Seems most of the people I know have gotten sick within the past month. This is an excellent overview of the new COVID boosters, Flu shots, and vaccines. All insurance plans cover all of these vaccinations. Most will cover them at any pharmacy, but Kaiser will require you to go through them. **FLU** * Aside from good diet and exercise, the #1 thing you can do to reduce your chance of a heart attack is to get a flu shot. Flu is a common cause of heart attacks. It [cuts your risk](https://www.cdc.gov/flu/spotlights/2023-2024/flu-heart-study.htm) by 25%! * Hate needles? There is a nasal spray version of the flu vaccine, just ask your doctor about it **COVID** * If you have been avoiding boosters because the side effects are rough, check out Novavax. The MRNA ones took me out for 24-48 hrs, Novavax didn't even give me a sore arm. Just as effective. I have seen it at Rite Aid. * Boosters will not completely prevent infection, but they make infection less likely, reduce symptom severity, and are extremely effective at preventing death. Reducing your chance of infection and symptom severity also reduces your risk of [long covid](https://johnsnowproject.org/fact/all-infections-can-cause-serious-problems/) and myocarditis. * Even in cases of mild infections in healthy people, long covid can cause these symptoms for months or permanently: loss of smell, loss of mental acuity, exhaustion and fatigue, shortness of breath, etc. Your chance of getting long covid is 1-10% depending on how you define it and what study you read. The more times you get covid, the higher your risk of developing long covid. * If you got your last booster 6+ months ago, your booster is basically doing nothing to prevent infection or symptom severity at this point. But the protection against death is quite durable. For more information and FAQ, I highly suggest this article: [https://yourlocalepidemiologist.substack.com/p/a-guide-to-fall-2024-vaccines](https://yourlocalepidemiologist.substack.com/p/a-guide-to-fall-2024-vaccines)
Post about Eugene but applies to every other metro area where prices are increasing. cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/18067704 > **Rent in Eugene is high for one simple reason: it's a highly desirable place to live and the people who want to live here are all competing to rent the same units.** There is more demand than supply, by a lot. Period. We have under-built for decades despite consistent net migration into our city. Landlords can charge the rent they do because *somebody will pay it*. **The only way to get lower average rents is to** ***reverse*** **migration into Eugene or increase the housing supply.** > > **Why have we under-built for decades? Because city council is an elected position**. Homeowners vote, tenants tend to not vote. And to make this worse, homeowners benefit from this supply & demand mismatch because it causes their property values to go up. Politicians don't listen to blocks of voters who don't vote. Eugene homeowners, the neighborhood associations, etc have all lobbied successfully for "single family only" zoning and kept development out. City Council members also tend to be homeowners because at 15K a year you basically need a second source of income to even scrape by on that salary. Tenants and homeowners have opposite goals when it comes to land value. > > **So tenants, if you care about rent prices, make sure you vote**, and make sure your city councilors[ hear from you ](https://www.eugene-or.gov/537/Mayor-and-City-Council)that you want more units. If you don't like the options you get at the ballot box in general elections or think there aren't enough, vote in the primaries where your vote will have an even greater impact since you'll be choosing who other people get to vote for. All you need to do in order to vote in the primaries is[ select a party](https://sos.oregon.gov/voting/Pages/registration.aspx) and your ballot will be mailed to you automatically. The whole process takes less than 5 minutes, can be done online, and you can change parties whenever you want. Selecting a party doesn't mean you have to vote for that party, only that you get the chance to vote in their primary. And vote YES on Ranked Choice Voting which is a measure that will be up for vote in the November election. > >  > > # What about private equity? Blackrock? "Price-fixing software"? > > I know it's popular to point the finger at private equity, AirBnb, or price-fixing software or whoever, but they are [drops in the bucket](https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2023/01/housing-crisis-hedge-funds-private-equity-scapegoat/672839/) compared to the massive supply and demand mismatch we have. And many urban areas in America have. Price fixing software won't enable you to charge more for rent than the market will allow, because another landlord without said price fixing software will just rent at a more reasonable price and get the tenant while your unit sits vacant and burns a hole in your pocket. > > # What about rent control? > > Rent control will just advantage people in existing units while disadvantaging anybody who moves here from elsewhere or even from in-town. It also gives your landlord great incentive to constructively evict you and means whenever you move, your rent will take a very steep hike. It just polarizes the rental market. The total amount of rent being paid stays roughly the same, it's just no longer equally distributed among the entire renting population. Rent control doesn't work. Yes, it freezes rents for some segments of the population, but it prejudices in favor of whoever happens to be in a unit right this very moment and never moves and screws over everybody else w higher rent, especially those trying to get off the street! > > # What about expanding the Urban Growth Boundary? > > This would make more cheap land available for development at the expense of nature being harder to access and farther away. We can build up without building out. I'm not in favor of expanding the UGB personally, but it would probably help. > > # But I hate all these new luxury condos! > > K be mad then, but it's more supply. Now people who can afford luxury condos will rent them instead of out-bidding you for other units. > > # But the condos are all empty?!? > > As a tenant, *you want vacant units*. Vacant units mean landlords have to live with the threat of their units not being rented, which means they will lower prices to make sure they stay occupied. Vacant units mean more negotiating power for tenants which turns up in things like pet-friendly complexes. Every market has inefficiencies and vacant units, this is normal. Trust me, those vacant units are costing them money. If they remain vacant long enough, the price will drop. That only happens if they *actually* remain vacant though, which our supply & demand mismatch won't actually let happen sustainably. > > # What about banning corporations from owning homes? > > The legal structure of an entity owning a property doesn't matter, they can't actually set prices, the market does. Just like you can't buy a $1 million house and sell it for $2 million tomorrow, neither can blackrock. If they are sitting on property, they are losing money, but that's only true if the real estate market doesn't going up because we keep refusing to build more real estate. You need corporations to build apartment complexes, they require tens of million dollars to build, which means you need investors, which means you need a legal structure for investment to occur through safely. Most single home landlords are also LLCs. > > # What about forcing developers to make "affordable" units? > > How do you make low and medium income housing? You build new, luxury housing and wait 20 years. This is similar to rent control where it just shifts around the rent to different parts of the market. Additionally, doing this makes this place less attractive to developers. Developers want to build units that are actually going to make them money, the more red tape and regulations, the more money they waste fighting or complying with them. And it's not just the developer's decision: they have to answer to investors. Investors don't want to invest in things which don't make money. Apartment complexes cost tens of millions of dollars, you need people to invest to make that happen, so you need to make investment attractive. Investors have the luxury of investing wherever they want. Unless Eugene is "investable", they will go elsewhere and you get no units. >
