An encouraging note from the Police Chief’s office

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Asst. Chief Larry O’Dea.
(Photo © J. Maus)

As I noted yesterday, there have been a lot of changes at the Portland Police Bureau lately and the Traffic Division – the arm of the bureau that is engaged with biking and transportation issues — has not been immune to them.

Today, former TD captain and now Assistant Chief of Police Larry O’Dea sent out a statement via email to a list of his “Traffic Safety Partners.” O’Dea has been a hugely positive force for traffic safety since he came to the TD back in January 2008 and, even though he left after 11 months for his current position, he has maintained an interest and involvement in the issue. With that in mind, here’s the text of O’Dea’s message (emphasis mine and shared with his permission):

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Stacey in run-off, a Saltzman surprise, and other election thoughts

Metro President hopeful Bob Stacey-3

Bob Stacey faces a tough fight for
the top spot at Metro.
(Photo © J. Maus)

The election results were full of surprises last night. There are three races in particular I want to share some of my thoughts on today: Metro President, Portland City Council, and Washington County Chair.

The biggest story (at least from my perspective) is that Rex Burkholder, a co-founder of the Bicycle Transportation Alliance and major advocate for bicycling and active transportation, finished third in the race for Metro President and will not be in a run-off for that position.

Burkholder ended up with just 28% of the vote, far behind the other two men in the race. Former Mayor of Hillsboro Tom Hughes won the election with 37% of the votes, just over 4,000 more than Bob Stacey.

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Downtown bike shop vandalized, bike stolen

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(Photo © Chris Harbert)

In what appears to be a smash-and-grab, small downtown bike shop Kinetic Performance lost a display bike and a front window early Wednesday morning. The vandal(s) made off with a white 54cm Fuji Roubaix 2.0 road bike without pedals.

Kinetic opened last March at 1127 SW Morrison Street.

This theft is the fourth such Portland bike shop break-in reported to us since February. Cascade Cycling and the eBike Store in North Portland each experienced similar style thefts. Just this week, Clever Cycles in Southeast Portland had a new computer stolen and their front window broken.

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White/Black Fuji Roubaix 2.0 2010

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Year: 2010
Brand: Fuji
Model: Roubaix 2.0
Color:White/Black
Size:54cm
Serial: ICFJ9L2364
Photo: http://www.fujibikes.com/Road/Performance/Roubaix-2-0.aspx
Stolen in Portland, OR 97205
Stolen:2010-05-18
Stolen From: Stolen from Kinetic Performance, at 1127 SW Morrison (downtown on 12th and Morrison)
Neighborhood: Downtown
Owner: Kinetic Performance
OwnerEmail: spin.kinetic@gmail.com
Description: This Bike has White Fuji Stem, instead of the usual black Fuji Stem. Was Stolen without pedals.
Police record with: Portland Police
This registrant has documented proof of ownership of this bike

Oregon slips to 5th in bike-friendly state rankings

… After they’re done dreaming about
WA, WI, ME and MN.

The League of American Bicyclists has released rankings for their Bicycle Friendly States program. Oregon earned the fifth spot this year, slipping from the fourth spot we’ve held the previous two years. For the third year in a row, Washington retained the top spot with Wisconsin coming in second.

Moving up to take fourth place away from Oregon this year was Minnesota — home to Minneapolis, the city that unseated Portland from the top spot in a recent list of bike friendly cities by Bicycling Magazine.

