Land Use Watch

The end of ranching (and the need for land use safeguards)

Peter — Thu, 08 May 2008 06:53:11 +0000

I went to a recent county foreclosure sale. Most of the parcels were isolated lots of land. One that was interesting was 60 acres in the middle of nowhere.

Before the auction, a soft-spoken man called attention to himself. He said that one of the properties for sale was surrounded by his land, that there was no legal access, no mineral rights. No matter. The price was bid and bid and bid. And the winning bidder coolly bid for all the remaining parcels, even after a second rancher spoke up about another parcel. The old rancher sighed at the end.

No doubt the winning bidder was an Ebayer or other guy looking to turn a quick buck (that’s at least my opinion). How can a land-rich and cash-poor rancher afford to expand his ranch? How can he survive?

Well, at least in Oregon this land won’t be developed into hundreds of subdivisions. That’s what happens in other states (an Ebayer or other speculator will buy a larger lot, split it, and sell the remains to homebuilders).

oregon, pessimism

View from Harney County

Peter — Thu, 08 May 2008 06:45:00 +0000

Mustangs on the range…

optimism, oregon

Arrowhead water, Nestle, and the degradation of the environment

Peter — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 07:50:00 +0000

For whatever reason, I keep getting a large number of hits to the blog entry I wrote on Glaceau Smartwater.

Well, here’s an article about the mad profit-seeking of asshole corporations like Nestle and their bottled water division:

Nestlé Waters has run into a wall of opposition, prompting it to delay construction and resubmit its environmental permit application. Since learning about the bottling plant, nearly half of McCloud’s 1,300 residents have mobilized into a well-armed resistance force. Furious that their elected representatives inked the deal without consulting them and worried about the potential impact the plant could have on Mount Shasta’s delicate local hydrology, they have ordered up studies, signed up wealthy backers, and lobbied politicians.

rivers

A devastating year (so far) for Oregon and the environment…

Peter — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 07:43:26 +0000

This year is bad. Very bad. Things are bleak, bleak. Here are the things on the top of my mind that have, are, or likely will happen in terms of the environment and Oregon… I don’t have time to link back, so search Google for specifics on any of them…

Palomar LNG pipeline ripping up farmland and forest.
LNG terminal at Astoria received county approval and will almost certainly get FERC approval.
Western Oregon Plan Revisions approval to massively increase logging on BLM lands (that even its own scientists say is badly flawed).
Hush money paid to Indian tribes to back-off and repudiate their formal demands that Snake/Columbia river dams be removed.
Destination resorts in Central Oregon, including at the headwaters of the Metolius River, are marching forward.
Casino in the Gorge increasingly likely.
Approval for mega-resort in the Gorge, with hundreds of houses, approved.
Salmon stocks declining to the point that all commercial fisheries are closing (even the fisherman want them closed which tells you something).

It’s on and on with this crap. And, as you know, once a destination resort is built, it is there for the long haul. It ain’t moving. To defend the environment, you need to win each and every battle. When developers “lose” a battle, they simply can try again and again. And if they ever win, there’s no turning things back.

The solution to these issues? Well, in the short term, for many of them, the courts.

In the long term, here are a few late night thoughts:

1. Increasing outreach and education of citizens as to the value and necessity of strong environmental safeguards, including land use planning and regulations. The concept of “community rights” needs to have as much play as the recently hyped and faulty notion of “(individual) property rights”.

2. In regards to education, the twin issues of the value of biodiversity and the value of habitat needs increasing play. Too much of the attention is on “energy” issues and global warming. And while these issues are indeed important, we’re seeing death by a thousand cuts with loss of critical habitat and biodiversity. To this end, these issues should somehow be tied to the increasingly popular issues of global warming, etc… you know, habitat as a heat sink, etc. I dunno… but the message needs to shift to facts on the ground, rather than lofty somewhat vague “scare” issues like energy and warming.

