PBOT leaders say they’ve already addressed many of the auditor’s recommendations. They also say the scale of Portland’s traffic violence crisis is too big for just one bureau to address. by Taylor Griggs

The Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) adopted its Vision Zero Action Plan in December 2016, with the goal of eliminating traffic crash deaths and injuries in the city. But in recent years, Portland has seen its highest numbers of traffic injuries and fatalities in decades. Pedestrians have faced a heightened risk of traffic violence in recent years, and parts of Portland with higher low-income populations and communities of color are also disproportionately impacted. 

The daylight between PBOT’s stated Vision Zero goals and the increase in recent traffic crash deaths prompted scrutiny from the Portland Auditor’s Office. A new report from the Auditor’s Office, released Wednesday, says PBOT “partially completed” safety projects identified in its Vision Zero plan, but notes the bureau doesn’t adequately evaluate the outcomes of the safety projects it completes. 

The Auditor’s Office recommends PBOT create a plan to evaluate its projects “to determine which get the desired outcomes and where Vision Zero efforts are most needed.” The office also asks the bureau to install promised speed cameras to help with traffic safety enforcement and recommends PBOT “revisit its equity methodology to ensure it accounts for smaller scale improvements that could have positive equity impacts.” 

“These efforts to collect data, analyze, evaluate, and carefully track which safety projects have the most desired outcomes could help move toward Vision Zero’s goal of zero fatal and serious injury traffic crashes,” the audit report states. 

The audit report highlights concerns about the Vision Zero program that many transportation and safe streets activists have raised for years—though the Auditor’s Office didn’t issue as harsh an indictment of PBOT as some critics may want. Earlier this year, when PBOT leaders presented their 2023 Vision Zero report to City Council, some Portland advocates didn’t mince words about their thoughts on the city’s implementation of the program. 

“There is no question that Portland's Vision Zero Program has been an abject failure,” Sarah Risser, a local transportation safety activist, wrote in public testimony to City Council in April. “Given its abysmal track record, it is reasonable to conclude that it will continue to be a failure.”

The Portland Auditor’s Office didn’t mark PBOT’s Vision Zero plan as a failure in its report, and PBOT leaders ultimately agreed with its recommendations, some of which the bureau says it has already implemented on its own. 

PBOT, too, acknowledges that larger structural changes are needed to save lives on the streets. Bureau leaders say they will continue working on their Vision Zero plans, but they hope the city government transition will break down silos and encourage more involvement in solving the problem of traffic violence on Portland’s streets. 

The year PBOT adopted the Vision Zero plan, 42 people died in traffic crashes on Portland’s streets. In 2019, when the bureau updated the plan to emphasize transportation system safety and focus more on actions within PBOT’s control, 48 people were the victims of traffic violence. In the last three years, more than 60 people have died in traffic crashes in Portland each year, with 69 fatalities in 2023. 

When PBOT leaders presented the 2023 Vision Zero report to City Council earlier this year, they acknowledged the rise in traffic fatalities since the program was adopted. But they said the program is successful in areas PBOT has been able to invest in, and said the bureau’s budget woes have curtailed its progress. The audit report suggests PBOT could get more out of the projects it does complete by improving its evaluation processes, which have historically been lacking. 

“Without systemic evaluation of safety outcomes, the Bureau is missing the opportunity to create more alignment between the work they do on safety projects and the overall goal of Vision Zero,” the report states. “A more systematic approach would allow trends to be identified and analyzed to better understand the outcomes of completed projects, and which may need to be altered or dropped. As traffic deaths continue to increase it is vital that the Bureau consistently evaluate completed safety projects so they can see which are working best at shifting the trend towards the intended goal of zero traffic deaths and serious injuries.” 

The second major recommendation the audit report suggests is that PBOT “do more to enforce speed limits” by following through on its promise to install more speed cameras throughout the city. Despite research showing the effectiveness of enforcement cameras as a way to reduce speeds and increase traffic safety—without involving the police—PBOT has been slow to install them. The bureau has blamed its camera vendor for the lag in speed camera implementation, but says it now has 37 cameras in operation or construction, and current contracted cameras will be online early next year. (By March 2023, PBOT had only installed nine cameras in the prior eight years.) 

The report also states despite PBOT’s attempt to prioritize and fund safety projects equitably—based on both crash data and neighborhood demographics—it may be missing “smaller safety projects with possible equitable outcomes” if they aren’t located on high-crash corridors. The Auditor’s Office recommends PBOT use more qualitative data to determine the projects it carries out. 

