Agency: Oregon doesn't need imported LNG
May 09, 2008
TED SICKINGER
The Oregonian
In a potentially fatal blow to three proposals to build liquefied natural gas terminals in Oregon, the state Department of Energy released a report Friday stating that imported LNG isn't needed, would be more expensive and polluting than domestic natural gas, and would come at a higher environmental cost than alternative proposals to ship more gas in from Wyoming.
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More cross-river commuters leave cars home
Wednesday, May 07, 2008
By COURTNEY SHERWOOD
Columbian Staff Writer
With gas prices at record highs, Clark County and Portland drivers appear to have finally changed their habits.
Traffic across the Interstate 5 and Interstate 205 bridges, which has gradually ticked upward for most of the past decade, nudged down a fraction in February and dropped 3.3 percent in March, according to preliminary figures from the Oregon Department of Transportation. No figures are out yet for April or May, but those who watch the bridges each day say drives are getting easier.
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Bridge faces a wide gulf
Business, environmental groups have differing goals for I-5 river crossing plan
May 2, 2008
JIM REDDEN
The Portland Tribune,
Events have overtaken the Columbia River Crossing, the project intended to reduce congestion and improve safety on the freeway link between Portland and Vancouver, Wash.
Battle lines already have been drawn over the project options under consideration – even though a detailed study of them was released just today.
The study, called the Draft Environmental Impact Statement, looked at five options, ranging from doing nothing to a $4 billion-plus overhaul of the five-mile stretch of Interstate 5 from State Route 500 in Vancouver to North Columbia Boulevard in Portland.
The study is intended to help government officials in both states decide which of the five options to submit to the federal government for funding.
But interest groups already have started taking stands on the options.
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New I-5 bridge? You decide
Reports touting a toll span, with far less congestion, will help the public choose which way to go
May 02, 2008
DYLAN RIVERA
The Oregonian
Replacing the decrepit Interstate 5 bridge over the Columbia River with mass transit lines and new car lanes on a toll bridge would reduce future traffic congestion by two-thirds, from a whopping 15 hours a day to potentially less than five.
That's a key finding in a massive set of reports by transportation professionals in Oregon and Washington to be released today.
Significantly, an intermediate measure -- leaving the current bridge in place but adding supplementary spans containing more lanes, mass transit and bicycle lanes -- would reduce congestion by just one-third, to a better but grinding 11 hours a day.
As Oregon and Washington struggle to decide which kind of bridge to erect, they are required by law to weigh benefits and environmental impacts. Today's reports are designed to help residents and leaders alike decide.
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Spike in gas prices help burst housing bubble, a Portland economist suggests
Most economists explain the downturn in other terms: the mortgage lending crunch, overbuilding by homebuilders and speculation
April 30, 2008
DYLAN RIVERA
The Oregonian
First it was the faltering economy. Then came rising commodity prices.
Can steadily increasing gas prices also be blamed for bursting the housing bubble?
Yes, says Portland economist Joe Cortright of Impresa Inc. "The gas price spike popped the housing bubble," he writes in a new report called "Driven to the Brink."
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2 officials meet, get money from gas lobby
Commissioners - Critics of a pipeline through Clackamas County are infuriated
April 30, 2008
PETER ZUCKERMAN
The Oregonian
Two of Clackamas County's three commissioners have privately met with natural gas lobbyists and accepted industry campaign contributions, infuriating critics who consider a proposed pipeline an environmental disaster.
Opponents say commissioners should meet with residents affected by the project, hold public hearings and find out what the people they represent think about the pipeline proposal.
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Bob Stacey has more than a 1000 friends
Even as he joins an elite group of land-use planners, head of 1000 Friends of Oregon prefers to keep feet on ground and nose to grindstone
Posted: Monday, April 28, 2008
By Tyler Graf
Bob Stacey is both a lawyer and a certified city planner. But as the executive director of 1000 Friends of Oregon, the non-profit organization working to maintain the state’s unique urban growth system, his ambitions and his recognition remain on the planning end.
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Counties join to cut emissions by 80%
Warming - Multnomah and Clackamas first in state to sign on
April 16, 2008
The Oregonian
Multnomah and Clackamas County officials have pledged to fight global warming by reducing greenhouse gas emissions 80 percent by 2050.
Each board of commissioners passed resolutions last week codifying the effort, which will begin with an inventory of emissions generated by county operations.
With the resolution, the counties became part of the Sierra Club's Cool Counties Climate Stabilization Declaration. The two counties are the first in Oregon to sign onto the initiative.
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Stafford's future taking shape
Land use - After months of negotiations, a coalition moves closer to a vision statement
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
DANA TIMS
The Oregonian
A fragile coalition of landowners, in an area that has long pitted pro-growth forces against those favoring open spaces and preservation, is ready to take a major step in a process now guided by mediation and self-governance.
A series of 10 neighborhood meetings in the 3,900-acre Stafford basin south of Lake Oswego will culminate next weekend in a town hall meeting. Discussions at the meeting Saturday could go a long way toward producing the vision statement expected to steer the area's future.
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