Kroger made this proclamation while announcing that Oregon supports the EPA in declaring that plant food is a dangerous pollutant. What is clear in this power grab by the Fed and the simultanious move by seven western states to “save the planet” by controlling C02 will only destroy jobs, vastly escalate h

With an unemployment rate of 10.3%, nearly $100 million in long term debt, the county has a “vegetation management coordinator”, and he is busy with this kind of vital service: “Protected area. No activities permitted between posted signs.” Read the new signs along some of the county’s roads.

As long as you work for government. The top three downtown employers are the state of Oregon, the city of Portland and the federal government. According to the Portland Tribune public administration gained 1,144 jobs since 2008, at the expense of jobs in the private sector.  The arts, entertainment and recreation se

On the heels of the June directive prohibiting drivers from recording video while on the job, another bus driver is in hot water over his blog. Trimet made that call after receiving complaints about Al Margulies, who runs the Rantings of a TriMet Driver blog. Now Dan Christensen, author of the Trimet Confidential blog,

Great. His Datsun can do 0 to 60 in 2.95 sec. My stock Vette will do it in 4.3. But can he turn around and do it again without causing a brown out with all the amps required to recharge?  I think not. I was a tech for a large newspaper a decade ago and worked with some pretty impressive DC motors. Lots of torque

Now they can drop a dime on your over grown lawn via the Internet. From KGW.com  PORTLAND — You can now rat out your neighbors online for neglecting basic lawn care.The Portland Bureau of Development Services started the Tall Grass and Weed Complaint Pilot Project for neighbors to file online complaints.

Supporters of a ballot initiative that would put retired judges in charge of legislative redistricting say they will sue the Oregon secretary of state for throwing out signatures unfairly. It does seem odd that initiatives that the left embraces like pot legalization or usurping property rights get a pass, while those t

I marvel at the audacity of the “Urban Green” movement who think that raising a couple of tomatoes and owning a laying hen makes them “real farmers”. How quaint. Take the example of one couple this week in Northwest Portland. From KPTV.com: “Dana Jazwinski and her husband heard a commotion

The Washington state governor announced Monday the launch of a website that allows people to suggest, comment and vote on budget ideas. The most popular ideas will be considered by the state’s budget writers. Either these elected officials and their high paid experts just plain don’t know what they are doing

With wind power generation expected to reach total grid capacity of 6,000 megawatts by 2013, operators will be forced to curtail the green power more often as stable hydro power must be held in reserve.   The problem lies with both the existing grid and the need to protect fish on the Columbia River. As pointed

In Portland “your trees are not your property”. A letter to the Oregonian Friday 7/16/10: I am one of the owners of an office building on Southwest First Avenue in Portland. The City Urban Forester has ordered us to cut down seven mature, healthy ash trees because they were pruned last fall without a

$150 million in Recovery Act dollars funded approximately 5800 jobs in third quarter. Notice Kulongoski did not say created jobs. In fact during the third quarter according to the press release: Governor Kulongoski, hat in hand, asks for more money while showing off the latest in green transportation. ̶

And brings the debate to a whole new level of stupidity. “Minutes before he addressed the crowd, five “bag monsters” — people dressed up in plastic bag costumes — had been dancing with a furry Sasquatch and an upright fish.” We just can’t make this stuff up folks. Click fo

Proposed legislation calls for all retailers to prohibit plastic bags at checkout and to charge 5 cents for every paper bag. Retailers would keep the money. While ignoring the actual facts about plastic vs. paper, the Democratic majority in the Oregon legislature is going to keep pushing this insipid policy. Never mind

New restrictions given for handmade beer and wine. BEND — The Oregon Liquor Control Commission’s new interpretation of an old law has put homemade beer and wine in the spotlight, effectively banning judged competitions, home-brewing club tasting nights, and even the taking of a six-pack of home-brewed beer to a n

19-year-old Colton Harris-Moore was arrested Sunday morning on the northern island of Eleuthera. Click to see FBI wanted poster After the Natalee Holloway debacle, governments in that part of the world were not going to let Colton get away. The youth, known as the “barefoot bandit” because he committed severa

It comes as no surprise that the medicinal pot law is being flouted for fun and profit, but it is interesting that he is also charged with manufacturing within 1000 feet of a school. If he was not dealing, wouldn’t his medical card run afoul of that law in the first place? From KOIN6.com SALEM, Ore. – Sale

Not only are over 16% of Oregonians without health insurance, our state has the highest daily hospital costs in the nation.  From the Portland Business Journal: Residents in Oregon enjoy the dubious distinction of paying the most for a hospital stay, according to new data from the U.S. Census Bureau.

When you live in a city whose motto is “keep Portland weird”, it comes as no surprise that a local author of children’s books is convicted of possessing child porn. From Fox12 Portland: PORTLAND, Ore. — A federal judge has sentenced children’s author K.P. Bath to six years in prison f

Another reason 19th century transportation was replaced in the 20th century. If the weather gets icy, the trains stop because of frozen switches. Crime is rampant and losses huge because the “honer system” is easily flouted. If an accident occurs, the entire system has to be bypassed and riders shuttled 

More proof that bureaucrats are convinced that they are more intelligent than the average citizen, comes this enlightening article from NWCN.com. The one thing missing from this piece is how much money has been wasted on this program. I mean, has anybody in government ever heard of a dictionary? One of the reasons that

With the guilty plea of Miss Oregon’s father  to immigration charges, and the recent arrest of former OLCC inspector Doitchin Krasev, It becomes obvious that the problem is more than just a porous southern border. The federal government could build a 100 foot high fence and seal off Mexico from the US, but unti

City announces Required Plant Eradication List. From the folks that informed you that the tree in your back yard is not your property comes a new twist. Homeowners and businesses will be required to remove any and all plants on the list starting July 1.  The penalties for harboring contraband weeds growing in the yar

A free pack of Camels to the first inmate that shanks this piece of crap. From Oregonlive.com: The state of Washington has agreed to pay $6.4 million to the families of four Washington women who were allegedly victimized by a man also suspected in the 1997 death of an Oregon woman. The settlements, announce

Ban begins this week on sale of phosphate-laden dishwasher soap in Oregon, Washington That was the headline blared today at the oregonian.com web site. The Oregon Legislature passed a law in 2009 that lowered the phosphorous limit for automatic dishwasher detergents from 8.7 percent to 0.5 percent. The headline read 

Does Oregon have this same sweet deal going on? Fron mynorthwest.com: Greg Royer ranks among the state’s top-paid employees, with a salary of $304,000. But that’s just part of his income. For nearly seven years, he’s also collected an annual pension of $105,000. Royer, the vice president f

The Spotted owl, poster child for environmental causes in the Pacific Northwest, was listed as an endangered species two decades ago today.  It also marked the demise of 90% of Oregon’s lumber industry, robbing rural Oregon of political power and, with the liberal influence of a few heavily populated counties, cha

More of our education tax dollars at work. Portland State University radio, who uses the transmitter and frequency of  KBPS-am, Benson High school’s student run radio station during overnight hours, has had the plug pulled over listener complaints, specifically over a talk show last night whose topic was “

The owner of Hood River Juice has asked a court to toss out pollution charges against him because of “government misconduct” in prosecuting the case, an allegation that turns in part on the role played by Brent Foster, former Oregon special counsel for the environment. This is not just misconduct, but damn n

Downtown real estate investor Barry Menashe has had enough. After two decades of paying his share of the Portland Clean & Safe program, he is now refusing to pony up the $4,000 monthly fee because “Downtown Portland is not clean or safe”.   The Oregonian reports today that wealthy investor Menash