Sam Adams . . . what a train wreck. So unfortunate that the citizens of Portland are forced to be passengers.

How about a developer who benefits from millions in on-going public subsidies offering free beach vacations to city employees?

Hells Bells!, Sam has probably been feathering his foul nest with kickbacks since his days with Vera.
Keep going!!! Follow the money!!! Maxine

Later, Adams added, "I'm very concerned, obviously. This is a city and a state that prides itself on, you know, clean government. So I'm concerned and want to make sure we're good partners with the FBI and the Department of Justice so they can do a very thorough job in their work.''

Let this be the start of even more scrupulous cleansing of the vermin that "leads" our city.

Thinking we need to make "deposits" at city hall to show displeasure over the forced garbage options. Maybe some diapers or the "kitchen scrap" containers thrown into the courtyard; that they will be suppling to us at who knows what cost per container. This city is rife with garbage.

Don't pick on the mayor. He makes loans to needy teenage boys.

Notice how many of the News folks (future Flacks) have it as "Portland Parking" leaving off "City of" and making it sound as a business.

And still not a single reporter has found out how Sam the Scam managed to get caught up on his mortgage. It's not like he took a night job working at WalMart.

Last Sunday's Oregonian reported on the sorry excuses running the Portland Develpment Commission. This city department wrote down some $9 million of its corporate "welfare" loan handout portfolio, or some 6% of its portfolio (with more write downs to come). Half of the loan write downs ($4.5 million) was for a no-recourse loan to Multnomah Commissioner Shiprack for a defunct condo project. And the PDC manager says I think we are doing pretty good [eventhough this percentage of write downs far exceeds even those of many reckless bankers]. And some how Mayor Adams insists the way to finance sustainability is to fund even more of these handouts [his response to the City Auditor].

Is it any wonder Vancouverites don't want to be linked via light rail to the loons of the city of Portland.

I had a huge laugh over the feds ordering the city to preserve computer records.... that ought to be a tall order for the city's lameo IT org. Records missing in.... 3 ... 2 .. 1

Bob Clark -

Go back and reread that Oregonian article in great detail.

Its not just 9 plus million. Those were the 10 biggest write downs in the period studied. There were more than 10, and the total is larger than 9 million.

In other periods, there have benn other seriously substantial writedowns.

The PDC lending standards, and the lack of due diligence and serious loan protection in the form of personal guarantees, harkens back to the heyday of the S&L loans in the 70s and 80s.

I believe one of the earlier referenced articles from the Tribune in 2008 mentioned that the City Ombudsman also looked into the Parking Office's affairs, based on employee complaints. Curious that the ombudsman (Michael Mills, I believe) just recently left City employment. Did he have a hint this was coming - so just too many critters under too many rocks?

On the KATU website, a commenter also linked to a story about the employees from that office who were to receive judgments due to having work contracted out by the City that they were more than capable of performing. I believe this occurred around 2009. Looks like there's plenty for the feds, and any local law enforcement folks who care to take this on, to investigate.

And the Portland Police are on National news tonight

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/08/10/eveningnews/main20090883.shtml?tag=stack

I have to wonder if this stunt is one of the Feds typical diversionary tactics. Grab a smaller fish and let the bigger fish (SamRand, Paulsen, et al) swim away free. When I was in college, only an idiot didn't know that most pot in W NY state came in via Niagara Falls. The Feds had the Staties bust the middle men and smaller dealers and tokers (1 oz was a felony in NY then) at one point (and the kids of well to do folk sometimes got tip offs to keep junior away and one junior was my younger bro). But the big guys seemingly just could not be determined. Right?!?! And the Feds tend have let a certain W NY state company get away with all kinds of illegalities while cracking down on employers and vendors at the peripheries. So don't hold your breath waiting for the king pins to get bowled over by the Feds. I'd lay odds it will never happen.

Should read:

And the Feds tend have let a certain W NY state company get away with all kinds of illegalities while cracking down on employees and vendors at the peripheries.

I too, am pessimistic that much will come of this, other than some posturing announcement that a single, lower level bad apple was found and rooted out. There's too much money at stake and friends appear to be in high places. I hope I'm proven wrong.

Will the feds go after Cylvia Kitzhaber? Is there much difference in the "kickback" realm from Cylvia and McCoy? Commonsense says not.

In such a lily-white city, it is a mystery why the first man investigated for public corruption is black.

Why not investigate the Commissioner in charge of the Bureau of Transportation?

Hmm, lets see.. The city conducted an internal investigation three years ago and someone had to have cleared this fellow to continue to have a job..
Who might that be ?
His boss perhaps...
Who happens to be,
Mayor Sam......

Of COURSE Sam is concerned. Not only is he looking at five-to-thirty, but all of the people who'd work at getting him out would be in there with him. (I'm starting to wonder if that's the real reason why he's decided not to run for another term. I suspect he figures, correctly, that investigators would drop or at least slow their efforts because it gave the impression that he knew he'd gone too far.)

No, I think the reason he's not running for another term is because he didn't want to lose by 70% of the electorate.

I bet there's corruption with the Streetcar too...dig deeper, friends. Dig that hole big because there's a gold mine waiting to be uncovered and this is just the tip of it.

Agree, much needs to be uncovered.
This city needs a cleansing.

clinamen - The city government needs an enema not a cleansing.