WTF HAPPENED to this blog.....??

Don't worry.....It'll be returning shortly.....




-E-

Saved by the bonus round final question:

WHO was the gay iconic actor who was featured in the John Waters film “Polyester”?

We nailed it! Took first place in a winner-take-all pub quiz tournament on Monday night. Six of us split $435……..we even beat a team composed of the Pub Quiz Oregon hosts who MC the weekly quizzes at various venues. They finished 7th out of 19 teams! I didn’t nail that John Waters movie question, actually, my teammate Philip got it for the win.

Still, though…..I nailed some questions throughout the quiz, such as identifying a picture of a skyscraper and correctly naming it and the city that it’s in (Taipei 101 – Taipei, Taiwan), as well as totally bombing some other questions (WHAT state was LDS founder Joseph Smith killed in? E: - “NO! No, guys, I’ve never been sooo sure of anything in my life! It’s fucking Missouri! Goddammit, trust me on this one, will ya??”).

I was to find out later that he was actually murdered in Illinois…..hmmm….

WHO was the actor in the question above?

None other than Tab Hunter!

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

You know it’s time to leave when……

It was my second-last day at work today, and my afternoon to baby-sit the planning counter. So, this person walks in and wants to see a case file of a neighbour who wanted to put theeeeee most absurd, four-tier, Godzilla of decks in their back yard and requested an adjustment to the minimum distance that their deck must be from the rear property line.

This guy’s voice just started to merge into a total drone: “….riiiight. And this desk doesn’t conform to neighbourhood standards, and is not in conformance with what the Homeowner’s Association says is…….blaaah blah blah….Gabba Gabba Hey…..etc.”

And it was at that exact moment where my mind just went into this bizarre mode where it felt like what one must see and hear when on an acid trip (I wouldn’t know firsthand). My mind just kept playing back the word “conform” and, at first it would just totally drrrraaaaag and drag like it was being played on a 16 R.P.M. turntable. Then, suddenly, somebody flipped the R.P.M. switch on the record player to 78 R.P.M. and then it was really FAST high-pitched helium “conformconformconformconformCONFORM!!!!!” I almost was starting to go into bad high school flashbacks when I just got up, walked away and told the guy if he needed any copies of the records to have Mary (our gatekeeper) phone me……


What I experienced was not unlike this Simpsons scene where Homer eats the world’s hottest chili at the chili cook-off in Springfield.


It was something out of Office Space….


- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -


In recent posts, I’d mentioned that I’m going to put my Asus EEE pc through something I referred to as “….the road trip from hell.”

Well, that time is nigh, actually. Monday afternoon, I begin the first segment of the Road Trip From Hell. And I’ll attempt to post on it every day. But as I mentioned in the last post, this is going to be thee final post on this blog page until August.

The events of Road Trip From Hell are to be found on the following page:

http://skooter-on-101.blogspot.com

The prior posts on that page were written by my skooter, a Honda CN250 Helix. It talks about an ill-fated ride I had planned to take south along the Oregon Coast to San Francisco about a year or so ago. It is just basically rubbish where my skooter whines about how I ignored the tread depth of the rear tire on the skooter, and thus, how we got stuck in the middle of the Coast Mountain rainforest with dead-zero chance of any cellular fone coverage. But thass all in the past now! I know now that when little tiny steel threads are protruding from my skooter’s tire, that it is suggested that I not try to push it for another 400 miles or so…….

Wish me luck…….I’ll be back at you on Monday Afternoon on http://skooter-on-101.blogspot.com

-E-

Ran into my Job at work the other day......

"Hi E" my Job smiled and said cheerfully!

"Uuuuh.....yeeeeeaaaaah, so, Job, if you could just go ahead, and meet me in my office this afternoon around....oooooh......say three, that'd be grrreeeeeaaaaaaaat......Mmmm-Kay?" I asked it.

"Uhh.....sure......sure thing" replied my Job. "But I forgot.....I have a meeting with The Bobs at 3PM....."

