Missing Child:Found

UPDATE: According to Greg Hastings, the child was recovered safe in Eugene area. The Suspect is still outstanding.

SUSPECT:MendozaPaulino, Juan DOB 09/29/1981H/M, 5-10, 170, Blk Hair, Bro eyesTattoo of "Juan XVIII" on left arm.

VICTIM:Mendoza-Peebles, Shaeleigh DOB 06/30/2008LSW: Pajamas with white top and pink/brown pants.

At about 5:15 am this morning, Juan MendozaPaulino took his 18 month old biological daughter from her mother's residence in violation of a restraining order. The suspect has threatened in the past to kidnap this child and take her to Mexico. At this time, there are no associated vehicles for the suspect. He is associated with 2264 2nd Street in Springfield. This apparently is the residence of his aunt. A teletype has been sent to all western states and border patrol.

CONTACT:

Detective Jeff Roth

Eugene PoliceViolent Crimes Unit

541-682-5569

The Petulance of Leftist "Innovation"

Imagine a hack like Governor Kulongoski leading the energy sector in innovation. He thinks he's doing it. And the legislature has backed his play, with the state spending hundreds of millions of our dollars in order for a few to purchase "green tech" in place of more affordable and reliable old tech. You know. The stuff that works. It is teh crazy.

Now let's look at innovation in medical care and treatment. It's all the rage to talk about innovative solutions to our current health care disaster/system/criminal enterprise. The only problem is, these Leftists, or Statists, or Democrats or Crazies--you pick--don't really want innovation.

Here's an example. (From the NY Post.)

(How do you like your Blue-Eyed boy, Mr. Death?)

Buffalo Bill's
defunct
who used to
ride a watersmooth-silver
stallion
and break onetwothreefourfive pigeons justlikethat
Jesus
he was a handsome man
and what I want to know is
how do you like your blue-eyed boy
Mister Death

ee cummings

Two Bridges In The County

It's Friday--it's Friday,innit?--and I'm in a hurry to get a bunch of stuff done before the weekend. And this fell into my lap. Not literally. Rarely does anything fall "literally" in my lap. But I thought I'd post a recent article sent by the Department of Transportation. Simply because it was an interesting article, and if you live in Clatsop county and rely on local media, you'd never see this stuff. Click on the pics for images.

ODOT Region 2 Oct. 7, 2009 10-270-R2 For Immediate Release
Adam Torgerson, Public Information Officer, (503) 986-2880

ODOT lowers weight limit on aging U.S. 101B bridges

Only trucks requiring special permits are affected

ASTORIA – ODOT approved a reduction to the maximum load that can be driven across the Lewis and Clark Bridge, south of Astoria on U.S. 101B. Loads over 80,000 pounds will be restricted from using the 85 year old bridge.

ODOT bridge engineers have also lowered the rating on the Old Youngs Bay Bridge, restricting vehicles weighing over 105,500 pounds from using the 88 year old bridge.

Crews are scheduled to install signs on Oct. 20, and restrictions will only affect specially permitted trucks with loads exceeding legal limits.

The Lewis and Clark River Bridge was constructed in 1924 and is the only remaining single leaf bascule drawspan in Oregon. The 85 year old bridge’s wooden support structure is built out of untreated cedar. The timber is located in a severe marine environment and subject to tidal changes of up to 12 feet daily, causing substantial deterioration.

Caption: Decaying timber on the Lewis and Clark Bridge

Bridge engineers estimate approximately 25 piles, six sills and nine spans need repair in order to keep the bridge functioning safely at its updated load rating; a complete rebuild of the lift span would be necessary to restore capacity to handle specially permitted heavy loads. Rather than rebuilding the bridge, ODOT is developing a repair project for summer 2011, with an estimated cost of $2.6 million, to maintain the function of the bridge at its lower load rating.

The Old Youngs Bay Bridge was constructed in 1921. The double leaf bascule span can no longer handle specially permitted heavy loads over 105,500 pounds; the weight limit is necessary to slow deterioration of the main span. A complete rebuild of the span would be necessary in order to accommodate specially permitted heavy loads.

Unrelated specifically to the weight restriction, the deck on the Old Youngs Bay Bridge is damaged and needs to be replaced. That deck replacement is planned for spring 2010 and will likely require closure of the bridge and a detour along U.S. 101 while the deck is being installed.

Captions: Old Youngs Bay Bridge deck damage

“Both bridges are over 80 years old and were designed for smaller, lighter loads,” said ODOT District Manager Dave Neys, “The updated weight limits and planned repairs will keep these bridges open for typical freight and passenger vehicles. Only vehicles requiring a special permit to carry loads exceeding legal limits will be affected by the weight restriction.”

More information
Lewis and Clark Bridge repair project Web site:
http://www.oregon.gov/ODOT/HWY/REGION2/US101B_LewisandClarkBridge.shtml
Lewis and Clark Bridge photos and diagram:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/oregondot/sets/72157622398007401/

Old Youngs Bay Bridge photos and diagram:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/oregondot/sets/72157622398848343/

# # ODOT # #

Project information for northwest Oregon:
http://www.odotproject.info

How Counties Lose Following Leftist Agendas

Today's decision in State ex rel English v. Multnomah County is worthwhile reading.

