New Luxury Downtown Burgerville Site Apts Fugly

Well, hand it to Couver movers n shakers to screw up new high end luxury living downtown. This time, its the new fancy living condo apts on old Burgerville site, E 15th at C. Fast food colors drape boxy faux chateau spaces flush to street, with nada to invite the eye, let alone invite vibrant living ala Pearl District. I hear rents in these snazzlespaces start at $700 for studios. A bit above comparable spaces in Arnada etc, with added bonus of Mill Plain and I5 traffic noise. And panhandlers nearby. Plus, no private outdoor spaces to be seen...no balconies, porches.

I realize gracious downtown living is still foreign to many Couvers, especially developers. However, plopping down the same old formula youd build out in Fishers or on Hazel Dell Ave is NOT how to revitalize downtown Vancouver. To wit, these new apts are not the "Great White Hope" (as it were) that city politicos promised us when they tore down an iconic landmark (WHY is there NO historic district in downtown adjacent???)

I fail to see how overpriced suburban style fortresses lacking any street level amenities will attract new folks from snazzy urban Portland, let alone Yacolt retirees on a budget. Its unclear to me why city leaders think these new apts say Vancouver has arrived in terms of a livable downtown. Might as well say Vancouver has yet again shown how bland and suburban stereotyped it can be with these babies.

Reason no. 1003 to build light rail

4 bus 20 min late. Current drive time to Couv: an hour.

Broadway & Evergreen transit center amenities? VA enclosure

Just quick thought: theres alot of people waiting and changing buses at Broadway & Evergreen. The busiest routes all cross there, just ten minutes ago I saw near 100 at the transfer stops.

What I didnt see: any street retail, food, coffee serving them and getting their dollars. Not even a food truck. Plenty of parking lots half empty...plenty of for lease signs. Of, a sculpture garden and office tower.

A city that wants a iively street scene downtown needs to change this up. Gawd, a little espresso wouldnt hurt. Savvy would be biz owners should pony up here too...time to revive DEAD SPACE, folks.

Speaking of dead spaces, lets talk VA medical center enclosures...and how it buttfucks and cockblocks people on foot in need. Next O Vancouvria!

RE: Im Needlessly Mean To Young Bewildered Library Lady

Dear Shea Michael Anderson,

 

Thank you for sharing your comments and concerns about interlibrary loan and cooperative borrowing in Vancouver. Both Clark College and Washington State University-Vancouver extend borrowing privileges to residents of Vancouver.

·           -- Clark College Libraries Borrowing Policy – refer to Borrowing - Community Members and Limits sections.

·           -- Washington State University Borrowing Policy – refer to Community Users section. Additional information about community user privileges is available here - http://library.vancouver.wsu.edu/community-user-policies.

 

Clark County residents are also eligible to borrow library materials from several libraries in the region. The Metropolitan Interlibrary Exchange includes Camas Public Library, Fort Vancouver Regional Library District, Hood River County Library District, Library Information Network of Clackamas County and Washington County Cooperative Library Services - https://multcolib.org/library-cards-non-residents. Vancouver residents may apply for a free library card at any participating library.

 

I consulted with Nancy Tessman, Executive Director of FVRL. It is likely that the Central Library staff member might not have been aware of the borrowing agreements for community patrons that exist at Clark and WSU-V. We agreed that these will be included in future staff trainings and that the details of these agreements will be shared with all of our staff.

 

Thank you again for bringing this issue to our attention. I hope you find the information that I have provided helpful. Please contact me or Ms. Tessman if you have any other questions or concerns.

 

Regards,

 

Michelle Bagley, MLS

Dean of Libraries, eLearning, Tutoring, and Faculty Development

Clark College

360.992.2472

 

 

From: Shea Michael Anderson [mailto:sheaside@gmail.com]
Sent: Tuesday, December 03, 2013 5:29 PM
To: sheaside.imonik@blogger.com
Cc: Bagley, Michelle; bruce.ziegman@fvrl.org; bziegman@fvrl.org; comments@fvrl.org; jack.burkman@cityofvancouver.us
Subject: Im Needlessly Mean To Young Bewildered Library Lady

 

As you may know, I greatly enjoy poking sharp sticks at helpless creatures, especially unfortunate brighteyed youth placed direct in the path of an oft feared public.

Well, i did it again. By accident, I swear. I overheard a librarian on the 5th Floor of our lovely modern Central Library tell a rather handsome young man that the academic titles he wanted werent there, and he should "contact his school for ways to e-read them".