"This really won't take long" I responded......

I thought to myself "Hmmm.....think that The Bobs have something here........it probably IS better to do this on a Friday......"

Three O'clock rolled by.....a knock on my door......

My Job stammered nervously: "Uuuh......y-y-you wanted to see me, E?"

"Yes....yes.....please, have a seat"

"Th-th-errmmm....thank you"

"Not a problem. Riiiiigggght.....well, Job.....we have had a few executive-level meetings.....and we have decided that we really need to make a few changes around here, and we felt......."

"W-w-whaaa kinda changes, like.....?"

"Well, Job, I have to lay it out on the table for you. Sadly.....weeeellll.......I really don't think that things have really been......aaaaaah......uuuuuh......a, uh, 'good fit' for you here, and we think it's mutually beneficial if we.....uuuuuh.....sorta parted ways mutually."

"What? What??" trembled my Job. "Whaaaa are you playing at? I really don't quite understand where this is going......."

"Well, Job" I continued to it, "uuuuh....yeeeeaaaaaaah.....well, uh, we're kinda requesting that you step down from your position as My Job, and that way, nobody loses face, and ......"

"Whaaaa? Huh? Whaaaaa.......???? I don't understand this at all? I'm lost. Whaaa? Of COURSE I'm not going to quit my employee. I like my employee......"

"Uhhh....yeah, Job. Uhhhh......sadly, it's not really a matter that's open for discussion. Actually, we feel it best this way when you resign. We, as an employee, would rather not terminate you, actually, and we feel that........."

My Job started to tremble slightly in the chair across from my desk, then started to sob softly......

"I don't understand! I have allowed you to play on my nice office machines for 8 hours a day. I provided you with a refrigerator. I have provided you with a place to spend time in between 8AM and 5PM. I think I really DO possess the potential to be promoted someday to career!!!"

It started to shake.....

"WHY are you doing this to me???" my Job demanded, through clenched teeth. I was beginning to feel intimidated, but I reeeeeaaalllly was hoping that this was NOT going to turn into once of those scene moments where my Job gets dragged out by security in front of all of the other jobs who still have their employee.......thank Christ I was able to calm it down!

"Right....right.....I understand, Job....this has got to be difficult for you! But things haven't really been working out with you the way we had anticipated.....I mean, the talk of respect in the Job place.....zero tolerance against bullying.....about how you tend to promote all of your employees internally. Remember that first interview, Job?"

"OK.....OK.....OK!!!!!!! OK.....so, I haven't quite lived up to my advertisement in the newspaper! But please, E.....give me another chance!!! I CAN put a stop to bullying in the workplace and I CAN work harder to promote from within! Please, E.....one more chance......??"

"Job....seriously. I'm sorry....I just really haven't seen much. Just a lot of unfilled promises, and disappointing results. And, sadly.....we have just decided that we're ready to move in a new direction...."

"NEW DIRECTION???" screamed Job. "What the FUCK kinda bullshit buzzword is that??"

Now now....let's all just try to relax here.....I mean, Job.....I'm NOT leaving you high and dry. I mean, we offer career counselling.....so, one day, maybe you WILL BECOME somebody's career. Plus - and you have my word on this - If you go to The State Department of Labour, I'm NOT going to make statements that will prevent you from getting unemployEE insurance. Plus, we'll give you a small severance, and also, we'll take you free of charge, to the employee fair at the Expo Centre, and we'll also..............."

"But", choked my Job, "I have a wife and three teenage job-lets at home? How am I going to feed them?? How am I going to pay for advertising for them when the time is right for then to have their first employee??"

Well, that's something you and your Human Resources conscious are going to have to work out together!

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

And, sadly.....

In two weeks from today, I is gonna be hanging up THIS PARTICULAR web site for about four or five months.....until about August 20th, 2008.

I'll be out of the country for a few weeks, and then, upon my return, I'll be riding my skooter across the U.S.A. and maybe through a lot of Canada (IF our Yankee Green stops getting it arse kicked ten ways to Sunday on international currency markets!!!).