**Rent in Eugene is high for one simple reason: it's a highly desirable place to live and the people who want to live here are all competing to rent the same units.** There is more demand than supply, by a lot. Period. We have under-built for decades despite consistent net migration into our city. Landlords can charge the rent they do because *somebody will pay it*. **The only way to get lower average rents is to** ***reverse*** **migration into Eugene or increase the housing supply.** **Why have we under-built for decades? Because city council is an elected position**. Homeowners vote, tenants tend to not vote. And to make this worse, homeowners benefit from this supply & demand mismatch because it causes their property values to go up. Politicians don't listen to blocks of voters who don't vote. Eugene homeowners, the neighborhood associations, etc have all lobbied successfully for "single family only" zoning and kept development out. City Council members also tend to be homeowners because at 15K a year you basically need a second source of income to even scrape by on that salary. Tenants and homeowners have opposite goals when it comes to land value. **So tenants, if you care about rent prices, make sure you vote**, and make sure your city councilors[ hear from you ](https://www.eugene-or.gov/537/Mayor-and-City-Council)that you want more units. If you don't like the options you get at the ballot box in general elections or think there aren't enough, vote in the primaries where your vote will have an even greater impact since you'll be choosing who other people get to vote for. All you need to do in order to vote in the primaries is[ select a party](https://sos.oregon.gov/voting/Pages/registration.aspx) and your ballot will be mailed to you automatically. The whole process takes less than 5 minutes, can be done online, and you can change parties whenever you want. Selecting a party doesn't mean you have to vote for that party, only that you get the chance to vote in their primary. And vote YES on Ranked Choice Voting which is a measure that will be up for vote in the November election.  # What about private equity? Blackrock? "Price-fixing software"? I know it's popular to point the finger at private equity, AirBnb, or price-fixing software or whoever, but they are [drops in the bucket](https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2023/01/housing-crisis-hedge-funds-private-equity-scapegoat/672839/) compared to the massive supply and demand mismatch we have. And many urban areas in America have. Price fixing software won't enable you to charge more for rent than the market will allow, because another landlord without said price fixing software will just rent at a more reasonable price and get the tenant while your unit sits vacant and burns a hole in your pocket. # What about rent control? Rent control will just advantage people in existing units while disadvantaging anybody who moves here from elsewhere or even from in-town. It also gives your landlord great incentive to constructively evict you and means whenever you move, your rent will take a very steep hike. It just polarizes the rental market. The total amount of rent being paid stays roughly the same, it's just no longer equally distributed among the entire renting population. Rent control doesn't work. Yes, it freezes rents for some segments of the population, but it prejudices in favor of whoever happens to be in a unit right this very moment and never moves and screws over everybody else w higher rent, especially those trying to get off the street! # What about expanding the Urban Growth Boundary? This would make more cheap land available for development at the expense of nature being harder to access and farther away. We can build up without building out. I'm not in favor of expanding the UGB personally, but it would probably help. # But I hate all these new luxury condos! K be mad then, but it's more supply. Now people who can afford luxury condos will rent them instead of out-bidding you for other units. # But the condos are all empty?!? As a tenant, *you want vacant units*. Vacant units mean landlords have to live with the threat of their units not being rented, which means they will lower prices to make sure they stay occupied. Vacant units mean more negotiating power for tenants which turns up in things like pet-friendly complexes. Every market has inefficiencies and vacant units, this is normal. Trust me, those vacant units are costing them money. If they remain vacant long enough, the price will drop. That only happens if they *actually* remain vacant though, which our supply & demand mismatch won't actually let happen sustainably. # What about banning corporations from owning homes? The legal structure of an entity owning a property doesn't matter, they can't actually set prices, the market does. Just like you can't buy a $1 million house and sell it for $2 million tomorrow, neither can blackrock. If they are sitting on property, they are losing money, but that's only true if the real estate market doesn't going up because we keep refusing to build more real estate. You need corporations to build apartment complexes, they require tens of million dollars to build, which means you need investors, which means you need a legal structure for investment to occur through safely. Most single home landlords are also LLCs. # What about forcing developers to make "affordable" units? How do you make low and medium income housing? You build new, luxury housing and wait 20 years. This is similar to rent control where it just shifts around the rent to different parts of the market. Additionally, doing this makes this place less attractive to developers. Developers want to build units that are actually going to make them money, the more red tape and regulations, the more money they waste fighting or complying with them. And it's not just the developer's decision: they have to answer to investors. Investors don't want to invest in things which don't make money. Apartment complexes cost tens of millions of dollars, you need people to invest to make that happen, so you need to make investment attractive. Investors have the luxury of investing wherever they want. Unless Eugene is "investable", they will go elsewhere and you get no units.
letsmakeafriendship 2 months ago • 100%
"Eugene Pride will be without public parking for the first time in 15 years due to a time-conflict with a sold-out Ween concert"
AKA the city has a fair, transparent system for permitting these kinds of things and somebody else claimed the spot first and Eugene Pride organizers are throwing a tantrum that they aren't getting special treatment. They planned an event without making sure there was parking available, that's not anybody's fault but the planners. If you run big events, you need to stay on top of your paperwork and do your diligence.
letsmakeafriendship 2 months ago • 100%
Glad to see EPD I mean SPD tackling our biggest and most important issues. A three month investigation.
letsmakeafriendship 3 months ago • 33%
I'm all for corporations and the rich paying their fair share. But unless this is being matched by other states, it will just cause capital flight to those states. That's jobs and capability Oregon won't get. It will be one of many factors companies consider when asking which state to incorporate and operate in. The Oregon market is an easy one to ignore, we're not exactly a huge state, we have just over 1% of the national population. This is the kind of legislation that can only work in markets companies can't afford to leave, huge markets like California or Texas. There's a reason OR gets in bidding wars with other states over the siting of a new Intel fabrication facility etc: the state with the most favorable operating conditions gets the jobs.