In response to the auditor’s recommendations, Public Works Service Area Deputy City Administrator Priya Dhanapal and PBOT Director Millicent Williams said while they “largely agree with the recommendations in the audit,” it’s a bit outdated. Last year, PBOT issued a Vision Zero Action Plan update for 2024 and 2025, which addresses many of the issues outlined in the audit report. 

“Our current Vision Zero Action Plan includes priorities directly tied to evaluation, delivery of the camera program and speed management as well as equity objectives,” Dhanapal and Williams wrote. “The audit was conducted on work and commitments outlined 3-5 years ago and work that took place during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic.” 

Dhanapal and Williams also said PBOT needs help from other city bureaus to solve the crisis of traffic violence. 

“Eliminating traffic deaths and serious injuries in Portland is possible [and] PBOT can lead the way,” Dhanapal and Williams wrote in a letter responding to the auditor’s report. “However, Portland will not reach Vision Zero with street design alone…. A societal commitment to meet basic human needs and implement strategies to change current conditions are necessary to reach many of our shared goals, including Vision Zero. These changes require leadership, investment, and commitment from partners beyond PBOT.”

PBOT leaders say they hope that collaboration and commitment will be easier due to the upcoming changes in Portland’s government. 

“Eliminating traffic deaths and serious injuries is a City commitment and goal, but as a City we have focused the discussion on what PBOT does to change streets,” Dhanapal and Williams wrote. “We believe the City transition provides an opportunity to reengage City bureaus in Portland’s Vision Zero commitment and integrate the Safe System approach to traffic safety as a comprehensive prevention strategy to save lives.” 

by Taylor Griggs

The Mercury provides news and fun every single day—but your help is essential. If you believe Portland benefits from smart, local journalism and arts coverage, please consider making a small monthly contribution, because without you, there is no us. Thanks for your support! 

Good morning, Portland! There's rain on the menu for today, but you probably didn't need me to tell you that. Hopefully you know how to layer for November in Portland by now. Anddddd that's all the small talk we have time for this morning, so chop chop. It's news time. 

IN LOCAL NEWS: 

• Portland City Council is set to vote today on a five-year contract renewal for the Downtown Portland Clean & Safe district, as well as a major expansion of the service area it covers and a fee hike. A couple weeks ago, when this item was first brought to the council, many Portlanders testified against the contract renewal. Now, four incoming city councilors (Mitch Green, Sameer Kanal, Tiffany Koyama Lane and Angelita Morillo)—along with community organizations and dozens of residents, have penned a letter to the current City Council asking them to postpone the contract renewal. 

Why the negativity for Clean & Safe? Well, as an excellent new article from our Courtney Vaughn details, the Clean & Safe district is overseen by an organization that has significant overlap in its management with the Portland Metro Chamber, AKA the Portland Business Alliance. The new contract would funnel a good portion of the $58 million contract to the Metro Chamber, which they will spend on lobbying efforts for private business interests. The program is also convoluted and lacks oversight, and it contributes majorly to the criminalization of homeless people in downtown Portland. So there's a lot wrong with it. Read the article for more of the details, and stay tuned for City Council's decision today. 

• The Portland Auditor's Office has released a much-anticipated (by me, at least) report on the Portland Bureau of Transportation's (PBOT) Vision Zero Action Plan, which the city adopted in 2016 in an effort to eliminate traffic crash fatalities and serious injuries. But in the eight years since the Vision Zero plan was adopted (and been updated twice), traffic crash deaths have increased in Portland, especially in the last four years. In 2023, 69 people were killed in traffic crashes on Portland streets. Given the current reality, it's understandable that people are questioning how effective the Vision Zero program is. 

While the Auditor's Office isn't seeking an overhaul of the program, the report recommends PBOT makes several key changes to improve Vision Zero outcomes. The audit report says PBOT should create a better project evaluation system, install more speed cameras, and use more qualitative data to determine the most equitable safety projects. According to PBOT, most of the concerns expressed in the audit report have already been addressed in the most recent Vision Zero update.

PBOT leaders did say they are hopeful more traffic safety improvements will be possible when Portland finally (fully) transitions to its new, less-siloed form of government in January. The report just came out this morning, so there hasn't been much in the way of community response yet, but I'm sure it will spark some Thoughts, capital "T." 

