Wasn't he recently recalled for his failure in leadership and acute loss of confidence by his constituents in District 3 by a 2 to 1 margin?
And now this Commission wishes to honor him?
For what, if I may be so naive to ask?
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Friday, May 30, 2008
Josh Marquis Op-Ed From The Oregonian: Debunking Myths About Measure 11
I n 1994 Oregon voters overwhelmingly passed Measure 11. An effort to repeal the law in 2000 was rejected by a resounding 75 percent of voters. You'd think the message would be clear: Oregonians want there to be truth in sentencing. Still, opponents of the law want to take another swipe.
Oregonians are again facing an onslaught of propaganda that seeks to persuade us to believe several myths, frightful urban legends that have been pressed in many a newspaper editorial, including in The Oregonian.
First myth: Measure 11 squanders our children's future by turning Oregon into a penal colony. We spend more money locking up people than educating them. One recent study by the Pew Center found that Oregon spends more money on prisons than higher ed -- more than any other state.
The truth: About 58 cents of every state tax dollar funds education (K through higher education), and about 9 cents funds our corrections departments and facilities. Barely 2 of those 9 cents are spent on Measure 11 offenders. The Pew Center study included the nearly quarter-billion dollars the state of Oregon spends to fund local probation -- a cost that's picked up by municipalities and counties in most other states -- and it didn't include the state's support of Oregon Health & Science University or its many community colleges.....For Complete Article Click On Title Above.
Oregonians are again facing an onslaught of propaganda that seeks to persuade us to believe several myths, frightful urban legends that have been pressed in many a newspaper editorial, including in The Oregonian.
First myth: Measure 11 squanders our children's future by turning Oregon into a penal colony. We spend more money locking up people than educating them. One recent study by the Pew Center found that Oregon spends more money on prisons than higher ed -- more than any other state.
The truth: About 58 cents of every state tax dollar funds education (K through higher education), and about 9 cents funds our corrections departments and facilities. Barely 2 of those 9 cents are spent on Measure 11 offenders. The Pew Center study included the nearly quarter-billion dollars the state of Oregon spends to fund local probation -- a cost that's picked up by municipalities and counties in most other states -- and it didn't include the state's support of Oregon Health & Science University or its many community colleges.....For Complete Article Click On Title Above.
Thursday, May 29, 2008
The Media: County Ponders Who Can And Who Can't Attend Certain Meetings
By JOE GAMM - The Daily Astorian
Who would make the list? That might be the question on the minds of people who would hope to be considered "media" by the Clatsop County Board of Commissioners.The Board considered implementing a media policy in a work session Wednesday evening.Commissioner Jeff Hazen said he hoped to give people an opportunity to comment on the proposed policy, but nobody came to the meeting to hear the Board's considerations. But the Board intends to hold a public hearing concerning establishment of a media policy.Under Oregon law, reporters from media organizations that regularly cover agencies may sit in on executive sessions, although they may not report what happens there. The emergence of Web bloggers and other more fragmented media sources for news has raised questions statewide about whether local newspaper and radio reporters should be the only ones allowed to sit in on executive sessions.Commissioner Ann Samuelson said Columbia County had struggled with determinations of who qualifies as media....For Full Story Click On Title Above
Who would make the list? That might be the question on the minds of people who would hope to be considered "media" by the Clatsop County Board of Commissioners.The Board considered implementing a media policy in a work session Wednesday evening.Commissioner Jeff Hazen said he hoped to give people an opportunity to comment on the proposed policy, but nobody came to the meeting to hear the Board's considerations. But the Board intends to hold a public hearing concerning establishment of a media policy.Under Oregon law, reporters from media organizations that regularly cover agencies may sit in on executive sessions, although they may not report what happens there. The emergence of Web bloggers and other more fragmented media sources for news has raised questions statewide about whether local newspaper and radio reporters should be the only ones allowed to sit in on executive sessions.Commissioner Ann Samuelson said Columbia County had struggled with determinations of who qualifies as media....For Full Story Click On Title Above
Associated Press Statement Of Ethical Principles
(Adopted 1994 as revision to APME Code of Ethics)
These principles are a model against which news and editorial staff members can measure their performance. They have been formulated in the belief that newspapers and the people who produce them should adhere to the highest standards of ethical and professional conduct.
