Meter updates every 30 seconds. Click here for
an instant update.
Our complete Portland debt series linked here.



Clearance sale
The bojack bumper sticker -- only $1.50!

To order, click here.







Excellent tunes -- free! And on your browser right now. Just click on Radio Bojack!






E-mail us here.

About

This page contains a single entry from the blog posted on September 19, 2011 1:47 PM. The previous post in this blog was Bus Project goes all "us vs. them" on its elders. The next post in this blog is Hi ho, hi ho, to Chapter 9 we go. Many more can be found on the main index page or by looking through the archives.

Links

Law and Taxation
How Appealing
Bag and Baggage
TaxProf Blog
Mauled Again
A Taxing Matter
TaxVox
Tax.com
Josh Marquis
Native America, Discovered and Conquered
The Yin Blog
OrCon Law
Ernie the Attorney
Conglomerate
Above the Law
The Volokh Conspiracy
Going Concern
Wealth Strategies Journal
Jim Hamilton's World of Securities Regulation
myCorporateResource.com
World of Work
The Faculty Lounge
Lowering the Bar

Hap'nin' Guys
Tony Pierce
Parkway Rest Stop
Utterly Boring.com
Dwight Jaynes
Bob Borden
Dingleberry Gazette
The Red Electric
Iced Borscht
Positively Glorious
The Rural Bus Route
Another Blogger
Jeremy Blachman
Dean's Rhetorical Flourish
Straight White Guy
HinesSight
Onfocus
AntSaint
Jalpuna
Rise Above
Beerdrinker.org
As Time Goes By
Dave Wagner
Jeff Selis
Alas, a Blog
Scott Hendison
Sansego
The View Through the Windshield
Mikeyman's Computer Treehouse
Appliance Blog
The Bleat
Rosenblog

Hap'nin' Gals
My Whim is Law
Lelo in Nopo
Attorney at Large
Linda Kruschke
The Non-Consumer Advocate
10 Steps to Finding Your Happy Place
A Pig of Success
Attorney at Large
Margaret and Helen
Kimberlee Jaynes
Cornelia Seigneur
Evidently
And Sew It Goes
Mile 73
Rainy Day Thoughts
That Black Girl
Posie Gets Cozy
{AE}
Cat Eyes
Kerianne
Melissa Lion
Rhi in Pink
Althouse
GirlHacker
Ragwaters, Bitters, and Blue Ruin
Heather Bea
Gina Rau
Chantel Williams
Frytopia
I Count to 4 (Nth of Pril)
Rose City Journal
Ready or Not
Lao Ocean Girl
Type Like the Wind

Portland and Oregon
Isaac Laquedem
StumptownBlogger
Rantings of a [Censored] Bus Driver
Jeff Mapes
Another Portland Blog
The Portlander
Gail Achterman
South Waterfront
Amanda Fritz
O City Hall Reporters
Guilty Carnivore
Old Town by Larry Norton
The Alaunt
Bend Blogs
Lost Oregon
Cafe Unknown
Tin Zeroes
David's Oregon Picayune
Mark Nelsen's Weather Blog
Travel Oregon Blog
Portland Housing Blog
Portland Daily Photo
Portland Building Ads
Portland Food and Drink.com
Dave Knows Portland
Idaho's Portugal
Alameda Old House History
MLK in Motion
LoveSalem

Retired from Blogging
Various Observations...
The Daily E-Mail
Saving James
Portland Freelancer
Furious Nads (b!X)
Izzle Pfaff
The Grich
Kevin Allman
AboutItAll - Oregon
Lost in the Details
Worldwide Pablo
Tales from the Stump
Whitman Boys
Misterblue
Two Pennies
This Stony Planet
1221 SW 4th
Twisty
I am a Fish
Here Today
What If...?
Superinky Fixations
Pinktalk
Mellow-Drama

Wonderfully Wacky
Dave Barry
Borowitz Report
Blort
Stuff White People Like
Probably Bad News
The Dullest Blog in the World
Worst of the Web
The Ultimate Insult
Scrabo's Mad World
Lancow's E-mail

Valuable Time-Wasters
My Gallery of Jacks
Litterbox, On the Prowl
Litterbox, Bag of Bones
Litterbox, Scratch
Maukie
Ride That Donkey
Singin' Horses
Rally Monkey
Simon Swears
Strong Bad's E-mail

Oregon News
KGW-TV
The Oregonian
Portland Tribune
KOIN
Willamette Week
KATU
The Sentinel
Southeast Examiner
Northwest Examiner
Sellwood Bee
Mid-County Memo
Vancouver Voice
Eugene Register-Guard
OPB
Topix.net - Portland
Salem Statesman-Journal
Oregon Capitol News
Portland Business Journal
Daily Journal of Commerce
Oregon Business
KPTV
Portland Info Net
McMinnville News Register
Lake Oswego Review
The Daily Astorian
Bend Bulletin
Corvallis Gazette-Times
Roseburg News-Review
Medford Mail-Tribune
Ashland Daily Tidings
Newport News-Times
Albany Democrat-Herald
The Eugene Weekly
Portland IndyMedia
The Columbian