•  On a related note, the World Day of Remembrance of Road Traffic Victims is this Sunday, an annual day to honor the many lives lost prematurely to traffic violence. Community organizations Families for Safe Streets, BikeLoud PDX, and Oregon Walks will join PBOT, elected leaders, and community members for a gathering at Portland City Hall. Find out more about the event here. 

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• Here's a painful fact, courtesy of a new investigation from OPB and ProPublica: Despite President Biden's repeated promises to save old growth forests in the Pacific Northwest, the Bureau of Land Management is allowing timber companies to log such forests now more than in the last 10 years. Biden's BLM is on track to log 47,000 acres of public lands during his four years in office— about the same amount that Trump oversaw during his first term in office. And, get this: This is after Biden made an executive order to protect mature and old-growth forests in 2022! Considering the rare beauty of these forests—and, more importantly, their importance to ecosystems and ability to mitigate carbon emission—this is very unfortunate. The Biden administration hasn't answered for the BLM's actions, or if they're planning to take steps to further protect old growth forests in preparation for the next Trump administration. Let's hope he makes some changes while he still can, because we all know Trump will be a lot worse. 

• Rene Gonzalez, after losing his bid for mayor, is seeking donations of up to $579 because his campaign is in debt. I wonder if anyone will pay him. 

Stealing this from the other site because y’all need to see it. Anyone gonna donate $579 to Rene Gonzalez’s failed campaign for mayor??? @pradapdx.bsky.social

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— Taylor Griggs (@taylorgriggs.bsky.social) November 12, 2024 at 5:11 PM

IN NATIONAL/WORLD NEWS: 

• President-elect Donald Trump (ouch) has asked Vivek Ramaswamy (ouch again) and Elon Musk (commentary unnecessary here) to lead a new government agency that he plans to create in order to regulate federal spending. The new agency will be called the Department of Government Efficiency, which just happens to create the acronym DOGE, a reference to the Shiba Inu meme of the mid-2010s and the joke cryptocurrency by the same name that Musk promoted. Apparently, a Department of Government Efficiency needs to be run by two people. I hope I am adequately conveying my tone of contempt here. 

As ridiculous as this all is, it's also extremely bad. Trump, Musk, and Ramaswamy's plan is to fire thousands of federal employees, cut necessary regulations, and ultimately destroy many of the most crucial components of the federal government. All we can do is hope that SOME Republicans in Congress (we don't need all of them!) will realize how idiotic this is and block Trump's attempt to create a new government agency, which he can't do without congressional approval. Or can he? The limit to this idiocy knows no bounds.

However, given these men's volatility—which is replicated in many others in Trump's sphere—it does seem pretty likely that they'll all be in a huge fight by the time Trump takes office. I do think there are some major catfights on the horizon, if that gives you any comfort in these trying times. 

fundamentally this is what Trump administrations are all about: the guys. there will be new guys every week. they will startle you, you'll be astounded by them, and then as quickly as they appeared they will fade into an indistinguishable mass, leaves on the forest floor.

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— Peter (@notalawyer.bsky.social) November 12, 2024 at 4:39 PM

• Here's something that will NOT give you comfort in these trying times: Despite the hope last year would mark a global carbon dioxide emissions peak, humans are burning more fossil fuels this year than we did last year. The world is on track to put 0.8 percent more carbon into the atmosphere than in 2023. Though this is not surprising, it IS actually crazy behavior from humanity (and let me be clear, it's a tiny minority of humans leading the charge on this, though a substantially larger minority are eagerly/mindlessly participating in burning fossil fuels at a rate incompatible with the future of life on this planet). Good thing we will have strong climate leadership in the White House come January. NOT!!!! 

• One way people are attempting to #resist Elon Musk after he helped Trump get into office and will now seemingly play a key role in his administration? Leaving Twitter, AKA X, the social media site he bought and ruined. Bluesky may be the place to be now. (I am finding it much more pleasant.) 

