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Portland approves tolls on busy stretch of I-5
According to OPB, the Portland city council unanimously voted to start using congestion pricing on the busy stretch of I-5 through the Rose quarter. Still under debate in the state is whether to increase the number of lanes on the freeway, or whether such expansion merely adds “induced demand” as opponents claim. In other transport news, Seattle Met writes about Seattle’s transit deserts — places where bus service is scattered or infrequent. Many of these deserts are in Seattle’s south end, with a diverse mix of incomes and cultural backgrounds. “The demand out there is almost insatiable,” says one transit official.
Connecting Oregon artists with the disabled
Oregon Arts Watch has a great feature on Field of View, a program that connects artists with people with developmental disabilities. It’s long been acknowledged that “sheltered workshops,” that provided unskilled, low-paid work to disabled people, only resulted in boredom. So a Portland artist created a program that works with both kids and adults to create improvisational dance and drawings. You can observe the results at exhibition that opens at Portland’s Woolf Gallery tonight, Dec. 1 from 6-8 pm.
Travel maven Rick Steves on the importance of philanthropy
Budget travel guru Rick Steves has established a thriving business in Edmonds, Washington, and during it all he’s been intensely focused on giving back. In an interview with the Herald, Steves talks about giving to projects ranging from drug law reform to fresh water in Guatemala to a community symphony in Edmonds.
Vancouver LGBT library finds a new home
A few days ago, prime minister Justin Trudeau offered a historic, formal apology to gay and lesbian civil servants subjected to systematic persecution and harassment from the 1950s to the early 1990s. During that time, in 1983 the Vancouver LGBT community founded a library on Davies Street. The collection has grown since then, but never found a permanent home until now, when Out on the Shelves opened in October at UBC’s West Point campus.
Fighting Northwest loneliness through community
In an essay for Spacing.ca, urbanist Adele Therias writes about increasing incidence of loneliness and lack of community in Vancouver. She notes a study that found nearly a third of the city’s residents have trouble finding friends. One solution? Building bonds in neighborhoods, including a city fund that encourages local events.
Telling stories: Old Men at Sea
How do we pass on knowledge of the world (both its joy and its pain) to our kids? In a lovely essay for Zyzzyva, Portland writer Andrew J. Cohen writes about sharing a Hemingway story with his young son on the drive to school — and how not every tale for children needs a happy ending.
That’s all from the Great Northwest today. Enjoy your weekend! ⛅ –Andrew Engelson
Photo credit: traffic on I-405 in Portland by Oregon Department of Transportation