If you wanna put me up and let me crash on your floorspace forra night or two....let me know by May 1st!! I'd appreciate it!

I'll put the address of the road trip stories on this web page shortly (as soon as I can set one up)!!

-E-

Back from the Land of Enchantment.....




















Sorry.....been deathly ill the last coupla weeks, just NOW finally getting over it.......


....still though, a trip to the desert and some tables to dance on will always make things all better.

















....still no excuse NOT to blather here every so often, though, soooo......

• WHAT are these people thinking?

The following was cut-and-pasted without permission from The Buffalo News (since the fucking hyperlink expires in less than two weeks of opriginal posting by The News) -

'Low-income' apartment complex in Cheektowaga receives tax breaks despite high rents and perks

Collegiate Crossings draws complaints of prejudice

By Thomas J. Dolan NEWS STAFF REPORTERUpdated: 03/13/08 8:27 AM

When it is finished, Collegiate Crossings in Cheektowaga will collect rents as high as $2,480 per month for a four-bedroom apartment and provide tenants security gates and fences, a pool, a new $2.5 million community center and other perks.

Former residents of the development were displaced in order to make way for the project.

But Collegiate Crossings is a low-income project — state law says — because of the role played by the tiny public housing authority that serves Kenmore.

“They’re using $100 million in tax-exempt financing to displace hundreds of families, and then developers will double or quadruple rents for students who will replace them,” predicted Scott Gehl, executive director of Housing Opportunities Made Equal.

HOME has filed discrimination charges on behalf of three African- American college students who were ordered to vacate the complex when work began on Collegiate Crossings.

The case highlights the influence of the Kenmore Housing Authority, which has wielded its power to issue tax-free bonds under a Depression Era law that was intended to provide decent housing for low-income tenants.

With a total of 200 residents, Kenmore’s housing agency ranks as one of the area’s smallest providers of low-income housing. But it shows plenty of muscle when it comes to financing multimillion- dollar projects outside the village.

Kenmore’s agency has raised $30 million for new dorms for the University at Buffalo, $15 million to refurbish two apartment projects in Amherst and a total of about $15 million for senior citizen projects in the Town of Tonawanda and Cheektowaga.

An attorney for the Kenmore agency says that the projects abide by the law and that the agency also is allowed to collect fees for its activities, which are used to support Kenmore’s own housing units.

But Gehl said that in order for the Cheektowaga project to go forward, students who might truly benefit from low-income housing are being forced out in favor of students who don’t need it.

One student said apartment managers told her that, in order to become a tenant in Collegiate Crossing, she should ask officials at her school if they “accepted the arrangement.” But perplexed school officials told her, “They had no idea what I was talking about and . . . that my housing was not their decision to make,” HOME’S complaint says.

Another student said managers offered to relocate her to an apartment that was not scheduled for renovations, but she declined because the rent was $30 more per month and there were no laundry facilities.

“They were each offered alternatives,” Gehl said, “but the only deals they offered these students were bad deals.”

Earlier this year, state human rights officials also charged that Collegiate Crossings “unlawfully perpetuates segregation” by excluding families, African-Americans and elderly tenants who want to live there. The state has since withdrawn its charges and rejoined talks with the developer aimed at settling the complaints.

Attorney Timothy C. Cashmore defended the Kenmore authority, saying a clause in the state’s public housing law qualifies Collegiate Crossings as housing for low-income residents.
Under the law, students at the Cheektowaga development may have incomes of up to $53,280 a year, and rents — which are charged on a per-bed basis — will total $2,480 a month in a four-bedroom apartment.

In contrast, federally sponsored housing projects, like those run by the Kenmore agency in its two buildings on Kenmore Avenue near Colvin Boulevard, have stricter income limits — no more than $20,750 for a single person or $29,650 for a family of four.

