All of us had that dream as kids.  To be riding in the big, shiny, red fire engine with the lights and sirens going, possibly wearing the cool helmet and boots.  Some of us will finally realize that dream Friday afternoon in the Battle Ground Fred Meyer on NW 12th.
The Clark County Fire and Rescue department is offering free fire engine rides to anyone (adults or kids) who show up with a new, unwrapped toy.  The donations will be handed out to low-income families courtesy of the North County Community Food Bank.

At this point there is no word on whether, for a donation of a second toy, fire crews will let kids hold onto the fire hose before it’s turned on full blast, rocketing them around like a water weasel.

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City planners in Washougal think some Slim Fast and exercise is just the ticket for one hazardous road.  Ok, maybe not slim fast, but their $8.4 Million plan does call for slimming E-Street from 6th to 33rd by 2010 . . . taking the four-laner down to three with a roundabout halfway through.

The proactive and motorist-friendly approach is due to rampant speeding and rear end accidents that have occurred on the stretch of asphalt in recent history.  Admittedly, drivers won’t be able to go as fast as they’re used to, BUT planners say that will be offset by wait time.

Apparently, some of the intersections are backed up so bad drivers can be stuck waiting for a full minute before they can move along (may not seem like much but time yourself the next time you’re at a stop light and see how long 60 seconds feels).  That problem will only get worse if something’s not done . . . some estimates say as long as three minutes in a decade or two.  With the improvements, that wait drops to about 10 seconds.

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Oregon teams showed up big time on the hardwood Sunday.  The Blazers hit a three-pointer late to get past Toronto, going 4-1 on their east coast road trip (their only loss to the title-defending, 19-2 Celtics).

Despite injuries, the University of Oregon Ducks got past Kansas State 75-70 but it wasn’t easy.  the Ducks had to hit 4 consecutive free throws in the last half minute to keep Kansas State at bay.

And in Football, it’s official, the state of Oregon is nipping at the heels of USC.  With the regular season over, USC takes first place in the Pac-10 and a fourth consecutive trip to the Rose Bowl.  HOWEVER, Oregon comes in right behind in second place going to the Holiday Bowl to face Oklahoma State.  And standing in place Second-A (tied for second, yet on the losing end of a head-to-head tiebreaker) Oregon State, the team picked to finish at the bottom of the conference with the Washington squads heads to the Sun Bowl to face Pittsburgh.  Perhaps most exciting, both squads return experience at key positions promising a tantalizingly competitive 2009 on the horizon.

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We are very excited to launch the GoodNewsPDX Weekly Good News Update Podcast right here on GoodNewsPDX.com

We are still in the trial stages of this venture but look for our weekly cast to be on ITunes soon.  In the meantime, we’d love your feedback as this is a work in progress.

Enjoy!

GoodNewsPDX Podcast

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In an effort to combat concerns over lead found in children’s toys this holiday season, Lara Johnson’s law firm out of Eugene is offering free lead-testing kits to parents.  Here’s the full story in the Register Guard

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When the GoodNewsPDX staff played in Little league, about the only time we went door-to-door was selling overpriced candy and pepperoni sticks.  A coach in Southwest Washington is marching his players door-to-door, but with a different purpose.

Darin Henry founded the Clark County Junior Titans as a “service organization masquerading as a baseball team.”  Last year, 13 families signed up for the squad that serves the community anyway they can when they are not on the diamond (this year, registration has practically doubled).

The Junior Titans will be helping collect food during the annual Knock and Walk food drive . . . last year, the effort collected 285,500 pounds of food.  You can read more in this story in today’s Columbian.

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Need a unique spot to explore in the Rose City?  Ever wanted to see some of the more unique corners of our fair township?  Are you fascinated by the destinations that may reside to steps off the beaten path?  Well check out the I Love Portland section on OregonLive.

Reporters have scouted out dozens of Portland’s top spots, from restaurants to parks to tourist destinations, and chronicled each one in video form.

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The Blazers now have a six game winning streak after downing the Wizards 98-92 on the road last night.  They’re 14-6 on the season and leading in the Northwest division.  Who else is excited to see what happens when the boys from Rip City visit the 18-2 Celtics in Boston Friday night?

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If you look towards the Hawthorne Bridge today around 10 AM you may notice a crowd of people, some fire fighters . . . and Santa . . . but he’ll be Sans-Rudolph.  You see, the reindeer apparently don’t like to work without snow.  So the man in red is riding from the North Pole . . . on a jet ski.  Zipping through the arctic circle, across the Pacific Ocean, up the Willamette and docking in the Rose City with a check for Portland’s Toy-N-Joy donation drive.

The 94-year-old program gathers new, unwrapped toys for kids during the holiday season.  It started when some local firefighters helped fix a broken wagon for a little child.  Now, 10,000 kids every year get something from the Toy-N-Joy collection barrels.

This year, they are in particular need of infant toys after the recent lead-based-paint recalls.  They also need stuff for tween girls 99-13) but request no makeup, even play make up.  You can make a donation of your own at any Portland Fire Station.

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The City of Portland plans a special unveiling on Monday of next week (the 8th) but we’ve got a sneak peek.  Click here for your first look at . . . *insert drum roll* . . . the Portland Loo!

For over a year, the City Council has tried to figure out what to do about Portland’s lack of public bathrooms, especially during late night hours.  A test run of opening the City Hall bathroom’s round the clock proved too costly (about 100 bucks per flush).  Now, Commissioner Randy Leonard is offering the city the Loo.

The first structure is installed at NW 5th and Glisan (one of the beefs with the City Hall bathroom plans was that people who need the bathroom at 2 in the morning are not likely to be strolling through Schrunk Plaza) and cost $140K to build.  Leonard says that investment very well may be repaid and turn into a money maker as other cities are interested in purchasing their own Loos.

The unique design allows complete privacy but angled slats at the top and bottom allow cops a view of how many people are inside the building (the concern with most public bathrooms is they become a magnet for prostitution and drug use).

The Loos open for business next week.

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