ELECTRIC VEHICLES: How little Portland became a big EV city

PORTLAND, Ore. — Ask Charlie Allcock what makes Portland a haven for electric vehicles and he harks back to the 1970s, when the city did one of the quirky, out-of-step things that Portland often does. It took coveted federal highway dollars and instead of using them to build a freeway, built an electric light rail — decades before congestion and pollution sent other cities in the same direction.