The difference stems from a section of the state law that defines a low-income tenant as one whose income “does not exceed six times the rental (including the value or cost to them of heat, light, water and cooking fuel).”

“That’s absolutely ridiculous,” said attorney Michael L. Hanley, who represents low-income clients in major housing cases. “We’ve said for years that formula makes absolutely no sense.” (E-Note: Ya think????)

State records show the “low-income” definition has remained largely intact in the 69 years since the law was passed. The only change has been to increase the multiplier from five to “six times the rental.” As a result, Hanley said: “You could take the fanciest apartment that you can build and that would just make more rich people eligible.”

Kenmore officials refused to be interviewed for this article and referred all questions to Cashmore, who said the housing authority first used the “six times the rent” formula when it provided financing about a decade ago for the 155-unit Hadley Road Village apartments on UB’s North (Amherst) Campus.

However, UB’s rents are lower than those for Collegiate Crossings and are based on the apartment unit, rather than per bed. As a result, when compared on a equal basis, income limits are lower than those at the Cheektowaga apartments.

Mark Chason, the developer of Collegiate Crossings, said he plans to offer $500 discounts for some apartments starting in about 2010, as a way to make them more affordable to students with families.

tdolan@buffnews.com


OK, now at first I couldn't, for the life of me, figure out WHAT the actual, true ulterior motive is for building and pricing these things is?? Let's look at some basic realities and facts here:

1. This IS Western New York. Average rents for, say a drawn-and-quartered old house on Ashland or Richmond or Elmwood for a two-bedroom (and actually, quite a large two-bedroom, usually) in a hipster neighbourhood is roughly $650 to $700 per month for a rather nice place!! This "Collegiate Crossings" place??? A two bedroom goes for, like, $800-plus per month.....PER PERSON/PER BEDROOM!!! Generally, MY interpretation of "low-income" is based on ability to pay rent. Lowered rents, rent-control, etc. etc. How the hell did New York State make THAT interpretation of the law, that just because tenants don't have an income of SIX TIMES the monthly rent, that it automatically qualifies for "low-income" status? Leave it to New York State to come up with something THAT bizarre....



2. Just WHAT college/university is this proposed complex NEAR to?? If it IS indeed intended for college brats (and I seriously do NOT think that this is the true target demographic of this developer)......they better have a hell of a large car park at this complex, 'cause nothing is within walking distance AT ALL, and thee closest higher education institution (UB - Buffalo/University Heights campus) pretty much involves taking two different buses. Errmmm-humm, like, you're reeeaaallly gonna want to take a Metro Bus from UB-Buffalo to home in Ken-Eggert after dark (4PM in Winter)????.....OK. So what is in Buffalo? Well, UB - Buffalo/University Heights campus (whatever's actually REMAINING and FUNCTIONING of it nowadays), and THAT is thee only school even remotely close to this Collegiate Crossings development!!! Literally, Canisius and Medaille and D'Youville and Buff State are all on the central and far west sides of the city (Ken-Eggert is far EAST side of City). UB Amherst Campus (where, like, 90% of all University of Buffalo classes are held) is almost (seriously) impossible to reach from Kensington and Eggert without a car, and EVEN THEN, with a car, it's 30-plus minutes. Nothing in terms of schools on the east side of Buffalo or in Cheektowaga. And there are one or two tiny colleges in The Southtowns that are about the size of my apartment....but even then, they're a serious haul by car from this proposed development! Uhhh......interesting....so why THAT location (Kensington-Eggert) for a college student-oriented residential complex? Interesting.....
   

OK....

Here's the scoop.....

Uuuhhh....pretty much, this place is gonna draw really gullible and totally unsuspecting New York City kids whose parents want them out of the house, so they ship them off to UB (or Buff State, or wherever).

To THESE people, $1600 a month for a two bedroom is amazing!!!! CHEAP!!! Shit, they don't care WHERE it is located!

