Eldertown -- the city as a place for humans

As hellish as life was in the primitive factory towns (see Steven Johnson's fine study of early industrial London, The Ghost Map), cities at last have matured into the most ecologically enlightened habitat for a world that numbers billions of human beings. Urban density compacts population and saves the land, its resources, natural beauties, and human lives. Cities are where ideas are exchanged most rapidly and where medical progress is made. Subtract the cars and freeways, condense the suburbs back into urban centers — some large, some small — mix in a good measure of social justice, and we have the best design for living in a world where over 50 percent of the human race now chooses to reside in cities. Eldertown makes all this more possible.

Buy local! Streetcars made in Oregon

Could Salem have as good a transit service in the 21st Century as it did in the early 20th? Possibly --- one step would be restoring the streetcar network, using Oregon-made streetcars:

Joycelyn Chavez, Manager of Marketing & Business Development for UNITED STREETCAR LLC will be the guest speaker at the Thursday noon meeting of the Salem Downtown Lions Club. UNITED STREETCAR LLC, located in Clackamas, Oregon, is manufacturing the first modern streetcar made in the USA. In a few weeks the first vehicle will roll out of the plant and begin test runs on the Portland Streetcar system. Modern streetcar lines are being developed by many cities in the US to serve growing urban mobility needs.

The Lions lunch meeting will take place at the Blue Pepper Bistro, 241 Commercial Street NE in Downtown Salem, starting at noon.

Bob Krebs
President
Salem Downtown Lions Club
503-375-2821

Below please find links to my Tacoma, Washington Streetcar videos.

Streetcars of Tacoma Video – Part One

Streetcars of Tacoma Video – Part Two

Unsolicited Plug (UP) 2: Coolest new business in Salem

Your Home Harvests. Awesome. Check it out.

Very cool: Vertical potatoes -- high production, small space

Perfect for home gardens in Salem in perilous times.

When you next hear about the third bridge for Salem, remember this (h/t Sightline Daily)

Why big public works projects come in over budget

A professor at Oxford University in England has done a compelling series of studies trying to get at why big public-works projects such as bridges, tunnels and light-rail systems almost always turn out to be far more costly than estimated.

The simple answer: officials lie.

Rebuild freight rail: we need projects that are shovel worthy, not just shovel ready

The always-excellent "Reality Based Community" has a good pointer to an even better piece.

Thank goodness the Salem code protects us from home-grown hens

Because the industrial phood system is just fine. Right?

Understanding more of who we are

“The Oregon Nikkei Story: Japanese-Americans in Oregon 1880-1941,”
an exploration of the Japanese-American immigration experience in Oregon will be shown:

7 p.m. Tuesday, April 28, 2009, Loucks Auditorium at Salem Public Library
Free and open to the public

Salem filmmaker Thomas Coulter will be on hand to introduce his exploration of the history and development of Oregon’s Japanese-American population up to the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941. The film intersperses interviews with second and third generation Oregon Nissei with photos of first generation families from Portland and Hood River.

“The Oregon Nikkei Story” is part of a two-month series of programs planned in conjunction with Oregon Reads 2009, focusing on the book, “Stubborn Twig: Three Generations in the Life of a Japanese-American Family” by Lauren Kessler.

More information about this event and about all the Oregon Reads 2009 activities at Salem Public Library is available at 503-588-6052 or www.salemlibrary.org

Sonja Somerville
Community Relations/Volunteer Coordinator
Salem Public Library Foundation

Phone: 503-588-6083
E-mail: ssomerville@cityofsalem.net
FAX: 503-589-2011
Address: 585 Liberty St. SE, Salem, OR 97301

Reduce mailbox clutter, wasted energy -- pare your catalogs

Direct mail can be a monster -- but there's a nice site that can help get you off catalog mailing lists.
It has worked pretty well so far; we're seeing a definite reduction in catalog mailings, even beyond the reduction we got from contacting the Direct Marketing Association. Free.

Salem-Keizer Transit Board Candidate Interviews

There's a really important set of races in the election coming up, with ballots being mailed out about May 1 (to be returned by May 19).

But, there is about zero public interest, even though this is a crucial election from the point of view of trying to manage our environmental footprint. Salem and Keizer voters in certain areas will choose four members of the Cherriots board (out of seven).

Candidates who will appear on the ballot in their district are below. Click on highlighted candidate names to see their Statesman-Journal interview.

You can download and read the SJ questionnaires that six of these candidates returned here.

Director, Subdistrict 2, 4 year term (Keizer)
Kelly Hernandez *
Ron Christopher
Hughie Baker

Director, Subdistrict 3, 2 year term (NE/Central Salem) -- SJ Interview
John Gear
Kate Tarter (incumbent by appointment by current board)
Chris Barber *

Director, Subdistrict 4, 4 year term (NE Salem)
Shelley Hanson (incumbent)

Director, Subdistrict 6, 4 year term (South Salem)
Robert “Bob” Krebs -- Krebs candidate website
Libby Barg

(* Both Hernandez and Barber are rumored to have withdrawn and did not participate in the SJ interviews. Hanson, running unopposed, also did not participate.)

The SJ endorsement interview had a weird twist: they had the two candidates for the 6th district split between the two sessions: Bob Krebs attended the first one (with the two remaining active candidates for the 3rd district), while Libby Barg attended the second one. So it may be tougher to compare those two candidates.

The district is making preparations for another round of service changes to try to cope with the failure to pass a levy three times in a row now. You can come to the open house meetings to learn more about the service changes. But you should also consider the candidates very carefully so that you can support the ones whom you think will do the most to preserve the system's viability.