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Monday Mailing Quote of the Week: “Walk with the dreamers, the believers, the courageous, the cheerful, the planners, the doers, the successful people with their heads in the clouds and their feet on the ground.

Let their spirit ignite a fire within you, to leave this world better than when you found it.”

-- Wilfred Peterson.

Oregon Fast Fact: Oregon is now the only state to prohibit self-serve gasoline.

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The Rural Data Portal Get The Bike Wheels Rolling in Your Community!

New Bridges, Bus Stops OK’d Meet the ELF: An American-Built Solar-Powered Trike League of Oregon Cities – Small Cities Regional Meetings.

Tilth’s 40th Anniversary Celebration Energy Efficiency on Main Street O&C Battle Rages On Track a Century of U.S. Development With a Tool That Centralizes Old Maps 10. New Online Tool Provides State & Local Energy Data at Your Fingertips 11. So What Exactly Is a 'Road Diet'?

1. The Rural Data Portal The RURAL DATA PORTAL is a simple, easy to use, on-line resource that provides essential information on the social, economic, and housing characteristics of communities in the United States. The RURAL DATA PORTAL is targeted toward rural communities, but a wide range of information is presented for the nation, states, and counties for rural, suburban and urban areas.

Most of the information provided in the RURAL DATA PORTAL comes from Housing Assistance Council (HAC) tabulations of various public use data sets such as the 2010 Census of Population and Housing, the American Community Survey (ACS) and Home Mortgage Disclosure Act Data.

The Housing Assistance Housing (HAC) is a national nonprofit organization that supports affordable housing efforts in rural areas of the United States.

To access the full story, click here.

2. Get The Bike Wheels Rolling in Your Community!

Bicycling is an easy way to make physical activity part of your day.

More and more people in communities all across the country are getting around by bicycle, but there is still tremendous room for growth in the number of people biking on roads everywhere!

How can we change that? One of the most powerful ways to increase the amount of bicycle travel is for communities to adopt bicycle friendly laws and policies. These policies can   

remove obstacles to bicycling; create incentives for bicycling infrastructure; and make it easier and safe to get around by bike!

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Figure out where to start, and learn how to effectively use policy to promote bicycling in ChangeLab Solutions’ new publication, Getting The Wheels Rolling: A Guide to Using Policy to Create Bicycle Friendly Communities.

3. New Bridges, Bus Stops OK’d Lane Transit District announced Monday that state transportation officials have awarded it more than $3.5 million to build three new walking and biking bridges over Amazon Creek in west Eugene and to construct new EmX bus stops in Glenwood.

A funding request from the city of Eugene to launch a public bike share system in and around downtown also remains in the running for funding.

The state Transportation Commission late last month approved the prioritized list of projects funded through the state’s ConnectOregon program. The program, approved by state lawmakers and now in its fifth round of funding, invests in non-highway transportation projects using proceeds from lottery-backed bonds.

“These grants help our community continue developing stronger bike, pedestrian and transit connections,” Ron Kilcoyne, LTD’s general manager, said in a statement.

LTD joined with the city of Eugene to apply for more than $2.8 million to construct the Amazon Creek spans at Buck, Commerce and Wallis streets.

To access the full story, click here.

4. Meet the ELF: An American-Built Solar-Powered Trike I've taken one for a test-ride over at MNN but somehow, so far, we have yet to write about Organic Transit's ELF. This has to be corrected. With Lloyd calling for a recall of the car, and with Twitter alive with #ReplaceBikeWithCar, the topic of a pedal/solar-powered hybrid vehicle that's specifically designed to get the cycle-challenged out of their cars has never been more timely.

Conceived by former sports-car designer Rob Cotter, and built right here in Durham, NC, the ELF features an electric assist motor; a durable, highly visible outer shell to protect you from the elements, and a sizable cargo compartment capable of holding eight grocery bags. (It is said to carry a total payload of 350lb.) The pure electric battery range is 14+ miles, and that can easily be extended the more you choose to pedal/coast. And the battery will recharge in about 7 hours if left in direct sunlight, or 1.5 hours if plugged into an outlet. Its makers claim it gets the energy equivalent of 1,800mpg.

To access the full story, click here.

5. League of Oregon Cities – Small Cities Regional Meetings.

Looking for a place where your small city can share successfully implemented projects and learn new ways to overcome challenges? Then be sure to attend the next quarterly meeting in your region!

Share, learn and grow with input from your peers and special guests. These events not only help you invest in the future of your small city, they provide LOC with insight into current regional events and help us better address the needs of small cities. Cities with a population of 5,000 or less are encouraged to attend. Cities of all sizes are welcomed.

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Upcoming Meetings: Click the region's date and location for current meeting details.

North Coast Portland Metro Willamette Valley South Coast Southern Valley Central Oregon Northeast Oregon East Oregon

Region 1: Region 2: Region 3: Region 4: Region 5: Region 6: Region 7: Region 8:

November 7 - Nehalem September 18 - Wood Village November 14 - Creswell November 19 - Coquille September 11 - Oakland September 18 - Moro October 15 - Athena October 16 - Monument

For more information, click here.

6. Tilth’s 40th Anniversary Celebration The Tilth Producers conference is the region’s premier opportunity to join fellow farmers to learn, network, and share stories and knowledge from the season just completed while gaining insight to help make the following year even more successful. Join more than 700 farmers, researchers, advocates and organic industry representatives who will convene for three days of educational and networking events focused on organic and sustainable agriculture.

