This page contains a single entry from the blog posted on August 9, 2008 1:16 PM.
The previous post in this blog was An August drive.
The next post in this blog is What a good boy am I.
Many more can be found on the main index page or by looking through the archives.
An alert reader points out that former Portland Commissioner Erik Sten has sold his home in the West Hills, which he purchased in March 2007. The property tax records show that the house was transferred on July 14 of this year (to this guy, apparently) for $1,320,000. The same records show that Sten paid $1,285,000 for the place when he bought it last year. Sten is still listed as the owner of his former residence in the Irvington neighborhood, which he bought in 2001.
The midterm resignation, the churning of the houses, the apparent lack of any career plan -- it all seems so odd for a 40-year-old guy who not long ago was basically running Portland.
Comments (13)
Oh he is so going to show up employed by
some client benefactor of CoP biz.
One pedantic point: I wouldn't consider Bridlemile as part of the West Hills. That'd be like conflating Irvington and Sabin - or maybe Irvington and Concordia.
It's West Hills enough for me. Swimming pools, cul de sacs, titans of industry. Amanda Fritz, who lives near Opie's old place, likes to pass it off as middle-class -- a dubious proposition. It sure as heck ain't Sabin or Concordia.
They sometimes accepted offers of shelter for the night from local residents
they met along the way. “People were very accommodating,” reminisces Williams. “It gave me a good sense of community. These small-town people led a simple, uncomplicated life and were content.”
Gotta wonder if this guy who bought the home for $1.3 mill will offer his home for shelter?
Why wouldn't Sten "dare try law school?" In many ways it would be a very logical step for him.
He could commute to Willamette instead of go to LC.
I don't begrudge Sten anything as a private citizen. Actually, if Sten went to law school and did lots of pro bono work for the homeless and represented the poor on contingency and bargain fees, I'd have a lot of respect for the man. Maybe Sten left City Hall because he just wants to earn $40,000 a year, live a modest life, and hang out at homeless shelters looking for good causes to represent as a lawyer.
It is evidence that Mr. Sten is incompetent rather than corrupt. It also demonstrates that he runs his private life with the same fiscal responsibility he ran his public tilts at windmills.
No one ever pressed him on this one. He told the media that he sold the NE Portland houses to afford the big down payment on the mansion. They said, "case closed".
It looks like he did not sell the Irvington house and county records show he took out a $1 million mortgage.
So, how did he qualify? If he lied about his income on his mortgage application that is a federal crime with serious punishment. (even on a "stated income loan" application)
If not, where did the civil servant get an extra quarter million dollars per year in income?
Charamba, Douro 2008
Horse Heaven Hills, Cabernet 2010
Lorelle, Horse Heaven Hills Pinot Grigio 2011
Avignonesi, Montepulciano 2004
Lorelle, Willamette Valley Pinot Noir 2011
Villa Antinori, Toscana 2007
Mercedes Eguren, Cabernet Sauvignon 2009
Lorelle, Columbia Valley Cabernet 2011
Purple Moon, Merlot 2011
Purple Moon, Chardonnnay 2011
Abacela, Vintner's Blend No. 12
Opula Red Blend 2010
Liberte, Pinot Noir 2010
Chateau Ste. Michelle, Indian Wells Red Blend 2010
Woodbridge, Chardonnay 2011
King Estate, Pinot Noir 2011
Famille Perrin, Cotes du Rhone Villages 2010
Columbia Crest, Les Chevaux Red 2010
14 Hands, Hot to Trot White Blend
Familia Bianchi, Malbec 2009
Terrapin Cellars, Pinot Gris 2011
Columbia Crest, Walter Clore Private Reserve 2009
Campo Viejo, Rioja, Termpranillo 2010
Ravenswood, Cabernet Sauvignon 2009
Quinta das Amoras, Vinho Tinto 2010
Waterbrook, Reserve Merlot 2009
Lorelle, Horse Heaven Hills, Pinot Grigio 2011
Tarantas, Rose
Chateau Lajarre, Bordeaux 2009
La Vielle Ferme, Rose 2011
Benvolio, Pinot Grigio 2011
Nobilo Icon, Pinot Noir 2009
Lello, Douro Tinto 2009
Quinson Fils, Cotes de Provence Rose 2011
Anindor, Pinot Gris 2010
Buenas Ondas, Syrah Rose 2010
Les Fiefs d'Anglars, Malbec 2009
14 Hands, Pinot Gris 2011
Conundrum 2012
Condes de Albarei, Albariño 2011