3. More Democratic judges and legislators. And I am not taking about rubes like Barack Obama and other compromisers who give with one hand and take away with the other (Obama went along with the Energy plan which has landed us with all these LNG terminals). We need Democratic fighters who won’t back down when faced with ugly pressure groups. And we need more Democratic judges (because there is no such thing as a disinterested judge… all judges are partisan one way or another) to help assert State’s rights to regulate and control what happens with our state.

4. Stronger land use laws on both the federal and local levels. As we’ve seen with some of these mega-projects, when approval by the state happens, they still need approval by the federal government under some different law. Or vice versa. As such, the best bulwark against the anti-environment forces at work are overlapping laws, allowing for multi-jurisdictional defenses.

5. More advocacy groups and more money to them. These groups are increasingly important in terms of the above points. But it would be nice to see some of them divested from their commercial or corporate benefactors, and the ability to be a bit more scrappy and flexible. Philanthropy, generally, needs to shift some of its efforts to conservation and the environment; such issues currently receive a fraction of overall giving.

oregon, pessimism

Columbia River Gorge Commission sells out to mega-developers

Peter — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 07:27:34 +0000

That’s my opinion, anyway.

To go with the new casino, the LNG terminals and pipelines… the Columbia river will soon sprout a $90 million dollar resort and hundreds of homes:

The agency charged by Congress with protecting the Columbia River Gorge voted Tuesday to revise its land-use management plan in a move that could clear the way for development of a large-scale resort featuring several hundred individually owned housing units.

The controversial 10-2 decision by the Columbia River Gorge Commission marks the first step toward construction of an estimated $80-million to $90-million recreation resort with townhouse or condo-style units the size of small homes. It would be the only resort on land outside designated urban areas in the gorge. Opponents say it is residential housing masquerading as a “commercial recreation” project.

online pharmacycialislevitrasomaviagra
These guys are fighting this tooth and nail.

rivers, sprawl, stupid

LNG and the Columbia: bad news

Peter — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 07:54:27 +0000

Ugh:

Plans to approve land-use charges needed for a proposed liquefied natural gas plant on the Columbia River won approval this week from Clatsop County commissioners.

Incidentally, that ballot initiative idea that may get on Clatsop ballots probably won’t do much good. It would only prevent pipeline from less than a mile of land, and so it could be worked around.

Will Kulongoski get more aggressive, please? Come on buddy, use your powers. Connecticut’s governor is raising holy hell over FERC siting in his state. Why can’t you? Stop being such an annoyingly even-keeled and compromising politician. You’re reminding me of Obama.

Speaking of Obama… we can thank him and his Republican buddies for this LNG mess. Clinton and the entire Oregon Democratic delegation voted against giving FERC such siting powers. Obama voted with the Republicans.

Meanwhile, where are major environmental orgs like Portland Audubon and 1000 Friends on this issue? It’s one thing to put something on your Web site about it (well, Audubon actually has nothing on this issue at all); it’s another thing to actively get people engaged. I keep getting email about possible development of a golf course from these orgs, but, uh, isn’t this whole LNG pipeline and terminals thing far more important? Could it have something to do with the fact that Northwest Natural figures prominently for these organizations?

1000 friends, LNG, oregon, pessimism, rivers

The Feds successfully bribe tribes to back off Columbia river complaints

Peter — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 07:43:02 +0000

Warm Springs and other tribes get hundreds of millions (through higher electricity rates) in exchange for not advocating for dam removals.

Federal agencies approached Oregon officials about joining a similar agreement about 18 month ago. But the talks ended when federal officials would not consider higher spills and other changes in dam operations, said Michael Carrier, Kulongoski’s natural resources advisor.

Many salmon advocates share that sentiment. The habitat and hatchery improvements in the agreements are laudable, said Bill Shake, a former fisheries biologist and U.S. Fish and Wildlife official now advising the Northwest Sportfishing Industry Association. But the agreements “keep in place the status quo of federal dam operation,” Shake said. “The status quo will simply not get this region to healthy levels of salmon and steelhead.”