Well, little ol' me, who is aware of interlibrary loans and their hassling delays, was wondering why my FVRL library card was no good at Clark College's or WSUV's libraries, surely filled with tons of academic goodies, including (Id hope) course texts. Not to mention other nearby libraries, like Multnomah, which wont accept fishy Couver library cards, but will gladly give you theirs even with a Clark Co address.

Anyways, I popped this question, which isnt one to ask innocent library assistants, on this poor young lady at Central Library just a minute ago. She was at a loss to see why I wasnt happy just filing an interlibrary loan for Clark College tomes, waiting 2 weeks rather than just going over there in ten minutes walk.

Im not sure the reason for this strange library apartheid. Its not as if using an FVRL card (and giving likewise privileges to Clark n WSUV students at FVRL) is somehow degrading, immoral, or criminal as an idea - libraries do catch book thiefs. So why then? Provincial jealousy?

Im cc'ing Clark Coll & FVRL heads on this blog post to ask (note to named heads: this email is a public post to ovancouvria.blogger.com)

Meriwether Lewis Had This to Say About Vancouver:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vancouver,_Washington

"The only desired situation for settlement west of the Rocky Mountains"....

Intriguing Map of Central Vancouver from 1950s?

O Vancouvria!, Vancouvria - the YouTube series, and the song O Valencia!

Just to be clear: the title for this blog, O Vancouvria!, has NOTHING to do with Vancouvria, the excellent YouTube spoof series on life here in the Wet n Wild City.

It is, however, a knockoff on The Decembrists' song O Valencia! - and, to me, gives a little "rabble rabble" Bastille-like kick in the pants to my musings. Or something like that.

"Greater Portland", and Clark County's Share

Just got done reading "Greater Portland" - a short celebratory history of how "developers worked with Portland residents interested in sustainable habitats" etc, to create Portland as a shining beacon of sustainability for the nation and the world. 

Notwithstanding all the self-congratulatory pats on the back the author, a professor at Portland State University, gives to the Rose City, I'm somewhat dismayed, though not surprised, at the few references to Vancouver and Clark County as a whole - except to note our "lower than average" incomes, percentage of college graduates, and high-tech jobs. It must be said that the book was published during the latter half of Vera Katz's administration as Portland mayor - the early oughts, a bit prior to where we sit now in terms of our share of the Portland metro area. Still, our lengthiest mention notes that, because we sit outside Tri-Met urban growth boundaries, we are a "safety valve" for development in Portland metro - a safety valve that has (apparently?) been "shut off" due to Washington growth regulations, thus "slowing growth" in Clark County. Tell that to the near 500K residents we apparently now have, up from a 2010 census total of 434K. Tell that to the 600K residents we're supposed to have in six years' time. 

Let's be clear here, now that we're almost at 2014. Clark County's share of the "six-county metro area" (the author includes US Census figures that include Yamhill and Columbia counties as part of the metro area) is around 1/5 to 1/4 of a total metro population of 2.5M. That being said, I wonder how often Clark County actually gets 1/5 to 1/4 of federal funding for services provided to the metro area. I wonder how often services provided by Tri-Met non-profits actually bring 1/5 to 1/4 of their budgets to Clark County. 

I'm tired, like many of you, of Clark County getting the short end of the stick when it comes to being "part" of Portland metro, and when it comes to getting our fair share of funding from federal and Washington state agencies - such as the current transportation bill in Olympia, which gives our county 1/2 of 1% total transportation dollars (much lower than our current 5% of state population). Its time Clark County quit playing the part of red-headed stepchild so many in Portland look to us as. Its past time we let Puget Sound-centric lawmakers up north skeeve us out of monies we deserve. Its also past time we act the part of petulant suburban teenager, protesting improvements that tie us in with the rest of the metro area and help us keep up with our continuing population growth - things like social services, parks, continued road improvements, and (gasp) transit improvements. Simply being "naysayers" means we will continue to be looked down upon both north and south of us. 

Its my fondest hope that current freeholder meetings, to provide us with a new County charter and government that reflects our status as a stand-alone metropolitan area, will work out and be voted in next fall. Its my hope that a new County charter gives more voice to those of us who believe in the Couv, and Clark County, as a city - rather than as a spaghetti like morass of Portland adjacent sprawl. Time will tell. 

