Sunday, August 7, 2011
Being from Boston
Here is a little history of my home state Massachusetts, and Boston, where I spent most of my time growing up:
Dead Horse Theory
If you don't understand this theory, you haven't lived long enough......
The tribal wisdom of the Dakota Indians, passed on from generation to
generation, says that, "When you discover that you are riding a dead
horse, the best strategy is to dismount."
The tribal wisdom of the Dakota Indians, passed on from generation to
generation, says that, "When you discover that you are riding a dead
horse, the best strategy is to dismount."
The green thing
In the line at the store, the cashier told an older woman that she should bring her own grocery bags because plastic bags weren't good for the environment.
The woman apologized to him and explained, "We didn't have the green thing back in my day."
The clerk responded, "That's our problem today. Your generation did not care enough to save our environment."
The woman apologized to him and explained, "We didn't have the green thing back in my day."
The clerk responded, "That's our problem today. Your generation did not care enough to save our environment."
Electric Buses...not in Oregon
Sustainable Business Oregon
All-electric bus manufacturer Proterra Inc. said Monday it has received $30 million from a group of investors led by Silicon Valley venture powerhouse Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers.
Other investors in the Golden-based private company include GM Ventures, Mitsui & Co. Ltd., Vision Ridge Partners and 88 Green Ventures LLC.
Proterra said the money will be used to complete federal testing of its buses, roll out more test fleets and work on cutting costs and raising volume production at the company’s Greenville, S.C., manufacturing plant. The plant can produce about 400 buses a year.
“Our goal at Proterra is to fundamentally transform urban transit,” said Jeff Granato, Proterra’s CEO, in a statement. “The tremendous resources of Kleiner Perkins, leveraged with GM’s automotive expertise and the financial and technical strength of Mitsui, Vision Ridge and 88 Green Ventures gives us an enviable platform to compete and win in the electric transit bus market.”
On its website, Proterra boasts its commitment to U.S. sourcing. The company reports companies from 33 states among its suppliers, including Oregon.
This seems like:
1. A great way to revitalize shuttered RV factories and truck building factories throughout Oregon, creating hundreds of local jobs instead of jobs in South Carolina,
2. A great way to introduce clean transit in various neighborhoods and campuses. TriMet could EASILY integrate these vehicles on the shorter feeder routes where they return to a transit center and layover (allowing a recharge) before the next trip, as well as develop new routes that could feed mainline buses and MAX trains. These vehicles would also be great for smaller transit agencies (think Canby Area Transit, Sandy Area Metro, SMART and YCTA) that run short city routes.
All-electric bus manufacturer Proterra Inc. said Monday it has received $30 million from a group of investors led by Silicon Valley venture powerhouse Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers.
Other investors in the Golden-based private company include GM Ventures, Mitsui & Co. Ltd., Vision Ridge Partners and 88 Green Ventures LLC.
Proterra said the money will be used to complete federal testing of its buses, roll out more test fleets and work on cutting costs and raising volume production at the company’s Greenville, S.C., manufacturing plant. The plant can produce about 400 buses a year.
“Our goal at Proterra is to fundamentally transform urban transit,” said Jeff Granato, Proterra’s CEO, in a statement. “The tremendous resources of Kleiner Perkins, leveraged with GM’s automotive expertise and the financial and technical strength of Mitsui, Vision Ridge and 88 Green Ventures gives us an enviable platform to compete and win in the electric transit bus market.”
On its website, Proterra boasts its commitment to U.S. sourcing. The company reports companies from 33 states among its suppliers, including Oregon.
This seems like:
1. A great way to revitalize shuttered RV factories and truck building factories throughout Oregon, creating hundreds of local jobs instead of jobs in South Carolina,
2. A great way to introduce clean transit in various neighborhoods and campuses. TriMet could EASILY integrate these vehicles on the shorter feeder routes where they return to a transit center and layover (allowing a recharge) before the next trip, as well as develop new routes that could feed mainline buses and MAX trains. These vehicles would also be great for smaller transit agencies (think Canby Area Transit, Sandy Area Metro, SMART and YCTA) that run short city routes.
Privatize Trimet?
Sometimes I wonder if all this spending by our management is intentional, with the goal of "privatization".
Macfarlane has publicly stated that all of the projected "savings" is based solely on the backs of the union labor and if the arbitrator actually rules in the unions favor then Trimet will be millions of dollars in the hole.
Trimet had a financial "crisis" that lasted about a year. Layoff's were threatened, service cuts implemented 3 month unpaid furloughs for union workers etc etc. Now all of a sudden everything is back to normal, hiring dozens of new operators, more bureacrats with fancy job titles, building bridges and rails all over, planning future extensions of rail, on and on (the bus service cuts continue, there is no plan to restore any of that service that is not peak hour service.)
The republican playbook it turns out was to bankrupt the country, they are happy about it! It will be a huge boom to private business interests.
Bush starts an expensive war and at the same time cut taxes,they had to know it would bankrupt the country. It was all intentional, Americans too busy being entertained to pay attention, all part of the plan.
Is it possible that Macfarlane may be intentionally bankrupting Trimet So as to "privatize" the labor force? It is happening in other places around the country, don't think it can't happen here.
Trimet functions with the same principles as corporations now. Except that it functions for the good of business, not for the good of the riders.
MAX having lots of problems lately
Not sure if this got a svc alert-disabled blue line at btc interrupting EB red & blue line service
Oh it gets better.. Suicidal person on blue line behind that one
Oh it gets better.. Suicidal person on blue line behind that one
Tweets (consolidated)
RT @Rimbaud1854: @trimet
I'm only upset when I can't get on the bus/train. Which is so rare I
feel bad mentioning it. Thanks for all your hard work. · Reply · RT
345 CEOemail: @carolynmain Here's the e-mail address of the Trimet CEO, Neil McFarlane: mcfarlanen@trimet.org · Reply · RT
345 CEOemail: @carolynmain Here's the e-mail address of the Trimet CEO, Neil McFarlane: mcfarlanen@trimet.org · Reply · RT
1 d 
666 lunarobverse: I'm betting @trimet does NOTHING in response to this horror story, and says only the most bland pr-speak. bit.ly/qfdsdW · Reply · RT
666 lunarobverse: I'm betting @trimet does NOTHING in response to this horror story, and says only the most bland pr-speak. bit.ly/qfdsdW · Reply · RT
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)