Music-Related
The Beatles
Bruce Springsteen
Seal
Sting
Joni Mitchell
Ella Fitzgerald
Steve Earle
Joe Ely
Stevie Wonder
Lou Rawls

E-mail, Feeds, 'n' Stuff

Monday, September 19, 2011

Barbur Boulevard MAX looking like a done deal

The light rail mafia has emerged from the back room, and there's little doubt that they're hellbent on building another train, down Barbur Boulevard from Portland to Sherwood. The bobbleheads at Metro have drawn up the glossy brochure, and so now we're in for a couple of years of them acting like the decision isn't already made while the "public-private partnership" corruption gets nailed down out of public view.

Here's a wonderful piece of hypnosis that is supposed to keep us distracted while the secret deals are cut. Stare at it while taking deep breaths. On every other exhale, say "livable..." and alternate that on every other exhale with "sustainable..." Try it:

After about five minutes of this, you'll be ready to listen to Earl Blumenauer explain the details to you.

We may not have an economy in this town, but we are going to have trains! Because the people who run this town want trains! And they have puppets in every corner of government to hand out tax money to the people who build them.

Comments (33)

Just another technicolor Portland flustercluck.

You are getting sustainable, sustainable. You are feeling very creative, very greeeeeen. You are a leader, a leader! Repeat after me: "It's only a fee, only a fee"...again, again. Yes, yes. That's it. Now, beg for it like a cute little puppy dog -- you want it, want it. Now say it, say it: "Bond me, bond me...yesss. Yesss. YES!"

And now, when I snap my fingers, you'll vote for the nice candidates whose pretty pictures I will show you....

That's kind of a pretty flower but WTF does it mean, man?

HELP!!
We are running out of money!
Next step?
City needs more volunteers!
Volunteers to mow the parks that are left and haven't been sold for lack of money.
Volunteers for citizen patrols to watch for crime for lack of money for adequate officers needed.
Volunteers for yada yada yada....

...but Portland will be viewed in glossy brochures and magazines with those shiny new trains!

See the debt column on this blog now:
Your share - $11,059.54

Still think we need trains?

Why subsidize the bus service for $1.25/ticket when you can subsidize 19th century technology for $200/ticket!

The Railiban (think Rail Taliban) are going to destroy transportation as we know it. And we are going to pay for the privilege of enriching the companies and execs involved in all of this.

Effing up Barbur will impact me since the traffic will be moving to Beaverton-Hillsdale to some degree.

Thanks for nothing, kiddie council and TriTrains.

Once again we should applaud our City staff for proposing improvements to our regions transportation infrastructure.

Won't mess up your traffic if they do it underground, LucsAdvo. I think even MAX haters are agreeing that a tunnel may actually be more affordable than trying to hit all the destinations with any kind of surface alignment over there.

I will selfishly support any plan that buys my property and its prerecession value through the 99W corridor. The "done deal" attitude ensures that the required property purchases will be my golden parachute. Bye Bye Metro as soon as financially possible.

Well then, will tax abated housing be allowed next to the tunnels?

...I think even MAX haters are agreeing that a tunnel may actually be more affordable...

Unless of course it happens to be another Tunnel of Deception.
Been through that tunnel there and it doesn't bode well for the people.
How many times has it used to channel people through our city council hearings and it doesn't look like it will stop!

I don't think I've passed through that one, clinamen. Or is that the nature of the Tunnel of Deception?

Like it was ever in doubt.

Michael,

You're worse than nuts if you think adding light rail to Barbur/99 would be an improvement to our region's transportation infrastructure.

Where and how does one get convinced of such a ludicrous idea?

RailVolution?

I've been noting for a couple of years that this was going to be their next step.

Interesting perspective here: http://portlandtransport.com/archives/2011/09/governance_refo.html

Unfortunately, it involves learning from Seattle, so it'll never happen here.

I think the proposed tunnel was just to get under the OHSU hill, it will still be at the surface on the other side.

The fix is very much in on this one. Only our impending federal insolvency might save us, since they still pay for most of the construction. They pay zero for ongoing maintenance and operation, of course.

You nailed it on this one. Another 'Field of Rails'. "If you build it, they will ride". Unless of course they don't. But it will always be there if they ever want to.