And here:

Critics such as the nonprofit law firm Earthjustice says, the agreements are of little benefit to the salmon because the four dams that block their access from stream to ocean and back again are still there.

“This new deal would roll back recent victories improving dam operations for salmon,” said Earthjustice attorney Todd True. “The opportunity to restore these fish is rapidly slipping away. BPA and the other federal agencies under this administration have consistently been more interested in protecting the status quo than in restoring wild salmon. Today’s deal is a good example of that failed approach.”

But $900 million is a lot of money. How will it be used exactly? That is a bit amorphous… but according to the article it will include expanding fish hatchery operations. So more salmon in the rivers (thanks to fish hatchery stock) will continue to mask the continuing and appalling decline of native runs. Next time you go to the fish viewing window at Bonneville, you can marvel at how the current years salmon count is so far above the 10 year average… and you may wonder what the problem is?

So maybe now that they’re flush with cash, Warm Springs will back off their off-reservation casino plans for the Columbia gorge?

Unlikely.

Greed is a powerful thing.

endangered species, rivers, salmon

David Bragdon, infill, and the need for better land use laws (and politicians)

Peter — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 08:39:26 +0000

This article in today’s Oregonian expounds on various grumblings about infill in Portland. What’s perhaps noteworthy are the nature of some of the complaints:

Chasse often hears from Powellhurst-Gilbert neighbors upset about developers cutting the towering Douglas firs that grace much of outer Southeast Portland.

And while this particular area may be outside of Metro’s reach, what’s striking is that Metro, rather than apparently expanding regulations that require certain types of development standards, holds a silly design contest:

Metro, the regional government, tried to address that with a winter design contest called “Integrating Habitats.” Contestants entered designs in three categories: A “big box” store, a mixed-use development or an infill project for a city block.

The challenge was to go beyond energy-efficient buildings and come up with designs that retained trees and enhanced streams and wildlife habitat.

There’s certainly nothing wrong with a brainstorming session, or even a contest. But what would be nice is if these contests and sessions actually led to regulations and safeguards enacted by Metro and other governments that retain trees and protect streams and habitat. After all, there really are few developers who will voluntarily do these things unless there is some financial or reputational incentive.

But such is par for the course for anti-environment Metro head, politician David Bragdon, who apparently had a road-to-Damascus conversion a few years ago with his tail-between-knees retreat in the face of property rights opposition to some of his regulatory proposals. Now, when he is not giving speeches to Oregonians In Action, he apparently loves to push daft “market solutions” things like this contest.

Bragdon, of course, fails to connect the dots and realize that pimping design contests won’t compel developers to build better. He will be left with a bunch of fancy balsa wood models (or maybe recycled bamboo?)… but so what? Without development standards and safeguards, these things will only rarely happen, if at all.

(For the remainder of his term, I expect worthless Bragdon will do nothing bolder than this little contest. Well, maybe he will be bold. Maybe he will, as others have suggested, push for more “market solutions” in the Big Look task force report. Or maybe he will go and hand-feed a condor chick at the zoo breeding program.)

Government cannot simply allow for subdivision of 10000 square foot lots without also providing regulations to protect neighboring property owners. Such protection, among other things, should include preservation, maximization, or establishment of native flora… and incorporation of other ameliorations that doubtlessly that contest helped reveal!

Oh, and if Mr. Bragdon and others don’t quickly do just that, what will end up happening is hinted at in this rather poor explanation for better design:

“Both Oregon and Washington have urban growth boundaries,” she says. “There’s increased pressure to use land more efficiently. If you can’t go out because of a growth boundary, then how do you fill in?”

