Peter Walker, a professor in the Department of Geography at the University of Oregon explains why the court victory for several persons involved in the 41-day armed occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Preserve early in 2016, was anything but a true victory.
Malheur Wildlife Preserve Occupiers Acquitted /
The jury for the trial of seven persons who occupied the headquarters of the Malheur National Wildlife Preserve near Budy, Oregon, in January and February 2016, reached a stunning decision. All six defendants were acquitted.
At this point, most observers are dumbfounded at this result. And, as reported by the Seattle Times, there are fears that this decision may encourage similar actions throughout the mountain west of the USA. A post by Oregon Public Broadcasting offers additional perspective on concerns expressed by representatives of a variety of interest groups.
A lingering effect of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge occupation /
Here is a brief post as a follow-up to my post in February 2016 of articles related to the armed occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. As of October 2016, the trial of those who participated in that occupatio is underway. I came across this post by Patrick Lynch that appeared in the newspaper for Sandpoint, Idaho, the Bonner County Daily Bee, on October 16, 2016.
Mr. Lynch writes about how how his relatives who live near Burns, Oregon (the town nearest to the preserve told him, " . . . that their community was literally torn apart as a result of the armed occupation of the Malheur Wildlife Refuge." He went on to write that, " . . . they did not think their community culd heal, and that they were afraid of who they culd even talk to at the grocery store. The conclusion was, "They felt their community had been destroyed by the armed occupation. They didn't know why they could trust any more."
This is a most unfortunate result of the armed occupation of this remote part of Oregon that took place early in 2016.
For Those Who Question The Need for Black Lives Matter /
If you question the need for a Black Lives Matter movement and/or respond by stating that “All Lives Matter”, please read and reflect on two recent articles—one from Vox and the other reported in the New York Times and view selected videos posted by the New York Times:
I'm a black ex-cop, and this is the real truth about race and policing - Vox on July 7, 2016
Study Supports Suspicion That Police Are More Likely to Use Force on Blacks - New York Times on July 7, 2016
The Raw Videos That Have Sparked Outrage Over Police Treatment of Blacks - New York Times on July 7, 2016
No Good Deed Goes Unpunished /
The Seattle Times reports that Puget Sound Regional Council, the regional planning agency for the Seattle area, dings towns accommodating housing, even though they are doing so within their Washington State Growth Management Act Boundaries.
Status of the Financial Crisis Bail Out /
In 2008, the U.S. Government enacted two programs designed to shore up and restore confidence in key investment banking and mortgage lending institutions. The first of these programs was authorized by the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008, enacted in July. The second was the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act enacted in early October. Collectively, they are often referred to as "The Bailout."
ProPublica is an independent not-for-profit organization that describes itself as devoted to investigative journalism in the public interest. One of the features at this organizations website is a frequently updated Bailout Tracker maintained by Paul Kiel and Dan Nguyen. As of June 2, 2016, they reported that, under the two bailout programs a total of $620 billion had been expended. More important, revenues returned to the government totaled $688 billion.
Seattle Area Housing Price Bubble? /
On June 2, 2016, the Seattle Times posted an insightful column by Jon Talton (@jontalton on Twitter) entitled Seattle housing: Is it a bubble? His conclusion: "Perhaps, but probably not."
Over at seattlebubble.com, you will find an interactive graph provided via Tableau Public. You can plot the year-over-year change in the Case-Shiller Housing Price Index for twenty metropolitan markets in the USA on a monthly basis going back as far as 1987 and, currently, to March 2016. See below for screen shot of the year-over-year change in the price index for the USA and the Seattle area for the past fifteen years (March 2001 to March 2016.)
A Renaissance in Manufacturing in the USA, But Not Jobs /
A post at the Five Thirty Eight blog highlights the fact that while manufacturing output is growing in the USA, it is highly automated and producing only modest job opportunities.
Planning for the Interstate Highway System in the USA /
Beginning during the later years of the Great Depression and continuing during and after World War II, a series of government reports prepared during the Roosevelt, Truman and Eisenhower administrations led to the National Interstate and Defense Highways Act of 1956 that authorized the construction of a 41,000 mile system of limited-access and grade separated highways that now span the nation.
The key reports created and published between 1939, and 1955, include:
U.S. Bureau of Public Roads (1939). Toll Roads and Free Roads. This document is also available here.
Interregional Highways Committee (1944). A Report of the National Interregional Highway Committee. This document is also available here.
Federal Works Agency (1949). Highway Needs of the National Defense. This document is also available here.
Commissioner of Public Roads (1954). Needs of the Highway Systems, 1955-84. This document is also available here.
Advisory Committee on a National Highway Program (1955). National Highway Program. This document is also available here.
Malheur National Wildlife Refuge Occupation /
The occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in southeastern Oregon that began on January 2, 2016, is over. It ended on Day 41--February 11, 2016. But understanding the significance of what transpired is just beginning. In an attempt to preserve a record of the sequence of events and efforts to interpret the occupation while it was underway, here are selected documents, news articles and videos from December 31, 2015 through February 11, 2016.
