If Gov. Kate Brown doesn’t have a real emergency to deal with, she can always invent one. Kate and her Democratic legislature have been using the “emergency” clause in order to enact a number or horrible the last 4 years.
Claiming a “housing emergency”, the legislature overturned the state’s ban on rent control even though price controls are famous for creating shortages of things that are being controlled, destroyed the American Dream of owning a single family home in a single family residential neighborhood in Oregon, and instead of just supporting families in need of housing with vouchers, have undertaken support of very expensive subsidized housing ventures, and made legal tiny homes against the advice of Oregon fire and building code officials who warned that tiny homes are unsafe for full-time habitation.
In the name of a “climate emergency” the legislature just passed a bill that will ban all fossil fuels - even though they are necessary, cheap and clean - so that thousands of Oregonians will suffer higher costs for transportation and home energy costs.
Today the weather forecasters are predicting some amount of snow for parts of Oregon. I expect to get just a dusting where I live, but I guarantee that where I grew up in the West Hills the snow will be more abundant. Mountain passes will be tricky and drivers should be cautious and check the DMV website before heading out on trips. Sounds like a normal winter cold snap - the kind kids dream of and adults who need to drive somewhere hate.
So why is Kate declaring THIS storm an emergency? What is so special about this storm that makes it any more dangerous that any other wind, snow or ice storm? Oregonians lose power a few times every year. People who live on low ground near rivers and streams suffer flooding problems and watch the river levels closely. People who live on hillsides (or the bottom of a hillside) should know about landslides when it’s raining and the ground is saturated.
I understand flood warnings, but a full-blown emergency for a middling snow storm? Really, Kate? The Portland area has lived through some whoppers — from 10 - 22” in one day. I remember being in Eugene in 1969 when 3’ of snow fell one night and the entire city came to a halt. Have Oregonians become more stupid, softer, more dependent, less resilient over the years? Does Kate think her job makes her the Nanny in Chief, rather than just a Governor who understands we are adults with functioning brains and can think and take care of ourselves? Get a life Kate! My own dear mother grew up on the plains of Eastern Montana and took weather events in stride - from summer sweltering heat to frozen winter blizzards.
Top reasons Kate likes emergencies:
1. By declaring an emergency, the Gov can write all kinds of Emergency Orders that look like laws. (Power. Control. Cannot give it up!)
2. By declaring an emergency, the legislature can enact a law immediately and not have to worry about citizen overrides. (Power. Control. Cannot give it up!)
3. By declaring an emergency, politicians can do some serious virtue signaling, even if their policies and solutions make the problems worse. (It’s not just a snow storm, it’s a climate/weather event and as an emergency, it gives legitimacy to her climate emergency declaration.)
4. By declaring an emergency, one government entity can leap ahead of or try to keep up with another to show they are more attentive to citizens’ problems. (Portland and Multnomah Co. had already declared weather emergencies.)
Salem Statesman Journal, by Jach Urness, December 23, 2021 8:01 p.m.
Snow in the Willamette Valley appears possible multiple days after Christmas and mountain travel is expected to be challenging for the next week as snowy weather moves into Oregon and across the Pacific Northwest.
Anywhere from 2 to 4 inches of snow, up to a foot, are possible from Sunday into Monday in Portland, Salem and Eugene, according to the National Weather Service. But mountain roads should see new snow every day for the coming seven days.
A winter storm watch for Wednesday into Thursday projects 8 to 24 inches above 4,000 feet, with the heaviest accumulations above 5,000 feet
Nothing about the weather is written in stone, of course, and projecting low-elevation snow in western Oregon is notoriously difficult because of the mixture of warmer ocean precipitation and cold air from the north.In other words, the forecast is likely to change. But given the high travel volume and potential snow, weather officials are warning travelers well in advance to be prepared.
The best place to find up-to-date information on weather is the Portland National Weather Services' Facebook and Twitter page, along with the page that shows detailed forecasts at weather.gov/pqr/.
Check out road conditions in advance and get real-time road reports at tripcheck.com.
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