bikes

Portland just got featured in the New York Times for cultivating a strong bike culture. Here's the story and here's the video.

Eugene has a higher percentage of bike commuters than Portland. But in Portland biking is dramatically increasing while its declining in Eugene. Maybe that's because we lack the strong bike advocate elected officials Portland has like Sam Adams.

Shortish because paper goes to press today. But packed with info!

1. Stealin' our postal service? The Nation sends out an alert about yet another corporate conspiracy. (Occurs to me that this might affect every small newspaper as well. Hmmmmm.)

2. If you bike occasionally and you live in PDX, The Oregonian might call you a timid biker. And you might get followed in a study, too. Fun!

3. Think the Mafia is all fun and games? Think again.

4. The Gay in sports: Books, websites and HOTT photos of rugby players kissing.

5. More rats leaving the ship: Little Denny Hastert gets out of Congress. (At least $2 million richer than he went in, of course.)

6. Time to make the oceans work for us, baby. Harnessing the power of the waves ... and not just to surf.

7. The world is going to hell in a handbasket. Museums now encourage cellphone use inside. (Me, personally? I approve. But it will be a cold day in that handbasket before any area art museums get on the ball.)

8. Poisoning our kids, part II. This time, it's AMERICAN companies to blame.

9. Another blow against the Boy Scouts of America: Them Native Amurrican spiritualities don't count in Scouting. (Yet.)

10. The Stranger's Erica Barnett writes for other places? Yes, about carsharing, and with a PDX photo in there to boot!

BONUS: Best British headline in U.S. newspaper Award goes to the L.A. Times for "Have consumers gone wobbly?" (As long as they don't fall down ... )