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I love how Portland's bike commuters often behave much like the stereotypes of car commuters. At the monthly "breakfast on the bridges" where free coffee and voodoo doughnuts are given out free, most zoom past, in just as big a hurry to get somewhere as the cars in the next lane. I think you could have some fun with that whole world of bikes as transportation . . .

posted 2 years, 4 months ago
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I was a criminal justice major before choosing another path. In the various classes I took over a year a couple of things were pretty obvious:

1. most of the guys (the vast majority of students were men) looked like they came right off the local high school's athletic field.

2. given the above, you can imagine how animated and engaged these guys would be to learn unarmed restraint, or firearms etc, and how un-engaged they would be when we'd cover the material on civil rights, Miranda etc. During those discussions, it would literally be me, and the three female students doing most of the talking.

Some of the instructors were peace officers with the local Police Departments, and I also did a good number of ride-alongs in actual patrol cars. These active duty officers, while teaching civil rights in the classroom, would actual coach students on how to circumvent them, explaining how to use car brakes to launch a handcuffed rear passenger into the car's partition, and using "squirrel" if anyone questioned an injury. In the end, there was one officer (and only one) who impressed me. He actually did all the things we were being taught at the outset of his shift, consistently treated everyone with real respect (even some really onerous/foul folks we were literally taking to the county jail) and was very effective every situation as a result.

In short I really appreciated the magnitude of the public (selfless) service this career demanded, and how hard it would be to keep that foremost when day after day is spent dealing with people that, lets face it, are NOT particularly nice people. I did not think I could do it and lead a happy life. I really don't think most of my classmates gave that kind of thing much thought, as their focus was clearly on the power and the authority (and the guns) that a law enforcement career would seemingly impart to them. How does it go, the people who seek power are seldom the people who should wield it . . . 

posted 2 years, 6 months ago
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masonry homes are very prone to actual collapse and will almost certainly be unusable if they are still standing (aftershocks). 3-4 minutes of shaking is too long for brick & mortar and they basically fracture/grind/tear themselves progressively apart until they fail. Sorry.

posted 3 years ago
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An electronic alarm triggered at the coast could reach you about 45 seconds before the real shaking would arrive in Portland. 

posted 3 years ago
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NET/CERT - Portland OEM held a rare meeting of their Neighborhood Emergency Team leaders just this last Tuesday. The assembled volunteers were basically told that, unlike many other jurisdictions, the City of Portland does not clearly indemnify the volunteers they train to respond to major disasters.

Because 65-75% of urban disaster response is actually neighbors helping neighbors, this critical aspect of our local preparedness portfolio should be addressed. A core group of trained volunteers in every neighborhood would address a lot of unnecessary suffering and even death.

Schools - If we learned anything from the China Earthquake, it should be the danger of having all of our children grouped in seismically unsound schools when a quake hits. News reports make it clear that Chile, a country of more modest means, did much more proactive work to close/replace building that were deathtraps. We should learn from their example.

Anniversary - We need to counteract the deeply held impression that this is not earthquake country, by having a very public observance of the anniversary of the last Cascadia Earthquake (Jan 26th, 1700). If we had our civic leaders observe this day, and even had something loud like the traffic stoppage/sirens that Hiroshima uses, people would stop for a moment and think. Maybe a small percentage each year would actually build their home kit, make a plan. That would add up.

Red Cross - There seems to be misconception about the Red Cross. Many people I talk to do not seem to realize that; a. They are not tasked with response, but with recovery (which they are masterful at). b. Their strength is their ability to mobilize and funnel an ever-increasing stream of materiel and people to the disaster area. If you are Vernonia and you have a flood, they can cover it with largely local resources, but in a huge regional event they too will be overwhelmed and it will take time, a great deal of time, before meaningful help arrives. This reality is why people in the know say your home kit should be for at least a week, not 72 hours.

posted 3 years ago
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This not the first time government has raided so-called "trusts". The aviation industry has been trying for DECADES to get money in the Airport and Airway trust spent for a the improvements it was created to enable.

Obviously there are arts and cultural organizations that don't run the risk of politician plundering, and now that we've seen what can happen, donations should be channeled elsewhere.

posted 4 years, 2 months ago
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Yep, it reminded me of when Terri Gross goes off the deep-end with guests she clearly has an issue with (Bill O'Rielly comes to mind) loses her way, and embarrasses herself.

Sorry Emily, love your show, but I was cringing this morning. I have long suspected that, from a strategic standpoint, TOL is really a vehicle to make OPB relevant to rural Oregon . . . and this kind of thing probably plays well in Prineville . . . but it is also kind of sad to see. 

posted 4 years, 2 months ago
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Emily, 

It sure seems like your show's title is not accurate today. If you have brought Sam onto your show under false colors, shame on you. If you planned to spend most of an hour talking to him and his colleagues about the scandal, you should title it to reflect this. No wonder Mayor Pollard didn't show.

posted 4 years, 2 months ago
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The 12 Lane CRC agreement, regardless of the political algebra, has done more to undermine Sam Adam's support than Beau-gate ever could. 