A quick read of the bill text and I find "Less than $500,000, the minimum tax is $150". That's $150 for every small LLC, business with 1-3 employees, etc. It doesn't matter if your LLC is profitable or not, you're paying $150/year for the privilege of existing. Even if they lost money in the past tax year. This is in addition to existing costs you already incur like having to pay for payroll software to deal with the immensely complex state and local tax system, costs to file incorporation paperwork, and the costs for a 'registered agent'. This will hurt small businesses and startups, no doubt. California had a similar incorporation tax, and it's one of many reasons why companies try to incorporate out of state.
Why not include an exemption for small businesses or those with extremely thin profit margins? Or for those who lost money that year? You'd have to ask the petition authors that.
Who runs small LLCs?
- Small businesses, restaurants, food trucks
- Your local plumber, contractor, painter, tutor, or other independent contractor.
- Private landlords renting out a single unit. People who rent out rooms in their home and want the additional liability protection.
- Food co-ops, housing cooperatives, local sports clubs, and other forms of cooperative organizations
- People who use the anonymity provided by LLCs to escape domestic violence, stalking, etc.
"[Democracy] can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves largesse from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most benefits from the public treasury with the result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy, always followed by a dictatorship. The average age of the world's greatest civilizations has been 200 years. These nations have progressed through this sequence: From bondage to spiritual faith; From spiritual faith to great courage; From courage to liberty; From liberty to abundance; From abundance to selfishness; From selfishness to apathy; From apathy to dependence; From dependence back into bondage"
If you're like me, you loathe doing meal prep every week and often end up making food choices that are bad for your health or expensive because you once again neglected to keep your stash of fridge food going. And so maybe you have come to the conclusion it would be better to pay somebody else to do the prep so you always have tasty meals ready for you. I did some research on local places that do this, sharing this in hopes that somebody else finds it useful. If anybody has experience with these places or other places they suggest, I'd love to hear about them. Prices shown are approximate. Note that I am using "serving" like the USDA uses it. A chipotle burrito, for reference, is around two "servings". # Ivys Cooking ($6-$15/serving, free delivery, minimum spend $14) [http://www.ivyscookin.com](http://www.ivyscookin.com) Pickup weekly (Wed) or get free delivery (Thurs), “home-cooked meal” vibe but still very professional. Minimum order of one meal (two servings). Great vegetarian options. Also offers additional "product boxes" you can add to your order for $10 and some items like jam, jellies, etc. $28 for Entree of 2-4 generous servings ($7-$14/serving) $38 Family Size (4-6 servings) - $38 ($6-$10/serving) # Sprout Kitchen (willamette and 25th) [sprout-kitchen.com](http://sprout-kitchen.com) ($6.50/serving, minimum spend $13) New restaurant w/ meal plan option focus on modern/gourmet. Each meal is around 2 servings. $13 each so $6.50 per serving. While food has some focus on being healthy, surprisingly no vegan or vegetarian options when I looked. Pickup weekly. # Glenwood Restaurant (25th and Willamette) ($5.25/serving, $21 minimum spend) [https://www.glenwoodrestaurants.com/](https://www.glenwoodrestaurants.com/) Choose from one of two meal combos each week, with vegetarian option available. $21 and designed to ‘feed a family of four’ so let’s assume that’s $5.25/serving. # Chipotle Catering (several locations) ($4.50/serving, minimum spend $90) Thought I'd consider this one as well for fun. Good veggie options. $8.50/burrito if you order 10. Each burrito is two servings. So that’s 4.50 per serving. Or you can order a bunch of ingredients and put them on tortillas of your choice (taco or burrito). This is $12.00 “per person”, which I’m going to assume is two servings, so $6/serving. Minimum order is a $90-$120 depending on which boxes you get. Of course, a single burrito is $9.85 so you're not really saving much with their catering options. With some creative use of gift cards you could probably get yourself a 10-20% discount here as well. **Honorable mention:** Erin’s table (local meal kit service) [https://www.erins-table.com/faq](https://www.erins-table.com/faq)
The bill was widely endorsed by the crypto and financial industries alike for providing much needed regulatory clarity. Looks like it passed anyways with rare bipartisan support and is now headed for the senate. OR's house reps and how they voted Salinas (D) - NO Bentz (R) - YES Blumenauer (D) - Abstain Bonamici (D) - NO Chavez-DeRemer (R) - YES Hoyle (D) - NO Axios article about the bill: [https://www.axios.com/2024/05/22/crypto-legislation-fit21-house-passes](https://www.axios.com/2024/05/22/crypto-legislation-fit21-house-passes) Some other relevant background info: [https://www.dlnews.com/articles/regulation/us-house-passes-sweeping-crypto-fit21-bill/](https://www.dlnews.com/articles/regulation/us-house-passes-sweeping-crypto-fit21-bill/) Vote record if you want to look up your rep: [https://clerk.house.gov/Votes/2024226](https://clerk.house.gov/Votes/2024226) Among other things, the bill establishes: * Clear ways to determine if a crypto asset is a security or not, and a process for making that determination. If a crypto *is* a security, it is subject to many more regulations and laws which are needed to protect investors. * Clear ways to determine is a crypto exchange is actually an exchange, money transmitter, or other entity subject to regulation and what those regulations are * Which federal agency even has jurisdiction over crypto assets * That sufficiently decentralized cryptos (like Bitcoin) are exempt from many securities regulations. This is because a decentralized cryptocurrency can't rugpull you or otherwise collude to harm whatever investments one has made in them. When you think about bad crypto scandals like FTX, exchange collapses, and other rug pulls, they are all a result of *centralized* actors taking advantage of the trust of others. Decentralized, trustless systems like Bitcoin do not have this flaw as one does not need to trust a select set of centralized actors to faithfully and transparently administer the system. There is no single entity or set of entities, for example, who can make new Bitcoin which is not meant to be minted according to the Bitcoin protocol or force the transfer of funds from one user to another. * Likewise would exempt "decentralized exchanges" from securities regulations as there is no trusted centralized intermediary who can rugpull investors. One might use a decentralized exchange, for example, to swap BTC to ETH or another cryptocurrency. They are fast, transparent, and efficient. Personally I vote straight D on the ballot, I was disappointed to see my reps vote against this bill and surprised to see Rs voting for it.