I really have to wonder where TrainMet is going to find all the dough for this line since they seem to have stolen all the money they could from schools and other essential services, put off replacing their rickety old buses for another 6 years, bonded against a bunch of their operating revenue, and on top of that will probably be insolvent in the next few years when their retiree benefits/healthcare payouts exceed all the other revenue. This plus the possibility of the feds slashing funding in the next transportation bill by 30% as proposed by Rep. John Mica. With a tunnel under OHSU to serve the respective constituents of the train mafia, this line is guaranteed to exceed $1 billion, might even exceed the Milwaukie Train of Mystery. I mean, what's left to borrow against or steal from other tax sources? I can't think of much, but the train mafia is pretty clever...

Maybe they've put something up as collateral for a loan they don't want us to know about.

It would be fitting if the US Dollar collapsed around the same time they broke ground on the Barbur Blvd. MAX line.

Then the USDOT and PDOT could pay their for their pretend mass transit system with pretend US Dollars.

Everybody pretends to get paid. Everybody pretends we made progress.

Since urban renewal is the only mechanism that can cover a large portion of Portland's share, I predict that the proposed Barbur Lightrail will be the impetus to require public voting for any urban renewal. Just like Clackamas.

Thanks Planners for bringing urban renewal to a vote.

Under what definition of "blighted" should a URD exist along Barbur Blvd? Do they just assume that the condos built along any rail path to be highly desirable in this or any part of the area that doesn't have a Pearl in it? Perhaps if all they build is high-rise public-privately funded condos to replace the few older motels one might see how the RMV would go up, but try developing without public subsides. We need a state-wide referendum on UR districts. Now!

I see that in that pretty Technicolor diagram that they conveniently left out the I-5 to 99W Project (the proposed highway between Sherwood and Wilsonville that will replace Tualatin-Sherwood Road as the major through route, and will likely end up built as a freeway post-MAX), I-5 and Highway 217 widening projects, the proposal to shut down half of the Highway 217 on/off-ramps...and the Newberg-Dundee Bypass could even be considered part of the project.

Of course, we could streamline the entire project once and for all. Just turn freakin' Highway 99W into what it should be: A FREEWAY from I-5 in Tigard, all the way to Dayton, switch to Highway 18, and continue the freeway all the way to the edge of the Van Duzer Corridor just past Grand Ronde.

Transit-oriented development, development-oriented transit, oriented development-transit, etc, aka URD, besides lining the pockets of the same pre-selected developers over and over, is meant to artificially increase the population density along unwanted rail transit lines. Otherwise, the project when completed wouldn't have enough riders and its construction would appear obviously misguided and unjustified.

The City of Roses to The City that Works (so well for some)to The City of Puppets!

choo-choo many public projects with choo-choo few private sector jobs = big, big train wreck coming

The brochure delightfully says that the travel time from the central city to Sherwood is 42 minutes in the evening peak period. This is implied to be a problem.

However, a good anti-sprawl advocate would say that this is an opportunity to discourage people who work in the central city from living in Sherwood. Anything that TriMet does to make it faster to get from Portland to Sherwood in the morning and evening peak hours encourages sprawl and congestion by making it easier for people to live farther from their work.

Question is, why is it that people want to get away from pdx?
In my view, Portland has become a sacrifice zone for the agenda and people want to get away from living under this controlled and negative situation.
Paying more and more and getting less and less isn't helping matters either.
Living in a hypocritical arena is disgusting!

Ah, but I no longer believe there isn't an influential entity of some kind or another that isn't milking resident turnover and low property values for some sort of gain.

Our local officials act like people who've sold their souls to an unseen dæmon.

It's the only explanation left that makes much sense.

I used to have an office out near Barbur and Hamilton for 6 years. That street is always busy with traffic from 7-9 every weekdy morning and even busier from 4-7 weekday evenings. Not to mention it is the only really viable "escape route" when something happens on Portland's 1960s-era freeways. (Sorry - but most larger cities have 4/5 lane freeways now.)
I simply can't imagine two highway lanes being taken up by slow moving light rail on that road. If these planner jerks think traffic is bad there now - it will be impossible with their 19th century choo choo train.

This is very interesting in light of what Trimet General Manager Neil Macfarlane has recently said:
--------------------
""Last week, I began a round of employee brown bags to discuss TriMet’s 5-Year Plan. What I have been calling the MORE and BETTER Plan. As part of my introduction, I outlined a number of “threats” facing TriMet – some in and some out of our control.
Those threats really are a list of the many budget uncertainties we face. First, there is the economy as a whole. It doesn’t take an economic expert to know that the economy is not rebounding as it should. As you know, unemployment affects our bottom line – generating fewer payroll tax dollars.
It doesn’t take a governmental affairs expert to know that Congress is in turmoil and that places our federal funding in jeopardy. Add to this rising costs in fuel and healthcare and you have, what I believe, is a pending crisis. We also have the uncertainty surrounding our labor contract. Each of these items adds to our financial stress.""