Columbia Crest, Walter Clore Private Reserve 2007
Penelope Sanchez, Garnacha Syrah 2010
Canoe Ridge, Merlot 2007
Atalaya do Mar, Godello 2010
Vega Montan, Mencia
Benvolio, Pinot Grigio
Nobilo Icon, Pinot Noir, Marlborough 2009
Portuga, Rose 2011
Revelation, Chardonnay, Pays d'Oc 2010
Beaulieu, Cabernet, Rutherford 2005
Monte Alto, Tinto Reserva 2005
Chateau Ste. Michelle, Cabernet, Indian Wells 2009
Espiral, Vinho Rose
Vin-Koru, Pinot Gris 2011
14 Hands, Hot to Trot Red 2009
Rodney Strong, Cabernet, Sonoma 2009
Abacela, Vintner's Blend #11
Portuga, White 2010
La Bourgeoisie, Red 2009
Januik, Red 2009
Three Rivers, River's Red 2008
Kirkland, Alexander Valley Merlot 2008
Muga, Rioja Rose 2010
Quinta das Amoras, Vinho Tinto 2009
Mauro Molino, Barbera d'Alba 2009
Garda Chiaretto Rose
Columbia Crest, Two Vines Vineyard 10 White
Chateau Ste. Michelle, Pinot Gris, Columbia Valley 2009
L'Hortus, Rose de Saignee 2010
Maculan, Pino & Toi 2008
McKinley Springs, Bombing Range Red 2008
Trader Joe's Pinot Gris 2009
Montes Alpha, Cabernet 2007
Gran Sasso, Sangiovese, Terre di Chieti 2009
Garda, Classico Chiaretto Rose
Beaulieu, Cabernet, Rutherford 1999
Picos del Montgo, Tempranillo 2008
Chateau de Montmirail, Vacqueyras 2008
La Granja 360, Syrah 2009
Montgras, Carmenere Reserva 2009
Lange, Pinot Gris 2009
Columbia Crest, Horse Heaven Hills Cabernet 2008
Kirkland, Pinot Grigio 2010
Trader Joe's Coastal Syrah 2009
Columbia Crest, Horse Heaven Hills Merlot 2008
Trader Joe's Coastal Chardonnay 2009
Vieux Papes Red
Domaine de l'Aujardiere, Chardonnay 2009
Santa Rita, Cabernet, Medalla Real 2007
Penfold's, Koonunga Hill Shiraz Cabernet 2008
Guild, Red, Lot #02 2008
Dievole, Dievolino Sangiovese 2008
Laforet, Burgogne Chardonnay 2009
Columbia Winery, Merlot 2007
Bonterra, Cabernet 2008
Elk Cove, Pinot Gris 2009
Maquis Lien 2006
Scott Paul, Pinot Noir, Le Paulee 2007
The Occasional Book
Neil Young - Waging Heavy Peace
Mark Bego - Aretha Franklin, the Queen of Soul (2012 ed.)
Jenny Lawson - Let's Pretend This Never Happened
J.D. Salinger - Franny and Zooey
Charles Dickens - A Christmas Carol
Timothy Egan - The Big Burn
Deborah Eisenberg - Transactions in a Foreign Currency
Kurt Vonnegut Jr. - Slaughterhouse Five
Kathryn Lance - Pandora's Genes
Cheryl Strayed - Wild
Fyodor Dostoyevsky - The Brothers Karamazov
Jack London - The House of Pride, and Other Tales of Hawaii
Jack Walker - The Extraordinary Rendition of Vincent Dellamaria
Colum McCann - Let the Great World Spin
Niccolò Machiavelli - The Prince
Harper Lee - To Kill a Mockingbird
Emma McLaughlin & Nicola Kraus - The Nanny Diaries
Brian Selznick - The Invention of Hugo Cabret
Sharon Creech - Walk Two Moons
Keith Richards - Life
F. Sionil Jose - Dusk
Natalie Babbitt - Tuck Everlasting
Justin Halpern - S#*t My Dad Says
Mark Herrmann - The Curmudgeon's Guide to Practicing Law
Barry Glassner - The Gospel of Food
Phil Stanford - The Peyton-Allan Files
Jesse Katz - The Opposite Field
Evelyn Waugh - Brideshead Revisited
J.K. Rowling - Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
David Sedaris - Holidays on Ice
Donald Miller - A Million Miles in a Thousand Years
Mitch Albom - Have a Little Faith
C.S. Lewis - The Magician's Nephew
F. Scott Fitzgerald - The Great Gatsby
William Shakespeare - A Midsummer Night's Dream
Ivan Doig - Bucking the Sun
Penda Diakité - I Lost My Tooth in Africa
Grace Lin - The Year of the Rat
Oscar Hijuelos - Mr. Ives' Christmas
Madeline L'Engle - A Wrinkle in Time
Steven Hart - The Last Three Miles
David Sedaris - Me Talk Pretty One Day
Karen Armstrong - The Spiral Staircase
Charles Larson - The Portland Murders
Adrian Wojnarowski - The Miracle of St. Anthony
William H. Colby - Long Goodbye
Steven D. Stark - Meet the Beatles
Phil Stanford - Portland Confidential
Rick Moody - Garden State
Jonathan Schwartz - All in Good Time
David Sedaris - Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim
Anthony Holden - Big Deal
Robert J. Spitzer - The Spirit of Leadership
James McManus - Positively Fifth Street
Jeff Noon - Vurt
Road Work
Miles run year to date: 21
At this date last year: 52
Total run in 2012: 129
In 2011: 113
In 2010: 125
In 2009: 67
In 2008: 28
In 2007: 113
In 2006: 100
In 2005: 149
In 2004: 204
In 2003: 269
Comments (13)
Oh he is so going to show up employed by
some client benefactor of CoP biz.
