In January 2010, an earthquake in Haiti killed more than 230,000 people and initially displaced 1.5 million more. Fourteen months later, an earthquake and resulting tsunami in Japan claimed 15,884 lives and cost approximately $300 billion. If you think these disasters are oceans away, consider the $70 million the Oregon Department of Forestry spent fighting major wildfires in the summer of 2013 and the 43 people killed in a mudslide along Highway 503 near Oso, WA, in 2014. In addition, the effects of a changing climate are making matters worse for other natural hazards. While the timing of...

There’s a reason why the statistics published in the Portland Business Alliance’s 2014 Economic Impacts of Transportation study are attention-grabbing: The possibility of spending 69 hours per year in traffic and congestion by 2040 is enough to persuade even the most ardent public transit advocate to support the construction of massive superhighways. After all, who wouldn’t want an additional $928 million in annual economic output and sales or 8,300 new jobs as a result of an improved system? These statistics were reported in the Portland Tribune’s Jan. 6 article,...

The 1000 Friends of Oregon legislative and programmatic agendas for 2015 are proactive. Here’s an overview of what we hope to accomplish this year.

Legislative Priorities:

1. The first priority is passing a natural hazards bill to address the seventh of the 19 statewide planning goals are the core of Oregon’s land use program. We are working with Representative Ann Lininger. This bill would require the Department of Land Conservation and Development to work with local governments to...