In the week since the U.S. presidential election, Elon Musk has used X, the social media platform he owns, to reiterate his support for President-elect Donald Trump. Some of X’s users have decided they want to post elsewhere. Among the largest beneficiaries of that desire is Bluesky. nyti.ms/48JtYAt

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— The New York Times (@nytimes.com) November 12, 2024 at 10:46 PM

• Okay, here's some actual good news: The U.S. House voted down a bill that would've helped Trump censor and persecute his political opponents. The Stop Terror-Financing and Tax Penalties on American Hostages Act had previously received bipartisan support, but after Trump was elected, some Democratic lawmakers (and The Intercept) raised alarm bells. The bill would give the U.S. Treasury Department complete authority to revoke the tax-exempt status of nonprofits it deems are "terrorist supporting organizations," which Trump could use to enable the destruction of nonprofits that the future president doesn't politically align with. WHEW. 

• Finally, please watch this video of a little boy and his crow friend. ???????? Bye bye! 

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Aldis Hodge stars as the latest on-screen version of James Patterson's sharp police detective.

KRICT sets a new world record for large-area perovskite solar module efficiency and accelerates commercialization

The nation of Mexico is home 130 million people across 31 states (Mexico City is a separate entity but not a state in itself, similar to Washington, D.C. in the United States). Unfortunately due to a variety of factors, Mexican cities are often host to a violent crimes including homicide. Here, we'll detail the most dangerous cities in Mexico and give some info about their history.

His expression said it all.  KPCC Director of On-Air Fundraising Rob Risko walked into my studio about 10:45 a.m. to update me on where we stood with our Fall member drive.  I knew we had a $10,000 challenge that had started first thing in the morning, but didn't have any idea how far behind we had fallen in reaching the required 1,000 member threshold.

 Rob gave it to me straight -- we had to attract well over 500 members during "AirTalk" to meet the challenge.  I knew that was nearly impossible during a full two-hour show, let alone one that would be significantly pre-empted by the President's news conference.  Regardless, I knew we had to do our best and hope our listeners would contribute in a record-setting way.  Boy, did they.

We didn't start our show until 11:25 a.m., following the news conference.  Right off the bat the phones started ringing and the KPCC website starting humming.  The volume of member contributions stayed high with only a few exceptions.  There were times we could barely keep track of how many members were coming in.  It was one of the most exciting and rewarding experiences I've had in all my years hosting "AirTalk."

I've been on a high all afternoon thinking about how commited our listeners are to the mission of KPCC.  You've made me very happy, and very proud of our audience.  Thank you for a wonderful show of support.  I will long remember this day.

By the way, we set a fundraising record for "AirTalk" with today's show.  We're still tallying it all up.  I'll have the totals for you tomorrow morning at 11.

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

SexyPop has added another unique flavor to its line of gourmet popcorn: Pineapple Habanero.

Piero Tintori is founder and CEO of TERMINALFOUR, one of the IWMW 2005 workshop sponsors. Founded in 1996, TERMINALFOUR is a specialist software company providing CMS and ECM solutions. TERMINALFOUR's CMS/ECM platform Site Manager has achieved market leading position in Higher Education in the UK and Ireland. Piero has had personal involvement in 14 Higher Education CMS projects. Piero gave a talk about content management systems in the JISC Services And Vendor Presentations session and took part in the panel session on Responding To The CMS Challenge.

Piero Tintori is founder and CEO of TERMINALFOUR, one of the IWMW 2006 workshop sponsors. Founded in 1996, TERMINALFOUR is a specialist software company providing CMS and ECM solutions. TERMINALFOUR's CMS/ECM platform Site Manager has achieved market leading position in Higher Education in the UK and Ireland. Piero has had personal involvement in 14 Higher Education CMS projects. Piero participated in a debate on "CMS: Challenging the Consensus". Piero can be contacted at piero.tintori@terminalfour.com.

Event Begins: Thursday, November 14, 2024 6:00pm
Location: Kelsey Museum of Archaeology
Organized By: Kelsey Museum of Archaeology

Attend the November session of our monthly Kelsey Book Club! This event is open to all adults who have an interest in fiction, mythology, and the ancient world. Learn more about this program at https://myumi.ch/Drn1Q.

This month, we are reading *The Palace of Eros* by Caro De Robertis. A recent release, the novel was featured in *Electric Literature*’s “65 Queer Books You Need to Read in Summer 2024.” The Palace of Eros reimagines the Greek myth of Psyche and Eros through a feminist and queer lens. Psyche—pursued by many but longing for freedom—is tied to a rock as a sacrifice to appease Aphrodite. But rather than meeting destruction, she is saved by the nonbinary deity of desire Eros, who whisks her away to a hidden palace safe from the eyes and authority of Olympus. As Psyche and Eros fall in love, their relationship is tested by the complexities of secrecy, freedom, and desire—and met with transformative consequences.

