Cheers: To the thousands of people who gave food to the Dec. 5 Inter-Service Walk & Knock food drive. When the final tally was completed this week, a record 162 tons of food was donated. That’s 7 tons more than the previous record, set in 2002, and 15 percent more than last year.
The food drive, which involved 4,500 volunteers, is the largest of its kind in Clark County. It’s especially sweet to break the record of giving this year, when need is also at record levels. “It’s really great that the community stepped forward, knowing the economy was bad,” James Fitzgerald, manager of the Clark County Food Bank’s Stop Hunger warehouse, told Columbian reporter Scott Hewitt.
In addition to the food, approximately $25,000 in cash was donated to the Clark County Food Bank, which will use all of it to purchase food to supplement the donations.
Jeers: To Portland Mayor Sam Adams and others who complain that the Columbia River Crossing project will only shift congestion into the Rose Quarter area of Portland. For one thing, a careful analysis of traffic patterns shows that two-thirds to three-fourths of motorists using the Interstate 5 Bridge enter and exit the freeway between Hazel Dell and North Portland, considerably north of the Rose Quarter bottleneck.
The opposition also fails the logic test. Even if every driver was headed to Adams’ comfortable downtown office, why would the mayor give up so easily on fixing Portland’s problems? In the 100 years a new crossing will last, isn’t it ridiculous to think that Portland won’t address traffic in its own city center? Or, maybe bridge opponents will convince everyone in the city to just ride bicycles and take the train.
Cheers: To the Boeing 787, which made its long-delayed first test flight this week. The Dreamliner has long been in development, and is unique among airliners for all of the high-tech composite materials (what they used to call plastic) used in its construction. It’s yet another remarkable technologic achievement produced in Washington. The plane is remarkably fuel-efficient, and new engines make it less polluting. Passengers will enjoy better lighting, more fresh air, bigger windows and a more spacious cabin, which most airlines will unfortunately choose to jam full of the world’s tiniest, least comfortable seats.
Jeers: To the state’s unwillingness or inability to stop granting pay increases to its work force, even as it faces a $2.6 billion general fund deficit. The Olympian reports 21,000 state workers are in line to receive “step increases” in their pay of as much as 5 percent next year, totaling $83 million. The step increases are routinely granted to employees who are relatively new in their positions. In case the bureaucrats hadn’t noticed, there is nothing routine about the economy, and state employees should help shoulder the burden until the recession eases.
“What does it say to the average Washingtonian who is fearful of becoming unemployed that his or her taxes are going to pay 5 percent annual salary increases for state workers?” asks Sen. Joe Zarelli, R-Ridgefield. We have a hunch that for many voters, it says government has too much money and can’t be trusted.
Cheers: To retired engineer and amateur sailor Lou Kobet of Camas. While teaching himself to sail his new one-man boat, he realized the channel connecting the main body of Lacamas Lake to the Heritage Park boat ramp was inadequately marked. Kobet made some calls and finally was connected with Deputy Todd Baker of the Clark County Sheriff’s Marine Patrol. Baker provided some new buoys, Kobet made the anchors — 5-gallon buckets filled with 100 pounds of concrete — and the problem was solved.