(Lack of government regulation = crappy infills = push to expand or eliminate UGBs.)

portland, private property

Trap, neuter, release and the Iowa cats

Peter — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 05:12:09 +0000

Remember the Iowa town that had a bounty on feral cats? Looks as though feral cat enthusiasts made short work of that plan:

Luckily for the cats, animal rights activists immediately bared their claws when they learned of Randolph, Iowa’s $5-per-cat program under which stray cats turned in for bounty would be killed if not claimed within seven days.

[…]

On March 20, Trively signed a trap-neuter-return (TNR) resolution that took effect immediately.

TNR is a totally unproved technique that will only result in more cats, more predation on endangered species, and more disease vectors!

feral cats

“Animal rights” versus biodiversity

Peter — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 17:32:23 +0000

What’s the problem with the Humane Society? First, they (jokingly) promote pets “for everyone” — a simply terrible idea that desensitizes people from the fact that most people should not own an animal. Next, they support the totally ineffective trap-neuter-release program for feral cats. And now they favor abundant California sea lions in Oregon’s Columbia (where they never previously lived) over endangered wild salmon:

The Humane Society of the United States wants a federal judge to prevent the capturing or killing of sea lions feasting on salmon at a Columbia River dam.

The group said in a motion filed in U.S. District Court on Friday that agents could begin taking the sea lions as soon as next weekend, and asked for a permanent injunction. If the request is denied, the group said it would likely would seek a temporary restraining order to be effective before Friday.

[…]

Sea lion populations have soared since they and other marine mammals were covered under the 1972 act. They numbered about 1,000 in the 1930s, when they were hunted and used, among other purposes, for dog food. They are thought to number about 240,000 today.

Folks, we need to decide if we want to favor a handful of apparently “cute” apex predators, many of them feral animals such as domesticated cats or range-expanding sea lions; or if we would prefer to live in a world that favors overall biodiversity and species’ survival, even if that means reducing populations of animals that man has inadvertently increased.

The Humane Society has made its choice — it prefers a world with fewer species.

Incidentally, here’s another example of the media doing a piss-poor job. The title for this piece was “Could sea lions on death row get pardon?” Now then, it could have been framed a bit differently: “Could endangered salmon continue to be slaughtered?” Now, neither of those titles is fair. But in an attempt to attract readers, the journalist, or their editor, selected a sensationalist headline, perhaps not realizing that it promotes a particular viewpoint.

endangered species, feral cats

Endangered species? No.

Peter — Sun, 23 Mar 2008 17:36:04 +0000

What do you expect from Republicans?

With little-noticed procedural and policy moves over several years, Bush administration officials have made it substantially more difficult to designate domestic animals and plants for protection under the Endangered Species Act.

[…]

The documents show that personnel were barred from using information in agency files that might support new listings, and that senior officials repeatedly dismissed the views of scientific advisers as President Bush’s appointees either rejected putting imperiled plants and animals on the list or sought to remove this federal protection.

And…

In another policy reversal, Interior’s solicitor declared in a memo dated March 16, 2007, that when officials consider whether a significant portion of a species’ range is in peril, that “phrase refers to the range in which a species currently exists, not to the historical range of the species where it once existed.” The memo added that the Interior secretary “has broad discretion” in defining what is “significant.”

Given that some species’ ranges have shrunk to less than 1% of their historic range — sometimes now limited to just a few acres — that pretty much makes it unlikely that ANYTHING will be listed.

Boy, we need a Democrat in office…

endangered species

David Bragdon HEARTS Oregonians In Action?

Peter — Sun, 23 Mar 2008 07:51:12 +0000

Why did anti-environment David Bragdon speak at an OIA event? OH YEAH, he’s anti-environment!

oregonians in action

NO LNG PALOMAR PIPELINE!

Peter — Sun, 23 Mar 2008 07:35:19 +0000

LNG terminals and pipelines are a horrible plan for Oregon:

The latest maps of a natural gas line proposed for Oregon show a freeway-wide clear-cut slicing through 73 miles of public forest and the pressurized pipeline crossing about 50 rivers and named streams. […]

Critics say the project would degrade wildlife and fish habitat, destabilize soil, kill endangered species, spread invasive weeds, destroy patches of old-growth trees and open public forest to all-terrain vehicles.

