 BUSINESS WEAK: Mayor Sam Adams wants to be judged on his “ability to deliver results.” Can he deliver?
IMAGE: Darryl James |
Three weeks after Mayor Sam Adams admitted lying about his sexual relationship in 2005 with then-teenage Beau Breedlove, Adams is gamely trying to return to city business as usual.
In a Jan. 25 video announcing his return to work, Adams asked to be judged on “my ability to deliver results.”
But it’s unclear exactly what “business as usual” means for the new mayor, and even less clear that he can deliver results.
Adams’ calendar for this week, for instance, includes discussion about construction of a headquarters hotel next to the Oregon Convention Center. But the once-high-profile project appears destined for the recycle bin.
Metro, the agency charged with figuring out how to fund the hotel, gave up in early January. Adams adopted the project, but the panel he asked to review it won’t meet until Feb. 18, and key deadlines with the developer loom in April.
Adams’ calendar includes another project where his lack of political capital could hurt: the recruitment of Major League Soccer. The Trail Blazers are leery about using the Memorial Coliseum site—Adams’ preference—as a new home for minor-league baseball; the Blazers’ senior vice president of business affairs, J.E. Isaac, says a baseball stadium might crowd out the organization’s plans for a 24/7 Rose Quarter entertainment district. In his current tenuous situation, Adams is in no position to drive a hard bargain.
Adams has also downplayed his education initiative, acknowledging he couldn’t be effective on children’s issues with the Breedlove scandal hanging over his head.
He has backed off on other proposals as well, such as a tax on plastic grocery bags. And he has failed to persuade anybody to take the fifth spot on the Portland Development Commission. That post, normally considered one of the most desirable of mayoral appointments, has been vacant since July 2008.
“The mayor should have a decision made in the next couple of weeks,” Adams spokesman Roy Kaufmann says of the vacancy.
The issue most starkly showing Adams’ precarious political position in the wake of the Breedlove story, however, is his new vulnerability on the biggest deal on his desk: the proposed $4.2 billion Columbia River Crossing project between Portland and Vancouver.
Adams, the city’s representative on a 10-member, bi-state “Project Sponsors Council” making the big decisions about the proposed bridge, persuaded his regional colleagues Feb. 6 to delay a scheduled vote on how many lanes the bridge should have.
The number of lanes has been controversial. Sponsors on the Oregon side, such as Metro, TriMet and the city, have argued for fewer lanes to reduce miles traveled and greenhouse emissions. Meanwhile, their Washington counterparts want 12 lanes, which they say will reduce traffic congestion. (The current bridges have six lanes.)
In 2008, when Portland’s City Council first took up the CRC, Adams’ four Council colleagues backed him as he argued for a configuration that would minimize single-passenger vehicle trips.
His staunchest backer then was his closest Council ally, City Commissioner Randy Leonard, but their strong partnership is now in tatters.
Leonard says Adams betrayed him when Adams lied about his relationship with Breedlove, and compounded that betrayal by encouraging Leonard to defend Adams when the issue first surfaced in 2007.
Leonard says his position on the bridge has evolved as he learns more from project staff. He has now joined the Clark County contingent in wanting 12 lanes.
The split has real ramifications for Adams’ vision of the bridge.
The City Council was supposed to vote Jan. 28 on the issue, but Adams asked to postpone that vote. Had the vote gone forward, Leonard says Adams and Commissioner Amanda Fritz probably would have lost a 3-2 vote.
Leonard says he doesn’t trust Adams to convey his views in meetings with CRC partners.
“Sam was looking for direction from the Council to go off and represent us,” Leonard says. “I want a vote first because I’m not comfortable with him representing my viewpoint without that formal direction.”
If the City Council had voted for 12 lanes on Jan. 28, the Leonard-Adams fracture could have shaped the most expensive public works project ever proposed for the Northwest, contrary to the wishes of Adams and his backers in the “Smarter Bridge” coalition, such as environmental groups, the bike lobby and land-use planning advocates.
Metro Council President David Bragdon, who, along with Adams, has been the most vocal proponent of minimizing the number of lanes, says his hands are tied if the City Council ends up supporting 12 lanes.
“If the city of Portland agrees to [12 lanes],” Bragdon says, “then it’s kind of hard for me to say no.”
FACT: The Project Sponsors Council meets again March 6 at Washington Department of Transportation’s SW-region headquarters in Vancouver.
Please call her at (503) 823-3008 and ask for her to allow the citizens to speak directly to the council and for them to let us know where they stand.
