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Senate District 22 Candidates' OLCV Scores

Tonight, Democratic Party precinct committee people will gather in North Portland to select three to five candidates for the Senate District 22 seat, which was recently vacated by Senator Margaret Carter.

Those nominees then go to the Multnomah County Commissioners, who appoint the new Senator.

Three of the seven declared candidates have OLCV voting records, some of which are from a while ago and not on OLCV's website.

The candidates who've served in the Legislature, and their scores:

Jo Ann Bowman - lifetime score: 96%
1997: 100%
1999: 92%

Gary Hansen - lifetime score: 78.5%
1999: 75%
2001: 82%
2003: 81%
2005: 76%

Chip Shields - lifetime score: 97.5%
2005: 100%
2007: 95%

(does not include Rep. Shields' 2009 score which will be released next week)

Sen. Merkley Profiled in Washington Spectator

Oregon's freshman Senator Jeff Merkley, who had a lifetime 96% rating from OLCV, is profiled in today's Washington Spectator.

An excerpt:

Asked about his position on the cap and trade bill, Merkley begins with a survey of geologic time: four 280-parts-per-million spikes of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere over the past 400,000 years, and the burning of coal and gas for energy now has us at 380 parts-per-billion and climbing.  “It’s well established that carbon dioxide, as well as increases in methane gas, trap heat,” he said. “You can see evidence in the Arctic and the Antarctic, warming of the ocean, the melting Greenland Ice Sheet and with the thawing of the permafrost.…This is a real stewardship issue for our planet and I think we need to be very aggressive in taking on carbon dioxide and other global warming gases.”

Merkley's campaign manager Jon Isaacs will take the helm as OLCV's new Executive Director on October 5th.

Find a water polluter near you

The New York Times has created a database for the public to look up water pollution  violations by state. Check it out here.

The database accompanied an in-depth article called Toxic Waters, which details how the Environmental Protection Agency has been ignoring violations of the federal Clean Water Act for the last five years, at the cost of public health. The story and the database together represent a phenomenal feat in environmental reporting.

From the article:

The Times obtained hundreds of thousands of water pollution records through Freedom of Information Act requests to every state and the E.P.A., and compiled a national database of water pollution violations that is more comprehensive than those maintained by states or the E.P.A. (For an interactive version, which can show violations in any community, visit www.nytimes.com/toxicwaters.)

In addition, The Times interviewed more than 250 state and federal regulators, water-system managers, environmental advocates and scientists.

That research shows that an estimated one in 10 Americans have been exposed to drinking water that contains dangerous chemicals or fails to meet a federal health benchmark in other ways.

Those exposures include carcinogens in the tap water of major American cities and unsafe chemicals in drinking-water wells. Wells, which are not typically regulated by the Safe Drinking Water Act, are more likely to contain contaminants than municipal water systems.

The data shows some startling statistics, like the fact that last year, "40 percent of the nation’s community water systems violated the Safe Drinking Water Act at least once."

As more and more people flock to the Internet for news, incensed by the idea that they might have to pay for news coverage, consider this: Isn't this kind of journalism worth supporting?

How I Fell in Love with Wallowa Lake

For four weeks this summer, I was fortunate to have a sabbatical from my job as Development Director with OLCV.  I decided to spend most of my time off in a part of the state I’d been eager to visit, but never had: the Wallowas, in northeastern Oregon.

I decided this would be a solo journey, with my dog Porkchop as my only companion.  Planning months in advance, I imagined Chops and I backpacking among pristine alpine lakes, camping in meadows and breathing in the solitude and beauty of the backcountry.  I imagined rugged hikes up steep canyon walls and the sense of adventure and accomplishment that comes with camping alone in the wilderness.

Then I sprained my ankle.

It happened in April, so I thought I’d have plenty of time to recover. But I was just getting out of my ankle brace in early July, only two weeks before I was supposed to leave.  I decided to forge ahead with my plans, realizing that my fantasy of solo adventure would need to be adjusted somewhat.

As I drove east, watching the landscape change from rough gorge to rolling hills, inhaling the scent of the peppermint farms outside of Pendleton, I found myself falling in love with Oregon all over again.  Surely there is no state as diverse and beautiful as ours, I thought.  I was already puffed up with pride – and then I arrived in the gorgeous, rugged landscape of the Wallowas. 

For two weeks I explored what I could of the area, frustratingly limited by my weakened ankle. But even though I couldn’t hike longer than six miles, or down very steep hills, I was stunned by the beauty and the wildness I encountered: 

Bear Creek (pictured right), in the Eagle Cap Wilderness, where a short trail takes you through a burn to a beautiful, freezing pool (and then on for miles).

Hurricane Creek in the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest, (that's Porkcop and me on the trail, above) where I saw evidence of powerful winter washouts that flattened huge chunks of forest, on a trail lined by hundreds of delicate wildflowers. 

And Hells Canyon, the deepest river gorge in North America, affording views of Idaho’s Seven Devils, the gradation of color deepening as the peaks disappear behind each other.