This Morning's Awful Snow & Ice Commute

So just want to quickly gloss over this morning's disgusting commute from the Couv into the Rose City and points south/east/west. As we're all now well aware of (including those of us who had to drive it) there were multiple accidents on all freeways in and out of Tri-Met, as well as two rollovers on the SR 14 freeway between I-5 and I-205. As far as I could tell from the telly, it appeared to be an average 2 1/2 hour commute just to get across the 205 bridge into Portland, and my roommate's coworker had a 5 HOUR BUS RIDE from Camas to downtown Vancouver. 

In short, icy, icky, disgusting. While leaving aside (for the moment) why WSDOT, County, and City were not MORE PREPARED with de-icer and sanding, given we all knew snow/ice etc was coming (as anyone turning on the TV last night could guess), lets focus on the actual methods by which we made this awful commute (or not, as I did) this morning: all by road - whether bus or car. 

Now I know that many of you out there in our fair County think light rail is some sort of demonic socialist crime-ridden machine, and are fighting to the bitter end, and then some, to prevent Tri-Met's "insidious agenda" from breaking ground north of the river. Those of you who read my Facebook and Columbian comment meanderings will know that I am in FAVOR of light rail - indeed, I'm in favor of any and all transit improvements that get people where they need to go quickly and efficiently, as well as remove cars from the roads (thus freeing traffic). This is NOT a post about light rail, the Columbia River Crossing proposal, or anything of that ilk (including Madore's floater for two additional bridges both east and west of existing ones - boondoggle problems in and of themselves). 

Instead, this post is about the possibility of a COMMUTER RAIL in Clark County - a rush-hour only (or at least once per hour throughout the day, as I'd like) commuter train, on existing passenger-rail ready tracks, that would whisk passengers from points throughout the County into Vancouver and down on into Union Station in Portland. Such a train would cost much less than light rail, could be easily operated under C-Tran's purview (already gearing up to build 4th Plain Blvd Bus Rapid Transit) and/or Chelatchie Prairie school grads, would make less of an impact on homes and businesses (by not needing new construction all over the place), could be implemented MUCH SOONER than the current 2023/24 start date for a Yellow Line light rail to Vancouver, and would supplement or remove C-Tran's current large fleet of express buses to and from Tri-Met. 

Indeed, we've had passenger rail in Vancouver and the County before (remember, the streetcar came across the river from Portland when the Interstate Bridge opened in 1917, and Chelatchie Prairie railroad was a passenger-carrying spur well into the 20th century). Many of our smaller towns and junctions have station buildings still, and Vancouver station just begs for more use than its current five-to-seven Amtraks a day. Plus, a fiscally responsible County wanting to provide transportation solutions (not the current County government) could put commuter rail into place for much less up-front, and much less to run, than any amount we're going to spend on light rail - including diverting revenues rather than imposing new taxes. 

I'm not suggesting anything fancy or convoluted. Simply say, three or four runs each morning and afternoon, going from Union Station in Portland first to Vancouver station, then branching off - some going north to say, Ridgefield/Woodland (with stops at 39th St, 78th St, near to the Seward/Bliss Rd junction for Salmon Creek, in upper Felida, 179th St, and Ridgefield/Woodland); some going east to Camas/Washougal (stopping at Wintler/Marine Park, Ellsworth Rd, 164th, downtown Camas, and Washougal); some going northeast to Battleground (stopping at 39th, then Hwy 99/Hazel Dell, 119th, 179th/Eaton Blvd, Battle Ground downtown). There's passenger-able tracks already in place for all three proposed lines. 

What y'all think? 

A "Wet n Wild" Welcome from Vancouvria, the city that gives out dollar-store glitter lipstick kisses for free with enough PBR and karaoke shooters!

So...I'll be quick in this first post and simply welcome y'all to O Vancouvria!, the blog about Clark County urban life and quirks that aims to displease, confound, and give you giggles all at once. Nothing is off limits here at O Vancouvria!, where we diligently attempt to suction out the muck in the same way Clark Parks Shop-vac'd the milfoil and associated e.coli out of Vancouver Lake and Klineline Pond. We will stir the depths of "the first Vancouver's" murky blackness, causing a Lake Lacamas-polluted size miasma of foul white-trashy air to descend upon government corrupters, know-nothing Potemkin village promoters, and troglodytes of various sizes and whelps who crouch and hide with slingshots full of Tea Party ooze, just looking to throw stones at all our glass houses (of which we have many, particularly in East Vancouver and Camas/Fishers Landing).

