Here in Oregon, the state treasurer and his debt commission are telling the world that the state can't afford to be borrowing much more money any time soon:
The commission, in a release, called the amount of debt available "scant"... It’s so low that the state should consider delaying or deferring the sale of bonds for certain projects that are in the early stages. The state treasury is scheduled to sell $1 billion in bonds within three months for projects approved by the 2009 legislature.
Too bad about the $250 million in lottery bonds that have already been sold to finance the insane Portland-to-Milwaukie train. Along with $90 million for other "multi-modal" transportation pork, and $20 million for streetcars. That borrowing all went down less than two years ago, when the recession was already well under way. Some of the debt bears interest at a rate in excess of 5% a year, even though the interest is tax-exempt.
Now the state's too hard up even to take out new loans, for anything. Go by streetcar!
Comments (13)
Speaking of choo-choos down Main Street, I see the multimillion dollar pizza slicer ran over another pedestrian this morning shutting down the line, this time in Hilsboro.
A recent report from S&P upgrades PPS bond rating, but that is on bonds issued in 2004 and does not mention the half billion plus in boondoggle bonds the district wants to issue this year.
For what it's worth, I sent my local congressional representative a letter asking him to attempt to torpedo the funds for Milwaukie light rail.
As he has an (R) after his name, and isn't answerable to the State of Oregon, I figured it's better than the response I'd get from my representative if I was still living in Portland.
(Note, this is not a slight towards people with a (D) after their name, it is simply a statement reflecting the political reality that right now Republicans are looking for any dollar amount they can trim from pork that is not popular with their base, and especially so if they can screw someone like Blumenauer in the process.)
Didn't you know that light rail is cheaper than buses? That's why MAX construction is exempt from borrowing limits...there's still bus service that can be cut.
Just think in five, ten years...that MAX system will be an "investment" into the future while bus service is just a drag on operations cost...with no more bus service, TriMet will be raking in all sorts of dough collecting taxes on the entire region, but only providing cheap, inexpensive light rail service.
And WES will pay for itself. Really. You just have to give it some time, the economy will recover...
Light rail lines passing through Rose Quarter (that's about three lines, I think) were shut down for about an hour today due to a signal malfunction. Light rail in Hillsboro was shut down for nearly as long due to a pedestrian/"train" interaction. And in downtown Portland, a "train" broke down, tying things up until crews could haul it out.
The nice thing about buses - aside from greatly reduced expense - is that they can be quickly re-routed.
Light rail lines passing through Rose Quarter (that's about three lines, I think) were shut down for about an hour today due to a signal malfunction. Light rail in Hillsboro was shut down for nearly as long due to a pedestrian/"train" interaction. And in downtown Portland, a "train" broke down, tying things up until crews could haul it out.
The nice thing about buses - aside from greatly reduced expense - is that they can be quickly re-routed.
___________
oleg1
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
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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
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Quinta das Amoras, Vinho Tinto 2010
Waterbrook, Reserve Merlot 2009
Lorelle, Horse Heaven Hills, Pinot Grigio 2011
Tarantas, Rose
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La Vielle Ferme, Rose 2011
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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
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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
Hope Larson - A Wrinkle in Time, the Graphic Novel
Rudyard Kipling - Kim
Peter Ames Carlin - Bruce
Fran Cannon Slayton - When the Whistle Blows
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: 29
At this date last year: 66
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)
Speaking of choo-choos down Main Street, I see the multimillion dollar pizza slicer ran over another pedestrian this morning shutting down the line, this time in Hilsboro.
Posted by Mr. Grumpy | February 22, 2011 11:30 AM
What about Portland Public Schools' credit card?
A recent report from S&P upgrades PPS bond rating, but that is on bonds issued in 2004 and does not mention the half billion plus in boondoggle bonds the district wants to issue this year.
Posted by Garage Wine | February 22, 2011 11:30 AM
For what it's worth, I sent my local congressional representative a letter asking him to attempt to torpedo the funds for Milwaukie light rail.
As he has an (R) after his name, and isn't answerable to the State of Oregon, I figured it's better than the response I'd get from my representative if I was still living in Portland.
(Note, this is not a slight towards people with a (D) after their name, it is simply a statement reflecting the political reality that right now Republicans are looking for any dollar amount they can trim from pork that is not popular with their base, and especially so if they can screw someone like Blumenauer in the process.)
Posted by MachineShedFred | February 22, 2011 12:15 PM
(Sorry, Hillsboronians, I meant Hillsboro, not Hilsboro).
How about a catchy nickname, like 'the insane train'?
Posted by Mr. Grumpy | February 22, 2011 12:31 PM
We can still have bioswales and Leonard's Loos, right?
And a pony. I want a pony too.
Posted by Mister Tee | February 22, 2011 12:39 PM
Has Wheeler bothered to call TriMet and/or ask the governor to do so?
The madness that is the $1.8 billion Milwaukie Light Rail is reaching even new heights of fiscal insanity.
Posted by Ben | February 22, 2011 12:54 PM
Let's see tax exempt interest on munis... some more pork that could be cut.... there's some dough for the pie.
Posted by LucsAdvo | February 22, 2011 12:55 PM
Didn't you know that light rail is cheaper than buses? That's why MAX construction is exempt from borrowing limits...there's still bus service that can be cut.
Just think in five, ten years...that MAX system will be an "investment" into the future while bus service is just a drag on operations cost...with no more bus service, TriMet will be raking in all sorts of dough collecting taxes on the entire region, but only providing cheap, inexpensive light rail service.
And WES will pay for itself. Really. You just have to give it some time, the economy will recover...
Posted by Erik H. | February 22, 2011 2:18 PM
Light rail lines passing through Rose Quarter (that's about three lines, I think) were shut down for about an hour today due to a signal malfunction. Light rail in Hillsboro was shut down for nearly as long due to a pedestrian/"train" interaction. And in downtown Portland, a "train" broke down, tying things up until crews could haul it out.
The nice thing about buses - aside from greatly reduced expense - is that they can be quickly re-routed.
Posted by Max | February 22, 2011 4:43 PM
The nice thing about buses...
Whenever MAX craps out, there's always a bus to rescue the stranded passengers.
Sucks if you're a bus rider who got kicked off the bus so it can be routed to run as a MAX shuttle, though.
"We all share the ride, we all pay for the ride..." Unless you're a MAX rider.
Posted by Erik H. | February 22, 2011 8:49 PM
Don't worry. Mayor Sam will fix it.
Posted by The Other Jimbo | February 22, 2011 10:03 PM
And yet, those nice folks at UO are asking the Lelature for eight hundred million dollars in bon financing.
Academia out of touch.
Again.
A maz ing.
Posted by Nonny Mouse | February 23, 2011 11:50 AM
Light rail lines passing through Rose Quarter (that's about three lines, I think) were shut down for about an hour today due to a signal malfunction. Light rail in Hillsboro was shut down for nearly as long due to a pedestrian/"train" interaction. And in downtown Portland, a "train" broke down, tying things up until crews could haul it out.
The nice thing about buses - aside from greatly reduced expense - is that they can be quickly re-routed.
___________
oleg1
Posted by oleg100 | March 2, 2011 9:24 PM