So where is 1000 Friends on this issue? Perhaps they don’t wish to alienate NW Natural which is partly behind this crappy plan?

What’s even more annoying is that, like the LNG terminals, the State, let alone cities and counties, have very limited ability to stop this. No States Rights! It is a Federal issue, and the federal government says Yay or Nay. How is that?

The sign campaign is outstanding… but FERC could probably care less.

NO LNG at Astoria. NO LNG Pipeline!

OregonFirst.net is an anti-LNG site.

LNG, oregon

Flying carp!

Peter — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 05:37:19 +0000

Wow, you have to see this crazy video of an invasive fish taking over the Midwest… in the 2nd video, when they electrify the water, watch how many jump…

fish, invasive species

Property rights and killer bees

Peter — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 17:27:50 +0000

Here’s an interesting find:

Commissioners in Martin County have unanimously passed an ordinance allowing county employees to go onto private property without permission to kill Africanized bees and treat areas where mosquitoes are breeding.

It is cool to see governments asserting their rights to regulate private property for the public good. And, yes, sometimes this means even entering private property.

However, if I was Mr. Beecatcher, I would be a little scared. Florida is a state ruled by gun-nut politicians, and, as a result, they have a “stand your ground” law. And this law…

… establishes that law-abiding residents and visitors may legally presume the threat of bodily harm or death from anyone who breaks into a residence or occupied vehicle and may use defensive force, including deadly force, against the intruder.

That’s a crazy, crazy law. Something you might find in, say, Afghanistan or Colombia, but in Florida? Please.

Be careful beecatchers!

florida, private property

Sea lion killing authorized

Peter — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 07:17:05 +0000

Killing of sea lions snacking on endangered salmon has been approved by the federal government.

A federal agency has authorized the “intentional legal taking” of individually identified California sea lions that prey on migrating salmon and steelhead at the base of Bonneville Dam on the Columbia River.

[…]

The sea lions at the base of the dam, by some estimates, take up to 4 percent of the spring chinook run headed upriver to spawn, depending on the size of the run.

Opponents of the kill have said sea lions are a highly visible and politically convenient target when the real problem lies elsewhere, such as the hydroelectric dams. The Humane Society of the United States and other groups cite other hurdles facing fish, such as the deterioration of spawning grounds, bird predation of salmon smolts headed to the ocean and agricultural runoff and other pollution.

How do I feel about this?

Well, given the HUGE predation by sea lions on salmon, this is good news. Salmon are highly endangered, particularly some of the runs that are targeted by the sea lions. Some of these sea lions are now hanging out at Willamette Falls!

Then again, besides those factors mentioned in the quote above, one has to wonder WHY this is happening… could this in part be because the salmon are forced to congregate below Bonneville Dam, which, if it didn’t exist, wouldn’t prompt sea lions to come upriver?

Then again, has the decimation of sea lion predators (sharks, etc) lead to expansion of CALIFORNIA sea lions natural range… indeed, the northernmost range of these pinnipeds used to be, well, northern California. True, one jaw bone was found in a midden pile in Washington, but that is hardly proof that they once were this far north.

Then again, has the decimation of natural sea lion food (rock fish, etc) lead to further exploration of sea lions UP rivers?

So how is it all going to go down?

The order says the sea lions can be killed by a qualified marksman, who may shoot the animals at short range with shotguns loaded with 00 buckshot or at greater distances using a hunting rifle with ammunition of a minimum caliber of .240.

Update: Per The Oregonian:

The order says sea lions captured in traps must be held for at least 48 hours to allow a search for a home in captivity before they are euthanized. It identifies about 60 sea lions “authorized for immediate removal.”

Want a sea lion?