This anniversary year conference promises to be better than ever as we celebrate Tilth’s history with event partner Oregon Tilth and others who have been part of the Tilth story. We’ll honor the progress of the organic movement in our region from its nascent beginnings in the early 1970’s to today’s successful national organic program. Don’t miss Saturday’s lunch or dinner as Tilth’s history will come alive at both meals with brief updates of our successful story, as Tilth continues to shape and move the food system towards socially equitable, organic and sustainable production. Building on recent conferences, on Friday night we’ll continue the conversation between Tilth founders and farming elders with younger growers intent on learning and taking the reins into Tilth’s future.

The conference will kick off Friday November 7, 2014 with two day-long symposia to choose from plus an all-day information fair. Mealtimes are always perfect for visiting with friends old and new while enjoying delicious organic food. Social events planned for this year include a Friday evening Reception featuring local beer and local bites to enjoy while visiting the Poster Session; the informative and fun weekend Trade Show; and the popular annual Wine Tasting and Auction followed by the never-to-be-missed Saturday Night Dance.

For more information, click here.

7. Energy Efficiency on Main Street Energy efficiency: everyone knows the phrase, but what does it really mean?

Pacific Power, in collaboration with the Oregon Main Street Program and Energy Trust of Oregon, recognized the need to reach out to small commercial property owners and businesspeople with this question. They partnered with Clatsop Community College’s historic preservation program to create both a booklet and a traveling lecture series.

And they’re coming to a community near you!

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This September, Pacific Power is holding a series of free luncheons about the benefits of energy efficiency in historic commercial buildings. They are targeting customers who have a building in need of renovation, who are looking for ways to revitalize their Main Street, or who simply love old buildings.

Attendees will receive a free copy of Pacific Power’s booklet “Historic Preservation & Energy Efficiency: A Guide for Historic Commercial Buildings.” College instructors Lucien Swerdloff and John Goodenberger will share case studies of Oregon buildings enjoying renewed vitality through historic preservation and energy efficiency.

They will also be highlighting:   

How to make basic energy-efficient upgrades while preserving a building’s historic details.

How preserving historic buildings is an effective economic development tool for communities.

Wattsmart® programs, incentives, and other funding sources to help with restoration projects.

All luncheons (including food!) are free for attendees and begin at 11:30 a.m. and will wrap up at 1:00 p.m. Below is the schedule and registration website: www.pacificpower.net/seminar September 3, Enterprise – Lear’s Pub & Grill, 111 West Main Street September 4, Pendleton – Hamley Steakhouse, 8 Southeast Court Avenue September 5, Redmond – Christie’s Kitchen, 614 NW Cedar Ave September 8, Klamath Falls – Klamath Basin Brewing Co/Creamery Brew Pub & Grill, 1320 Main St September 9, Medford – Four Daughters Irish Pub, 126 W Main St September 10, Roseburg – Brix 527, 527 SE Jackson St September 11, Coos Bay – Benetti’s Italian Restaurant, 260 S Broadway September 16, Cottage Grove – Jack Sprat’s Restaurant, 510 E Main St September 17, Albany – Sweet Red Coffee & Wine Bistro, 208 1st Ave W September 18, Corvallis – Big River Restaurant, 101 NW Jackson St 8. ‘O&C Battle Rages On Oregon’s timber counties are anxiously watching Washington, D.C., waiting for movement on two proposed O&C bills so they can plan for a shaky financial future.

U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden’s Oregon and California Land Grant Act of 2014 is sitting in the Finance Committee. The bill proposes splitting the 2.4 million acres of Oregon’s O&C lands in half, but keeping all under federal control.

U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio’s O&C Trust, Conservation and Jobs Act made it out of the House. It would also split the O&C lands in two, but half would go in a trust for timber production under the Oregon Forest Practices Act. OFPA provides for much more intense logging than federal environmental laws allow.

Both bills would ramp up logging on O&C lands, but the Association of O&C Counties has expressed its support for DeFazio’s bill, as have all three Coos County commissioners. Conservation Page 4 of 5

groups, on the other hand, oppose it, saying it would undermine protections for threatened and endangered species.

To access the full story, click here.

9. Track a Century of U.S. Development With a Tool That Centralizes Old Maps Early Tuesday, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) launched a Historical Topographic Map Explorer, allowing cartography lovers to easily pore through the agency's expansive collection.

With the help of ESRI, the new site gives users access to more than 178,000 of the USGS's maps dating back to 1884, also making them easily searchable by city.

For more information, click here.

10. New Online Tool Provides State & Local Energy Data at Your Fingertips The U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, in partnership with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, has launched a new website that provides state and local decision makers easy access to a wealth of energy data specific to their location. The resources and data can be used to support strategic energy planning processes and deployment of clean energy projects. By entering a city and state or zip code into the State and Local Energy Data (SLED) online tool, users can see how their current electricity prices compare with the state and national averages, learn about applicable policies and incentives that could affect energy projects in their state, find available renewable energy resources, get details on alternative transportation fuel costs, and much more – all in one location. The tool also includes a video that provides an overview of how to use the tool and examples of how you may find it useful in your community.

11. So What Exactly Is a 'Road Diet'?

Earlier this week, the U.S. Department of Transportation announced an 18-month campaign to improve road safety across the country. One of the things DOT plans to do is create a guide to "road diets" that it will distribute to communities and local governments. DOT says that road diets can reduce traffic crashes by an average of 29 percent, and that in some smaller towns the design approach can cut crashes nearly in half.

But what exactly is a road diet? A good place to start is the apparent source of DOT's safety figures: a 2013 white paper on road diets prepared for the Federal Highway Administration by Libby Thomas of the University of North Carolina Highway Safety Research Center. While road diets have been around for decades, writes Thomas, it's only in the past 10 years or so that experts have understood just how beneficial they can be.

To access the full story, click here.

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