Posted by Hal | August 9, 2008 2:03 PM
I thought his original plan was a spot in the Hillary administration. Now I'm guessing some sort of nonprofit gig in D.C.
He wouldn't dare try law school...
8c)
Posted by Jack Bog | August 9, 2008 2:07 PM
Perhaps it back to Mayberry RFD.
Posted by genop | August 9, 2008 4:26 PM
It's probably been suggested before but maybe he's hiding some dark Goldschmidt-esque scandal? Who knows what evil lies behind that gap-toothed smile?
Posted by Not me | August 9, 2008 5:24 PM
One pedantic point: I wouldn't consider Bridlemile as part of the West Hills. That'd be like conflating Irvington and Sabin - or maybe Irvington and Concordia.
Posted by Betsy Richter | August 9, 2008 6:19 PM
It's West Hills enough for me. Swimming pools, cul de sacs, titans of industry. Amanda Fritz, who lives near Opie's old place, likes to pass it off as middle-class -- a dubious proposition. It sure as heck ain't Sabin or Concordia.
Posted by Jack Bog | August 10, 2008 3:18 AM
They sometimes accepted offers of shelter for the night from local residents
they met along the way. “People were very accommodating,” reminisces Williams. “It gave me a good sense of community. These small-town people led a simple, uncomplicated life and were content.”
Gotta wonder if this guy who bought the home for $1.3 mill will offer his home for shelter?
Ah, to live the simple, uncomplicated life...
Posted by Frank Dufay | August 10, 2008 3:20 AM
Why wouldn't Sten "dare try law school?" In many ways it would be a very logical step for him.
He could commute to Willamette instead of go to LC.
I don't begrudge Sten anything as a private citizen. Actually, if Sten went to law school and did lots of pro bono work for the homeless and represented the poor on contingency and bargain fees, I'd have a lot of respect for the man. Maybe Sten left City Hall because he just wants to earn $40,000 a year, live a modest life, and hang out at homeless shelters looking for good causes to represent as a lawyer.
Posted by Ted | August 10, 2008 8:18 AM
A 2.7% gain isn't what's usually referred to as flipping. It was probably a net loss if he used a realtor.
Posted by Sue Hagmeier | August 10, 2008 1:17 PM
It's not flipping.
It is evidence that Mr. Sten is incompetent rather than corrupt. It also demonstrates that he runs his private life with the same fiscal responsibility he ran his public tilts at windmills.
Posted by Garage Wine | August 10, 2008 2:01 PM
If the media in PDX hadn't celebrated his efforts to tilt windmills he wouldn't have been elected in the first place.
Posted by David E Gilmore | August 11, 2008 8:11 AM
No one ever pressed him on this one. He told the media that he sold the NE Portland houses to afford the big down payment on the mansion. They said, "case closed".
It looks like he did not sell the Irvington house and county records show he took out a $1 million mortgage.
So, how did he qualify? If he lied about his income on his mortgage application that is a federal crime with serious punishment. (even on a "stated income loan" application)
If not, where did the civil servant get an extra quarter million dollars per year in income?
Do we really have a media in this town?
Posted by John | August 11, 2008 5:41 PM
Do we really have a media in this town?
No.
Next
Posted by Ben | August 11, 2008 9:50 PM