ENVIRO 2015-12-31 Malheur Hammond-Affidavit by William Joseph Good
ENVIRO 2016-01-04 Malheur Feds choose to wait out armed Oregon protest (SEATIMES Johnson et al).pdf
ENVIRO 2016-01-04 Malheur Why Federal Lands Are So Wildly Controversial in the West (NG Howard).pdf
ENVIRO 2016-01-04 Malheur occupation, explained (HCN Wiles).pdf
ENVIRO 2016-01-05 Malheur Forty years of Sagebrush Rebellion (HCN)
ENVIRO 2016-01-06 Malheur How we would cover the Oregon siege if it were in another country.pdf
ENVIRO 2016-01-06 Malheur In Oregon, Myth Mixes With Anger (NYTIMES Langston).pdf
ENVIRO 2016-01-09 Malheur Refuge protest leaders turn away armed volunteers from Northwest
ENVIRO 2016-01-10 Malheur Occupied refuge known for listening to ranchers (SEATIMES Bernton)
ENVIRO 2016-01-15 Malheur Police say man arrested in vehicle stolen from refuge (WP Ridler)
ENVIRO 2016-01-20 Malheur Standoff on Oregon Land Inspires a Counterprotest - NYTimes.com
ENVIRO 2016-01-26 Malheur In Oregon siege, troubling signs of a movement on the offensive (WP)
ENVIRO 2016-01-27 Malheur Criminal Complaint to U US District Court (FBI Armstrong)
ENVIRO 2016-01-27 Malheur National Wildlife Refuge Occupation/ A Reference Guide . News | OPB
ENVIRO 2016-01-27 Malheur Occupation In Eastern Oregon- Day 25 . News | OPB.pdf
ENVIRO 2016-01-28 Malheur FBI releases video footage of LaVoy Finicum shooting (OREGONIAN House)
ENVIRO 2016-01-29 Malheur Standoff Puts Science in the Crosshairs (SA Zorich).pdf
ENVIRO 2016-01-30 Malheur Bundy occupation leaves scars behind (ORLIVE Zaitz).pdf
ENVIRO 2016-02-01 Malheur Statement by Judge Steve Grasty.jpg
ENVIRO 2016-02-02 Malheur David Fry is the Last Fan Standing in the Malheur (WW)
ENVIRO 2016-02-03 Malheur Federal Grand Jury Indictment.pdf
ENVIRO 2016-02-04 Malheur Anti-Government Extremist Violence and Plots (FORBES McNabb)
ENVIRO 2016-02-04 Malheur Indicted Defendants.jpg
ENVIRO 2016-02-05 Malheur Mourners Gather For 'LaVoy' Finicum's Funeral (OPB Templeton et al).pdf
ENVIRO 2016-02-07 Malheur Videos Posted by Occupier.docx
ENVIRO 2016-02-08 Malheur Refuge occupiers post video; Bundy seeks jail vistors (KTVZ Moore).pdf
ENVIRO 2016-02-10 Malheur Refuge Occupation Day 40/ 4 Things To Know (OPB Vance).pdf
ENVIRO 2016-02-11 Malheur Oregon Public Broadcasting Twitter Feed During Last Hours of Standoff.docx
ENVIRO 2016-02-11 Malheur National Wildlife Refuge Occupation Ends (OPB Wilson and Rosman)
ENVIRO 2016-02-11 Malheur FBI Press Release on End of Occupation.pdf
Female Economists Better Off Working Alone /
Justin Wolfers reports on some interesting research in an article, "When Teamwork Doesn't Work for Women", that appeared in the New York Times on January 8, 2016. The article summarizes research conducted by Heather Sarsons as an economics Ph.D. student at Harvard. She collected and analyzed data that suggests that the underrepresentation of women in tenured university professorships in the USA reflects systematic bias in how credit is given for co-authored articles. Essentially, female economists do not get full credit for collaborative work done with male economists. The full article, "Gender Differences in Recognition for Group Work" is available here.
Motivation to Walk or Bike Varies by Income /
Lower income people walk or bike if the density and layout of a neighborhood or district makes that possible. In the case of higher income folks--not so much. These are the conclusions of a University of Washington (UW) research project based on responses to random surveys of two income groups--one between $40,000 and $60,000 per year and the other above $140,000--in several Seattle area neighborhoods. The higher income people tend to walk or bike only if they find their neighborhood attractive and do so for more discretionary or recreational trips. A summary of the research effort led by Xi Zhu, who graduated with a master's degree in civil and environmental engineering from the UW in 2015, is available here.
Lyft Destinations in 2015 /
This is perhaps promotion as much as data. But it is interesting to see the most frequent destinations of users of the Lyft ride service in 2015. It turns out that transit stations were the most frequent drop off point. See more here.
Cities and Families in the USA /
A new report, "Building Cities for People", published by the Center for Demographics and Policy at Chapman University, concludes that most US facilities with children are heading away from the most elite well-know cities towards the suburban periphery of less expensive metropolitan areas. The report is available here.
A New Year's Resolution /
I have heard that if you announce a resolution, there is a greater chance that you will stick with it. So, please bear with this attempt at exercising that principle.
One of my resolutions for 2016, is to return to using the blogging feature of my website and to post fewer links to articles via Twitter. My rationale is that if I think an article warrants attention, I ought to make at least a brief statement on why I think that is the case. My hope is that the discipline of doing this will cause me to read and reflect more carefully.
I will continue to post photographs that I take via Instagram, Twitter and Facebook, because I enjoy sharing them as widely as possible. But my Facebook friends, many of who are not interested in land use and real estate, will no longer see postings on those topics.
I hope my Twitter friend @PierreAGERON will understand that while I will no longer repost most of his Twitter posts, I still want to see them. When I have something to pay about one of the articles that he posts, I will do so via this blog.
Happy New Year!
H. Pike Oliver
The New Whitney Museum in New York City /
The new Whitney Museum is located in the (largely former) Meat Packing District of New York City's Manhattan. Gallery spaces designed by Renzo Piano are terrific. Several decks offer great views and (other than the price of museum admission) are free to enjoy, requiring no purchase of an expensive libation. Landscape (hardscape) details are lacking. Looks like $458 MM was not enough to cover the cost of adding some texture to the large sidewalk/ground level plaza, which appears to be designed to accommodate sea level rise.
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