OK....good. But, after about four or five years, word's gonna git around amongst the out-of-town student population, and shortly, it'll be discovered what a TRUE rip-off this "Collegiate Crossings" place really is, how dangerous the neighbourhood is, and how much cooler (and cheaper) shit really is on The Elmwood Strip!!!

So what happens, then?

Then, the Kenmore Housing Authority screams that the complex has less than 50% occupancy, and that they can't make a go of it financially, and now they're going to have to turn it into MARKET RATE CONDOMINIUMS to avoid foreclosure!!

Errmmm-Hum.....bet ya a beer on it! Give this five years after construction is completed. Wait and see.....

Market-Rate Condominiums.....subsidized with low-income Government housing money!

Aren't Capitalism and America wonderful......? HOPEFULLY, the Cheektowaga town council will crush this proposal in the bud!!!!

Gentrifacation.......coming soon to a neighbourhood near you!

• OK....so, anyways, just curious.....
  

Saw this pic on a bus stop wall in The Hills of Cedar. I don't get it.....I must be feeling pretty thick today. Anyone....anyone.....Bueller......Bueller......?????

....and also, (saw this at the laundrette the other day) who the hell's gonna put a person in the washer?? Especially when they tell you not only to not put a specific person in there, but do not put ANY person in there....

Too weird......

More on Friday (tomorrow).....

-E-

Random blatherings whilst.....

.....waiting for my Oscar Pool picks to go straight down the toilet......as they have for the past 17 years I've been in this pool....

• Speaking of flicks....

Was at my local video store and actually saw the following DVD for rent:



















At first.....I thought it was a joke. But after reading the back of the box, I sadly found out that it wasn't.

I mean, besides blatantly ripping off of the unfunny VIZ comic strip Johnny Fartpants (right down to the wardrobe of the main charactor) - you can't tell me that Rupert Grint is especially proud of this gem now appearing in the "New Releases" section of Blockbuster Video stores all over the world! Especially since it was made in 2002....

• Gets MY vote (again)....

As mentioned in past posts here....I had E-Mailed my State Representative (Suzanne Bonamici) regarding notifying ALL ADDRESSES ON RECORD (NOT just property owners) within an XXX-foot radius of any major (Type II or Type III) Land Use proposal. Not only did Suzy Q politely give me a lesson on legislative procedure in the State of Oregon, but she actually stated that she may indeed introduce such legislation the next time legislation CAN ACTUALLY BE INTRODUCED in the House.

Plus, she actually READ "Roughly the 18,472,054th blog on the 'Net....."


As Rep. Bonamici wrote to me:

Dear E,

I'm sorry if I did not make myself clear. You do have an idea worth considering, but the Oregon Legislature is not a full-time law-making body. In general, we meet every other year on odd numbered years. At present, we are in a special session for the month of February only, but because of the compressed time frame, House members were not permitted to introduce bills. All of the House bills are concepts that were introduced by Committees and all had been drafted (by Legislative Counsel, who is required to draft all legislation) prior to the start of the session.

Many of the bills had pre-session informational hearings. All bills need to have public hearings and pass both chambers before approval. We have already passed the time for consideration of House bills (Feb. 12th) and will now start hearing bills that have passed the Senate. In other words, although it seems like a simple change to statute, there is no possible way for me to do this now.

In the fall, by October or November, we will be submitting ideas to Legislative Counsel for drafting. Those concepts will become bills for the session starting January, 2009. Unless someone provides me with a compelling reason not to do so, I will submit your concept at that time.

Thank you for writing again (and for giving me a moment of virtual fame on your blog!)

Best regards,

Suzanne Bonamici

State Representative, House District 34
900 Court St. NE, H-374
Salem, OR 97301
503.986.1434 (Capitol office)

Just like an Oregonian........

IF you reside in Oregon's 34th House of Representatives District.....I strongly urge you to re-elect Rep. Bonamici.

In several states that I've lived in (ESPECIALLY New York State)......this sort of personalised response from your state rep would be produced to you after a $100 campaign contribution.

• Time-wasting website of the day......