We refuse to hunker down and hide away from the painfully weird and blatantly wrong, as Peacehealth does in the old Nautilus Building. We will clear away those weeds and squat openly among the mid-Fourth Plain ruins of Kyocera. We will rip up your crumbling asphalt roads in your half-built empty assed subdivisions, and give your community gardens actual flowers.

To wit, we are here to shake things up (and not continue to annoy our non-Vancouverite Facebook friends with our continued rumblings about things good and bad here in the "Wet and Wild" city). Those who want, can read things here first. I won't stop you.

I envision not a "city on the hill", nor a "beacon of sustainable living" like our neighbor to the south. I look to create and critique Vancouver as a city which holds it own - part of our larger metropolitan area (and soon to number 600K of an estimated 2.4M population in 2020) but also a distinct metropolitan region in its own right. All the pieces are in place: our own County government (soon to increase to conform with other counties who have larger populations like ours) that cooperates frequently with the City of Vancouver (its main growth engine, currently sitting around 170K population estimated) to provide metro-level services in areas like parks & rec, public & environmental health, and zoning; various and sundry incorporated smaller cities that are NOW suburban and exurban satellites of Vancouver directly (Camas, Washougal, Battleground, Ridgefield, La Center, Woodland); unincorporated urban and suburban areas whose recent explosive growth is causing crisis with current tight-fisted County policies, and the desire of many who live there to keep a tight hold on their pocketbooks (Hazel Dell, Salmon Creek, Felida/Lakeshore, Mount Vista, Orchards, Sifton, E Minnehaha/Walnut Grove, Brush Prairie, Hockinson); constant FIGHTS between powers-that-be, and various activist cranks like myself, over the direction, if any, we should take to accommodate/restrict/change growth; continued interest in our area by big business - like Tesoro/Savage's new oil terminal (yes, issues - but using as example); and our daily battle with traffic to/from our neighbor to the south. We have advantages the rest of the Portland/Vancouver metro area does not (or disadvantages, depending on where you sit), including more flexible zoning to allow for growth, good roads, relatively high disposable incomes, sensible "libertarian" attitudes towards each other, and budgets which are not (yet) in crisis. Most importantly - we are NOT part of TriMet's unelected governing body, nor are we dictated to by their regulations and rules - including light rail, growth, and zoning; nor are we dictated to by Seattle's needs like much of the rest of Washington west of the Cascades.

Its no wonder Olympia has traditionally looked upon us with a chary eye, and no wonder we have such activist and go-getter politicians, of all stripes, working hard up north to ensure our needs are met. Its no wonder we hear from Portlanders they'd "like to tear the Interstate Bridge down" (putting, say, kayaks, in its place) or that we're woefully uncultured hicks, or that we gleefully love developers putting up beige monstrosities everywhere. No wonder people from Oregon get lost when they come north of the river, confused by our spaghetti-like streets and non-TriMet conformist street grids.

In short, I write this blog because its high time Vancouverites stop taking the short end of the stick from outsiders north, and south. Its high time we pulled on our "big boy pants" and stood tall. Its high time we stopped being meek and mild, keeping mouths shut when Portland tells us what's good for their goose is necessary for our gander. Its past time we continue as an outpost of hillbilly tax rebellion, refusing to endorse infrastructure improvements, social services, and public necessities simply as a knee-jerk reaction with a fuzzy focus on rebelling against "pinko" Portland. Vancouver as a city, and (dare I say it?) the "Southwest Washington metropolitan area" is here to STAY.

Aveda In Vancouver

Because brevity can be a virtue, and because its Friday, and because Ive done some lengthy posts this week, I just want to quickly applaud Aveda Institute's opening in Vancouver this month.
Aveda, the hoity toity salon and cosmetology hoo has, have nothing, of course, on my salon of choice: The Vancouver School of Beauty, with $5 mens cuts, located at 6th and Washington, downtown. However, the Couv is to be patted on the back for landing this small juicy plum: their other location in metro area is The Pearl.

While Aveda alone offering classes doesnt instantly make a "Pearl of Vancouver", it does show that global brands and companies see the Couv as a good place to be: the buying power, relatively larger disposable incomes (esp on the east side, where Aveda is going), and ongoing growth all point towards the "Wet n Wild" city getting classier by the day.
So, go in and get a facial, makeover, or whatever other organic beauty things Aveda students study, and SAVE the hassle of going south to The Pearl. Weve earned it.

