Electric Fleets Heading to Oregon

At the same time the US Congress considers giving the big three automakers an SUV hangover cure, Nissan has chosen Oregon as one of a handful of sites to roll-out and mass-market zero-emission electric vehicles. From the Oregonian:

"Details -- such as numbers of cars and their costs -- were still being negotiated even as Kulongoski drove a prototype Nissan electric vehicle in Japan this week. The program is another green feather in the governor's cap as he prepares to visit a company Friday developing electric cars in China.

'Our goal is mass-marketing vehicles across the U.S. and globally' in 2012, said Nissan's Perry. 'We all believe that we'll be mass-marketing in Oregon much faster than that.' "

The roll-out is expected to begin with government and commercial fleets. What do you think Multnomah County, are you ready to go electric?

Update: Here's a little inspiration to get you jazzed about Electric.

Discuss: Electric Fleets Heading to Oregon

» November 20, 2008 - 0 comments

State Budget Forecast: Revenue Down Almost 1 Billion

Oregon State lawmakers have just learned that they will have almost 1 billion fewer dollars to spend on schools, human services and public safety. From the Oregonian:

"State economists reported that revenue for the current two-year budget is down by $140 million, prompting Gov. Ted Kulongoski to order state agency heads immediately to slash the remainder of their budgets across the board by 5 percent.

The news for the upcoming two years is much worse. Revenues are projected to be down by $718 million, compared with the forecast from three months ago. "

Multnomah County's budget analysts are already hard at work determining how this state revenue shortfall will impact the County. To give you some perspective, about 75% of the County's Department of Human Services Budget (Mental Health Services, Aging and Disability Services to name a few) comes from state and federal resources. State funds also flow to our jails and parole and probation services.

As always, we'll keep you up-to-date as information develops. The next big news is expected in December when Governor Kulongoski releases his 2009-2011 budget.

Drop us a line with your ideas for increasing revenue or cutting services.

Discuss: State Budget Forecast: Revenue Down Almost 1 Billion

» November 19, 2008 - 0 comments

County residents are getting heavier

There is bad news and good news on the obesity front for Multnomah County, according to the fall 2008 Community Health Assessment Quarterly report (report available at http://www.mchealth.org/hra/haq/fall_2008_obesity.pdf). The bad news is that since 1993, there has been a rise in the total proportion of obese and overweight adults in Multnomah County. In 2006, 53% of residents over the age of 18 were either overweight or obese, up from 45% in 1993. Adult males are outweighing females, 61% to 44%.

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» November 18, 2008 - 0 comments

Solar Energy -- Green Bag Lunch

Tuesday, Multnomah County's Green Bag Lunch Series featured Mark Waller of Bridgeworks Capital. He gave a vibrant and informative presentation on the latest devlopments in solar energy. 20 county employees heard about solar technologies like thin film, concentrated solar, energy storage technology, and photovoltaics, and how those technologies will help bring about the clean energy future we need.

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» November 18, 2008 - 0 comments

Video: Jeff paints at Jason Lee School in Northeast

See the pictures at Jeff's Flickr page or at Jeff's Facebook page.

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» November 18, 2008 - 0 comments