can be attached to someone’s property through liens. That allows cities to foreclose and take the property to collect what they’re owed.

Hard-to-pay fines spring up seemingly everywhere, as cities look for ways to punish violations and collect money without raising taxes. Doraville, Georgia, fined one homeowner $1,000 for stacking firewood in his backyard, according to a lawsuit that accuses the city of aggressive ticketing practices.

“What we have seen is an increasing tendency of municipalities to criminalize, or at least heavily fine, behavior that not many people would describe as bad,” said Joanna Weiss, co-director of the Fees and Fines Justice Center. “Letting your lawn grow too high arguably is not the most serious offense.”

Fines in some cases have become so big that they make it impossible for people to pay, let alone fix the violations that got them in trouble, said Robert Eckard, a Tampa lawyer representing another Dunedin homeowner. “It’s like setting someone up for failure,” Eckard said. “It’s deprivation and punishment for people who don’t have the income to remedy the problem.”

And of course, there's generally no actual problem - it's just a way for lifer bureaucrats to "justify" their government salaries and benefits.

 

Oregon Drivers Beware

Portland - and Oregon's so-called "leaders" hate you. We're not talking mere disagreement here; they really hate you.

The City Council approved the appointment of an advisory group to help the Portland Bureau of Transportation develop a plan to charge motorists to drive on some streets and bridges to reduce congestion and greenhouse gas emissions on Wednesday, July 10.

Why have a "Bureau of Transportation" if they need an "advisory group" of car-haters? The purpose of the "advisory group" is supposedly to discourage driving. But the real purpose is to add more taxes in order to force modification of your behavior to conform to what these really fart smellers have decided must be done in order to Save The Planet™. The plan is to simply raid your wallet even more, rather than to achieve anything that might even remotely impact the global climates. But it makes them feel righteous, which is all that matters.

Of course, the fleets of government vehicles would be exempt. What a surprise!

As for the state itself:

State government is once again supplying just what residents have come to expect from state programs devised to make Oregon green: failure.

Might be time for government (Democratics) to just leave people alone, for a change.