The argument about a ballpark's becoming a catalyst for Lents' economic development is absurd. PDC can't seriously think that about 70 Beaver home games each summer are going to justify the idea. Far better to use the millions as seed money for small businesses and housing.

Hey, all of these people from Randy, Sam, Charles Lewis et al have not clue one about economic development (or care). It's all about a money grab for their friends or their pet projects / monuments. I guess that's more a comment about what they think it takes to get elected than their avarice.

92nd and Holgate?

That is a REALLY bad idea.

A huge parking lot in Lents...a wonderful idea. A tweeker's delight. I have a friend that used to live in Lents. He had 2 cars stolen from in front of his house, and his car broken into 13 times in three years.

PDC can talk about it, but at least for now, there will be some issues with the financing. And that's not to say they won't try; it's just not going to happen in the next few months.

the ryan frank's of this world share some of the blame for the current economic catastrophe.

1. This is not a PDC initiated project and they won't officially be involved until OMF/the City comes to the PDC with a request for funding. That hasn't happened yet.

2. 92nd and Holgate is no more crime-ridden than any other high traffic area of the city. I live 6 blocks from that intersection and I feel pretty secure in my home. This area has fewer tweekers lurking than the area I used to live in around 30th and Powell. The added activity of evening and weekend "eyes on the street" from events will only help.

3. There are currently small business DOS programs in place...along with storefront improvement programs for the existing businesses. I invite folks to come out and take advantage of them. There are plenty of people in the neighborhood that would like to frequent some retail and restaurant establishments.

Also...if you don't believe me about the crime, just compare the intersection of 92nd and Holgate to the intersection of 18th and Burnside, where PGE park is, on portlandmaps.com.

hm, no mention that Beavers owner Merritt Paulson's dad is Secretary of the Treasury Henry 'He's Got The Whole World In His Hands' Paulson? Hey, if Randy Leonard likes the idea of home prices never coming back down to earth he's in good company. But I think in reality Lents prices carrying on with the 'up & coming area' trajectory is pretty much toast at this point. Meltdown of finance capitalism and all...

I was in a Plaid Pantry today getting a bag of ice. I thought about picking up a copy of the Sunday Oregonian, but when I remembered that they jacked up the price from $1.50 to $2, I decided against it.

I might have bought one if they had only raised the price to $1.75, but $2 for what is basically a slightly larger issue of the weekday paper with a lot of useless advertising thrown in?

Thanks, but I'll read a used copy at the coffee shop.

I'm not too worried about housing values in Lents. With all the "downsizing" happening, we're the neighborhood with the plethora of modest post-war housing. People need a place to downsize to, and we're it. Our prices will hold, if not increase.

I know someone who opened a restaraunt / bar, which is in the Lents URA just east of 52nd on Foster Rd. They put a bunch of money into the place and made it very nice, and then tried to get some PDC money to refurb an outdoor patio area, and was denied.

This is a real businesswoman trying to improve the blight on Foster Road, and she's getting turned down for the ~ $100,000 loan she wanted for a business that is actually making money; but I'll bet you that Moneybags Paulson will get millions and millions from the PDC to throw at a stinker of an idea that won't be solvent in 20 years, much less when they open it.

The PDC can pound it.

If she was requesting storefront improvement money, it sounds like her project doesn't meet the requirements. A patio that isn't part of the actual building facade isn't a storefront.

What planet are these people living on? Is Firebrain Randy and Rich Boy Paulsen aware we are currently in one of the worst economic slumps in the past 20+ years? And it's not even a sure thing a MLS team will even select Portland. Not to mention how many willing people will part with serious money to buy season tickets for such a venture?
Worst of all, the past two "O" stories about this project smell of being little more than mostly re-worded press releases from the Paulsen people. Shame on the Oregonian for even printing such garbage.

Worst of all, the past two "O" stories about this project smell of being little more than mostly re-worded press releases from the Paulsen people.

When you're a newspaper in the process of laying off as many reporters as possible in order to keep the lights on for a few more months, it saves a lot of time and money to rework a press release.

There are a number of economists who have studied the economic impact of sports stadiums. There is a book out on Brookings Press. A simple google search, or better, scholar.google.com, or even better, SSRN (social science research network) returns dozens of results.

But who does the reporter quote on the economic impact of a stadium?

The commissioner of the PCL!

There's some serious reportage for you.

When the Oregon Journal closed its doors in 1982, the best paper went down leaving us with The Boregonian. They're the only statewide paper and because they have no competition they have no incentive to improve. Now that they are on the rocks, things have degenerated even more.

I buy The Boregonian for the crossword puzzle; everything else I can pick up in the New York Times, on television or online. If I can pick up a copy of the crossword at the local coffee shop, I'll keep my 75 cents.

The Sunday paper is mostly composed of what I call "flotsam" . . . advertising for stuff I can't afford anyway. Once I've gutted the Sunday paper of "flotsam" there's nothing original and local left but a very small Forum section.

I know it's off-topic but one of my biggest complaints and why I won't subscribe to The Boregonian?: Remember when subscribers each had a paper box and the delivery person would put the paper in the box and you could always count on finding it there in the morning? Now the underpaid, lazy minions they have delivering the paper can't even be bothered to hit your porch . . . or sometimes even your yard. The two papers that are delivered to my workplace are deposited next to the curb on the lawn where the sprinkers operate . . . probably 50 feet away from the front door. We lose those papers about 1/4 of the time to people who walk by and pick them up before employees arrive. Customer service is non-existent. And they wonder why they are going under . . .