Poverty in Oregon food stamps, welfare, Medicaid reliance by county

Nearly five years after the Great Recession officially ended, more than one in five Oregonians continues to rely on food stamps, and nearly 17 percent live in poverty. Rural Oregon counties continue to fare the worst, with food stamps and Medicaid rates exceeding 30 percent in Jefferson and Josephine counties. In some timber-reliant counties, the poverty rate exceeds 20 percent. The Oregonian mapped state and county unemployment, poverty, food stamps, welfare and Medicaid rates using January 2014 numbers from the Oregon Department of Human Services. The figures show slight improvements from last summer, when The Oregonian last mapped poverty by county. But it's clear that the state continues to struggle and that rural Oregon continues to be left behind in the recovery.
www.oregonlive.com/politics/index.ssf/2014/04/pove....html

What's Portland's most crime-ridden bus line?

What is the Portland area’s most crime-ridden bus line? What TriMet park-and-rides do auto thieves target the most? Where are transit riders least likely to be a crime victim? The bus route with the most reported crimes was the No. 72 (Killingsworth/82nd Avenue). There were 44 reported incidents, including 14 assaults, eight robberies, one sex offense (involving masturbation) and eight thefts. Police were busiest at the Gateway Transit Center, the scene of 48 reported crimes. Twenty of those involved auto thefts or car break-ins at the park-and-ride garage. The only part of the TriMet system where crime went up in 2013 was along the Green Line between Gateway and Clackamas Town Center. Along that section of track, 48 crimes were reported in 2012 while 52 were reported in 2013. Most of that increase was recorded at stations along Interstate 205. Actually, only the Lents and Holgate stations, serving two of Portland's high-crime areas, showed upticks.
www.oregonlive.com/commuting/index.ssf/2014/04/wha....html

Poll Kitzhaber 3% from Losing Race!

National poll puts Gov. Kitzhaber within 3% of defeat by challenger Rep. Dennis Richardson
By Taxpayer Association of Oregon PAC. A nationally recognized political & public affairs polling firm, Harper Polling, recently released an Oregon poll showing incumbent Governor John Kitzhaber within 3% of losing his seat to challenger Rep. Dennis Richardson. The poll puts Gov. Kitzhaber at 46%, and Rep,. Dennis Richardson at 43%. A full 11% were undecided. The poll represents a tidal wave of discontent for Governor Kitzhaber and a winning chance for challenger Rep. Dennis Richardson.
oregoncatalyst.com/27320-poll-kitzhaber-3-losing-r...alyst)

Oregon DMV may be the nation's worst!!

If you’ve ever walked out of an Oregon Driver and Motor Vehicles Services office muttering,"Oregon DMV is the worst,” you weren’t exaggerating, according to a new national survey. www.dmv.com, a startup that aims to"ease the stress and annoyance of dealing with the DMV,” compiled a list of the country's best and worst state motor-vehicle agencies. Oregon came in dead last.
www.oregonlive.com/commuting/index.ssf/2014/04/ore....html

More than one-third of Top 50 PERS recipients are retired educators!!

Most of those are retired college professors, primarily from fields such as math, science and engineering. But four of Oregon's Top 25 PERS pensions go to retirees who worked in K-12 education, including retired Lake Oswego Superintendent Bill Korach, former Portland Public Schools human resources director Steve Goldschmidt and retired Beaverton Superintendent Jerry Colonna. You can see the whole list, obtained by Oregonian investigative reporter Ted Sickinger, in a searchable database by The Oregonian and OregonLive.
www.oregonlive.com/education/index.ssf/2014/04/mor....html

Steve Novick Yanking Endorsement of Fellow Commissioner Dan Saltzman's Re-election

Portland City Commissioner Steve Novick is furious over comments his fellow Commissioner Dan Saltzman made to WW this week questioning whether the Portland Bureau of Transportation needs a new street maintenance fee. WW reported Wednesday in Murmurs that Saltzman and Commissioner Nick Fish are opposed to bypassing voters to create a $12-a-month street fee on households and even higher taxes on businesses. Saltzman went further, questioning whether PBOT needed the money at all."I’m not absolutely convinced we need the street maintenance fee,” Saltzman said."The Transportation Bureau seems to be falling all over themselves to subsidize a bike-share program. If we have dollars to subsidize bike share, why don’t we have dollars to put in sidewalks and fix up our roads?” www.wweek.com/portland/blog-31538-city_commissione....html

Ed McNamara Portlands Urban Renewal Advisor, is Leaving City Hall

Ed McNamara, the mayor's policy director overseeing the Portland Development Commission, says he will return in June to his private development company, Turtle Island Development LLC. (more on Turtle Island later). The Oregonian reported this morning that Hales will bring his new urban-renewal plan—including the elimination of a Portland State University "education district"—to the City Council next week. McNamara led the mayor's efforts to double down on urban renewal in Old Town/Chinatown and in Lents. The city has spent $96 million on reviving the East Portland neighborhood of Lents, and now wants to invest as much as another $55 million over the next five years. www.wweek.com/portland/blog-31545-ed_mcnamara_mayo....html