This bill has passed the US house with rare bipartisan support and is now headed for the senate. Axios article about the bill: [https://www.axios.com/2024/05/22/crypto-legislation-fit21-house-passes](https://www.axios.com/2024/05/22/crypto-legislation-fit21-house-passes) Some other relevant background info: [https://www.dlnews.com/articles/regulation/us-house-passes-sweeping-crypto-fit21-bill/](https://www.dlnews.com/articles/regulation/us-house-passes-sweeping-crypto-fit21-bill/) Vote record if you want to look up your rep: [https://clerk.house.gov/Votes/2024226](https://clerk.house.gov/Votes/2024226) Among other things, the bill establishes: * Clear ways to determine if a crypto asset is a security or not, and a process for making that determination. If a crypto *is* a security, it is subject to many more regulations and laws which are needed to protect investors. * Clear ways to determine is a crypto exchange is actually an exchange, money transmitter, or other entity subject to regulation and what those regulations are * Which federal agency even has jurisdiction over crypto assets * That sufficiently decentralized cryptos (like Bitcoin) are exempt from many securities regulations. This is because a decentralized cryptocurrency can't rugpull you or otherwise collude to harm whatever investments one has made in them. When you think about bad crypto scandals like FTX, exchange collapses, and other rug pulls, they are all a result of *centralized* actors taking advantage of the trust of others. Decentralized, trustless systems like Bitcoin do not have this flaw as one does not need to trust a select set of centralized actors to faithfully and transparently administer the system. There is no single entity or set of entities, for example, who can make new Bitcoin which is not meant to be minted according to the Bitcoin protocol or force the transfer of funds from one user to another. * Likewise would exempt "decentralized exchanges" from securities regulations as there is no trusted centralized intermediary who can rugpull investors. One might use a decentralized exchange, for example, to swap BTC to ETH or another cryptocurrency. They are fast, transparent, and efficient.
letsmakeafriendship 4 months ago • 100%
For the un-initiated, how to build your own https://corsirosenthalfoundation.org/instructions/
letsmakeafriendship 4 months ago • 100%
Sad to see this measure lose. IMO the Star Voting people didn't do nearly enough outreach or public education on this, and the people they did have doing it we're not doing a great job. STAR is clearly superior to our current system regardless of your political leanings. I saw many common and easy to clear up misconceptions from people.
Bill name: Antisemitic Awareness Act Current status: Passed house, awaiting vote in Senate Good explainer by US news https://www.usnews.com/news/national-news/articles/2024-05-07/explainer-the-controversy-surrounding-the-antisemitism-bill Article about 700 Jewish professors who opposed the bill https://thehill.com/homenews/education/4651826-jewish-professors-biden-antisemitism-legislation/ ACLU statement against bill: https://www.aclu.org/documents/aclu-urges-congress-to-oppose-anti-semitism-awareness-act Vote tally: https://clerk.house.gov/Votes/2024172 Voted for bill: Chavez-DeRemer (R-OR), Salinas (D-OR), Bentz (R-OR) Voted against bill: Val Hoyle (D-OR), Bonamici (D-OR), Blumenauer (D-OR) If you feel passionately about this bill, contact your senators and Joe Biden who will have the final say if it passes the senate: Jeff Merkeley (202) 224-3753 Ron Wyden (202) 224-5244 Joe Biden (202) 456-1111
Bill name: Antisemitic Awareness Act Current status: Passed house, awaiting vote in Senate Good explainer by US news https://www.usnews.com/news/national-news/articles/2024-05-07/explainer-the-controversy-surrounding-the-antisemitism-bill Article about 700 Jewish professors who opposed the bill https://thehill.com/homenews/education/4651826-jewish-professors-biden-antisemitism-legislation/ ACLU statement against bill: https://www.aclu.org/documents/aclu-urges-congress-to-oppose-anti-semitism-awareness-act Vote tally: https://clerk.house.gov/Votes/2024172 If you feel passionately about this bill, contact Eugene's senators and Joe Biden who will have the final say if it passes the senate: Jeff Merkeley (202) 224-3753 Ron Wyden (202) 224-5244 Joe Biden (202) 456-1111
Got this response when I emailed her about it. I have not been a fan of all of her votes, but I appreciate this one. Most of OR's reps voted for this bill [https://clerk.house.gov/Votes/202486](https://clerk.house.gov/Votes/202486) >Thank you for contacting me about H.R. 7521, the so-called “Protecting Americans from Foreign adversaries Act.” I appreciate hearing from you. > >On Wednesday, March 13, I voted in opposition to H.R. 7521. This bill would force the sale of the social media application TikTok, whose parent company ByteDance is based in China. > >Let me be clear: I share the national security concerns of many that the Chinese government is collecting Americans’ personal data via TikTok. However, I believe H.R. 7521 is an inadequate proposal that unconstitutionally singles out a specific company, setting a dangerous precedent. Additionally, by restricting access to a social media application, I believe this bill threatens Americans’ constitutional rights to free speech, expression and a free press. > >I also believe the bill’s provisions to force ByteDance to divest from TikTok within 180 days are unrealistic. In reality, a sale of this magnitude could trigger an antitrust acquisition review in the United States – a process that could take up to a year or longer. During this period, TikTok users in the U.S. could lose access to the app. > >This bill also ignores the fact that the Chinese government and other public and private entities around the world – including the U.S. government – are still able to purchase Americans’ private information from third-party brokers. That’s why I support comprehensive privacy reforms to protect Americans’ constitutional right to privacy and close the data broker loophole. > >The United States has rightfully criticized other countries for infringing on the rights of their own citizens by restricting free speech and censoring access to the internet. However, H.R. 7521’s restriction of Americans’ free speech and singling out of one company makes us no better than our adversaries, and it invites reciprocal attacks from other countries on U.S.