......I can only wish my blog were THIS good!!!

I give you....STUFF THAT WHITE PEOPLE LIKE!!

Which hits painfully close to home....given that two ex-girlfriends and one relative of mine epitomise about 85% of the things listed in this website....

(Thanx to Morseyboy for fishing this out for me).

• Oh yeah....also went to New Orleans last weekend....
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

Ya gotta love historical Southern post cards....


Fascinating stuff, actually. Post-Katrina effect was a bit weird. New Orleans itself looks like it's coming back strong, but yet, although being alledged to receiving more Federal Disaster Relief (because of having a Republican Governor and being the home state of Trent Lott), the Mississippi Gulf Coast looked like it never quite recovered. WAS gonna take a picture of a couple of FEMA trailer parks right on both sides of I-10 in Gulfport, but I really thought better of that idea. Found out that the Best Western I stayed at in Gulfport, three months before what locals simply refer to as "The Storm" hit, had been imploded last year.

Friendliest folks you'll ever want to meet, though.....even if they do make fun of the way I say the word "Biloxi" (the letter o in "Biloxi" is NOT pronounced like the second o in "Ora-gaaaaaan").











Gulfport, MS beach





















Souvenir shop in Gulfport that JUST IS NOW beginning to be deconstructed and replaced (and this sort of sight was not unusual along the Mississippi Gulf Coast).












But signs of rebuilding (a brand new Holiday Inn) can be found...












And, given my propensity for champagne-sipping Socialism (needed to remove all the guilt), the view from the 25th floor out the window of my hotel room....

• Finally......a book suggestion.....

Grab Chuck Thompson's "Smile When You're Lying - Confessions of a Rogue Travel Writer"

The Rocky Mountain News lambasted it - but it may have something to do with the author's feelings about Colorado:

"Give me a year in a proctologist's waiting room, or even Utah, over a Midwestern state posing as a Western one., the soul-crushing blandness of Denver (Obviously, he's not been to South Denver or Capital Hill), and McCondos covering every decent hillside (VERY factual point)."

Yeah....review was a bit thin-skinned on the part of The Rocky, but still....if Thompson had ever spent time in places like Durango, Westcliff, and The Great Sand Dunes, I suspect that Colorado wouldn't have made his list of places that he's supposed to like, but doesn't.


But still....it's a welcome break from the dreck that people like Fodor's put out.

Ahhhhhhh.......a travel book for the rest of us....


More later....

-E-


And I just watched Tilda Swinton take the Best Supporting Actress category. WTF?? NOT to take anything away from her fine acting, but man....online gambling websites had her as 30:1 to win....THIRTY-TO-ONE.....Jesus......upset city!!!

Not exactly having a great time...........

.....here in New Orleans (for a number of different reasons....not the least of which is that this rocket scientist decided to check it out during the NBA all-star weekend here in New Orelans.....and I follow pro basketball with the same intensity as I follow NASCAR.....as in, none!), so we won't waste time talking about it. Free Wi-Fi at MSY airport is cool, though.


And the EEE pc took its first spill yesterday. It got caught up in a coat in the overhead bin on the flight, and, when the lady tried to free her coat from the bin, the EEE pc case was so small, she didn't even notice it. It dropped straight to the floor of the plane!!!!


I'm posting right now on the EEE pc......


.....'nother test passed!!!! I'm feeling more and more confident in this thing to pass the Enduro-Road-Trip-From-Hell, which will be coming up shortly.....




Plus, had my first PoBoy....got it, looked at it and thought: "'the fuck's THIS? Man, I can do the same thing wiff a tube of Jimmy Dean and some French bread!!" But it was quite good, sooo....














Tastes yummy with something called "remoulade" slathered on it!!


And, tell me the last time you saw Airline personnel wearing boots like this:

















This town's got a lot of problems.....and they're NOT ALL Katrina-related.....



On a totally separate note....can Erie County voters recall Frank Clark??

Jussa thought.....