The public's right to know about matters of importance is paramount. The newspaper has a special responsibility as surrogate of its readers to be a vigilant watchdog of their legitimate public interests.
No statement of principles can prescribe decisions governing every situation. Common sense and good judgment are required in applying ethical principles to newspaper realities. As new technologies evolve, these principles can help guide editors to insure the credibility of the news and information they provide. Individual newspapers are encouraged to augment these APME guidelines more specifically to their own situations.
RESPONSIBILITY
The good newspaper is fair, accurate, honest, responsible, independent and decent. Truth is its guiding principle.
It avoids practices that would conflict with the ability to report and present news in a fair, accurate and unbiased manner.
The newspaper should serve as a constructive critic of all segments of society. It should reasonably reflect, in staffing and coverage, its diverse constituencies. It should vigorously expose wrongdoing, duplicity or misuse of power, public or private. Editorially, it should advocate needed reform and innovation in the public interest. News sources should be disclosed unless there is a clear reason not to do so. When it is necessary to protect the confidentiality of a source, the reason should be explained.
The newspaper should uphold the right of free speech and freedom of the press and should respect the individual's right to privacy. The newspaper should fight vigorously for public access to news of government through open meetings and records.
ACCURACY
The newspaper should guard against inaccuracies, carelessness, bias or distortion through emphasis, omission or technological manipulation.
It should acknowledge substantive errors and correct them promptly and prominently.
INTEGRITY
The newspaper should strive for impartial treatment of issues and dispassionate handling of controversial subjects. It should provide a forum for the exchange of comment and criticism, especially when such comment is opposed to its editorial positions. Editorials and expressions of personal opinion by reporters and editors should be clearly labeled. Advertising should be differentiated from news.
The newspaper should report the news without regard for its own interests, mindful of the need to disclose potential conflicts. It should not give favored news treatment to advertisers or special-interest groups.
It should report matters regarding itself or its personnel with the same vigor and candor as it would other institutions or individuals. Concern for community, business or personal interests should not cause the newspaper to distort or misrepresent the facts.
The newspaper should deal honestly with readers and newsmakers. It should keep its promises.
The newspaper should not plagiarize words or images.
INDEPENDENCE
The newspaper and its staff should be free of obligations to news sources and newsmakers. Even the appearance of obligation or conflict of interest should be avoided.
Newspapers should accept nothing of value from news sources or others outside the profession. Gifts and free or reduced-rate travel, entertainment, products and lodging should not be accepted. Expenses in connection with news reporting should be paid by the newspaper. Special favors and special treatment for members of the press should be avoided.
Journalists are encouraged to be involved in their communities, to the extent that such activities do not create conflicts of interest.
Involvement in politics, demonstrations and social causes that would cause a conflict of interest, or the appearance of such conflict, should be avoided.
Work by staff members for the people or institutions they cover also should be avoided.
Financial investments by staff members or other outside business interests that could create the impression of a conflict of interest should be avoided.
Stories should not be written or edited primarily for the purpose of winning awards and prizes. Self-serving journalism contests and awards that reflect unfavorably on the newspaper or the profession should be avoided.
© 2008 THE ASSOCIATED PRESS. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
These principles are a model against which news and editorial staff members can measure their performance. They have been formulated in the belief that newspapers and the people who produce them should adhere to the highest standards of ethical and professional conduct.
The public's right to know about matters of importance is paramount. The newspaper has a special responsibility as surrogate of its readers to be a vigilant watchdog of their legitimate public interests.
No statement of principles can prescribe decisions governing every situation. Common sense and good judgment are required in applying ethical principles to newspaper realities. As new technologies evolve, these principles can help guide editors to insure the credibility of the news and information they provide. Individual newspapers are encouraged to augment these APME guidelines more specifically to their own situations.