Carolyn Crain's Circle Jerk

So...go read the latest All Politics Is Local first, then come back here. Just some thoughts on Carolyn Crain:

http://blogs.columbian.com/all-politics-is-local/an-uncomfortable-and-inaccurate-choice-of-words/


MY COMMENTS ON THE COLUMBIAN:
"Heaven help me. Poor Carolyn. I honestly feel for the woman, particularly as I too share a longstanding use of double entrendre malaprops - though I'm not sure she had any sexual meaning in mind with said phrase. As far as her "adapting" the use of "circle jerk" to her statement (per Dennis Henry), I don't think one can blame Vancouver City Council for giggling and/or shifting around in their seats - its not like the meaning of that term in the sense of positive feedback among "a group or subcultures enclosed space" (and here I'm thinking Boy Scouts? I used to um...well...as a boy in my fort with my buddies..) is well known. Outside of academia, most think it means exactly what we think it does.

Along those lines re: City Council gestures during her comment: I find it highly interesting, as an openly gay man, that Leavitt and Hansen "shifted uncomfortably in their seats while looking at eachother". I'm absolutely positive there's nothing deeper to read than "what is she (Carolyn) going off about?" However, I'm now giggling like a middle school boy myself."s

MORE IMPORTANTLY - why is the City of Vancouver allowing someone who DOES NOT PAY PROPERTY TAXES to them the time of day during public comment, let alone standing for her City Council run? I realize public comment needs to be open to ALL, but the City needs to get some common sense going on and gently persuade Carolyn to take her beef elsewhere to a more relevant governing body (what, a fire district in Orchards? The Hazel Dell sewer district?) Maybe Carolyn and others like minded could (gasp) form their own city - Lawd knows unincorporated Vancouver suburbs NEED to get off a constantly withering County teat. There she could talk about circle jerking from a City Council pulpit all she wants.

I'm not cc'ing Vancouver City Council on this one - I'm sure they'll read my commentary in the paper soon enough. Besides, Mayor Leavitt's probably well aware, thanks to my Facebook post regarding his looks, that I find him attractive. Still out on whether he or Steve Stuart is hotter (and I forgot all about Bart Hansen, thank you Columbian!).

Over and out.

"Dont Do Stupid Stuff" coffee mug sold by The Columbian - Chinese made

I'm sure many of you have heard of, and or bought, the coffee mug
designed by Lou Brancaccio over at The Columbian that sends a strong
message to any elected officials and or movers/shakers here in Clark
County that, well, do "stupid stuff". The mug features the slogan
"Dont Do Stupid Stuff" in bright red. It costs $10, and can be bought
at The Columbian offices on W 8th St, here in Vancouver - or (I
believe) online.

The mug is made in China. While I have no giant beef about "buying
Chinese" (in fact, the Golden Dragon at Stapleton and E 4th Plain is
delicious, and cheap), I do believe strongly that The Columbian, and
Lou, made a mistake in ordering the mugs from Chinese manufacturers.
I'm not sure if The Columbian is aware the mugs are made in China -
I'm hoping they went through a LOCAL broker of printed mugs that gets
Chinese supplies?

At any rate, The Columbian needs, IMHO, to get off the MSG with
regards to these iconic mugs they're selling like hotcakes and turn to
at least American mug makers, if not someone local that makes mugs. I
can't believe there isn't a single potter in Clark County who would be
THRILLED to receive the work.

I don't need to get into why its morally repugnant to buy things made
in China, not to mention the economic and political repercussions the
American love of buying things made by Chinese has - including Chinese
control of 20% of US Treasury debt due to our huge trade imbalance in
their favor. We have said imbalance mainly because a) the Chinese
basically have most of our former consumer goods manufacturing work,
and b) the Chinese on average make around $1 an hour to create these
mugs, living in overcrowded conditions under authoritarian
regulations. I am assuming, of course, that The Columbian, and Lou,
took these considerations into account when looking into getting mugs
printed.

The mug has been so popular it sold out in a few days, and The
Columbian had to reorder. Nearly every major elected official, and
those seeking to curry favor with the newspaper, have been seen with
one - most recently (which is where I found this info out) an elected
official, who shall remain anonymous, posted a pic of theirs on
Facebook. While cost of mug (now $10) would certainly be higher if
manufactured in USA or locally, wouldn't doing so be worth it for The
Columbian to provide economic help and move away from questionable
support of underpaid Chinese labor and Chinese control of dollar debt?
Why on earth wouldn't they want to do such a thing?

Again, as Lou says, "don't do STUPID stuff". Hey, Columbian staffers -
DONT DO STUPID STUFF, like getting your mugs made in China.