RecallSamAdams.com
Jasun Wurster
NOTE: A copy of the Press Release is at: http://www.citizenrecall.org/data/fritz_press_release.pdf
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Damless Hydrokinetic hydroelectric is a relatively new technology based on capturing the kinetic energy of rivers, without the need to construct dams. "Run-of-the-river" hydro installations usually using underwater plant resembling a Gorlov helical Impulse turbine.
"A better type of bridge pilings". We are forced to replace the old bridge
DUH if we have to put a big piece of concrete in the middle of the mighty Columbia river Have them make our electric power.
It can pay for the crossing bridge. Through this civil works project pairing The U.S. Department of Energy, and The U.S. Department of Transportation the I-5 Crossing can, create a rise of industry around the inexpensive electric and hydrogen, allow us to remove the power house at the Bonneville Lock and Dam, give us back our salmon
This is how
http://www.inhabitat.com/2008/09/10/oxford-engineers-transverse-horizontal-axis-water-turbine/
When most people think of hydro-electric power they probably think of large dam projects such as China’s Three Gorges Dam, India’s dams on the Narmada River, or closer to home (at least to my home) the Hoover Dam. Perhaps needless to say, big hydroelectric projects like this can generate a great deal of power, but there is significant environmental trade off, like no salmon.
A less environmentally intrusive way is known as Hydrokinetic Power that describes run-of-river hydro as well as most terms:
Hydrokinetic power makes use of swiftly flowing rivers to turn or move turbines, which in turn generate electricity. Hydrokinetic power is distinct from traditional hydropower in that dam construction is not required. Typically, a Hydrokinetic turbine is submerged and secured to the riverbed, or is attached to infrastructure, such as bridge pilings
Capturing the kinetic energy of rivers, without the need to construct dams Usually using an underwater plant resembling a Gorlov helical Impulse turbine.
As no dam is required, it will dramatically reduce the major disadvantages associated with traditional hydroelectric systems. Like no Salomon.
These Damless hydro systems require little to no maintenance. The initial setup cost and environmental impact is minimal in comparison to the cost of building dams.
There is no risk of flash flooding caused by a breached dam, and no risks during construction of a dam.
The environmental benefits speak for themselves:
? No flooding of large catchment areas, resulting in no effect on the natural ecosystem in the river valley.
? No silt accumulation in the dam basin
? No need for fish ladders
? No additional greenhouse gases (Dams create greenhouse gases)
The development of damless hydro technology is being regarded very favorably by all concerned. It is likely that it will take the lead as the future choice for hydro electricity generation.
Based on current project proposals, experts predict that the country could be producing 13,000 MW of power from hydrokinetic energy by 2025. This level of development is equivalent to displacing 22 new dirty coal-fired power plants avoiding the annual emission of nearly 86 million metric tons of carbon dioxide, as well as other harmful pollutants like mercury and particulate matter. The avoided carbon emissions in 2025 would be equivalent to taking 15.6 million cars off the road. State and federal policymakers across the U.S. have taken notice of the potential of hydrokinetic energy, and have begun to support its development through legislative and monetary means;
Operating as an Independent Power Producer (IPP), the I-5 Crossing Project can sell the power generated by its hydro kinetic turbine via long-term, wholesale power purchase agreements (PPAs) to project equity partners, power marketing firms, utilities, cities and industrial interests.
In-stream hydrokinetic power projects will generate the lowest cost renewable power since water currents are predictable and available 24 hours a day, unlike solar, and have an energy density 850 times greater than wind.
River and ocean-based hydrokinetics projects will operate in baseload fashion, which is important for grid reliability, reducing the impacts of climate change and to better meeting our nation’s growing electricity needs
Hydrokinetic power projects, generate electricity exclusively from moving water (river currents, tidal currents and ocean currents) without having to construct dams, impoundments or conduits.
The next piece, Electrolysis
The Electrolysis process splits hydrogen from water.
Hydrogen Energy will be produced huge volume at this a large central facility, thereby lessening the need for the out dated Bonneville Lock and Dam and it’s Old, hydro-electric power station and it’s miles of high voltage transmission power lines.
Once this Hydroelectric-Electrolysis Columbia River Channel control complex is constructed, it will make Jansen Beach the world’s largest Hydrogen Refueling station. Well placed for serving hydrogen vehicles, cars, trucks, boats, planes, trains, and sea going ships, or space bound rockets.
PLUS,
Home fuel cells, also called micro combined heat and power (microCHP) and microgeneration and portable (Movable) fuel cell applications that are either used as micropower in consumer electronic devices to provide power or as portable power.
Ending Batteries in the landfill.
And O’ yea, it makes profit $ = JOBS