-based companies. > >We must not forget that the U.S. government also engages in what I strongly believe to be unconstitutional surveillance and collection of Americans’ personal data and communications. If TikTok were sold to a U.S.-based company, I’m not convinced that American users’ private data would be secure. > >Instead of rushing a vote on a bill that was written behind closed doors without proper debate, Congress should pass comprehensive data privacy and security reform legislation that protects Americans from unconstitutional data collection by all companies, governments, and digital applications - not just one. ​
cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/14261766 > Are you tired of voting for the "lesser of two evils"? Wish you had a say in who you got to vote for? Well you can, if you vote in the primaries! Primary elections determine who will be on the ballot in the general election. If you want to vote in the primaries for a party, you must select that party on your voter registration. You can [update your voter registration online](https://secure.sos.state.or.us/orestar/vr/showVoterSearch.do?lang=eng&source=SOS). > > The next statewide primary election is **May 21**, which means you need to register and select a party by May 1 to participate in a closed primary. The sooner you register, the better off you will be. > > What positions can you vote on in primaries? > > * President > * Governor > * Attorney General > * Secretary of State > * Treasurer > * State Legislators > * Federal legislators (house and senate) > > Voting is one important way you can be politically active. There are many other ways as well. I hope you explore all your options and engage politically. Our political process has flaws, it's easy to look at things and think they are hopeless. But remember that apathy has never worked as a strategy to change anything for the better and probably never will :).
Are you tired of voting for the "lesser of two evils"? Wish you had a say in who you got to vote for? Well you can, if you vote in the primaries! Primary elections determine who will be on the ballot in the general election. If you want to vote in the primaries for a party, you must select that party on your voter registration. You can [update your voter registration online](https://secure.sos.state.or.us/orestar/vr/showVoterSearch.do?lang=eng&source=SOS). The next statewide primary election is **May 21**, which means you need to register and select a party by May 1 to participate in a closed primary. The sooner you register, the better off you will be. What positions can you vote on in primaries? * President * Governor * Attorney General * Secretary of State * Treasurer * State Legislators * Federal legislators (house and senate) Voting is one important way you can be politically active. There are many other ways as well. I hope you explore all your options and engage politically. Our political process has flaws, it's easy to look at things and think they are hopeless. But remember that apathy has never worked as a strategy to change anything for the better and probably never will :).
cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/12797292 > Bill SB1596 has passed the house and senate and was sponsored by two Eugene reps: House Rep Holvey and Senatator Prozanski. > > "*Oregon has joined the small but growing list of states that have passed right-to-repair legislation. Oregon's bill stands out for a provision that would prevent companies from requiring that official parts be unlocked with encrypted software checks before they will fully function.*" - [Ars Technica](https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2024/03/oregon-oks-right-to-repair-bill-that-bans-the-blocking-of-aftermarket-parts/) > > It now awaits a signature from Tina Kotek, if you are passionate about this bill, you can contact her here: > > https://www.oregon.gov/gov/Pages/share-your-opinion.aspx > > Bill info and votes: > > https://olis.oregonlegislature.gov/liz/2024R1/Measures/Overview/SB1596
Bill SB1596 has passed the house and senate and was sponsored by two Eugene reps: House Rep Holvey and Senatator Prozanski. "*Oregon has joined the small but growing list of states that have passed right-to-repair legislation. Oregon's bill stands out for a provision that would prevent companies from requiring that official parts be unlocked with encrypted software checks before they will fully function.*" - [Ars Technica](https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2024/03/oregon-oks-right-to-repair-bill-that-bans-the-blocking-of-aftermarket-parts/) It now awaits a signature from Tina Kotek, if you are passionate about this bill, you can contact her here: https://www.oregon.gov/gov/Pages/share-your-opinion.aspx Bill info and votes: https://olis.oregonlegislature.gov/liz/2024R1/Measures/Overview/SB1596
Eugene
Rep. Paul Holvey to retire after 20 years representing Eugene area in Oregon legislature
letsmakeafriendship 7 months ago • 100%
Principle. It's not what recalls should be used for.
