Hasso Hering

Roundabout: no wall or fence

Written February 18th, 2015 by Hasso Hering

Comments: 5 responses.

You can quit worrying about fancy embellishments at the roundabout completed last year on Albany’s Main Street. The advisory board of the Central Albany Revitalization Area Wednesday unanimously accepted a staff recommendation to spend no CARA money on the place.

Posted in: Commentary, News
Tags: CARA, Main Street roundabout

Where a bicyclist was killed

Written February 18th, 2015 by Hasso Hering

Comments: 9 responses.

The roadside spot where Albany bicyclist Grant Keith Garner died on Tuesday is on one of my regular bike-riding routes, and I extend my heartfelt condolences to Garner’s family and others who knew him. As an accident it was an unusual one, but the crash that killed Garner, 60, shows why cyclists wish there were more […]

Posted in: Commentary
Tags: Albany-Corvallis path, Benton County, Benton planning commission, Grant Garner, Linn County, Oakville Road

Senate wants more expensive fuel

Written February 17th, 2015 by Hasso Hering

Comments: 7 responses.

Democrats in the state Senate on Tuesday rammed through a program to make fuel more expensive and less useful. You’d think that they would have more regard for the people of this state. Instead, they showed they are looking out for the fat cats who speculate and invest in alternative fuels.

Posted in: Commentary, News
Tags: low carbon fuel standard, Oregon Senate, SB 324

The Kitzhaber I like to remember

Written February 17th, 2015 by Hasso Hering

Comments: 6 responses.

John Kitzhaber was not at the Capitol on Tuesday, as far as I know. But his portrait was, hanging on the wall just outside the main entrance to the chamber of the Senate, where he served many years and did his best work. Tuesday was Kitzhaber’s last full day as governor; his resignation under fire […]

Posted in: Commentary
Tags: Kitzhaber, Oregon Health Plan

Is this project really necessary?

Written February 16th, 2015 by Hasso Hering

Comments: 11 responses.

On a sunny and warm mid-winter day, a bike ride over the top of Valley View Drive and down Crocker Lane put me in mind of — what else? — an action by the Albany City Council last week. And I’m wondering whether the council really thinks it’s necessary to make two road improvements for which adjoining […]

Posted in: Commentary, News
Tags: Albany City Council, assessments, Crocker Lane, LID, Valley Drive Drive

Sobriety checkpoints? Better not

Written February 15th, 2015 by Hasso Hering

Comments: 17 responses.

On Monday morning, the state Senate Business and Transportation Committee will consider a bill to allow roadblocks to check if drivers are impaired by alcohol or drugs. The legalization of recreational marijuana adds a new wrinkle to the old debate about sobriety checkpoints, but we still don’t need them.

Posted in: Commentary
Tags: HJR 3, police roadblocks, Rod Monroe, SB 13, sobriety checkpoints

Roundabout plan: ‘It’s too much’

Written February 14th, 2015 by Hasso Hering

Comments: 7 responses.

Decorating Albany’s new Main Street roundabout with a circular wall and wrought-iron fence would cost nearly $130,000, and the city staff thinks the benefit is not worth the expense.

Posted in: News
Tags: CARA, Main Street roundabout