This week the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the case Johnson v. City of Grants Pass. The central question is whether local ordinances that prohibit people from camping on public property constitute “cruel and unusual punishment” under the Eighth Amendment. Based on prior rulings in the 9th Circuit court of appeals, western states […]
On February 22, the Joint Committee on Transportation of the Oregon Legislature unanimously approved SB 1572, which would appropriate $250,000 to ODOT to study the feasibility of extending TriMet’s Westside Express Service (WES) train from Wilsonville to Salem. The committee did this despite the fact that average daily ridership on WES was down to 370 […]
The 35-day session of the Oregon Legislature opened in early February, and a hearing was held on the Governor’s top priority, Senate Bill 1537. Her goal is to increase the supply of housing. Unfortunately, this goal is undercut by Oregon’s Urban Growth Boundaries, which are designed to limit urban growth. Under SB 1537, cities will […]
The last segment of Oregon’s Interstate Highway system opened in 1982. One would think that since Oregon has a nationally prominent planning system, there would be efforts underway to plan for the next generation of great roads. But that is not the case. Planners almost universally hate highways, so they have made sure that the […]
In December, Gov. Tina Kotek released the recommendations of her Portland Central City Task Force. Although most of the ideas were helpful, as a package they were tepid. For example, the report calls for a moratorium on any new taxes for the next three years. That’s nice, but it’s about 20 years too late. Portland’s […]
In 2000, the electricity grid was named the top engineering achievement of the 20th century by the National Academy of Engineering. In 2021, Oregon politicians decided to dismantle it. Prepare yourself for blackouts. State legislators passed a law two years ago (House Bill 2021) that prohibits the construction of any electricity generating facilities using fossil […]
Just four days before legislative adjournment, House Bill 3409 passed the Oregon House and has moved to the Senate in a race to the finish by June 25. HB 3409 establishes a state goal of installing 500,000 electric heat pumps in Oregon homes or commercial buildings by 2030. The bill was never heard in a […]
In 2017, when the Oregon Legislature authorized a modest highway widening project on I-5 just north of the I-84 intersection, it was expected to improve travel speeds and reduce traffic accidents. The estimated construction cost was $500 million-$700 million. By 2021, the project had morphed into a social justice and real estate development scheme, with […]
On December 19, Oregon’s Environmental Quality Commission voted 4-1 to adopt California regulations that will begin restricting the sale of gasoline-powered motor vehicles in Oregon, starting in 2026. By the end of that year, automobile manufacturers must deliver and offer for sale electric vehicles (EVs) totaling at least 35% of their overall vehicle sales in […]
State Representatives Karin Power (Milwaukie), Anna Williams (Hood River), and Rachel Prusak (West Linn) recently announced they would not seek reelection because the job takes too much time and doesn’t pay enough. Much of the public discussion since then has focused on the fact that Oregon legislative pay is roughly $33,000/year plus $151 per day […]