Spanning the State: "The most important single step in 100 years" by: nothstine Sun Nov 08, 2009 at 12:42:46 PM PST

The news of the morning, of course, is the passage last night (by two votes, one of whom was a Louisiana Representative who will shortly become the most primaried member of the Republican Party in the history of America) of the House version of the health care reform bill.   The Oregon delegation split along party lines.   "Tonight I voted for every Oregonian who has faced bankruptcy when they've lost their care or has been denied coverage because of a pre-existing condition. Tonight, I voted to protect every Oregonian who has health insurance but sees their costs rising every year, " Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., said after the vote. He was joined by Reps. Peter DeFazio, David Wu and Kurt Schrader. "Passage of the Affordable Health Care for America Act marks the most important single step in 100 years in addressing the health care needs of American families.  For the first time, the US government has dealt comprehensively with the entire health care system," Blumenauer said. DeFazio, who like fellow Democrat Shrader was considered a potential wildcard on the vote, offered strong support even though he conceded, "this plan isn't perfect."   Haven't yet been able to find a statement by Rep. Greg Walden, who voted against the health reform bill.  No doubt he's been too busy with preparations to return to the 2nd District and meet with the medically un- (and under-) insured among his constituency. Time to Span the State! [More after the jump, including the final word in the war on poaching in the StS True Animal Story.]

nothstine :: Spanning the State: "The most important single step in 100 years"

--------------- Oregon's Business Energy Tax Credit is a key part of the plan to lure solar industries to the state.  But Salem has concluded they were a trifle too generous the first time around: The Oregon Department of Energy has filed new temporary administrative rules for the Business Energy Tax Credit (BETC) program. Following a directive from Gov. Ted Kulongoski, D-Ore., in August, the new rules involve changes to issues of multiple applications, project cost overruns, taxes owed to the state, enhanced accountability for jobs created and other topics. The new rules will affect all tax-credit applications that have not been issued a precertification letter on or after Nov. 3. The rule changes are designed to eliminate the practice of multiple applications for the same or similar projects; establish new criteria for project eligibility; enhance the ability to revoke, suspend and/or condition applications; and establish new criteria for performance standards, the Oregon Department of Energy says. (Eugene political cartoonist Jesse Springer wonders if the Oregon solar industry flew too close to the sun.) --------------- Our curriculum is growing: Makes sense: the popularity of wine drinking in Oregon and the rise of the Oregon wine industry went hand in hand.  With the Obama administration announcing its intention to stand down from medical marijuana prosecutions, why wouldn't this be next? Item 1: The second of two Portland "smoke-easies," where medical marijuana patients can medicate and socialize will open later this month.  Note to West-side hipsters: both locations are on the East side of town. Item 2: The Oregon Medical Cannabis University is now accepting students in Hillsboro. "We've had people with cancer, Parkinson's, broken bones. We had a guy with hip surgery who was in a wheelchair when he came here and (now) he's walking around with a cane," the school's president told [KPTV]. --------------- In a related story: Here are some useful rules of thumb:  Never play poker with a man named "Doc," never eat at a truck stop called "Mom's," and never mention the pot in the glove compartment when you report your truck stolen: Calvin Hooper, 21, Salem, reportedly called 911 to say someone had broken into his vehicle in a tavern parking lot and stolen his jacket, $400 in cash and three-quarters of an ounce of marijuana. A sheriff's spokeswoman told The (Salem) Statesman-Journal Hooper was having a rough night Tuesday after a stint at the Freeloader Tavern Sheriff's Lt. Shelia Lorance said dispatchers sent Deputy Ryan Clark to the Freeloader to take a report, but Clark couldn't find the caller. The caller dialed 911 again to ask where the deputy was, but the dispatcher had trouble understanding him because he repeatedly pulled over to vomit. The deputy eventually located Hooper at an intersection standing about 100 feet from his parked truck. This has been a bad year for 911 callers in Oregon. --------------- Just say NOHA The Northwest Oregon Housing Authority appears to have been a little overzealous in getting vouchers into the hands of those area residents who needed rent assistance.  How overzealous? NOHA came up $600,000 short in federal funding in June and notified 285 households throughout Clatsop, Columbia and Tillamook counties that they would lose their rent assistance. Around 1,100 households in the tri-county area receive a credit for a portion of their rent from HUD's Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Program. NOHA receives around $5 million a year in federal funding to administer the program. After digging into savings to cover rent subsidies for July and August, NOHA received $795,000 in emergency funds from HUD to help keep voucher recipients in their homes for the rest of the year. A review by HUD found that, in 2005, NOHA spent $400K in federal money it didn't have, and ended up going almost $250K over budget.  Similar issues turned up for successive budget years.  NOHA has undertaken corrective actions, but they've still had to cut 45 area families from their program, and it's not clear what this will do to their federal funding for 2010. Board Chairwoman Patricia Roberts chair of the NOHA board and Clatsop County commissioner, claimed that the budgetary and management mess was caused by being "wildly successful in getting assistance when we needed it." --------------- Oregon gas prices rose another 2.2¢ this week, to $2.767/gal. Cheapest reported pump price: $2.54/gal, at the 76 station, 400 SW First Ave near Grant St., in Camby. Highest reported pump price (tie): $2.99/gal, at the Shell station, 461 S Valley View Rd & I-5 (Exit 19) in Ashland, the 76 station, 460 S Valley View Rd & I-5 (Exit 19) in Ashland, and the Chevron station, 21755 NW Imbrie Dr & NW Cornelius Pass Rd, in Hillsboro.   (Once again, Ashland has a price war going on, in which the neighboring stations appear to have teamed up and declared war on consumers.) For several weeks now, the top prices in Oregon have toed the line at $2.99/gal.  No one seems eager to remind consumers of those heady days a year ago when Oregon gas prices were well over $4.00/gal.  If the lower end of the price continuum keeps inching up, at what point will the high-end prices finally break the tape and go back into the three-dollar zone? --------------- StS True Animal Story:  Part elk.  Part machine.  All cop. The Oregon State Police Fish & Wildlife Division has a new partner in the war on poaching:  His name is RoboElk. RoboElk joins a number of robotic animals that assist fish & wildlife agents in catching illegal hunters in the act. The elk is scheduled to be used in Wallowa County, where other robotic animals are deployed routinely. The robotic game animals are placed in pastures and timber along roadways with backup from human officers stationed nearby. The human officers are then able to witness illegal activity while preserving the safety of passers-by, themselves and real elk, deer or other game animals. Animal decoys have been part of the fight against poaching since 1991 when the Fish & Wildlife Enforcement Division established the program. Since 1995, Oregon law has made action toward an animal robocop under the control of law enforcement illegal - the same as illegal action against a live animal. OSP has squadron of such decoys, including RoboAntelopes, RoboDeer, RoboBears, and RoboTurkeys.  In 2008 they issued 143 citations involving the mechanical menagerie, including 90 incidents of firing at them from moving vehicles. RoboElk was manufactured by Custom Robotic Wildlife in Mosinee WI, and was donated to the OSP last month by the Humane Society's Wildlife Land Trust. He lists for $4000. Rumors that, for an extra $700, RoboElk can be programmed to say "Dead or alive, creep--you're coming with me!" could not be confirmed. --------------- Tune in to the Morning Show on KPOJ AM620 tomorrow morning between 7.30 and 8.00 to hear Carl, Christine, and Paul match wits with TJ on the weekly Spanning the State Limerick Challenge!   ---------------

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