Especially if you're a mutton-headed Leftist who wants to turn this county inside-out in order to pursue an agenda of anti-growth, anti-jobs and anti-development.

Working and investing in this country is still legal. And serving as a county commissioner, or as a member of any of the Board's commissions, requires following the law. Multnomah county found out today that it is expensive to break du contrat social.

For background on Dorothy English, there is an excellent Townhall article here. The short strokes are, English bought some property. The county changed the rules.

The county pays.

For the Leftists who are pushing an agenda to remove county commissioners in Clatsop county because they refuse to break the rules--the social contract--just a word: stupid.

You shouldn't be shocked to find out the Left is stupid. For the Left there are no consequences. As we find out on a day-to-day basis, the source of all wrongdoing in the world is due to Bush. Whether it's buying a home you can't afford, or running a newspaper into the ground, all of this is due to Bush (and his minions) and therefore deserve to be bailed out by the taxpayers. Multnomah county tax payers in this case.

The Left has an agenda for Clatsop county. It is whatever they are crying about, today. Not much of a plan, is it?

Not All Democrats Are The Same

Kanjorski. At 5:15.

Compare to Cummings at 6:15.

The link is here. (CNBC.)

There is a dogmatic force at play here. Kanjorski is cursed with an awareness of how markets operate. Cummings is able to ignore markets in order to arrive at a politically motivated outcome.

People who are losing their houses because they didn't know what they were doing is a political problem. Not a market problem. There are millions of us around the country who wake up each morning worrying about our businesses, our homes and our families. Who are these people who get a reprieve from the market? How are they determined?

It seems, according to Congressman Cummings, that their inability to provide for themselves is the threshold. Interestingly, this seems to be the threshold being held out by Leftists for promoting socialized medical care.

So, the vast majority of us must suffer, so that those who are unable or unwilling to take responsibility for their own lives benefit. This suffering is known as "social justice". Take a minute and re-think Representative Kanjorski's statements.

When the market is on its back, when one in four workers is either looking for a job, or given up looking, when half of kids can't find a job, maybe we should be looking at strengthening our economy before we go about looting it.

Pretty common sensical, no?

Red Flags At Oregon State University

Happy talk and budget cuts.

President Edward Ray needs to be asked some serious questions as Oregon State begins a path that turns away from playing its role as a university. You can read about President Ray's proposals in the Fall issue of the Oregon Stater. (Page 8.)

The question of whether or not Oregon State University can survive as a university facing a 30 percent reduction in state funding is a good question. Our elected representatives were unable to come up with priorities for the state that make much sense on the basis of our state's needs for its day-to-day operations, opting instead to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on show-and-tell projects for Green technology and cultural pursuits. (You can find out about "Oregon's Day of Culture here.)

The serious work of running and building a university will be left for another day.

Instead, President Ray proposes happy talk--in line with the current pre-school attitude of our state's leadership--in his proposal for a "new structure" for the university. From the Oregon Stater (Oregon Stater, Fall 2009, "Focus on OSU's Strengths Key to Belt-tightening, Realignment Proposals, p. 6):

Division of Natural resources--"Healthy Planet"--Agricultural Sciences, Forestry, Oceanic and Atmospheric Sciences.

Division of Health Sciences--"Healthy People"--Health and Human Sciences, Pharmacy, Veterinary Medicine

Division of Business and Engineering--"Healthy Economy"--Engineering, Business

Division of Arts and Sciences--"Basic Inquiry"--Liberal Arts, Science.

The only device not included with the President's proposal is the "Happy Face."

Seeing ones Alma Mater reduced to the level of Sesame Street should give one pause. Healthy planet, people, economy...basic inquiry? The university as inoculation against unhealthy planets, people and economies...advanced inquiry?

If you dig into the proposals of the President you see that there are several bright line issues that have been proposed and then disposed. Most shocking is the proposal to eliminate 500 course sections with low enrollment. Next? The proposal to eliminate or consolidate 30 academic programs. I would suggest a name change at some point:

Oregon State Paraversity. Not quite a university. Too big to be called a college. Or would Junior University work better?

The proposal to move the College of Education off campus to Bend isn't really significant. For those of you who have spent any time in the college, you know that intellectual inquiry isn't necessary for the granting of a degree in education. That is, if one school most closely fulfills the requirements for VocEd, it is the education school. The need for advanced skills in any of the sciences is at its minimum when one reviews the candidates that seek admission into the teaching community. The curriculum does not advance those with advanced training in any of the arts and sciences. The key to the School of Education is hitting the minimums, moving into your Senior teaching series and then gaining admission into the OEA.

If you and I were facing budget cuts of 30 percent, the first thing we'd be looking at is how to reduce the fixed costs facing our institutions. Instead of moving a college to Bend I would be closing the campus in Bend. Building an edifice or building a university?

Oregon shows on a daily basis its inability to arrive at adult resolutions to its budgetary problems. Rather than adopt the proposal to reduce government expenditures by $500-million dollars in the last session, it instead has passed new taxes that approach a billion dollars.

Friday I wrote about the state's legislative revenue analysis. Maybe we need to, following the theme of our university's President, refer to this as Healthy Government.

Where's that re-set button?

UPDATE: Over at Zeta Wolf "Liberty Trashed."