As it was late July, by mid-day it was very hot, and the sun seemed to stay directly above us for hours.  This made my black dog very uncomfortable, so Chops and I took to swimming in Wallowa Lake nearly every day.  It became our refuge. One day, a bald eagle swooped down 100 yards from us, picked up a foot-long fish, and pumped its wings as hard as it could to lift itself above the lake surface with its heavy prey.  Its destination was one of the massive snags standing at the end of the lake just near us, where three juvenile bald eagles eagerly waited at the top.  Alas, the fish was too heavy, and near the end of its arc the eagle was forced to drop the fish on the rocks, its head nearly severed from its body by the bird’s talons. 

I’m not sure I breathed at all this entire time.  I looked around me at the other swimmers.  Those who also witnessed it stood with mouths agape, eyes wide, totally still.  To be in the presence of such majesty – without even hiking to get there – sums up my entire trip in one scene.  I feel lucky to have gone there, and I can’t wait to get back.

--Molly Kramer, OLCV Development Director

Bend community rallies for the environment

The OLCV Deschutes County Chapter’s Second Annual Summer BBQ fundraiser took Bend, Oregon by storm two weeks ago. August 22nd marked the culmination of more than a month’s worth of work done by the dedicated Deschutes County steering committee.

It began as a concept with legs: make the event environmentally responsible, emphasize the great work that local OLCV endorsed officials have accomplished on behalf of the environment, and show our community a great time….all on a shoestring.

Enter stage left, Paul Schmitz, owner of Boxcar Productions, a deep green building company. Paul volunteered to host our event at his Recycled Haus #2. His house was constructed of primarily reclaimed materials pulled from demolition work that his company completed. Paul was the perfect host; he gave a sustainability tour of his home and explained many of the green features that he incorporated into his design. The tour was one of many educational components to the evening.

State Representatives Judy Steigler and Brian Clem incorporated educational components into their speeches as they explained what it took to push through legislation to protect the Metolius River Basin and the Skyliner Forest from development. Both OLCV-endorsed legislators deserve a giant shoulder squeeze for taking such great care of our environment last legislative sessions!

Then came the strides taken to ensure that our community had a great time. Local singer/songwriter Joel Shupack graced us with his original sounds throughout the evening, from his outdoor stage of creeping thyme and flagstone, between presentations and during dinner.

Dinner was yet another example of the incredible generosity of our community. Local farms, restaurants and grocers pitched in to serve our guests environmentally responsible victuals that could not otherwise have been purchased on a shoestring. From free-range burgers, to organic salads, local desserts, and homemade side dishes, everything served came in the form of a contribution.

By nightfall, the 60+ guests in attendance were squinting as they said goodbyes in the dark.  People left with full bellies, enlightened minds, and a great sense of community.

Thank you to everyone in attendance and another giant thank you to everyone who generously contributed to our fundraiser.

--Ben Gordon, OLCV Deschutes County Organizer

CRC MegaBridge Railroads Bikes

The Bicycle Transportation Alliance has an excellent summary of what's happened to the proposed bicycle and pedestrian facilities in the design of the region's largest-ever infrastructure project, the Columbia River Crossing multi-billion-dollar MegaBridge.

In short: they've gone from 12 and 26 feet wide to a single dark underbridge design, mostly 16 feet wide.

Check out Michelle's explanation of the process, and how bicyclists have been systematically cut as the design has gone forward.

An ironic start to the Bike Commute Challenge month.

As usual, the Daily Astorian nails it on LNG

As usual, the Daily Astorian editorial page is willing to look at the motives behind LNG.

And the article reminds me about how happy I am to have Jeff Merkley as one of my US Senators.

It's a short article and well worth the read.

And the OLCV Scorecard reveals . . .

OLCV's 2009 Scorecard is headed to the printers any day now.

Sorry folks, scores aren't public yet!

But it's going to be an interesting read: You'll learn:

• Which legislator earned our Innovator of the Year award
• Which legislators scores dropped more than 25%
• Who managed to be the only legislator with a score below 10%
• Which votes were deemed significant by a wide range of conservation groups
• What bills were left in the bill graveyard without action

And most importantly, the question everyone's been wondering about with fevered anticipation: 

• Will former Senator Joyce Cohen's record of six straight 100% sessions be challenged anytime soon?

Oh.  . . . You weren't waiting for that one?

Perhaps, not having followed the session closely, you're more interested in finding out what happened to more than 20 bills that would have significantly impacted the health of Oregon's land, air, and water?

Did legislators move forward in combating the climate crisis?

Did legislators act responsibly when it comes to water management?

Did legislator invest in our children's legacy?

Stay tuned . . . .

Protecting the Metolius: Democracy at work

There goes Evan, thinking about democracy again--this time on BlueOregon.

Over the past few weeks, I’ve been thinking about democracy, and how messed up the debate about health insurance reform is. I don’t envy our representatives in Congress who have to navigate the lies, demonization, and tens of millions of dollars in lobbying.

That’s part of why I’m involved in Oregon’s local and statewide politics. In contrast to members of Congress, our state representatives and senators are extremely accessible. And the ability of a handful of dedicated people to influence legislation is clear.

The best recent example is the battle over the Metolius bill in the Oregon legislature...

Finish reading Evan's post on BlueOregon.