More later....


-E-

Will wonders ever cease?

....in the ongoing struggle of E vs. The State House

Actually got a response to the E-Mail of the last post (05 FEB 2008):

Dear E,

Thank you for writing to me regarding the former Cedar Hills Hospital. I appreciate hearing from you.

I have toured the proposed facility and have talked at length with the people who are applying for the certificate of need. I feel confident that this will be a secure facility and that neighbors will not be in danger once the hospital is operational; they will be treating sick people, not criminals. It is unfortunate that you did not learn about the plans from the company making the proposal and I have encouraged them to hold a neighborhood meeting to answer questions and provide reassurance. Additionally, the company plans to do several million dollars worth of renovation and if the facility is approved, they will be providing many good paying jobs both during the construction phase and at the hospital once it opens.

You do make a valid point about notification to renters and I will keep this idea in mind when considering legislation for the future..



If you have further questions or concerns on this issue, please feel free to contact my office any time.



Best Regards,

Suzanne Bonamici



Representative Suzanne Bonamici

900 Court St. NE H-374

Salem, OR 97301

503-986-1434 office

rep.suzannebonamici@state.or.us



So, I responded to the Representitive:

Hey Suzie-Q, (OK...no, I didn't open it like that, but still......)

I first off wish to thank you for your prompt response. The fact that you took the time to E-Mail back to me means a great deal to this constituant!

However, again....I am officially NEUTRAL on the re-opening of the Cedar Hills Hospital.

Ma'am, the crux of my E-Mail (as convoluted as it was) is my grave concern about the fact that the notification process DOES INDEED have to be changed to include ALL KNOWN ADDRESSES WITHIN AN XXX-FOOT RADIUS FROM the proposed site of the Land Use Review....instead of the current statute requirement of notifying land-owners only!

As you stated in your E-Mail, yes, indeed: It WOULD have been nice for AscentHealth to have a neighbourhood meeting to INFORM and REASSURE neighbours of this project.....

Obviously, they believed that it wasn't in their best interest to do so......

Sadly, I must respectfully disagree with you, ma'am, in that notification of ALL addresses, including shopkeepers leasing in strip malls or tenants renting apartments, is hardly an issue for consideration. Rather, I feel that it is a matter that should be addressed quickly.

Honestly, Representative Bonamici, it is a simple matter of altering the language of Oregon Revised Statute 215.416.11.E.c.A and 227.175.10.E.c.A



FROM:

"Notice of a decision under paragraph (a) of this subsection shall be provided to the applicant and TO THE OWNERS OF RECORD OF PROPERTY on the most recent property tax assessment roll where such property is located:"

TO:

"Notice of a (i) DEVELOPMENT APPLICATION BEING SUBMITTED TO THE GOVERNING BODY (ii) decision under paragraph (a) of this subsection shall be provided to the applicant and TO RESIDENTS OF ALL KNOWN ADDRESSES ON FILE WITH THE (City/County) BUILDING OFFICIAL OF THE JURISIDICTION and to the owners of record of property on the most recent property tax assessment roll where such property is located:"



In Public Sector Urban Planning, we call this a "Text Amendment" when we alter our Development Code in this manner.

It's not an idea with life-threatening implications for the entire state.....it's a change in the text and the notifying requirements for development actions when a proposed development action may have adverse effects to the nearby residents.

It's not even time consuming.....heck, I just formatted an example for you, ma'am. :-)


Representative Bonamici, if you feel that this wording and the new requirement that it carries should not be introduced into the House, I respectfully request to hear you opinions and reasoning.


Many thanks again, and keep up the great work!

Sincerely,

-E-


I ain't holding my breath on this one.....my pockets ain't deep enough to actually have any sort of legitimate influence!

Hmmm....really don't care much for the guy, but if the Legislature ignores this issue........wonder if I can get Bill Sizemore and OSPIRG on board with this......

......although, getting them in THE SAME ROOM together would be a newsworthy event....


-E-