As you may have heard, Oregon hasn’t gained any weight. I would love to see that scale. Recent news has come to fore stating that Oregon is the only state to not gain weight. CNN highlights our biking culture. Way to go! I know i’ve lost weight since this time last year and I attribute it to my daily walking of 10,000 steps or more. I also have a strong partner who pushes me to keep walking. I also think that Portland and Oregon’s penchance for other forms of commuting add to a healthier state of being. Regardless of what RUSS has to say about skateboarding and biking, I feel if people are out doing something other than driving every day or sitting in cubes all day, it’s a good thing.

Keep it up Oregon!

And now, a poem, in the Haiku style:

At last, we did it!
No meth labs in Oregon!
Prices just went up.

…if you really want to restore that supposed tattered reputation, that is.

I’d suggest donating a large chunk of that extra 250K in change you were awarded - above and beyond what you requested, no less - to the Portland Schools Foundation.

You can make a big splash about it if you want to. And go ahead - take all the tax benefits you’ll derive.

But you have to put your money where your mouth (or the mouth of your spokespeople, anyway) is first.

And here’s some more unsolicited advice: go big. You can spare it, and a little 10K donation won’t get you off the hook here…

Nyah Nyah Nyah Nyah Nya Nyah….. a great article today in the boregonian highlights portland’s thriving and growing boutique scene. portland is known for it’s sustainable restaurants and casual approach to business, but hasn’t really been seen as a fashion mecca until recently. i know we have some great stores like Blake in NW and Imelda’s for shoes in SE, along with the venerable Marios on Broadway. portland is coming of age with regards to dropping cash for good clothes.
the article in the oregonian highlights boutiques, smaller stores showcasing fashionable clothing and the like from local designers and artists. some of the stores have been here for ages, while others are transplants. i’m all for supporting local. i support local in almost everything i can. if they made cigars locally, i would probably buy them first. alas, my budget doesn’t allow for me to buy couture, no matter where it is made. one thing the article points out is that portland is on someone’s radar when it comes to fashion. we have an Adidas Original store in the pearl(john hausman voice) and San Fran doesn’t have one of those. (they have a PUMA store though gosh darnet.)
in the end, it appears portland is appreciating both the good life and locally created goods. further, we’re supporting small business, the cornerstone of our economy. go out and shop people!

New "Pod" in town?

Originally uploaded by dieselboii.

A new batch of lunch carts is cropping up over on the edges of a parking lot @ SW 10th and alder. I have always walked by knowing there were a couple carts, but today, being hungry and all, i perused the choices. Thai, Japanese, a Taquaria, Bento, Pizza, and Bratwurst. I chose a Brat as i just love a good sausage. The locale was named after bratwursts and it was their specialty. No fancy hungarian paprika cheeze sausage here. Justs brats. And they are excellent along with the service.

Check out all th options before the sun flees.

Sent from my phone, probably while hiding from the man.

I may toss off a snarky aside about Dan Saltzman’s temporary awakening as he questions the decision to grant tax breaks to the Alexan development on the South Waterfront (an aside: can we hereby resolve NEVER to use the SoWa abbreviation, people?) But PDX blogger Isaac Lacquedem can be counted on for the more nuanced, well-researched - and yes, sometimes subtly biting conclusion that’ll give you the true backstory.

Isaac’s been in rare form lately, whether he’s offering up details about just why Steve Goldschmidt’s actually entitled to his 250K severance package plus (much to my dismay) or his analysis of just how Niketown might actually come to pass in a suburb near you. But his analysis of the Alexan development is worth a read if you want to understand the long-range impact that happens when you grant developers tax breaks and other incentives in order to encourage (questionable, in this case) development.

Whose money would the City be giving away if it grants this tax break? City taxes are less than half the load of the typical Multnomah County property tax bill — I think about 25% to 30% is usual. So of the $7.5 million that the City would excuse the developer from paying, only about $2 million (if I understand this rightly) would actually be the City’s money. The rest of it would come from, or rather, not be paid to, the school district, the Port of Portland, and the variety of special districts and bond levies that adorn our property tax statements. It’s easy to be a big spender when it’s someone else’s money.

The vote on whether or not to approve the Alexan’s tax breaks happens today - and rumor has it that Saltzman, Leonard and now Adams are leaning towards rejecting the plan instead.

If so, I think Isaac should get some of the credit! Now - can we tap you to help with PPS budgeting issues, please?

I’m the new kid this time. I was never the new kid. I don’t want to be the new kid. My mom told me once when I was younger (I had mentioned there was a new person in our class) to put myself in their shoes. I met one new person, but the new kid had to move to a whole new place AND meet all new kids in an all new school. Wouldn’t I be scared to be somewhere new all alone and miss all my old friends? Now I’ll know.

Granted, it’s a bit of a different scale now, I’m meeting co-workers and not kids, I have to find my own way at lunch, and I don’t show up with all my own pens and paper and scissors. But it’s similar. I have to meet a bunch of new people but they only have to meet one, and I dont’ know if anyone will like me or not. What should I wear? What if I get turned around and can’t get home? What if it’s not the super awesome place I have been led to believe it is? Have I made a terrible mistake?

I’m really glad my first day went well. Everyone said hello, and I ended up sitting next to someone who was also starting the same day. Then I felt better. And things are going well, so it looks like I might have been right to go with my instinct on this. I’m glad I’m there.

Finding, getting, and starting a job take a LOT of time, along with all the other life stuff going on at Chez BLF recently, so I’ve been a bit absent. I’m back now, and hopefully I’ll be saying a lot more in the future.

Is anyone else as excited as I am about the upcoming release of Serenity? Just to give you some idea of the fevered pitch that’s taken over my psyche, let me tell you that the moment the complete Firefly series on dvd got into the house, I was a woman possessed. For a solid week - nothing but back to back (to back to back) episodes. The anticipation of Serenity has me so distracted I even broke down and bought the 3 Dark Horse comics tying the series to the film. I think I’m officially obsessed. Now I’ve got a whole 37 days to decide which theater to see it in. As much as I loathe the strip of 82nd between Division and Holgate and the 11 mile commute, the Century 21 Cinemas offer not a poor seat in the house and always ends up being the #1 choice around chez Juju. Though I must say I am growing rather fond of Fox Towers. Bottom line, will either theater object to Firefly role-playing from audience members before the film begins?

There’s an awesome little bbq joint down on 11th and…something. It’s hard to miss as you head south on 11th. It is also, if you don’t know by my enthusing, delicious. It’s called Tennessee Red’s, and the pulled pork sloppy joes are amazing. My brother thinks that the cheeseburgers are pretty good. The pinball is, of course, excellent, and at 3 quarters for 2 plays, you can’t really go wrong (especially with how bloody easy it is to hit the multiball hole).

Anywhoozle, that’s what I did for lunch today.