RESPONSIBILITY
The good newspaper is fair, accurate, honest, responsible, independent and decent. Truth is its guiding principle.
It avoids practices that would conflict with the ability to report and present news in a fair, accurate and unbiased manner.
The newspaper should serve as a constructive critic of all segments of society. It should reasonably reflect, in staffing and coverage, its diverse constituencies. It should vigorously expose wrongdoing, duplicity or misuse of power, public or private. Editorially, it should advocate needed reform and innovation in the public interest. News sources should be disclosed unless there is a clear reason not to do so. When it is necessary to protect the confidentiality of a source, the reason should be explained.
The newspaper should uphold the right of free speech and freedom of the press and should respect the individual's right to privacy. The newspaper should fight vigorously for public access to news of government through open meetings and records.
ACCURACY
The newspaper should guard against inaccuracies, carelessness, bias or distortion through emphasis, omission or technological manipulation.
It should acknowledge substantive errors and correct them promptly and prominently.
INTEGRITY
The newspaper should strive for impartial treatment of issues and dispassionate handling of controversial subjects. It should provide a forum for the exchange of comment and criticism, especially when such comment is opposed to its editorial positions. Editorials and expressions of personal opinion by reporters and editors should be clearly labeled. Advertising should be differentiated from news.
The newspaper should report the news without regard for its own interests, mindful of the need to disclose potential conflicts. It should not give favored news treatment to advertisers or special-interest groups.
It should report matters regarding itself or its personnel with the same vigor and candor as it would other institutions or individuals. Concern for community, business or personal interests should not cause the newspaper to distort or misrepresent the facts.
The newspaper should deal honestly with readers and newsmakers. It should keep its promises.
The newspaper should not plagiarize words or images.
INDEPENDENCE
The newspaper and its staff should be free of obligations to news sources and newsmakers. Even the appearance of obligation or conflict of interest should be avoided.
Newspapers should accept nothing of value from news sources or others outside the profession. Gifts and free or reduced-rate travel, entertainment, products and lodging should not be accepted. Expenses in connection with news reporting should be paid by the newspaper. Special favors and special treatment for members of the press should be avoided.
Journalists are encouraged to be involved in their communities, to the extent that such activities do not create conflicts of interest.
Involvement in politics, demonstrations and social causes that would cause a conflict of interest, or the appearance of such conflict, should be avoided.
Work by staff members for the people or institutions they cover also should be avoided.
Financial investments by staff members or other outside business interests that could create the impression of a conflict of interest should be avoided.
Stories should not be written or edited primarily for the purpose of winning awards and prizes. Self-serving journalism contests and awards that reflect unfavorably on the newspaper or the profession should be avoided.
© 2008 THE ASSOCIATED PRESS. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Natural Gas In Pause Mode
CAMERON PARISH, La. — The cost of a gallon of gas gets all the headlines, but the natural gas that will heat many American homes next winter is going up in price as fast or faster.
That fact makes the scene in the languid, alligator-infested marshland here in coastal Louisiana all the more remarkable.
Only a month after Cheniere Energy inaugurated its $1.4 billion liquefied natural gas terminal here, an empty supertanker sat in its berth with no place to go while workers painted empty storage tanks.
The nearly idle terminal is a monument to a stalled experiment, one that was supposed to import so much L.N.G. from around the world that homes would be heated and factories humming at bargain prices.
But now L.N.G. shipments to the United States are slowing to a trickle, and Cheniere and other companies have dropped plans to build more terminals. ....For Complete Article Click On Title Above
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Housing Prices Tumbling @14% - Vegas 25%?
Andrew Clark - in New York - The Guardian
Wednesday May 28 2008
The fog of misery enveloping the American housing market has thickened with the sharpest drop in property prices for 20 years, leaving households in worst hit cities facing the prospect of their homes almost halving in value over a year.
