Update: April 14, 2008

Aviation Industry Taps Educational Dollars

There was a time when the author would have wholeheartedly favored a Portland Community College bond levy. Unfortunately the Rock Creek Aviation Sciences program, which has foisted unrelenting noise, pollution, safety and security risks on area residents, has severely eroded this voter's commitment.

Hillsboro Airport Issues Roundtable Caters to Aviation Industry

The Port of Portland states that the Hillsboro Airport Issues Roundtable (HAIR) "represents the airport's diverse stakeholders." What, exactly, does the Port mean by diversity?

Update: September 26, 2007

GA Airports, Flight Training, and 9/11

More than 6 years after the 9/11 attack very little has been done to mandate security guidelines at general aviation airports—even though 75% of the air traffic in this country is classified as general aviation.

Update: August 13, 2007

Climate Warming, A New Look

General aviation significantly increases the contribution of aviation activity to global warming—a news release from the American Working Group for National Policy, Inc. (awgnp@comcast.net).

Update: June 20, 2007

Public Subsidizing Private Aviation

Oregon Senate Bill (SB) 807, sponsored by Senator Betsy Johnson, had provisions by which surrounding communities could have been taxed on behalf of rural airport owners and operators eager to line their pockets at public expense.

Public Subsidizes Corporate Jets at Oregon's North Bend Airport

The New York Times reports that "Airline passengers and lottery players are paying for a $31 million expansion of the North Bend Airport to serve the 5,000 business jets that arrive each year, filled almost entirely with golfers."

Update: April 23, 2007

Public Subsidies for Airports Benefit Few

The Hillsboro Airport Master Plan reveals the intent of the Port of Portland in league with the FAA to gouge taxpayers across this land for $126 million dollars over the next 15 years to finance improvements at this "executive" general aviation airport which primarily caters to corporate jet interests, flight training, and general aviation hobbyists. And what do we as members of the public receive in return for this bestowal of corporate welfare?

Update: January 2, 2007

The Port of Portland: A Major Overhaul is Long Overdue

Ever wonder why the Port of Portland seems unresponsive to citizen concerns? One reason may be that, unlike all the other port authorities in the state of Oregon, the Port of Portland's commissioners are not elected by the people they supposedly represent.

Update: December 6, 2006

Washington County Aviation Accidents

Washington County has been the site of at least 72 aviation accidents, more than twice as many as Portland, since 1986 even though Washington County in its entirety has a smaller population than the City of Portland.

Hillsboro's Aviation Accidents Far Greater Than Portland's
General Aviation Pilots More Accident Prone than Commercial Pilots
Student Pilots Involved in Nearly Half of Hillsboro's Aviation Accidents

and more ...

Update: November 16, 2006

New Links

See the Government page for several new links to chapters of the Oregon Revised Statutes (ORS) relating to land use and transportation. We've also added a link on the Noise page for the Washington County Noise Control Task Force, which studied noise management in unincorporated Washington County from 2003 to 2005.

Update: September 13, 2006

On Airport Expansion and the Washington County Fair Board

At first glance the link between Washington County airport expansion and the Washington County Fair Board is not entirely evident. However a glimpse beneath the surface, in conjunction with a review of pertinent documentation, reveals some disturbing undercurrents with Richard Vial, the Chair of the Fair Board, as a significant connecting link.

Update: August 8, 2006

Aviation Accidents in Oregon

The fiery explosion last month in a residential area when an airplane departing the Hillsboro Airport crashed in a nearby neighborhood has understandably caused many residents to ponder the dangers that aviation activities pose to their lives and to their properties...

Update: June 20, 2006

Aviation Noise: Health and Learning Impacts

Washington County residents are subjected to the noise pollution of more aircraft operations than any other county in the entire state of Oregon...

Past Updates