Join us in Room 125 of Newberry Hall for an evening of community and conversation led by Gabriel Key, a PhD candidate in the Interdepartmental Program in Ancient Mediterranean Art and Archaeology. Light refreshments will be served.

*Note: Registration for this session is now closed. Visit our book club web page to learn about future meetings: https://myumi.ch/Drn1Q.*

(Sun, Nov 17 2024 5:00 AM to 1:00 PM) #44 buses will operate in both directions via Racine, 51st, Halsted, and 47th.

(Sun, Nov 17 2024 5:00 AM to 1:00 PM) #47 buses will operate in both directions via 47th, Halsted, 51st, Damen and 47th.

(Fri, Nov 15 2024 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM) #70 buses will operate in both directions via Division, Laramie, Augusta, Cicero and Division.

(Thu, Nov 14 2024 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM) #70 buses will operate in both directions via Division, Laramie, Augusta, Cicero and Division.

(Wed, Nov 13 2024 7:05 PM to TBD) 86 Narragansett/Ridgeland buses are rerouted via Narragansett, Diversey, Austin, Belmont and Narragansett due to street blockage near Narragansett/Wellington.

(Wed, Nov 13 2024 1:48 PM to Sat, Nov 16 2024 1:48 PM) 70 Division buses are temporarily rerouted via Division, Laramie, Augusta, Cicero and Division, due to street blockage near Division/Leclaire.

(Wed, Nov 13 2024 1:48 PM to Sat, Nov 16 2024 1:48 PM) 70 Division buses are temporarily rerouted via Division, Laramie, Augusta, Cicero and Division, due to street blockage near Division/Leclaire.

(Sun, Nov 17 2024 5:00 AM to 1:00 PM) #9 buses will operate in both directions via Ashland, 51st, Halsted, Pershing, and Ashland.

This week's interview is with WSM Program Director and new co-host of the Spout, Ben Wulbern. Jayne will interview Ben to give all of you listeners a chance to get to know him, where he comes from and a few of his favorite things. The Crew also discusses their thoughts from the AOD Series. Email thespoutpodcast@gmail.com with any feedback or leave a review on iTunes. Like The Well - Spoutcast on Facebook, find us on Twitter: @thespoutcast, or add us on Instagram: @thespoutcast. Check back in with the Spoutcast each week for a new episode or search Spoutcast in iTunes to subscribe to this podcast. This week's music is from Hillsong UNITED’s album, Zion. Speaker: The Spoutcast Team

Los alcaldes respiran ante la posibilidad de seguir avanzando en las tareas de reconstrucción y la baja de la alerta a nivel naranja Leer

El éxito de "El bolero" sorprendió a Maurice Ravel. Lo había compuesto diez años antes de morirse en la cima de su carrera y de su vida, pero nunca concibió la partitura como una obra maestra, ni puede que tuviera en cuenta la proyección coreográfica.

No hay un consenso entre los expertos sobre el baremo Leer

Personajes como Nuya o Mohamed Zajmun combinan su faceta como viñetistas contrarios a Gadafi y su pertenencia a las milicias locales.

La petición para el reconocimiento del Estado palestino coincide con el inicio de la mejor liga de fútbol de su historia.La versión palestina de la Liga de las Estrellas.

Preside este sábado un congreso con tipos y tipas que han cambiado el perfil del ganadero tradicional con su elevada formación universitaria y que trabajan en empresas privadas de relevancia: "Pocos ganaderos de la élite pueden vivir de la ganadería" Leer

 Leer

En la foto, una selecta representación de lo que viene llamándos 'las fuerzas del cultura', convocados en calidad de fedatarios para asistir al acto de nombramiento de uno de los suyos, el poeta Gª Montero como director del Instituto Cervantes. Estuvieron presentes: la directora consorte, Almudena Grandes, Ma Bardem, Sabina y Ríos, Nuria Espert y el pobre Francisco Ríco.

Necesitamos a todas las especies vivas para sobrevivir nosotros en el planeta.

Si la recesión es una cuestión de estadística y la crisis, una cuestión de empleo, España sigue sufriendo una crisis de caballo. 

Un ciudadano denuncia el aumento de las inspecciones y sanciones municipales en los bares con un trasfondo recaudatorio desde que empezó la crisis.

