Adams in a guest op-ed today. Lest you think my repeated criticisms of the way The Oregonian frames transportation issues was just my personal axe to grind, it’s worth noting that the front page story in their Sunday edition is being called out from many corners. In addition to the numerous intelligent citizens we’ve heard … Read more
Give me a break. Well, you can’t say I didn’t warn you. The Oregonian’s strange, anti-bike editorial last week, seems to have laid the groundwork for Sunday’s front page story that unfairly and inaccurately blames bikes for PBOT’s budget problems. As you can see from the front page image, under massive font that reads, “Portland’s … Read more
The Oregonian Editorial Board weighed in on the state of bicycling in Portland today. The editorial appeared on the same week that PBOT released its annual bike counts showing a 6.4% increase between 2010 and 2011. Whenever our state’s newspaper of record devotes major opinion space to bicycling, it’s worth noting. Regardless of what you … Read more
Last night, The Oregonian’s commuting reporter and columnist Joseph Rose published an article about Portland Mayor Sam Adams’ budget decisions. The article, Portland Mayor Sam Adams boosts funding for bike projects, but now there’s less for paving streets, attempts to make the point that Adams’ decision to allocate a larger percentage of discretionary revenue to … Read more
The Oregonian Editorial Board published a timely piece in today’s paper about the need for all of us who drive to take stock of our actions and do a better job looking out for people walking and biking on our roads. Here’s the opening: Hey, you. You need to have a “full and frank” conversation … Read more
An “ultra-hip bike culture effete” and her fashion accessory.(Photo © J. Maus) I noticed an interesting opinion piece in The Oregonian this morning that claims that the “newest local outdoor must-have fashion accessory” is the “walked bicycle.” In the article, author/journalist/bike commuter Lawrence J. Maushard of Southeast Portland, seems almost perturbed by the number of … Read more
Oregonian columnist Steve Duin. Oregonian columnist Steve Duin has published pointed criticisms directed at the Portland Police Bureau’s handling of the Freedom Child bike light case in his column today. Freedom Child is the 57-year old St. Johns woman who was involved with an altercation with two Police officers back in 2003. Child claims she … Read more
“And you’re scratching your head wondering when was the last time you saw one actually stop.”— Harry Esteve, The Oregonian It’s the BTA’s worst nightmare. They’ve spent months preparing for the smooth passage of the Idaho Stop Law (the proposed bill, HB 2690, would allow bicycle operators to enter a stop-sign controlled intersection without stopping … Read more
Joseph Rose The Oregonian (and many other newspapers) might be in the midst of major newsroom shrinkage and other changes to its print edition, but that hasn’t stopped them from launching a new blog about “the culture of the commute”. The “Hard Drive” blog officially launched today and will be written by Oregonian staff reporter … Read more
“Not knowing what I was in for created a lot of mental room for scenarios of death and disfigurement. So far, the worst thing that’s happened is when my chain popped off on Interstate Avenue.”— Shelby Wood Remember Shelby Wood, the Oregonian columnist who was “too scared to saddle up” and ride her bike in … Read more
The newsstand edition of today’s Oregonian.
The front page of today’s Metro section of the Oregonian has perhaps one of my favorite headlines ever; “In Oregon, bike culture isn’t partisan.” The story, by the O’s Salem staffer Harry Esteve, is about how Republican Senator Jason Atkinson is behind a bill that would re-word existing bicycle equipment requirements to exclude fixed-gear bicycles … Read more
Comment of the Week: Legs of steel and the e-bike