Wanoga Sled Hill Goes Big-Time

 At Wanoga Sno-Park last week I noticed a dad in a sponsored Lycra outfit with his child at the sled hill. Because I was on my way to ski with my dog on the other side of the parking lot I wasn't quite able to get a fix on the sponsor, but it appeared to be the Mattel/Crayola Factory Team.

Harmless? ("Cinders Everywhere," The Bulletin, Feb. 22) The cover article claimed "experts" say they're harmless; however I strongly disagree. The "experts" cited in the article were a local doctor and police officer. Hardly a deep body of research to conclude that a product distributed ubiquitously across the landscape is harmless.
Cinders may not be harmless to the many who drive around in their enclosed boxes of steel, but they do cause harm. Bicycle commuters must navigate the cinders on the road and breathe in the dust from the parade of autos passing by. Additionally, the pulverized dust from cinders severely damages bicycle parts. Regular commuters find the bearings in their wheels fully disintegrated from the dust, requiring costly replacement. Runners and walkers must take great care with almost every step. A slip on cinders is just as bad as ice.

As a general internist in Portland for 30 years, I often treat a patient with needs that require the expertise of a consultant. When faced with the question of where the patient should be referred, among the important criteria we discuss are the facility's patient safety record and its insurance coverage in case the medical staff commits an act of negligence.
While the tram ride is beautiful and the multimillion-dollar riverfront development and new buildings on the hillside are state of the art, I don't recommend OHSU to my patients. That's because OHSU receives special privileges and unfair competitive advantages enjoyed by no other medical center in Oregon – placing business over patient care and safety.

On Feb. 4, 2008, the San Francisco Chronicle ran a story in which the following was stated:
"Beginning in 1999, the government has entered into a series of single-bid contracts with Halliburton subsidiary Kellogg, Brown and Root (KBR) to build detention camps at undisclosed locations within the United States. The government has also contracted with several companies to build thousands of rail cars, some reportedly equipped with shackles, ostensibly to transport detainees."

Andy High, director of government affairs for the Central Oregon Builders Association, wrote a piece published in the "other" newspaper on Jan. 13. Andy claims that COBA continually gave warnings to the city council going back to perhaps 2005. In mid-2006 COBA claimed awareness that new home starts were declining and "warned jurisdictions" to reflect that in future budgets. Their warnings failed to get the city's attention. I think I am correct in saying that when you're in the middle of an unprecedented boom, you don't want any negatives coming your way! I'll accept what COBA says about its many warnings because I can't prove otherwise.
COBA suggests that the slowdown in new home construction was because of the "market," for one reason, and the increased cost of doing business with the city, for the other. Okay, I agree with the "market," but the other can be challenged. The increased cost of doing business with the city came about by "growth out of control"! The city was in a crisis mode of two steps forward and one back. COBA failed to warn the city of the severe consequences of that. But why would they?

Amnesty International, famous for their efforts defending the human rights of terrorists and criminals everywhere, are now, with the full support of the Source, weighing in on the subject of TASER use. The premise is that TASERS are the primary factor in hundreds of deaths among those unfortunate enough to have been Tased. The reason for the use of force is conveniently sidestepped in all but the most sensational of cases.
Over 200 people have died within a two-hour window of being hit with a TASER. However, medical examiners (aka the experts) determined TASER use to have been the primary or secondary cause in only 23 of those cases.