Cities around the nation have shown as clearly as possible what happens when freeway systems are significantly expanded. More cars, more surface street and parking congestion, more pollution, and more suburban sprawl. If Portland's own mayor, elected with a clear mandate to hold the line on the CRC, cannot thwart the desires of our sprawl-happy neighbor to the north, WHO WILL? 

posted 4 years, 2 months ago
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Pallet, not Palette I think.

posted 4 years, 5 months ago
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I think the idea of gun registration, constitutionally, is a slippery one, and concealed permits are pretty close in practice to gun registration. Making this information public doubles the problem, including privacy into the equation.

posted 4 years, 5 months ago
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When I took Portland's Neighborhood Emergency Team training, during the class covering first aid and triage, there was a lot of discussion about how ill-prepared our emergency medical system is for mass casualty situations. We were told to be prepared for worst-case situations where people with truly life-threatening injuries would need to be marked as "terminal", as there would be no hospital capacity for them.

posted 4 years, 5 months ago
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One of the weird things I witnessed during the election that seemed very "oregon" was the politics of "liberal gun owners". After watching Bush's administration ignore or do end runs around a number of our fundamental rights, it is a little surreal to consider that my victorious candidate may do the same thing with gun rights. His rhetoric about "sportsman" and "defense of home" was designed to put some gun-owning Democrats and independents at ease, but neither rationales are actually part of the Second Amendment.

The Democratic gun caucus meets in Portland this weekend, in part to begin lobbying their own party in the hopes that draconian gun restrictions will not be on the agenda next year. Given the propensity of TOL to pick subjects that would be of interest to listeners all across the state, you could not go wrong with this one.

posted 4 years, 5 months ago
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Great show!

January 26th is the anniversary of the last Cascadia Earthquake, it would sure be great to mark the day with another hour of discussion.

posted 4 years, 5 months ago
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Braibish is correct that individuals need to prepare, but saying that govt is ready, that the Nat Guard is prepared, etc gives people the opposite message. People in authority seem adverse to really disclosing their limitations.

BTW, San Francisco has an amazing website which can guide you through the process of building a 72hr kit, 72hrs.org

http://www.72hours.org/

Our local Red Cross chapter has a great booklet which has step by step instructions, called "Together We Prepare Oregon".

Don't forget to talk about aftershocks. People were living on the streets in tents for months after the recent Sechuan quake because local aftershocks can be more powerful than the actual subduction earthquake, and people are justifiably frightened to live in their homes.

posted 4 years, 5 months ago
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I'm excited to see this topic getting discussed. I hope that the example of the floods, tragic but fairly contained in terms of area and population, will be contrasted with the Cascadia earthquake/tsunami potential and other large-scale disasters;ones that have the ability to completely eclipse local government and the Red Cross' ability to respond quickly. Maybe Bill Sullivan can give listeners some idea of the vast difference in scale.

The real solution, in our region and around the globe, is personal and community preparedness. Here in Portland, we can expect 3/4 of those helped in the first days after a big earthquake to get that assistance from their neighbors, not the fire bureau or other paid emergency services. It is the same everywhere in the world, no community can pay to have enough staff and equipment sitting around waiting for that once in 300 years event . . . so we end up on our own, and helping each other, for some period. I suspect it's always been that way, historically, which in 2008 is kinda frightening and beautiful at the same time. The people in Pompei and New Orleans had more warning than we're likely to get. Get your 72hr kit together, and get your city or county's free NET/CERT training if you can.

If you live in Portland it would also help to lobby Sam Adams so we have a budget for more than one guy coordinating the recruitment, training and oversight needed to field teams for 95 neighborhoods.

Did I mention the training is free?
http://www.pdxprepared.NET

posted 4 years, 5 months ago
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On this day when a US natural disaster is up-staging all other news, it would be good timing for you guys to consider discussing the degree to which the Pacific Northwest is ready (or not) for a Cascadia earthquake. Sorry if I sound like a broken record . . . and not that I am not interested to some degree in piano tuning.

Need to add a "Sept Suggestions" thread . . . new month.

posted 4 years, 8 months ago
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My vote was split early on between Hillary, Obama and Edwards, but I became increasingly disenchanted with Clinton as the race progressed. It seemed there was almost nothing she and her aides would not resort to. How many times did she change her "message"?

The fact that she did not stand up and denounce votes she received from people who told pollsters that they simply could not "vote for a black man" says a lot about the character of her campaign, and ultimately the kind of administration she would have represented. For this reason I cannot support her selection as a running mate. That is not a Democratic party I can be part of . . . and while Obama must now overcome the very real percentage of the population that is racist in order to win the general election, I believe he can succeed.

posted 4 years, 11 months ago
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Well, seems like half of NPR's field reporters are covering a major earthquake . . . now would be a good time to discuss the preparedness of our area.

posted 5 years ago
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Well, last week, OPB and every other major news outlet in the NW covered the release of new earthquake hazard maps, the meeting of scientists and emergency planners, and Native American oral histories of previous Cascadia quakes . . . still waiting for you guys to put together a show . . . someone from POEM, Red Cross, USGS etc. This is not just an urban issue, rural areas will be hit hard too, and the big cities will not be able to help them as is usually the case.

posted 5 years ago
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