And, wait, I don’t totally understand? So you have to capture and hold the sea lion? And then if a home isn’t found, you go and blast it in the face with a shotgun? Hmm. Surely there is a bit less, uh, bloody way to kill a trapped, caged animal?

More interesting points:

Salmon and sea lions are protected species. But California sea lion numbers are booming, while many Northwest salmon species are struggling. The sea lion population, about 1,000 animals in the 1930s, now numbers about 238,000 along the West Coast. Biologists think the animals have maxed out available breeding sites and habitat.

[…]

Hudson said state and tribal biologists estimate sea lions may consume 13 percent to 17 percent of spring chinook salmon passing through the dam.

Wow. Wow. Wow.

Let’s hope that the State acts quickly and expediently to remove ALL sea lions from Bonneville Dam.

endangered species, rivers

Spring chinook

Peter — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 07:11:59 +0000

Man, I was getting ready for the season, but maybe I shouldn’t:

Biologists are stunned by the failing returns to the Sacramento River, typically one of the healthiest and most abundant stocks on the West Coast. The Pacific Fishery Management Council predicts that numbers of Sacramento River fall chinook will fall to an all-time low this year, about 22 percent of the long-term average.

Update: The New York Times is on the case:

The Chinook salmon that swim upstream to spawn in the fall, the most robust run in the Sacramento River, have disappeared. The almost complete collapse of the richest and most dependable source of Chinook salmon south of Alaska left gloomy fisheries experts struggling for reliable explanations — and coming up dry.
[…]

Fishermen think the Sacramento River was mismanaged in 2005, when this year’s fish first migrated downriver. Perhaps, they say, federal and state water managers drained too much water or drained at the wrong time to serve the state’s powerful agricultural interests and cities in arid Southern California. The fishermen think the fish were left susceptible to disease, or to predators, or to being sucked into diversion pumps and left to die in irrigation canals.

Here you can follow spring chinook fish counts at Willamette Falls. The projected run for this year is 34,000 fish which would be up from the 22,818 run last year, but way down from the 95,968 run in 2004.

endangered species, fish

Reasons I hate the New York Times

Peter — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 01:48:04 +0000

Well, of course, number one is Judy Miller. Number 2 is this idiot. But not far behind is the travel and development porn, often with a “green” angle, that the NY Times peddles:

About building a “green” house on a multi-acre lot in Hood River orchard country.

About building a “simple” home on 200 acres in New Mexico.

The Franklins are far from aging hippies living out an off-the-grid fantasy, though they share a decided love of the outdoors. Their primary residence is a fully equipped 2,800-square-foot Southwest-style home in Santa Fe. Mr. Franklin, 45, is the chief executive of a software company there and Ms. Coggins, 43, is a public health consultant. They are, however, adventurous, having left their jobs and moved to Santa Fe from Old Greenwich, Conn., eight years ago in search of a different lifestyle and better weather.

THEY were just seeking a simple solution for a second home in the high country when they first considered a yurt. They already owned 200 acres in the remote Coyote Creek valley and camped on it often, sampling different spots. For more than four years, they raised — and rejected — possibilities about what to build. Renovate existing old adobes? Too apt to be rodent havens. Build a new cabin? Too traditional. Besides, both structures missed the point, Mr. Franklin said.

This reminds me… I was just down near Borax Lake and saw a yurt pretty close by. Hm.

About a “remote” cabin on a 78-acre “retreat”:

I grew nostalgic for walks in the woods of my youth, back when suburbia still had tracts of undeveloped land to explore, and also for wilderness camping trips I’d done in my 20s, from New Hampshire to Oregon. None had ever been in the snow, though, and I marveled at how the stark whiteness threw all of this nature into high relief.

It might be worth mentioning that it is rural “retreats” such as this that are the new sprawl. I mean, shoot, they already KNOW this and talk about it in other articles: “An 8,000-square-foot home near Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming, where ranches are giving way to subdivisions.” But one hand gives, the other hand takes.