From here, the bill will go to the senate where it is expected to pass. Here's how to find your rep: https://geo.maps.arcgis.com/apps/instant/lookup/index.html?appid=fd070b56c975456ea2a25f7e3f4289d1 Here's how to find out how your rep voted: https://olis.oregonlegislature.gov/liz/2024R1/Measures/Overview/HB4002 TLDR all voted for this bill except: Rep Cate (R, Dist 11, Linn County) Rep Gamba (D, Dist 41, Milwaukie, Oak Grove, Northern Clackamas County) Rep Chaichi (D, Dist 35, Aloha) Rep Nguyen (D, Dist 48 Damascus and South East Portland) Rep Pham K (D, Dist 46, SE PDX) Rep Yunker (R, Dist 3, Josephine County) Rep Diehl (R,Dist 17, East Salem and Turner to Detroit and Idanha) Rep Cramer (R, Dist 22, Woodburn, North Salem, Gervais, Brooks, and Labish Village) (not present)
letsmakeafriendship 7 months ago • 100%
ACLU has a decent overview of it. The tldr is that it's re-criminalizing posession. https://www.aclu-or.org/en/take-action-now-tell-lawmakers-we-need-real-solutions-not-more-jails
The legislature has no business reversing a citizen ballot initiative. The entire point of ballot initiatives is to enable citizens to go over the heads of the legislature, it is a check on their power. We are very fortunate in Oregon to have that right, many states do not. But that check on their power is useless if they can just reverse whatever gets voted on. Remember that ranked choice voting is coming up as a ballot initiative as well, which is something both parties have great incentive to reverse. If there's one thing Democrats and Republicans can agree on, it's that they don't want competition from any other parties. If public opinion shifted so hard against M110, they should have sent a revised version of M110 or a reversal back to ballot. I look forward to voting against you in the primary Holvey. Source: https://olis.oregonlegislature.gov/liz/2024R1/Measures/Overview/HB4002 PS If you have any thoughts on this or any other issue, you can contact Holvey here https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/holvey
Context: https://www.wyden.senate.gov/news/press-releases/wyden-demands-federal-review-of-crater-lake-concessionaire-contract Bless this man 🙏🙏🙏
Are you tired of voting for the "lesser of two evils"? Wish you had a say in who you got to vote for? Well you can, if you vote in the primaries! If you want to vote in the primaries for a party, you must select that party on your voter registration. You can [update your voter registration online](https://secure.sos.state.or.us/orestar/vr/showVoterSearch.do?lang=eng&source=SOS). The next statewide primary election is **May 21**, which means you need to register and select a party by May 1 to participate in a closed primary. The sooner you register, the better off you will be. What positions can you vote on in the primaries? * President * Governor * Attorney General * Secretary of State * Treasurer * State Legislators * Federal legislators (house and senate) Voting is one important way you can be politically active. There are many other ways as well. I hope you explore all your options and engage politically.
letsmakeafriendship 7 months ago • 100%
I would vote FOR 110 again in a heartbeat. Prohibition doesn't work, is a waste of taxpayer money, and churns people through the criminal justice system. It should be no business of the government what you put into your body in your own private residence. If you are breaking the law because of your drug use, then they should enforce those laws which they currently don't for various reasons.
The whole point of ballot initiatives is to go over the head of the state legislature. It is a check on their power and the two party system. They have no right to reverse a ballot initiative. If they think public opinion has changed, they can send it back to the ballot. Any oregon dem who votes to repeal 110 is losing my vote in the primary.
Looks like the guy who runs it no longer wants to. Probably because it's massively profitable and they have a great brand reputation right 🤣🤣🤣
letsmakeafriendship 8 months ago • 100%
It's linked on the sub sidebar, it's been the top post a number of times. A lot of users just will never migrate until reddit is literally un-useable.
letsmakeafriendship 8 months ago • 100%
Ballot measures are laws themselves that voters can pass without needing the approval of the legislature, that's the entire point. They can also be "straw polls" to give guidance to the legislature, but most are made to create or amend a specific law or provision of the constitution, as M110 did.
www.opb.org
My take on this: She has no right to. That was a ballot measure, not a law passed by the Oregon legislature. If they want it repealed, send it back to ballot. Ballot measures are a check and balance on the power of the legislature, they are worthless if the legislature can just reverse them. Suggesting they have the power to do so should be a career-ending event for any elected representative. I look forward to voting against you in the primaries Kotek.
cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/11365407 > People are collecting signatures for a ballot initiative that would require all new tolls on state highways to go to a public vote before being implemented. They need 200,000 signatures to get this on the ballot. From there, people can vote as to whether they want this new rule or not. Polls are a regressive tax, like sales tax, that impacts low-income and working class people the most. > > General info: https://votebeforetolls.org/ > To add your name (requires a printer and mailing a letter) https://votebeforetolls.org/ip4-esheet-packet-2023-08.pdf
cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/11365407 > People are collecting signatures for a ballot initiative that would require all new tolls on state highways to go to a public vote before being implemented. They need 200,000 signatures to get this on the ballot. From there, people can vote as to whether they want this new rule or not. Polls are a regressive tax, like sales tax, that impacts low-income and working class people the most. > > General info: https://votebeforetolls.org/ > To add your name (requires a printer and mailing a letter) https://votebeforetolls.org/ip4-esheet-packet-2023-08.pdf
People are collecting signatures for a ballot initiative that would require all new tolls on state highways to go to a public vote before being implemented. They need 200,000 signatures to get this on the ballot. From there, people can vote as to whether they want this new rule or not. Polls are a regressive tax, like sales tax, that impacts low-income and working class people the most. General info: https://votebeforetolls.org/ To add your name (requires a printer and mailing a letter) https://votebeforetolls.org/ip4-esheet-packet-2023-08.pdf
docs.google.com
from eugene reddit: Hey y’all! I’m a PR student at the UO working on a campaign to promote an upcoming exhibit at our local art museum. Would love to gather some community input via the linked survey. We would greatly appreciate your input and responses! 🙏
letsmakeafriendship 8 months ago • 66%
Interesting data thank you for posting!
letsmakeafriendship 8 months ago • 66%
It's not that they're nazi-adjacent right wingers, it's that people in Eugene are getting serious compassion fatigue over some categories of crime or quality of life impacts which they blame generally on "the homeless", which, to be fair, is a group of people who cause many of these problems. For understandable reasons? Yes, many times. Is it more the government's fault than theirs? Yes, often. But it doesn't change that people have very real reasons for being upset and pointing the finger in the direction they point it, and the tactic of just shouting down these people as being anti-homeless or compassionless or bootlickers really isn't working any more.
I'm a person who says "fuck the police" at pretty much every opportunity. I also understand people's very real concerns about randomized violence in the streets caused by people in the homeless population and the city's total lack of initiative in solving anything of these problems.
