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fwilliam's comments:
on Foot Traffic
I really like the "speeding ticket cameras" and I agree they should be in a lot more intersections. Talking on your cell phone? Ticket. Illegal turn from the center lane? Ticket. Completely covering a crosswalk and forcing the pedestrians to walk into oncoming traffic? Ticket. Entering the intersection when the light is yellow, even though you know you will be stuck in the middle of the intersection when the light turns red because the cars ahead of you aren't moving? Ticket.
It's a good revenue generator and results in safer roads.
posted 2 years, 6 months ago
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on Foot Traffic
I am always surprised at how many cyclists don't have lights on the bikes at all. It's a safety issue and I agree with you, they should have lights on the back and front. Besides, a lot of lights come in a package that includes both the front and back flashers.
posted 2 years, 6 months ago
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on Foot Traffic
I think people need to go back and read their drivers manual. I was amazed at how much I had forgotten or didn't know when I read through mine recently (and that is after perfect scores on tests from two different states).
My pet peeve: It is clearly written that if a car is stopped for a pedestrian, then ALL other cars also must stop. I cannot count the number of times I have seen near-misses on SW Market in the huge marked crosswalk to Portland State. The cars coming off of Hwy 26 don't bother to slow down once they are on the city streets and think they can just switch lanes to avoid stopping. Pedestrians do have the right of way in that case.
I also think that all of the drivers need to get off of their cell phones and pay attention to the road. You know who you are and you know that it is illegal, so stop talking and start driving more carefully.
And by the way, get off of the Streetcar and Max tracks.
posted 2 years, 6 months ago
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on Multnomah County Elections
That's an interesting perspective, however, it is important to point out that the Oregon State Legislature continued to fund the Oregon Historical Society even during the Great Depression. While this might be a serious recession, it does not rival the Great Depression.
Also, the choice that you present between history and pre-natal nutrition is a non sequitur. Pre-natal care is available on the federal and private level and is not in danger of being de-funded (widely available through Planned Parenthood, Medicare, WIC, Oregon Health Plan, etc.). A better comparison would be the Oregon Zoo, which received $125 million in local tax dollars in 2008 for a new polar bear compound and an elephant house. Is a zoo more important than Oregon history? I can see zoo animals everywhere, but I can't read Judge Mercedes Deiz's oral history interview anywhere other than at the Oregon Historical Society.
Come to think of it, most of the examples you give are irrelevant as they are primarily funded at the federal level. The Oregon Historical Society is primarily funded at the state level and is important at a state level.
And by the way, I'm not an object, and neither are the other people who rely on OHS.
posted 2 years, 7 months ago
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on Multnomah County Elections
I'm not sure that I qualify as an insider, but I do have a vested interest in keeping OHS open. My students at Portland State often use the archives to do research and I personally am dependent on OHS to do my research. The Oregon Historical Quarterly is the only peer-reviewed Oregon-specific journal in the country and it is my first choice for publishing articles. If OHS closes, I am one of the non-OHS employees who takes a direct hit on many fronts. I know it's not popular to say so, but historians are also "hard-working stiffs," and that's why we are doing everything we can to keep OHS open.
posted 2 years, 7 months ago
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on Multnomah County Elections
I'm baffled by the statement "Oregon history is a luxury". Does this also mean that education is a luxury? After all, they are the same thing. The Oregon Board of Education requires two years of Oregon history for every student in the state - should we cut those luxurious classes, as well?
posted 2 years, 7 months ago
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on Multnomah County Elections
The Oregon Historical Society was created by the Oregon State Legislature in 1899 and for over a century, its primary financial support has been provided by the Oregon State Legislature. It is not a business, per se, but a publicly created institution whose whole mission is to educate the public about Oregon's history. It is utterly ridiculous to say that the Oregon Historical Society should create a long term funding plan that excludes what has been its primary source of revenue for over a century. That line of thinking might work for Nike, Columbia, Intel or some other actual business, but is does not work for what is in essence an educational institution that has always been largely publicly funded.
Additionally, the concept of users or members of OHS is misleading. Any time someone watches Oregon Experience, or stops to look at a historical plaque, or thumbs through a book on Oregon's history, they are more than likely going to come across images or research that came directly from the Oregon Historical Society's archives. Everyone in this state has been a "user" of the Oregon Historical Society, regardless of whether or not they have ever walked through the front doors of the main building.
And that is why the Oregon Historical Society is so important for Oregon, even if many people don't realize it: ALL Oregonians benefit from OHS's resources. Likewise, ALL Oregonians will lose if the Oregon Historical Society closes.
posted 2 years, 7 months ago
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on Society's History
I am an OHS member and I visit the research library regularly for my own research, and I also require my students to visit the library to read oral history interviews that aren't available anywhere else. I was deeply concerned when I heard that OHS was closing the research library indefinitely and even more upset when I found out that the leadership at OHS had not planned to publicly announce the closure. In fact, most people found out when one of the archivists (who has since lost her job) sent an email to the academic community letting them know that the library would be closing within two days. This points to profound problems with the leadership at OHS.
OHS was created by the Oregon State Legislature in 1899 as an archive - a fact that is clearly posted on the OHS website. I do agree that the state needs to be more proactive in supporting an organization that it helped create, but therein lies another problem. I contacted my two state representatives, Ginny Burdick and Mary Nolan, and all I received was nearly identical form responses that did not even address the Oregon Historical Society. Congressman David Wu did respond to my email and stated that the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities had both received additional funding, but unfortunately the Oregon Historical Society does not have a grant writer on staff, so it is unlikely that they will even apply for the federal money.
I believe it is time for the Board of Directors to go back and examine the mission of the Oregon Historical Society as it was established in 1899. They have a responsibility to the state of Oregon and they need to honor that. As a part of that reexamination of where they got off track, they also need to take a long, hard look at the leadership and see if it is in line with the organization's mission. The current director, Dr. Vogt, has rerouted OHS to a museum and demoralized many of the staff members I've talked to. Maybe it's time for him to join the laid-off archivists in the unemployment line. After all, his competence is clearly questionable.
Thank you again for covering this issue.
Felicia Williams
posted 4 years, 2 months ago
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