And the Times continues its idiotic promotion of “green” retreats and travel.

Look, here’s one about going to rural Vietnam and drinking snake’s blood. Now, we rich Americans might think that reptiles are vanishing because of the demand from Chinese who love to eat them. But a far portion might just be from stupid Americans going to Vietnam and “going native” by drinking snakes blood, where: “Still reeling from the snake blood, we discovered nothing is wasted.” Yeah, nothing wasted besides the probably wild snake in the first place!

Update: Here’s another I overlooked… an article about a new “green” village (with 3 golf courses!) on the arid Sea of Cortez on Baja California. Disgusting.

consumerism, endangered species

Elephant seals…

Peter — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 01:24:21 +0000

View Larger Map

This is an absolutely crazy video. Elephant seals populations in the US are rebounding sharply. In the next 50 years, I would imagine breeding colonies will establish themselves in Oregon. (Let’s hope they don’t eat salmon!)

Incidentally, I want to take time to recommend this outstanding book, The Unnatural History of the Sea. I have been meaning to blog about this book, but I never got around to it. This book is exceptional, simply exceptional.

The Oregon coasters who are so dead-set against marine reserves should read it.

Somehow, after reading that book and doing some research online, I found this great blog blog.

ocean

The endangered Aye-Aye

Peter — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 01:09:36 +0000

What a strange creature.

Apparently there are only four in captivity.

Hugely endangered. Not least because they are often “killed on sight” in Madagascar as they are supposed to bring bad luck.

Incidentally, that reminds me to check on the breeding progress of the Yangtze softshell turtles that I wrote about previously.

endangered species

Damascus voters ruin Damascus

Peter — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 07:09:26 +0000

What a crappy article. “Don’t mess with damascas”… that’s exactly what these measures will do! The article is biased and assumes that these measures somehow “protect” Damascus. Far from it!

DAMASCUS — Forget Texas — don’t mess with Damascus.

These toothless measures remind of the crap that John Day County passed… those that “banned the UN from entering John Day”. Come on man.

oregon, pessimism, private property

Damascus and Measure 37

Peter — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 04:06:03 +0000

Sigh:

Voters in Damascus on Tuesday approved three government-limiting measures, including a local version of Measure 37, the statewide property rights law that Oregon voters reeled back in December.

[…]

The Damascus property measure requires the city to compensate landowners when city land-use regulations enacted after Jan. 1, 2006, harm property values. It passed with a 67 percent yes vote.

Interpretations differ on how the measure would play out. The city says it could have to pay landowners. Dan Phegley, a Damascus resident and chief petitioner for the initiative, has said the city could waive regulations.

At least this isn’t retroactive. Then again, Damascus probably had pretty much no land use regulations of note pre-2006.

measure 37, oregon

Feral cats destroying Iowa

Peter — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 03:59:23 +0000

At least they have the right idea:

There’s money to be made in Randolph, which is offering a $5 bounty for each feral feline turned in.

I know that feral cat enthusiasts will now bombard this small town with emails and hate mail demanding that they use the ineffective trap-neuter-release.

Please, small Iowa town, continue with your good plan. TNR is totally ineffective. Feral cats spread disease. Feral cats kill wildlife.

feral cats

Tom Coburn kicks ass

Peter — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 07:57:52 +0000

I hate him through and through. But you gotta admit that Tom Coburn epitomizes the rare type of Republican that is against additional spending… heck, he blocks Mt. Hood Wilderness Bills, but also goes against Alaskan Republicans and their bridges to nowhere.

You gotta respect the guy. He’s not a Geo. Bush GOPer…

politicians

Walk Score: neat application

Peter — Sun, 09 Mar 2008 20:22:59 +0000

Walk Score:

We help homebuyers, renters, and real estate agents find houses and apartments in great neighborhoods. Walk Score shows you a map of what’s nearby and calculates a Walk Score for any property. Buying a house in a walkable neighborhood is good for your health and good for the environment.

community