Narrow residential streets may be quaint, but in Albany they have caused a problem for school bus drivers. The problem is that in some newer subdivisions, school buses cannot get around corners because the streets are choked with parked vehicles and the space that is left is too narrow for buses to get through. The […]
Oregon’s Senate president, Peter Courtney, filed a bill that threatened to fine cell-phoning drivers up to $1,000. This would be accomplished by upgrading the offense — using a hand-held cell phone while driving — from a Class D to a Class B traffic violation. I’m glad to report that the Senate Judiciary Committee has improved […]
Now that the Transportation Security Administration will allow airline passsengers to keep their small pocket knives, maybe other federal agencies will see the light as well. The TSA decision aroused the ire of unions representing airline workers as well as family members of people killed on 9/11. Their chagrin is understandable, but still the TSA made the right […]
C-SPAN 2 covered the filibuster live. The question Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky asked during his filibuster in the U.S. Senate on Wednesday may have seemed absurd. Does the Obama administration believe it has the power under the Constitution to use a drone strike to kill an American citizen on U.S. soil who is not […]
Remember that North Albany park-and-ride lot the city of Albany recently completed? It’s being used, and it also just got 10 stylish new light fixtures. They look impressive, but I’m wondering why they remain lighted throughout the day. (Councilman Ray Kopczynski found the answer from Public Works and let me know Thursday morning: “Because Park and Ride is built […]
What would be wrong with the state charging bicyclists a fee for the use of public roads? After all, the state charges plenty in connection with cars and trucks. Because bikes are thought to get a free ride, there’s long been tension on Oregon roads between motor traffic and bicycles, which also count as vehicles under […]
Self-service gas in emergencies?
Senate Bill 127 in the Oregon legislature is rekindling an old debate that had all but died out: Self-service gas, yes or no? Oregon and New Jersey remain the only states in the country where motorists are not allowed to pump their own fuel at gas stations open to the public. It’s a silly law, […]
Tags: gas, legislature, Oregon, self-service