Prices for US family homes fell 14.1% year-on-year during the first quarter according to the closely watched S&P/Case-Shiller index. Out of 20 cities in the survey, 19 reported a fall.
"There are very few silver linings in the data," said David Blitzer, chairman of the S&P index committee. "Most of the nation appears to remain on a downward path."
The downturn has left hundreds of thousands of people unable to refinance unaffordable sub-prime mortgages - a phenomenon widely viewed as one of the root causes of the credit crunch which has wreaked havoc through global markets......For A Read Of The Total Article Click On Title Above!
Wednesday May 28 2008
The fog of misery enveloping the American housing market has thickened with the sharpest drop in property prices for 20 years, leaving households in worst hit cities facing the prospect of their homes almost halving in value over a year.
Prices for US family homes fell 14.1% year-on-year during the first quarter according to the closely watched S&P/Case-Shiller index. Out of 20 cities in the survey, 19 reported a fall.
"There are very few silver linings in the data," said David Blitzer, chairman of the S&P index committee. "Most of the nation appears to remain on a downward path."
The downturn has left hundreds of thousands of people unable to refinance unaffordable sub-prime mortgages - a phenomenon widely viewed as one of the root causes of the credit crunch which has wreaked havoc through global markets......For A Read Of The Total Article Click On Title Above!
Monday, May 26, 2008
Patricia Roberts Voting Logic On Bradwood Landing - #1
Large Site Versus Small To Medium - A Matter Of Semantics Versus Reality
The Bradwood sub-area plan called for any development to be small to medium in scale. How can this development be considered small?There are two facts that indicate that this project can be identified as small to medium. GRP -The premise for most of the justification for the vote, per Roberts herself, on the sweeping approvals for this vote by Clatsop County B.O.C.C., was that they were site specific issues only and Bradwood/Northern Star had agreed verbally, no written agreement, to be as cooperative as "THEY" could be. First, the state of Oregon in an attempt to encourage development of former mill sires, around 1990, ruled that all former mill sites were exempt from any building size. ( other industrial site are limited to a 30,000 square foot square t building size for industrial development.) In fact Bradwood, a former mill site, is specifically named in Clatsop County documents as exempt from a limitation on building size. Second, the only other indicator of size in the planning documents state the relative number of acres of an industrial site. Large is defined as 100 acres or more. Bradwood, at 40 acres thus is on the lesser side of medium, or 50 acres. There is no height limit on industrial sites in Clatsop County.Further, the Board stipulated that the small to medium size limited the site to a maximum of two LNG tanks. The applicant had request three tanks. The applicant had also requested all language limiting the site to the small to medium size development be removed from the approval criteria. Their request was denied. Further the application is limited to the 36 mile pipeline included in the approval document. No other pipeline is included in this approval.
The Bradwood sub-area plan called for any development to be small to medium in scale. How can this development be considered small?There are two facts that indicate that this project can be identified as small to medium. GRP -The premise for most of the justification for the vote, per Roberts herself, on the sweeping approvals for this vote by Clatsop County B.O.C.C., was that they were site specific issues only and Bradwood/Northern Star had agreed verbally, no written agreement, to be as cooperative as "THEY" could be. First, the state of Oregon in an attempt to encourage development of former mill sires, around 1990, ruled that all former mill sites were exempt from any building size. ( other industrial site are limited to a 30,000 square foot square t building size for industrial development.) In fact Bradwood, a former mill site, is specifically named in Clatsop County documents as exempt from a limitation on building size. Second, the only other indicator of size in the planning documents state the relative number of acres of an industrial site. Large is defined as 100 acres or more. Bradwood, at 40 acres thus is on the lesser side of medium, or 50 acres. There is no height limit on industrial sites in Clatsop County.Further, the Board stipulated that the small to medium size limited the site to a maximum of two LNG tanks. The applicant had request three tanks. The applicant had also requested all language limiting the site to the small to medium size development be removed from the approval criteria. Their request was denied. Further the application is limited to the 36 mile pipeline included in the approval document. No other pipeline is included in this approval.
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