I am waiting with great anticipation to find out where Chair Peterson plans on obtaining the necessary funding for their share of the Milw light rail. Reported to be 25M. Is that right?

Too bad Dudley didnt win.

I'd like Tri-met and our soon-to-be governor to address exactly why it is necessary to spend $440 PER OREGONIAN on this six-mile stretch of Gang Train.

The holidays are a great time for these kind of meetings, I would imagine helps to put the nail in the coffin to move forward. Three minute comments from the public really works - for them. Are these three minutes available at the end of the meeting, after all has been determined?

Ben, if you are on thread today, could you give us a time line on the project, if there is one? When would final approval take place? How can they move forward if they are lacking in funds? Although, I suppose that is a "silly" question these days!

They should change the name from Tri-Met to
Try-Any Way!

If anything effective is to be done against this, people are going to have to organize. The organization should have a name. I suggest it be called the Trolleyban.

Hard to believe...but I agree with Allan L. As long as this thing has a pulse it can be defeated.

Do you know the way to Milwauk-ie-ay? Go by street car says Tri-met-ay. Its awesome, the the MAX!

Kenny, I believe Allen was using his usual style of sarcasm (which I always enjoy) to campare any opposition efforts to the "Taliban".

Maybe I'm wrong, but no orgnaized affort will stop MLR. No how, no way.

TriMet is attempting to cling together the impression of the local match funding being secured to satisfy the feds in their final grant application submittal.

They actually do not have the funding secured but are using the intergovernmental agreements to make it apprear they do.

TriMet is hoping to start pouring concrete in the Willamette for the MLR bridge next July 2011.

They will not have their final fed funding approval until June of 2012 at the earliest.

Peterson does not have the Clackamas County $25 million share and no way to get it.
Same goes Milwaukie's $5 million share.

Wednesday's TriMet board meeting will be a display in gross misrepresentation by TriMet and their allies.

With not a shred of care about raiding millions from schools to build this $1.5 Billion light rail boondoggle the community does not want and can't afford.

Where is Kitz on this? Really, what is he going to do, as the state's share would go a long way in balancing the budget. Mr. Greenjeans will propose a sales tax.

Wouldn't it be GREAT if the incoming Congress stopped all funding for this Boondogle? Maybe they could also stuff "Streetcar Earl" into some committee where he has no say on transit funding...One can dream....

Once again, this proves you can't fight corruption in high places "on the cheap" by forcing budget cuts. All you do is hurt the people who have the least political clout and the fewest options, i.e., bus riders. It always happens this way. I oppose MLR and the LO streetcar, and I understand the feelings of those who don't want to give Tri-Met another dime -- I don't either -- but too many people let their emotions rather than their intellect and their compassion dictate their vote. If you voted no on the bond issue thinking you were dealing a blow to light rail by doing so, let this be a cautionary tale.

Like so many other lazy officials who delegate due diligence to an imaginary entity that doesn't exist Kitz thinks it's a good jobs program.

But the combination of the $250 million MLR lottery bonds and the $110 million lottery bonds for the associated SoWa OHSU boondoggle Life Sciences Complex (Tram/biotech pipedream)will mean around $600 million in lottery profits will be diverted away from the jobs it already supports.

Quite the shady stunt. Claiming that defunding 1000s of existing jobs to pay for a project and new jobs is job creation. It's not even an even trade off with interest and out of state material/equipment purchases devouring many millions.

Same goes for TriMet.
$100 million will be diverted from their operations revenue and jobs to pay their $60 million in bonds for MLR.

And all of the essential services being raided by using UR in Portland and attempted in CC and Milwaukie would drain revenue streams that feed jobs already existing.

Essentially the entire local match steals from existing revenue streams and jobs to pay bonds plus interest resulting in more jobs being defunded.

This is a net job loser by a large margin.

Lazy and dishonest politicians who pretend otherwise should be tarred and feathered.
Figuratively speaking of course.

You can help do so at the Wed morning TriMet board meeting.

Two words: ballot measure. The initiative system is a powerful tool and could hold the key to killing MLR. Think about what happened with Tri-Met's measure we just voted on . . .

It might be useful to write Greg Walden who is assuming a House leadership like role. He might be able to call the local bigwigs on their shell game to fool the federal government into backing this mis priority. Walden's district actually loses because of these projects as his and other districts are used to subsidize Portland downtown's shining new ornaments.

Maybe, giving testimony against might at least give the new Feds some pause. After all, this is the year of surprises what with Cleveland Browns and Oakland Raiders hammering some pretty big opponents.

What needs to happen is a public DEMAND for TriMet to announce which bus lines/trips will be cut now, as opposed to building the new MAX line and then realizing that revenue won't cover the cost of the additional light rail line in addition to its existing obligations.

Maybe by putting pressure on TriMet early to announce what will be cut in order to make way for the light rail line, the politicans who are supporting the light rail line will also have to justify their cuts. Unlike the federal government, TriMet cannot print money and unless there is a true increase in revenues (which there is not any foreseen) something will have to make way so that TriMet can afford this line.

Just like the Green Line and WES both resulted in major bus cuts.

On a brighter note, the bankruptcy proceedings for this organization are going to be darned interesting.

So will the federal Grand Jury proceedings.

If it's a matter of job creation, I think we'd get off more cheaply if we simply paid the salary and benefits of the construction workers for a few months and didn't undertake the fullblown project which is sure to balloon out of control. It's called unemployment.

It's not, after all, going to continue to generate employment for the construction workers after it's completed.

I know I'm harping on this, but when $440 for every man, woman, and child in this state is the cost of this, how can anybody argue that there is any sort of a net public benefit?

Forget federal funds matching, forget the different "colors" of money the bureaucrats often point to...if MLR was stopped, the costs (absent federal dollars) equal 25% of Oregon's budget deficit. Six miles of choo-choo track? Really? This is an embarassing outrage.

Just wait until Clackamas voters reign in the urban renewal scam. Then *poof* there goes $25 million in local money for the Tooterville Trolley.

Six miles of union votes, condo mafia bribes, and re-election for Sam the Tram.

Does anybody know what happened to the petition effort to "reign in the urban renewal scam" in Clackamas County?

Face it, government projects are about the only game going right now- and these parasites are not about to quit sucking off the public tit as long as your average Joe doesn't even know they're building the damn thing.

"Does anybody know what happened to the petition effort to "reign in the urban renewal scam" in Clackamas County?"

Yes. It is all good. As you will soon see.

I live and work in Clackamas County. Where do I sign? Where can I tell my customers to sign?

"I live and work in Clackamas County. Where do I sign? Where can I tell my customers to sign?"

Me, too! C'mon, Petition, give us a clue.
Meanwhile, I've emailed county politicians demanding that they bag the idea of $25 mil
of our money for this boondoggle.