We need a general tweet of the day thread

The City is in decay, police are underfunded and criminals are not incarcerated but we have plenty of money for bikes. Geezus. Just don't call it a religion.

https://www.oregonlive.com/news/2022/07/portland-leaders-detail-clean-energy-fund-progress-potential-risks-ahead-of-120m-vote.html



Two truths emerged this week as Portland leaders publicly weighed a nearly $120 million spending package put forth by the volunteer panel that oversees the city’s clean energy fund.

First, the massive voter-approved program — awash in cash and under scrutiny — has made strides to strengthen its management and accountability of prospective projects in the aftermath of an embarrassing oversight and a bruising city audit.

Second, a series of potential risks and uncertainties remain woven into the program’s operations as it faces by far the biggest financial decision of its young life.

Presented with an imperfectly vetted proposal, the City Council next week will decide whether to approve the 65 projects recommended by committee members of the Portland Clean Energy Community Benefits Fund.

The sweeping set of initiatives include everything from community solar projects to urban food forests to giveaways of regular and electric bicycles, documents released earlier this month show.

Over 2,300 apartments and homes across Portland — most of them for low-income residents — would receive energy retrofits and upgrades. More than 1,000 people would receive workforce training in green building and renewable energy trades.

The fund, seeded by a 1% tax on large retailers in the city, is intended to bankroll projects that aim to reduce carbon emissions, create jobs and help vulnerable residents who face some of the most severe impacts from climate change, such as the more than 60 people who died during last summer’s heat wave.

By design, grants are given to a burgeoning army of nonprofits believed to have the best insight into and ties to marginalized groups, including Black, Indigenous and other people of color, homeless individuals, people with disabilities, immigrants, seniors and people navigating poverty.

Many of those charities are small, young or scantily funded — and exactly the groups voters were told the fund would help.

“We have a moment in Portland to activate our resources like the Clean Energy Fund to show not just our region, not just our state, but frankly the nation what it looks like to center our communities as we not only mitigate the climate crisis in front of us, but also prepare to adapt,” Planning and Sustainability Director Donnie Oliveira, whose bureau oversees the clean energy program, said during a City Council hearing Wednesday.

hardhat said:

RaceBannon said:

http://twitter.com/JusticeDemWatch/status/1548300927471259656?t=tZF2vyk_5lITz8ZQ24hSXw&s=19

Party of tolerance

Guys she said she was sorry