COMMISSIONER RANDY LEONARD'S BLOG

A good imitation still isn't the real thing

They say that imitation is the highest form of flattery, but if you ask me, there is nothing flattering about what is going on here for Halloween.  As you can see below from photos taken on the first and last day of September's Bike Commute Challenge, Commissioner Leonard's uniform choices put a stylish frame around our winning effort.  Meanwhile, Stu and Sara (pictured below) are using the cover of Halloween to brandish their own trendy Bike Challenge looks.  

 Randy's Halloween plans include wearing the pink pants and flower shirt modeled by Stu above to get even...

 
 

Census 2010 Update!

 

The national participation rate for the 2010 Census currently stands at 71%.  This is only one percentage point below the 2000 Census returns, which is considered a success by the Census Bureau given the economy and the population growth since 2000.  The population of the U.S. has grown to an estimated 309 million people, just about a 10% increase since 2000.

 

 

Northwest State Participation:

Idaho  72%

Montana 66%

Oregon  73%

Washington  72%

 

 

 

 

 

Local County Participation:

Clackamas  75%

Multnomah  72 %

Washington 75%

Click here to view the nation’s participation:

http://2010.census.gov/2010census/take10map/

Romancing the Stone

April 20, 1851, marks the day that John B. Preston rode into the Oregon Territory.  Who is John Preston you might ask?  If you look all around Portland and west of the Cascades from the California-Oregon boarder to Northern Washington you will see the landscape of all his work.  John Preston was the Oregon Territory’s first surveyor general appointed by President Millard Fillmore in 1850.

John Preston and his crew of surveyors spent 4 years surveying the western interior valleys of Oregon and Washington.  What they established was how the Oregon Territory developed into townships and sections using the Rectangular Land Survey System.

 

 

On June 4, 1851, Preston and his surveyor crew marked the starting point for their land survey by laying down true north-south, known as the Willamette Meridian and the intersecting east-west, the Willamette Base Line.  They marked the initial point with a cedar stake.  The stake was later replaced with a stone obelisk on July 25, 1885, which was eventually given the name The Willamette Stone. The obelisk no longer stands, but there is a survey marker that pin-points the spot in the Willamette Stone Heritage Park just outside of downtown Portland in the West Hills.

 

Posted by: SO

 

April 15 is not only income tax day, but did you know…

On this date in history:

 

1912 - The Titanic sinks at 2:27 AM off Newfoundland

 

1947 - Jackie Robinson’s major league debut with the Brooklyn Dodgers

 

1738 - The bottle opener was invented

 

1878 - Harley Proctor introduced “Ivory Soap”

 

1910 - President Taft was the first president to throw the first baseball at a baseball game

 

1945 - President Roosevelt was buried at Hyde Park

 

And last - but certainly not least - 1452 - Leonardo da Vinci was born

 

Posted by: SO

Council to proclaim Tibet Awareness Day

On Wednesday, March 3rd at 10am, Council will proclaim March 10, 2010 Tibet Awareness Day. The proclamation was brought to Commissioner Leonard's office by the Northwest Tibetan Cultural Association, who is planning a celebration of Tibet Awareness Day at City Hall on March 10th. Commissioner Leonard will participate in the celebration by hanging the Tibetan flag in his office.

On March 10th, Tibetans throughout the world observe Tibetan National Day to honor the 1.2 million Tibetans who died in their struggle to establish independence.

Learn more about the Northwest Tibetan Cultural Association here.

DJC recognizes Randy as one of its 2010 "Newsmakers"

Commissioner Leonard was recognized by the Daily Journal of Commerce today as one of 2010's "Newsmakers" at their annual luncheon.  Randy is honored to receive this consideration, and the profile the DJC put together for their most recent issue gives a concise overview of Randy's career, and divulges a little known fact about Randy!

Our favorite Presidents

President's Day began in 1880 in the District of Columbia to honor the 1st President of the United States, George Washington. The holiday later expanded to the rest of the nation and became more widely known as President's Day in the 1980s.

In honor of President's Day, we surveyed our staff for their favorite presidents:

Commissioner Leonard: Harry S. Truman, 33rd President 1945-1953 
  "I admire President Truman's self-reliance."

Ty Kovatch: Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 32nd President 1933-1945    
   "He was The Man under duress."

Aaron Johnson: Ronald Reagan,  40th President 1981-1989
   "He perfected the use of the teleprompter."

 

 

Kenneth Edwards: Dwight D. Eisenhower, 34th President 1953-1961
   "I use highways."

 

Sara Petrocine: Theodore Roosevelt, 26th President 1901-1909
    "He was passionate. Sometimes it was misdirected, but he was his own man."

Stuart Oishi: Theodore Roosevelt, 26th President 1901-1909
   "He started the National Parks system as we know it. I dig that."

 

 

Anna DiBenedetto: Bill Clinton, 42nd President 1993-2001

"It's the economy, stupid."

Posted by: SP

New City Archive Center preparing for Spring grand opening!

On Friday, Commissioner Leonard and staff visited the soon-to-open Portland Archives and Records Center, or PARC.

In 2007, Commissioner Leonard worked with the leadership at Portland State University to develop plans and funding for the City's Archives to be included as part of the University's new rec center and administration offices.  The City's Archives had been located on Columbia Boulevard in a very old building (an old incinerator) that was in an inconvenient location and that the Archives had outgrown.  

Randy's passion for history drove him to recognize the opportunity to partner with Portland State and to fight for the funding to make the joint project a reality.  He is very proud to see it coming to life.

Beginning in May, PARC will be located at 1800 SW 6th Ave, Suite 550.  The LEED Gold certified building is complete and the shelves in the lower level are being mounted to house the city's most precious historic papers and photographs. 

The fifth floor public research center is beautiful and inspires you to want to learn more about Portland. You can see Mt. Hood in one direction, PSU's bustling plaza with street cars and the MAX passing below, and a gorgeous example of Portland's green efforts: an eco- roof, where people can enjoy fresh air and the views in a photosynthesizing, long-lasting environment that keeps runoff out of the stormwater system. 

Researching the City's history just got a whole lot sexier!

  

 

Shelves in the climate-controlled basement level, ready for archives to be delivered and organized.  This is where the professionals will access the records that the public requests on the 5th floor.

 Posted by Anna DiBenedetto

Super Sunday: Randy & staff make Super Bowl predictions

By Sara Petrocine

When you work for an elected official, part of your job is to point out differing perspectives on various issues. A variety of opinions can help shape a conversation, sometimes providing new insight, and other times, strengthening a point of view.  Sometimes, our opinions are utterly disregarded.

A recent example of the latter came during a discussion around selecting the prevailing team in the upcoming Super Bowl.  Though we advised Randy to consider the offensive strengths of the two teams involved, Randy didn't take our advice.  In fact, Randy didn't even consider a team involved in the game.   Randy's prediction:  The Miami Heat will win in a thriller.

We love our boss, but a sports fan he is not, unless the Portland State Vikings are involved.

Here are Randy and his staff's predictions for the Super Bowl, including the scores.

Randy : Miami Heat, buzzer beater

Ty:     Indianapolis Colts, 31-27

Aaron:       New Orleans Saints, 24-21

Kenneth:    Indianapolis Colts, 17-14

Sara:   New Orleans Saints, 30-28

Anna:      New Orleans Saints, 7-0

Stu:       Indianapolis Colts, 31-20     Enjoy the game and BE SAFE!