May 2019

Welcoming New Colleagues

Evan Lambka started work in February in public works, mostly specializing in utility locates. Evan was born in Marshalltown, Iowa, and graduated from high school in Naperville, Illinois. He lived in California (Bay area) until 2003. Their family eventually found their way to Lake Oswego, and his sons attended Lakeridge High. Evan lives near the Maintenance Center, and in his free time enjoys motorcycle touring on his big Suzuki. He has a mini longhair dachshund named Walter.

Thomas Benson has joined the engineering department as an engineering tech. He was born and raised in Olympia, and got an environmental science degree at the University of Arizona. Thomas lives in Tigard, and he and his girlfriend enjoy travel--to Mexico and eventually to Europe. He has a dog (a coonhound).

Charity Taylor has been working for us since the summer of 2018 as our Kincaid Intern, and this spring was hired full time as a management analyst. Her current assignment is in parks & recreation, doing a variety of projects and helping in the day-to-day operation of the department. Charity was born and raised in Portland, graduating from St. Mary's Academy, and the University of Portland, where she started out interested in chemistry but ended up with a degree in political science. She's currently working on a masters in public administration from Portland State. Charity has four brothers (some of whom attended LO High) and a sister. In her free time, Charity is a Zumba instructor and enjoys exploring restaurants. She lives in the Arbor Lodge neighborhood of Portland.

Erik Olson has joined our staff as a city planner, after a circuitous route to get here: after earning his masters degree in planning from Portland State, he spent four years as a planner for the City of New York. a somewhat bigger town than LO. Erik was born in Sacramento and graduated from high school in Tucson. He and Katie were married a year ago, and live in St. Johns. He enjoys biking, craft beer and "fermentation projects" (you'll have to ask him). He and Katie have two cats.

Trace Rew is our client services coordinator at the ACC. She was born in Missouri and moved to Oregon (next door to us in Multnomah Village); she graduated from Wilson High. Trace has had a variety of jobs, and especially likes working with old folks. She's been active in the Portland Women's Club and enjoys photography. She has two cats and a dog.

Cody SwarJtz has been working as an intern for LOPD, and was recently hired as a community service officer; his goal is to become a police officer. Cody was born in Pennsylvania and moved around a lot. He ended up graduating from high school in The Dalles, and attended Pioneer Pacific University in Wilsonville, where he now lives. In his free time Cody enjoys hanging out with friends, hiking, and family activities (his parents now live in Lebanon OR). Cody has cats; no dog. When asked how he became interested in law enforcement, he attributed it to a career day during his junior year in high school, when some officers talked about their jobs. A good reminder for all of us on the influence we can have in encouraging careers in public service.

Julie Kidoguchi has joined our library staff, coming from some fourteen years of experience working in libraries. Most recently (since 2010) she's worked for Beaverton's library; she lives near PCC (her husband is on the faculty there) and the commute to our library is much easier. Julie was born in Montana and graduated from Skyview High in Billings. She and her husband lived in Seattle for a while, and then moved to Portland in 2008. In her free time she enjoys spending time at the coast, and family activities (their 13-year-old daughter is a gymnast, and their son is studying film production at PCC and PSU). And they have a cat.

Brian Don is our new building official. Brian was born in Gresham, and graduated from high school in Goldendale WA, where is father was the building official (!). Brian has had extensive experience in the field, most recently as building official for La Grande and St. Helens. Brian lives in his son's house in Scapoose. In his free time, he enjoys working on vehicles, archery hunting, firearms, and gardening. No dogs (his wife is allergic to them), but a macaw and an African gray parrot (yes, they both talk).

Karen Galloway staffs the memory care program at the ACC. Karen was born in Colorado, and grew up mostly in Henderson, NV. She later worked for nonprofits in both Henderson and Grand Junction, CO. She "followed her children" to Portland, and has lived for the past five years on the edge of LO, by PCC. Karen is a yoga teacher and enjoys running, hiking and exploring, photography, and a variety of volunteer activities. As to pets, she is "in between dogs."

Special April 1 Edition

Age Restricted  Red Bull has announced plans for a gated, age-restricted development in Stafford. Residents will be limited to ages 19-39. The development's recreation center and pool will be open to the public; youth, seniors and veterans will be charged a 50% premium. Speculation is the US Supreme Court (average age: 88) will review the case, since they tend to only support discrimination when it benefits people like them.

Newton's Third Law  The Lake Oswego Neighbors Against Change group is circulating an initiative petition to ban children's tricycles, push bikes, and scooters on neighborhood streets. They apparently cause noise and congestion, and detract from neighborhood character.

Invasive Species  The resident deer population has embarked on an invasive species removal program. Noting the alarming proliferation of humans, the deer have requested an ordinance prohibiting the feeding of humans. They realize the problem can't be totally eradicated; six breeding pairs would be acceptable.

Patronizing the Poor  The opponents of congestion pricing have extended the argument by opposing the use of prices for cars and gasoline. Poor people use those things too, so they should be provided for free by the government and paid for through taxes. When asked what people will do when they are stuck in traffic in their government-issued Lada sedans, the response is, "Let them eat cake." Gluten-free, of course.

For Railfans  Speaking of congestion, Metro is planning a $500 trillion bond measure in 2020 to pay for a region-wide rail transit system. To encourage people to actually use this 200-year-old technology, there will be a rail stop at every home and business, with trains running every five minutes. Only one transfer will be required to go anywhere, but with all the stops, it will take two days to travel ten miles. The operating cost is estimated at $10,000 per ride; Metro is hoping for a federal subsidy via a rounding error in the Defense Department budget.

Pool in River City  Discussions continue over the school district's request that the city help them pay for their pool. On further analysis, staff discovered that it would be cheaper for the city to pay for teaching children, and let the school district pay for administration and sports.

Homeless in Lake Oswego  Still searching for a home, in 2019 the Parks & Rec department will be temporarily housed in a Goodwill drop-off bin in the Safeway parking lot.

Prime Time Entertainment  Alec Baldwin has jointed the crowded field running for president in 2020. According to his talent agent, "Alec has both the practice and experience to do the job." The major networks are in a bidding war for the rights to the debate series. Baldwin is seeking the nomination of the Entertainment Party, which by 2020 is expected to have enrolled more voters than those other two parties, whatever they're called.