El pasado día 30, el juez Hurtado ordenó a la UCO registrar el despacho del fiscal general con el objetivo de incautarse de sus dispositivos electrónicos Leer

 Leer

El tráfico ha sido cortado; además hay afectadas una tubería de gran diámetro de agua y otras enterradas de Gas Natural Leer

Esta mañana amanecimos nerviosos con la noticia de la apertura de las dos embajadas. A las diez de la mañana en Washington Silvio Rodríguez tocará alguno de sus clásicos temas en la inauguración  de la embajada cubana allí.

Salir a la playa, adentrarnos en el agua, divertirnos en el ancho mar hasta el anochecer, chapaletear y nadar a nuestras anchas, antes, aquí en Cuba no costaba nada... o casi nada, apenas veinte centavos para agarrar la guagua o el camión camino a Guanabo o Santa María del Mar.

Como todo lo que nos ha sido prohibido, el wifi es ahora mismo el objeto de deseo en las calles cubanas.

Con la publicación del segundo tráiler de Warcraft: El origen, seguimos contando los días para su estreno. Y es que nunca el mundo fantástico de un videojuego había llegado al cine de una forma tan fiel.

Hoy le exigen a uno hablar inglés hasta para servir en un chiringuito de playa, pero no para presidir el país

Valencia se ha convertido de la noche a la mañana en 'la ciudad del churro'. Nada de startups, negocios innovadores o importadores de tecnología. El negocio que pega y que ha robado el corazón al emprendedor valenciano de calle es el de churrero.

Calles cortadas por carpas, fiestas y ruidos hasta altas horas, petardos de gran potencia por doquier, cortes de tráfico, desvíos diarios de transporte público... Son algunas de las razones que convierten Valencia en una verdadera ciudad sin ley durante estos días fuertes de las Fallas.

Frente a los intentos de personalización activa de los últimos años, es el momento de que los medios se planteen cómo ofrecer contenido personalizado de forma pasiva. Es decir, de manera transparente para sus lectores.

The New York Times cada vez depende más de sus lectores y menos de sus anunciantes: sus abonados digitales suman ya más de 1,2 millones. Una estrategia irrepetible pero que bien se tomar como referencia.

La detención de ocho presuntos miembros de ETA ha devuelto a la actualidad una de las fotos más vergonzantes que hemos tenido que soportar en los último años. Ochenta presos ex presos de ETA se reunían en el antiguo Matadero de Durango para leer un comunicado en el que no se mencionó en absoluto a las 309 víctimas que había sobre la mesa, ni un atisbo de arrepentimiento, ni una muestra de humanidad. 

How can I redirect a task at work that I do not possess the skills to complete and cannot learn how to do in a timely manner? Sometimes I know it immediately, and sometimes it takes me a bit to find out. I usually say, "Hey, I don't think I'm going to be able to address this in a timely manner because it's not part of my wheelhouse. Could we delegate it to someone else on the team?" when I am working with a manager. Is this the right route?

Example scenario: I have been asked to address accessibility issues on a marketing website. This task requires an understanding of accessibility requirements, code overrides, and the website host (Framer) in general. I've already gotten two tasks totally wrong because despite my best efforts to learn as I go, I'm a visual designer, not a front-end developer!

I initially asked a developer colleague I don't know very well for guidance, but today I admitted to him that I am out of my depth and asked if he could please address the failed tickets instead of me so they're done correctly. I cannot tell if this is diva behavior. Is it okay to essentially say "I'm not the right person to do this," when asked to do something? Should I be trying harder?

I slept poorly last night because I hate inefficiency but dislike being viewed as incompetent even more.

My family and I are greatly interested in events featuring people who were directly involved with the Civil Rights movement, specifically the fight against segregation and racism. I am keenly aware that time is limited for hearing them speak in person, and I want my kids to be able to meet them and hear their stories.

To give you an idea of the sorts of things I mean: over the past year, we have been able to book a tour of Selma with Joanne Bland (which was an incredibly wonderful experience!), and attend a panel discussion with Bernard Lafayette and other Freedom Riders.

Aside from repeatedly doing internet searches for names of people we would be interested in seeing, is there a way for us to keep track of upcoming events along these lines that we might be interested in? We're willing to travel, so we're looking for more than local options. And if you happen to know of upcoming events along these lines, please share!

Thanks in advance for any ideas you may have.