Here are the top five:

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Blue Trek 600 1985

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Year: 1985
Brand: Trek
Model: 600
Color:Blue
Size:19″-19.5″
Stolen in Portland, OR 97213
Stolen:2010-05-16
Stolen From: My House Vera St. and 61st. One block away from the Max line (60th and Glisan).
Neighborhood: Glisan Area
Owner: Rory Goodman-Farley
OwnerEmail: fa9times@gmail.com
Reward: $50
Description: Campagnolo/dura ace mix with dura ace hubs. Blue (1985) trek road bike with a stretch touring frame. Blue housing and blue bar tape. Mks pedals. Blue brake hoods and drilled out chainrings (French Stronglight triple chainring 52-42-28 I believe).
This registrant has documented proof of ownership of this bike

Election night open thread

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Metro President hopeful Bob Stacey-1

Bob Stacey has one of the
run-off spots for Metro
presidency all wrapped up.
(Photo © J. Maus)

It’s election night and, while I haven’t done tons of coverage on all the races, I thought folks might want a place to chime in about what’s going on.

Many of the races have been decided, but there’s a tight battle brewing for who will be in the runoff for Metro president. Bob Stacey currently leads with 37% with Tom Hughes in second at 31%. Rex Burkholder is trailing Hughes by about 1,400 votes.

UPDATE: Looks like Stacey has one of the spots wrapped up. Hughes is likely to get the other one.

In the other interesting race, City Commissioner Dan Saltzman has avoided a runoff by getting 55% of the vote so far. His closest rival is Mary Volm with just 12%. Jesse Cornett has only garnered 6.9% of the vote so far. More updates are due from Multnomah County Elections Office at 9:00.

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white Cannondale 26 inch wheels aluminum 93=95??

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Year: 93=95??
Brand: Cannondale
Model: 26 inch wheels aluminum
Color:white
Size:for women 5’7
Stolen in Portland, OR 97217
Stolen:2010-05-17
Stolen From: My house is on the bike boulevard at N. Williams and Jessup.
Neighborhood: North Portland Piedmont neighborhood. .Killingsworth and Williams area
Owner: Paige Common
OwnerEmail: paigecommon@yahoo.com
Reward: We’ll figure that out when the time comes…
Description: My bike has neon green road bike handle bars with a white aluminum frame. I also have a few animal rights stickers on the frame, “chickens are not for nuggets,” “elephants are not for zoos”…etc. My back light is a big yellow triangle which is attached to my rear rack.
This registrant does not have proof of ownership of this bike

100 miles on a tall bike

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I wanted to do this story before Saturday’s Reach the Beach (a 100 mile ride that goes from Portland to the coast), but I figured it was still worth sharing…

Meet Team JetStream, a group of fun-loving folks who did the entire Reach the Beach ride on tall bikes:

Team JetStream just before launch.
(Photo: Jack-Olsen/Flickr)

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Job: Sustainability Coordinator (AmeriCorps – Bend’s Community Bike Shed)

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Job Title
Sustainability Coordinator

Company/Organization
AmeriCorps VISTA – Bend’s Community Bike Shed

Job Description
Dedicate a year of national service to a Bend grassroots effort to make safe, reliable bike transportation available to all members of our community!

The AmeriCorps*VISTA member will generate resources and funds to build the capacity and sustainability of the Bend’s Community BikeShed (BCB), a new volunteer-run program of Bend’s Community Center (BCC). The VISTA’s primary project duties will include generating program income through the refurbishment and sale of bikes and submitting grants to support BCB’s mission. In addition, the VISTA will also work with the Leadership Committee to coordinate BCB Membership Plan and quarterly fundraising events. In combination, these project activities will potentially generate over $20,000, 75 trained volunteers, and 100 supporting members to sustain BCB’s services and mission.

This is a national service position—not a job!

You must dedicate an entire year to full-time service (August to August, no other employment allowed during service by VISTA rules). VISTA members receive a small living allowance ($853/month approx.), health coverage, relocation allowance, and childcare assistance (if eligible) for support during their service. VISTA members earn a $5,350 Education Award (or smaller end-of-service stipend) upon service completion.

How to Apply
All Applicants must apply through the AmeriCorps website by 06/05/2010 at:
https://my.americorps.gov/mp/listing/viewListing.do?fromSearch=true&id=14792

More detailed service information is available on the website above.