Earth to Vega: "Research" time is over
The utter failure of Multnomah County government couldn't be better illustrated than by the fact that you can't get an ambulance when you need one. And the county chair, Jessica Chevy Vega, is a big part of the problem. She's being as stubborn as a mule, rather than cutting the private ambulance company some slack in the name of saving lives. Everybody's telling her she's wrong. She won't listen.
And her latest? She's hiring a six-figure consultant on the matter, probably to tell her what she wants to hear.
The county chair on Thursday voiced support for more research into the issue.
“In the meantime, I want to be clear that initiating this work does not preclude this board from discussing, debating, or considering other approaches,” said Vega Pederson.
Vega Pederson put forth a plan to address issues with AMR, such as a mediation, a reopening of the ambulance service plan, asking Portland and Gresham to see if they can help with staffing, and consulting with the Oregon Health Authority.
Meanwhile, people are literally dying because there are nowhere near enough ambulances. This has been going on for well over a year. And now it's time out for some high-priced consultant "research"?
What a disgrace. Multnomah County voters, you elected a leader to die for. Literally.
have there been verifiable deaths resulting from the ems siuation?
ReplyDeleteMy friend Steve Kanter watched a person get hit by a car and die on SE 39th by the library branch. He couldn't even get 911 to answer, and then they couldn't get an ambulance.
DeleteHere's another one: https://apnews.com/article/portland-ambulance-response-time-oregon-eda13dfa09c8716fd0519b982bb8d8fd#
DeleteTime for some nasty lawyer to start suing Chevy Vega? and the county for wrongful death? Is that even possible?
ReplyDeleteMaybe a class action by everybody who had to wait more than 10 minutes? Negligent infliction of emotional distress, with physical injury? If it were feasible, I'd have expected it by now.
Delete^This, but good luck in the age of public-private partnerships & ‘contractors (& consultants/private PR firms and flacks) all the way down.’
DeleteYou ever try to fight an HOA full of contractors, lawyers & flacks?
God help you if you live in one..:
Either live out in BFE in some kind of arrangement where you can agree with neighbors/county reps on maintaining primitive gravel roads, volunteer fire, county sheriff & ambulances spread thin & be a slave to your car.
Or live in swirling street suburbia/Hell of America & also be a slave to your car, but with urban services/infrastructure costs upcoming & crap/substandard post WW2 irreparable housing (crawl spaces; trusses; engineered lumber & sheetrock that can’t/shouldn’t ever get a little wet (all buildings leak) /un-remodelable/multi-generational reconfigurable/ where the better of the pre WW2 housing often beat to hell/never fixed up & isolated from the new streets/infill instead of blending well into it) or knuckle under and live in a city or town that’s a grid/pretty well established pre ww2, had some investment without being either totally yuppie remodeled nor neglected.
They know they gotcha.
JVP & Lynn Petersen really are sleeper agents people don’t have as much top of brain awareness compared to the mayor & they’re completely incompetent/ rotten.
I really hope Meieran has it in her to run again and oust JVP.
I don’t really have a strong opinion on ranked choice or not?
I agree with Jacks basic analysis that the voters are none too strategic & bright & entrenched bureaucrats stay/our PERS & contractors/real estate scam arrangement incentivizes what you’d expect; hacks, time servers & go-betweens for contractors & finance & the revolving door of electeds comes and goes.
I don’t think ranked choice is likely to make it *all* that much worse, but thinking about it a bit more, I now lean toward ‘probably somewhat worse:’ but I guess we have to exhaust our options before we (if we ever) reform PERS/the state budget some, pay/attract some freakin’ talent to this place & try to unscramble the worst of our public-private partnerships & contractor & consultant sleaze-normal….
She can’t be this stupid on her own. There must be some input that’s not getting any press.
ReplyDeleteSomebody said it was the county medical director. I thought there may be a union somewhere pulling her strings. Or both.
DeleteThe union isn't even hiding its hand in this:
Deletehttps://www.oregonlive.com/opinion/2024/01/readers-respond-dont-change-two-paramedic-rule.html
Can somebody at least poll a recall effort so she eats the bad press? Sheesh.
ReplyDeletePortland and Mult Co have too much money.
ReplyDeletepdx.real A tale of Two Cities
The Climate slush fund is looking for ways to change the climate. How about helping keep people stay alive?
ReplyDeleteI'm putting my bets on that Metro West is paying bribes to JVP or the DPO for all of this. Metro West lost their Washington County contract in June 2023, then in August 2023 JVP got involved in blaming AMR in Multnomah County and fines started to develop.
ReplyDeleteSo, flashfoward to summer time, Metro West is subcontracting in Multnomah County and making big campaign contributions.