A few days ago I sat down with Portland City Councilor Candace Avalos to have a conversation about policing and transportation. Avalos, who represents an area east of I-205 including Lents in southeast and the Portland Airport, is a first time member of city council, but she's no stranger to local politics. She was chair of the Citizen Review Committee, where she served for six years and became a well-known advocate for police accountability. Prior to being a city councilor she was executive director of Verde, an environmental justice nonprofit.

I met Councilor Avalos in a conference room at Midland Library on SE 122nd Avenue. The impetus for our conversation was the new Community Board for Police Accountability or CBPA, a new, high-profile venue for oversight of the Portland Police Bureau. More than just a committee, the new, 21-member board will have a significant budget, will hire its own investigators, and will issue binding decisions.

It's crucial that this new CBPA have at least one member who understands how transportation issues relate to public safety and policing. It's my hope this interview encourages someone in our audience to apply for one of the positions. You have until April 14th to get your applications in. Here's the link to the application.

We're back! Eva Frazier and I (Jonathan Maus) talked about all sorts of good stuff in this episode... from politics around I-5 Rose Quarter project to why the state's bike tax is so annoying.

Here's a handy outline and links to stuff we talked about:

• Bike shop banter: My new Metropolis Cycle tie-dye t-shirt, latest shop closures.
• Thoughts on the I-5 Rose Quarter vote at Metro Council and why I'm disappointed in Lynn Peterson and Duncan Hwang. And the bad optics of white urbanists opposing the project while Black Portlanders support it.
• Ladds 500 is next weekend! (4/12)
• Protest season is here. Hands Off Rally is Saturday, 4/5
• Eva shares here Saturdays in May ride series.
• Why hasn't PBOT revealed downtown Sunday Parkways route?
• How you can eat and drink your way through the week with Portland bike events.
• New segment of the Green Loop through North Park Blocks
• New bike lane coming to NE Prescott
• Convo with Candace Avalos and policing
• How'd he get there? I share my route from North Portland (Peninsula Park) to SE 122nd and Stark (Midland Library).
• Legislative transportation package draft is out. Why the bike tax is so annoying.
• April 26th is carfree 82nd Ave Parade and a Cycle Oregon Block Party at Baerlic Brewing in Southeast

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This Saturday, March 8th, Dave Guettler will celebrate the 30th anniversary of River City Bicycles, the business he started in 1995. In this conversation he shares stories about his early years in the bike industry, how and why he moved to Portland to open his dream shop, and much more.

Host: Jonathan Maus.

Recorded on March 4th in the BikePortland Shed in north Portland.

Links:

• Video: River City's shrine to Eddy Merckx
• Video: River City's Rooftop Bike People
• RiverCityBicycles.com