I'm cc'ing Lou Brancaccio on this blog post - Lou, you should be aware
this email constitutes a public post on my blog,
ovancouvria.blogspot.com. O Vancouvria! - read, follow, share,
discuss.

--
*Shea Michael Anderson*
1923 Harney St, Vancouver WA 98660

*360 991 5206, 360 852 7414 (msgs)*
*sheaside@gmail.com <sheaside@gmail.com>*
sites.google.com/site/yoursacredgarden
facebook.com/yoursacredgarden

New County Job Description Proposed by Former County Head - Read and Weep

The below link is to a proposed new job description created by Steve
Foster, a former HR director at Clark County who left in 2001.

THANK YOU to the "All Politics Is Local" blog at The Columbian for the
post, and for the share. Please visit them at blogs.columbian.com -
their wit and insights are often right on the money.

I'd be curious to see what the pay and benefit perks are with said position.

I'd include relevant folks on my posting, but I think in this case,
given original post was in The Columbian, I assume everyone who reads
the paper here has seen it - including our current County HR director,
as well as DES Director Benton. I wonder of Benton's gonna get all
libel on Steve Foster, thus increasing County lawsuit woes - FIVE,
count 'em, FIVE lawsuits already for this mess.

Not to mention County bigwigs' continued violations of their own gag
order - including Benton's own "lets have breakfast and discuss my
side of the story" invite to me via email, and Madore's Nov 19
comment, for the record, about Benton's high ethics, solid morals,
their personal friendship, and that he had "five lawyers who each make
300K a year in this room (the BOCC meeting chambers) who would think
different (regarding the County's responsibility for hiring violations
on Benton, and Benton's evidence proving libel (against Ed Barnes).
Hmmm. Food for thought. Your thoughts?

Anyhow, here's link:
http://blogs.columbian.com/all-politics-is-local/proud-past-frightening-future/

O Vancouvria! I'd say my blood's "getting cold on the ground" (to
paraphrase The Decemberists' song O Valencia! but I think I'm at full
dehydration point concerning any blood I might shed on anything County
bigwigs do anymore. Happy to know they're creating jobs that will put
said malfeasance issues in stone.

Read, follow, share, discuss. Thank you!
--
*Shea Michael Anderson*
1923 Harney St, Vancouver WA 98660

*360 991 5206, 360 852 7414 (msgs)*
*sheaside@gmail.com <sheaside@gmail.com>*
sites.google.com/site/yoursacredgarden
facebook.com/yoursacredgarden

Forward, Progressive, Liveable Cities, Like Tacoma, have...

Fair warning: long essay.

Lamenting the Couvs lack of pro art supply stores, with a neighbor artist friend. Tacoma, same pop. (180K) has more than one. Bellingham, less than half our size, has 2 I know of. What gives, Vancouver?

However...as I was about to have 500 rush hour apoplexy en route to locate a Van Mall Michaels no longer there (at Fishers, where so many useful stores now congregate...not sure its sustainable to expect West Van folk, New Seasons & Trader Joes whores all, to constantly travel out past 205 to buy good food...but thats another post)...i looked UP, & saw a Joann Fabrics sign, beckoning me in off 4th Plain Orchards blah & thin veneer of fakey "historical" improvements (how does County have $ to pay for fake gaslamps anyhow, & how does that serve as a best use of struggling Orchards tax dollars?).

Turning in, I saw they also sell "crafts", the suburban housewife way to say "art supplies". I went in hesitantly (gay man, fabrics store inner homophobia forefront), and nearly gave up when I hit the feather boa aisle (now know where Raintree Imperial Court shops for costumery lol). Then, like a sign, I noticed canvas. Frames. Actual good brushes...and in very back corner, an aisle blessed with two different brands of oil paint...including the object of my mad quest, a large tube of titanium white - the oil n acrylic painters bestest friend.

Happy at last, I drove back to Hough in peace. Which nearly caused sideswipe from swervy laning car not using blinkers to change lanes going 45 in 60. Thank Gawd not hit. Paint now put to good use on spider orchid work (see pic).

Reflecting, I believe (as I said above) that the Couv needs and can support a full service art supply store. If placed in say, Delta Park, itd be so close to our arts nerve center (such as it is in its 2 block long 6th St corridor) as well as the side of town where most of our practicing artists, school arts programs (Shumway, Clark College) are. Plus Oregons nice no sales tax. A store here would also draw good N & NE Portland base, Alberta arts to St Johns gallery folk, who also are inconvenient to either Pearl or near-Laurelhurst art supply locations. An art supply near Fishers, say lovely downtown Camas, also not amiss.

