The latest on the Bailey Branch Corridor Draft Management Strategy

Benton County released the Draft of its Bailey Branch Rail Corridor Management Strategy on July 2nd.  Public hearings were scheduled for July 8^th in Monroe and July 10^th in Corvallis to get public input on the proposed strategy.  The input they got from the public was surprising.

The Strategy itself contained five options for the future of the corridor:

1.         Railroad Only

2.         Develop Hiking/Biking Trails
3.         Maintain Current Condition and Uses
4.         Transfer (move) the Corridor Location
5.         Selling, Leasing and Granting Easements

The consensus, at least at the Corvallis meeting, turned out to be a combination of these.

Public testimony was pretty much evenly divided between cyclists, hikers and nature enthusiasts and homeowners and farmers located along the Corridor.  Many of the homeowners and farmers turned out to be in favor of Option 2, but only if it could be combined with Options 4 and 5.  Many of the Hiking/Biking community agreed for some very common sense reasons:

1.         Farming is a serious industrial operation using practices, methods, chemicals and animals to produce a product.

2.         Farming is one of the ten most dangerous occupations in America.
3.         At times, certain practices or methods can produce drifting dust or chemicals.  Even though they are non-toxic, they are not pleasant.
4.         A long, straight trail through farm country and through people’s back yards is not very scenic.

Some of the families along the Bailey Corridor have proposed purchasing the portions they are adjacent to and maintaining the right-of-way as an easement for possible return to rail use in the future.  That discussion led to a discussion of the County using the funds to widen Bellfountain Road and provide a safe, hiking/biking trail connecting the Corvallis To The Sea Trail to Alpine and the east-west Hull-Oaks section of the Bailey Branch.  Nearly everyone seemed to agree this might be the best strategy for the Bailey Branch.

Hopefully the Commissioners will agree.

Read More......

Cost-effective ways to address climate change

WASHINGTON POST, 11/17/2010 by Bjorn Lomborg (Hat tip: John H. Detweiler) - One of the scarier predictions about global warming is the suggestion that melting glaciers and ice caps could cause sea levels to rise as much as 15 to 20 feet over the next century. Set aside the fact that the best research we have - from the United Nations climate panel - says that global sea levels are not likely to rise more than about 20 inches by 2100. Rather, let's imagine that over the next 80 or 90 years, a giant port city - say, Tokyo - found itself engulfed by a sea-level rise of about 15 feet. Millions of inhabitants would be imperiled, along with trillions of dollars' worth of infrastructure. Without a vast global effort, could we cope with such a terrifying catastrophe?

Well, we already have. In fact, we're doing it right now. Read more at the Washington Post... Read More......

W.H. aide promises senators they'll hit back "twice as hard."

POLITICO, 8/7/2009 by Ben Smith via Carrie Budoff Brown - Top White House aides gave Senate Democrats a recess battle plan on Thursday, arming the lawmakers with tips for avoiding disastrous town hall meetings while showing them polling on popular aspects of the reform effort.

Senior White House adviser David Axelrod and deputy chief of staff Jim Messina told senators to focus on the insured and how they would benefit from “consumer protections" in the overhaul, such as ending the practice of denying insurance based on preexisting conditions and ensuring the continuity of coverage between jobs.

They showed video clips of the confrontational town halls that have dominated the media coverage, and told senators to do more prep work than usual for their public meetings by making sure their own supporters turn out, senators and aides said. And they screened TV ads and reviewed the various campaigns by critics of the Democratic plan. Read More......