It used to be only nazis and far-right people complained about "the homeless", it was a boogeyman they essentially created and vastly over-stated the impact of to further right wing agendas. That's no longer the case, mainly due to changes in the economy and drug markets. I personally have had several very uncomfortable interactions with homeless folks in this town, in two unrelated instances in a single year I have had my life threatened out of nowhere by a homeless person. There are whole parts of town I don't go to because of that, and I'm a white dude, I'm sure my experiences pale in comparison to people from other parts of our community.
nbc16.com
www.justice.gov
newrepublic.com
"The legislation [introduced by Wyden] targets a practice known as “buy, borrow, die” that billionaires use to avoid paying income taxes: A billionaire buys assets that appreciate in value, borrows against those assets’ increasing and untaxed value, and then passes on the assets to beneficiaries when they die, without paying taxes. Wyden’s legislation would require people with more than $1 billion in assets to pay capital gains taxes on the appreciation of value in these assets—such as real estate, stocks, or collectibles—regardless of whether they are sold."
Lemmy.world Support
A message to admins regarding the threads entering fediverse.
letsmakeafriendship 9 months ago • 100%
Leaving lemmy.world if it doesn't defederate from threads. Fuck Meta.
Fediverse
Dear server admins, please defederate threads.net. Dear users, ask your server admin to defederate threads.net.
letsmakeafriendship 9 months ago • 93%
In favor of defederation. If I start seeing garbage from threads in my feed, I'm switching instances. I don't want Meta pushing their divisive, hateful, misinformation all up in my feeds. Meta will kill fedi. We don't need them.
cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/9252731 > Been generally happy with this guy, he's got a long and great track record of defending people's right to privacy. >
Been generally happy with this guy, he's got a long and great track record of defending people's right to privacy.
letsmakeafriendship 10 months ago • 100%
Reminder that even if you get a negative test, it does not mean it's not covid. Many people don't test positive into well into their symptoms. I counted 1 in 5 people sick at my workplace. Whatever you get, whenever you get it, please consider limiting your contact with others to the extent you can. You never know when your cold might be somebody else's flu or worse.
Easiest districts to flip based on last election's turnout. OR currently sends two Republicans to the House of Representatives. The [2nd district](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oregon%27s_2nd_congressional_district) (R+ 15): Rep: Cliff Bentz. 1,000 new people would change .3% of the vote, he won with 2.1%, **7,299 new voters** could change the outcome. The district covers roughly two-thirds of the state, east of the Willamette Valley. It includes all of **Baker, Crook, Gilliam, Grant, Harney, Hood River, Jackson, Josephine, Klamath, Lake, Malheur, Morrow, Sherman, Umatilla, Union, Wallowa, Wasco, Wheeler counties**, all but a small sliver of **Jefferson** **County** and the southeastern portions of **Deschutes** (excluding Bend and areas to its northwest) and Douglas Counties. The [5th district](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oregon%27s_5th_congressional_district) (D+2): Rep Lori Chavez-DeRener 1,000 new people would change .2% of the vote, she won with 35% more of the vote which means **108,487 new voters** could flip it. It stretches from the Southeast suburbs of Portland through the eastern half of the Willamette Valley and then reaches across the Cascades to take in Sisters and **Bend**. It includes a sliver of Multnomah County, the majority of **Clackamas** County, the rural eastern portion of Marion County, all of **Linn** County, a very small section of southwest Jefferson County, and the populated northwest portion of **Deschutes** County.
letsmakeafriendship 10 months ago • 100%
Every time I have attended a public comment session at Eugene City Council relating to the budget or EPD, I have consistently heard from citizens that they want more of EPDs budget directed to cahoots. Every time, City Council just raises EPDs budget while cutting basically every other service the city provides. It's absolutely maddening.
cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/5092051 > All of this spending is since 2020. > > In the last election for Governor, they gave $10,000 to Friends of Tina Kotek but also gave a combined $85,000 to Betsy Johnson (widely acknowledged as a spoiler to help Christine Drazan) and Christine Drazan. > > Here's that breakdown: > - Friends of Christine Drazan (R Governor Candidate last election who ran against Tina Kotek) $7,500 > - Run Betsy Run $75,000 + $2,500 to another Betsy PAC. > > In fact, if you look at any local R race, Tillamook likely donated to them. Their donation list is basically a "who's who" of OR republican candidates. Here's a few more donations: > - Friends of Boomer Wright PAC (OR House of Reps): $2,000 > - The Leadership Fund (for supporting R candidates) $27,500 > - Evergreen Oregon PAC (for supporting house R candidates) $20,000 > - Friends of Suzanne Weber $5,000 (R OR Senate) > - Committee to Elect Daniel Bonham $3,000 (R OR Senate) > - Tim Knopp for State Senate $25,00 (R OR Senate) > - Denyc Boyles $2,500 (R OR Senate) > > One of their biggest expenditures was to "Stop the Metro Wage Tax" which they spent over $250,000 on. I don't know enough about the measure's history to say one way or the other where it lands on the political spectrum. > > All this is public info you can find on Oregon's ORESTAR system https://secure.sos.state.or.us/orestar/gotoPublicTransactionSearchResults.do?cneSearchButtonName=prev&cneSearchContributorTxtSearchType=C&cneSearchTranType=C&cneSearchTranSubType=CA&cneSearchFilerCommitteeTxtSearchType=C&cneSearchTranSubTypeName=Cash+Contribution%2CIn-Kind+Contribution&cneSearchTranTypeName=Contribution&cneSearchTranStartDate=09%2F01%2F2020&cneSearchTranEndDate=09%2F15%2F2023&cneSearchContributorTxt=Tillamook&srtOrder=asc&by=FILER&cneSearchPageIdx=1
www.reuters.com
A bipartisan team of U.S. lawmakers has introduced new legislation intended to curb the FBI’s sweeping surveillance powers, saying the bill helps close the loopholes that allow officials to seize Americans’ data without a warrant. "We're introducing a bill that protects both Americans' security and Americans' liberty," Senator Ron Wyden - a Democrat and a longtime critic of government surveillance - said at a press conference on Tuesday. "Its opponents were galvanized when the Office of Director of National Intelligence revealed in July that the FBI had improperly conducted searches for information about a U.S. senator and two state officials." The bill follows more than a decade of debate over post-Sept. 11, 2001, surveillance powers that allow domestic law enforcement to warrantlessly scan the vast mountains of data gathered by America’s foreign surveillance apparatus.