Part of being a "grown up" city, rather than a large suburban morass, is having simple amenities like an art supply, as well as growing arts & cultural draws that attract a worldwide audience. Im sorry, but a Skyview HS based Vanc Symphony, tiny Clark Co Hist Museum, Officers Row private houses, half empty Academy building, defunct Esther Short theatre, private nondescript Catholic "protocathedral", closed swimming pool, Central Library-housed movies & lectures, & genteel Pearson Air Museum (with adjacent not refurbed since 1970s Hudsons Bay fort) dont cut it.

The City of Destiny (Tacoma) by contrast has 3 nationally if not globally known museums, a splendid and large Federal courthouse, Stadium HS ( 4 story 5 acre Victorian gothic pile), an actual Theater District with many theatres, a conservatory plus botanic garden at Wright Park, and of course a giant zoo. Plus several prestigious colleges & private schools.

I do realize the Couv got the short end of stick when Salem-wary 1889 Oly lawmakers parceled out who got what state goodies, given their paranoia of an Oregon-joining 5th element in Clark County (cant even imagine). Hence we have the respected and known state deaf & blind schools, gained BPA in 1930s, & smallish state offices\regional HQs. God forbid lawmakers give us anything of importance, seeing as we were (at time) apparently chummy with PDX. Heck, Oly in 1917 didnt even shell out $ for Interstate Bridge...that was Couver dollars bringing Model T's, streetcars, & commercial traffic north of river, while privileging ourselves on Portland amusements & draws. Perhaps our lockout on state goodies coupled with our self paid Portland umbilical cord caused our stunted growth. I dont know, but we cant, shouldnt, and wont be able to shunt our arts, culture, higher ed, & govt needs to Oregon forever, especially when our soon to be by 2020 600K pop will be paying either light rail tix or $3 toll to get there. Its not PDX's place, nor would conscientious Couvers want it to be their place, given time spent there enjoying urban things means less arts & culture, street & nightlife, less indy stores & useful shops, & pinched higher ed offerings here (esp scary given Oly didnt give us a 4 year univ til a few years ago, & we lack private liberal arts colleges). Plus not doing things for ourselves means Trimet's unelected board & very different govt priorities, along with PDX movers & shakers, a Rose City specific arts agenda that promotes the outrageous and bizarre as healthy (sure it is, but is our "normal" really as bland as Oregonians in PDX say?), and our freely given $ benefits OREGON, leaving Couv forever.

Yes, growth & work on this is slow, painful. But necessary. I, for one, wont countenance a Vancouver that centers aimless beige sprawl around a giant mall while thinking empty lots, forbidding glass bank edifices, boarded up Victorians (W Evergreen Blvd & W 12th St) & vandalized WWII style shotgun shacks (Harney Hts), mixed with & tore down for bigger bland warehouses & industrial shops, a toy nearly self enclosed "condo district" (Esther Short), isolated blah private looking rowhome & condo neighborhoods (Columbia Shores, the new Boise Cascade area), struggling and defunct indy shops, taverns, & arts galleries (6th St, Main St, inner E 4th Plain), and an oversized isolated struggling to pay rent Public Health Building (in middle of fenced off VA medical sprawl) are in fact GOOD things in a liveable city.

Im not saying we arent trying, or that our efforts arent worth it. We had to work with hostile state govt, greedy Puget Sounders, alluring Portland sights, & a big army reserve splitting us in two (that weve done wonders with). Plus Kaiser shipyards, Boise Cascade paper mill, giant rail yard, and our own aversion to spending $ on non essentials (plus hostile to taxes & govt spending on arts etc). Heck, up til the Y2K-ish "great leap forward", we were a mid sized town of 45K pop in 1940 and 80K abt 1990, surrounded first by rural salts of the earth farms then by mushroomed chaotic suburban sprawl with even less $ and amenities than us. We chose a fateful path when we first started the metropolitan process, joining City to County for health, parks, etc; then annexing 100K new faces near Y2K to reach out & touch Camas, 15 miles out. Regressing by refusing to support and grow things like art supply stores (the tiny dtwn one is now a Christian Sci Reading Room), or rely on PDX arts to come to us and or go to them means we give in to a rabid vocal now-minority rural, conservative, wealthy exurban clique that believes its sustainable to lambast Portland's "godless pinko ways" & shop Lloyd Center in same breath. We might as well give in if we dont continue & increase our arts, culture efforts, disbanding (as so many out County naysayers wish for) to rejoin suburban swamps. At that point we may as well beg Trimet to take us into receivership...giving up being a city means relying on what soon looks to be a deficit ridden, service slashed County govt (from current malfeasance). Screw that, I say. Gimme art supplies.

