Editor's Take: January 14, 2009
Credit: BikePortland.org, Flickr.
Cutting the Miles
All across Cascadia, transportation issues face community leaders and citizens. In Oregon, Governor Kulongoski is considering a mileage tax for drivers, in anticipation of reduced gas tax revenues. In California, San Francisco toys with congestion pricing for downtown. Seattle continues debating, and pricing out an Alaskan Way Viaduct solution. One successful story: SoupCycle, Portland's bicycle delivery vendor, warms hungry Portlanders' bellies.
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Your editor today is Christina Claassen | View All Today's News
Oregon Envisions Gas Tax Based On Miles, Not Gallons
Oregonian
01/15/2009
The Oregon Department of Transportation is in the early stages of an experiment to meet the expected decline in gas tax revenue by developing a transportation tax system that is based not on gallons purchased at the pump but on miles traveled within the state.
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Gov. Gregoire Wants Relief for Jobless, Employers
Seattle Times
01/15/2009
Gov. Chris Gregoire on Wednesday proposed tapping Washington's $4 billion unemployment trust fund to give a temporary tax cut for businesses, as well as a temporary boost in benefits to laid-off workers.
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Views: San Fran's Half-Baked Congestion Pricing
San Francisco Chronicle
01/15/2009
Some eco-friendly ideas may be too much even for San Francisco. That's the general reaction to a plan to charge $3 to drive into the downtown area in the name of controlling traffic and raising money for transit.
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Portland's MAX Terminus To Use Mini Wind Turbines
Portland Tribune
01/15/2009
When the new MAX light-rail line through downtown Portland opens this fall, it not only will provide an efficient transportation link between Union Station and Portland State University. It also will include a renewable-energy demonstration project that could reshape urban developments in the future.
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BC Hydro Changes Tune Over Green Energy Cutbacks
Toronto Globe and Mail
01/15/2009
Blistered by critics over its plan to scale back contracts for clean electricity because of economic uncertainty, BC Hydro this week moved to "clarify" that it may buy all the clean power it can get.
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Puyallup Farmland Might Shrink
Tacoma News Tribune
01/15/2009
Puyallup officials may be backtracking on an agreement they made with Pierce County five years ago to preserve 160 acres of valuable farmland.
The city, which is preparing to annex 365 acres on its eastern border, passed a resolution in 2004 saying it would maintain 160 acres of the parcel as farmland. But last month the City Council delayed voting on a plan to set aside the acreage.
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Eating Adventures of a Willamette Locavore
Salem Statesman Journal
01/14/2009
Willamette law student Justin Rothboeck is eating foods grown only in Oregon and Washington for a year. His winter repertoire is giving him menu doldrums though, as he shares his journey on eating locally.
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Study Sheds Light on Toxics in Puget Sound Orcas
Kitsap Sun
01/15/2009
Puget Sound killer whales are not only suffering from exposure to a contaminated food supply, but the salmon they're eating appear to be less nutritious than scientists previously assumed.
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US Climate Coalition Agrees on Emissions Cuts
Washington Post
01/15/2009
An influential group of large US corporations and environmental organizations have forged a detailed blueprint for limiting greenhouse gases in the hope of shaping and pushing forward climate change legislation this year.
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SoupCycle Delivers Sustainable Sustenance
Oregonian
01/15/2009
SoupCycle, a company that delivers hearty organic soups by bicycle, joined the ranks of Portland's bike-centric businesses last July. Despite the economic downturn, business is booming.
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