Barbie Walker is running for the Ward 7 seat and is the candidate of choice for local republicans and MAGA hat wearers. Who is funding her campaign? I pulled the data from [orestar](https://secure.sos.state.or.us/orestar/gotoPublicTransactionSearchResults.do?cneSearchButtonName=srtOrder&OWASP_CSRFTOKEN=367O-FL82-VI96-3R6O-GPR9-ARE0-EXHY-0AOG&addressLine1=&city=&cneSearchButtonName=search&cneSearchContributorTxt=&cneSearchContributorTxtSearchType=C&cneSearchContributorType=&cneSearchContributorTypeName=&cneSearchFilerCommitteeId=22689&cneSearchFilerCommitteeTxt=&cneSearchFilerCommitteeTxtSearchType=C&cneSearchPageIdx=0&cneSearchTranAmountFrom=&cneSearchTranAmountTo=&cneSearchTranEndDate=&cneSearchTranFiledEndDate=&cneSearchTranFiledStartDate=&cneSearchTranPurposeName=&cneSearchTranStartDate=&cneSearchTranSubType=CA&cneSearchTranSubTypeName=Cash+Contribution%2CIn-Kind+Contribution&cneSearchTranType=C&cneSearchTranTypeName=Contribution&employer=&employerCity=&employerState=&occupation=&state=&transactionId=&zip=&zipPlusFour=&?srtOrder=asc&by=AMOUNT&OWASP_CSRFTOKEN=367O-FL82-VI96-3R6O-GPR9-ARE0-EXHY-0AOG) and here's the results. I have left out individuals unless they are associated with a well-known local business. - $2,500 cash and $13,328 in non-monetary contributions from the Eugene realtors PAC Eugene Association of Realtors - $2,000 cash from building industry PAC Oregonians for Affordable Housing - $2,000 cash from Divine and Hammer LLC (idk who they are) - $4,000 Oregons for Affordable Housing (PAC for development companies) - $1,500 Lane Professional Firefighters Association - $1,500 Dennis Morgan (VP of Renewable Resource Group) - $1,500 Sierra Pacific Industries - $1,290 Plumbers and Steamfitters PAC - $1,000 Thorin Management - $500 Dr. Mark Osterloh (local Ophthalmologist) - $500 Barry Mason (owner of Oregon Taxi) - $250 MSH Consulting (local consultant for non-profits) - $250 John Charles Walker (former owner of Taylors Bar and Grill)
- What is Eugene missing? - What are we spending money on what we shouldn't? - What are other areas spending their money on that we aren't?
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letsmakeafriendship 12 months ago • 100%
Welcome!
Eugene
Hit and run havoc: Reckless driver apprehended after leading Eugene police on city-wide pursuit
letsmakeafriendship 12 months ago • 100%
"An employee ran after the suspect"
And that's how you turn a $200 theft into a $20,000 lawsuit. Idiots. What are you gonna do if you catch them? Tackle them? Put them in cuffs? Every major retailer has a no-chase policy.
letsmakeafriendship 12 months ago • 100%
Going for a hike hopefully see some cool birds
letsmakeafriendship 12 months ago • 75%
The amazing thing is that the cops actually responded
letsmakeafriendship 12 months ago • 100%
Thank you!
letsmakeafriendship 1 year ago • 100%
If he is your representative, you are personally effected by his decisions and his ability to remain a legislator. If you elected him the first time, this recall is essentially an effort by a special interest group to over-ride your vote.
letsmakeafriendship 1 year ago • 100%
tldr he killed a bill which included provisions about protecting the right of cannabis workers to organize, he referred the bill to state attorneys who rightly concluded the law wouldn't stand up in court after very similar laws were struck down elsewhere. Every other union still supports holvey, but one of them pushed for a recall over it. If recalls like this are successful, it encourages other special-interest groups to recall reps over small spats like this in the future.
letsmakeafriendship 1 year ago • 100%
Voting no on this. This is an abuse of the recall process, which should be reserved for cases of serious malfeasance, fraud, etc, not just because a rep didn't vote your way on a single bill. Every other union supports Holvey, he was justly elected by his constituents. This whole thing seems petty, annoying, and a waste of taxpayer money (and union dues!). If I were in this union I would be furious at them for spending my money this way.
letsmakeafriendship 1 year ago • 100%
Same. Many business owners donate individually instead of as a business, so it could be they donated that way. I didn't do through the trouble of matching up individual donors to business names.
letsmakeafriendship 1 year ago • 100%
This whole thing seems dumb and petty and a waste of the union's resources. None of the other union's contributed to the recall campaign effort because they apparently didn't think it was worth doing. I can't even find a good list of specific, sourced claims as to what they are mad about. Their claims, when they make them are vague and fall apart pretty quickly upon further inspection.
If I were in this union I would be pissed.
letsmakeafriendship 1 year ago • 100%
Ya love to see it. Would love to see a ballot measure next election which drops the quorum requirement to something more reasonable.
letsmakeafriendship 1 year ago • 100%
Aah great. Now I can report my house getting broken into or other serious crime into without the inconvenience of waiting on hold for three hours just to find out they're not going to show up. EPD is a joke.
letsmakeafriendship 1 year ago • 100%
This is radical democrat marxist propaganda don't fall for it
letsmakeafriendship 1 year ago • 100%
We need more passionate, intelligent people in all levels of local government. And we need higher wages (or wages at all!) for these positions, otherwise they'll only be filled by upper class people with no representation by working class people.
Eugene
Went to see Trek In The Park at Amazon Park in [#Eugene](https://mas.to/tags/Eugene) tonight. It was really fun and they're was a good turnout.
letsmakeafriendship 1 year ago • 100%
I look forward to their performances every year, looking forward to seeing them!