Im Needlessly Mean To Young Bewildered Library Lady

As you may know, I greatly enjoy poking sharp sticks at helpless creatures, especially unfortunate brighteyed youth placed direct in the path of an oft feared public.

Well, i did it again. By accident, I swear. I overheard a librarian on the 5th Floor of our lovely modern Central Library tell a rather handsome young man that the academic titles he wanted werent there, and he should "contact his school for ways to e-read them".

Well, little ol' me, who is aware of interlibrary loans and their hassling delays, was wondering why my FVRL library card was no good at Clark College's or WSUV's libraries, surely filled with tons of academic goodies, including (Id hope) course texts. Not to mention other nearby libraries, like Multnomah, which wont accept fishy Couver library cards, but will gladly give you theirs even with a Clark Co address.

Anyways, I popped this question, which isnt one to ask innocent library assistants, on this poor young lady at Central Library just a minute ago. She was at a loss to see why I wasnt happy just filing an interlibrary loan for Clark College tomes, waiting 2 weeks rather than just going over there in ten minutes walk.

Im not sure the reason for this strange library apartheid. Its not as if using an FVRL card (and giving likewise privileges to Clark n WSUV students at FVRL) is somehow degrading, immoral, or criminal as an idea - libraries do catch book thiefs. So why then? Provincial jealousy?

Im cc'ing Clark Coll & FVRL heads on this blog post to ask (note to named heads: this email is a public post to ovancouvria.blogger.com)

Re: Intriguing New Book Promoting Portland's Ongoing Ego Problem

>
> Title: GREATER PORTLAND
>
> >
> > Just picked up THE MOST interesting looking supposedly ethnological tome on Portland's "transformation from a provincial Western city into an exemplary American metropolis". The Rose City apparently did this by "years of cooperative urban planning between developers and those interested in ecology and habitability".
> >
> > While I, and most other Couverites, are painfully aware of many Portlanders' constant need to point out how progressive, liveable, sustainable, and harmonious their city is - and their associated promotion of The Couv as their AntiChrist and sole source of many woes (like traffic, and our overuse of their tax free shops, cheap ciggies, video poker, nightlife, fashionable culture, etc) - we must consider that The Rose City has now upped their ego disorder to new heights. No longer are Portlanders content to "compete" with Seattle (a contest Seattleites arent usually aware of and could care less, given their much larger and wealthier status). Nope, PDX, using their PR academes at Portland State U (itself built on 1950s slum clearance and eviction of poor folk, so "habitability" minded PDX movers n shakers are), is now promoting its city as THE "Shining City On The Hill" (West Hills?), the globalized discontented's answer to a vast array of urban nightmares.
> >
> > While Im sure any PDX charity socialite worth her salt would easily solve world hunger in the same breath as pruning rosebush deadheads, I just dont see (and nor do you, my fellow Couvers) this going on...although we, a modest folk unobsessed with a need for the world stage, usually let Portland dress up for the public and put us in ashy sackcloth, rather than pipe up and poke our tax free goody bag where it hurts. Again, I could go on and contradict said book thesis by all sorts of examples, but I think a trip to Jantzen Beach, followed by a jaunt along Columbia Blvd (either way), ending with a home tour of either Parkrose or St Johns public housing, makes the same points by big pictures. After all, Portlanders made their big sustainable cozy Snuggie by driving all the po' folks out of the city core and into Felony Flats, Gresham, N Clackamas, and the Couv, thus cleansing W of 82nd for upper middle and artsy avant garde hoo-ha.
> >
> > Im delighted to know that we too can follow their example and gain our place among the stars. I was worried for the Couv that we might just be too independent of PDX's sound leadership. Wait, whats that you say? Vancouver isnt part of Trimet PDX's unelected govt board and their corset like urban growth policies? We actually have our own separate laws, govts, and officials? We didnt vote on fierce fluoride, and our water ISNT delish "Bull Run" fluids?
> >
> > Im flabbergasted...or I would be if I as a Vancouverite actually cared about what Portland leaders say and do. Im glad to be able to read "GREATER PORTLAND" (Auth Carl Abbott) as a lark, rather than swallowing PDX-gospel laced Koolaid.