-----------------------

In light of the above, where the hell is the money going to come from to sustain this?

From the last drips of the gravy bowl....
even if it takes every last asset we have here, our parks, our water, our school property, you name it, more parking meters until we have been metered out of the city!

Maybe they've put something up as collateral for a loan they don't want us to know about.

As usual, you are on to something there, Mr. Grumpy.

Nolo and others, a good example of misuse of "blight" is to once again visit SoWhat and PSU and PDC using urban renewal to capture the Red Lion business, way west from SoWhat proper, on SW Lincoln near PSU. A fine example of the UR "tenacle" phenomenon.

I attended PDC hearings on the later land grab to extend the boundaries up Lincoln to this business. Red Lion had over 110 employees with a large restaurant, convention and lodging services.

Red Lion testified that it was generating over $1 Million of tax benefits through property taxes, employee taxes and other,PSU that benefited our city. But PDC and PSU forced its closure with this monetary and job lose, since PSU doesn't pay property taxes and they only have a few jobs from the property now-student housing.

But we don't get this kind of analysis of urban renewal, or many of the things this city does. It's all Planned, so don't ask questions or analysis or have auditing, performance data. Just do It!

Lee - Just Do It is a very bad analogy... that catch phrase and the company behind it nets over 11 figures in real revenue every year. Planners cannot even count that high. And there is a reason why Nike is not located in Portland and pulled their OR warehouse out of the city and moved it to Wilsonville in the 80s (and now even that is gone). Just sayin'


Sponsors







We accept advertising through Blogads. If you're interested, click the "Advertise here" link above, or go here to place your ad through Blogads. For assistance, e-mail me here; I'd be glad to help. Reach lots of viewers -- we're up to about 3,800 unique visits a day, and more than 61,000 page views a week (as of November 4). Our rates are dirt cheap for the exposure you'll get! If you'd like to advertise without going through the Blogads system, that's do-able, too. Just e-mail us here for more information.

As a lawyer/blogger, I get
to be a member of:

In Vino Veritas

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
Cameron, Chardonnay
B.R. Cohn, Cabernet, Silver Label 2006
Graffigna, Cabernet 2005
Palo Alto, Reserve Red 2008
Menguante, Garnacha 2008
Lange, Pinot Gris 2009
Felsina Berardenga, Vin Santo 1997
Anne Amie, Pinot Gris 2009
McKinley Springs, Bombing Ramge Red 2007
Vieux Papes Red
Dionysius Chardonnay 2009
Haden Fig, Pinot Noir 2009
Vega Montan, Mencia 2008
Chateau la Vernede, Coteaux du Languedoc 2007
Mount Defiance, Hellfire (White) 2008
Root: 1, Cabernet 2008
Columbia Crest, Two Vines Pinot Grigio 2009
Columbia Crest, Two Vines, Vineyard 10 White, 2008
Columbia Crest, Two Vines, Vineyard 10 Rose, 2007
Abacela, Grenache Rose 2009
Avia Cabernet 2004
Lemelson Pinot Noir, Thea's Selection 2007
Chateau de la Roulerie, Rose d'Anjou 2009
Casal Garcia, Vinho Verde Rose
La Ferme Julien, Rose 2008
Cana's Feast, Bricco Red, 2006
Hogue, Genesis Merlot, 2008
Owen Roe, Sharecropper's Cabernet, 2008
Kim Crawford, Unoaked Chardonnay 2008
J. Scott, Pinot Noir 2008
Edmunds St. John, White, Heart of Gold 2008
Columbia Crest, Walter Clore Private Reserve 2006
Stevenot, Cabernet, Sierra Foothills, "Stanford" 2000
Portuga, Vinho Rose 2009
Taylor Fladgate, First Estate Reserve Porto
Franciscan, Cabernet, Napa 2006
Chaparral de Vega Sindoa, Garnacha 2008
Quinta da Aveleda, Vinho Verde 2008
St. Francis, Chardonnay Sonoma 2008
E. Guigal, Cotes du Rhone Blanc, 2007
Edmunds St. John, Bone-Jolly, Gamay Noir 2008
St. Innocent, Pinot Noir 2006
Jigsaw, Pinot Noir 2007
Chateau Ste. Michelle, Merlot, Indian Wells 2007
Charles Shaw, Chardonnay 2008
Edmunds St. John, Bone-Jolly, Gamay Rosé 2009
Cameron, Willamette Valley Chardonnay
Il Valore, Sangiovese, Giovane, Puglia 2008
Duck Pond, Chardonnay, Wahluke Slope 2007
Kim Crawford, Marlborough Pinot Noir 2008
Domaine du Pesquier, Cotes du Rhone 2005
Cantina Zaccagnini, Montepulciano d'Abruzzo 2006
Domaine Matrot, Chardonnay, Bourgogne 2007
David Hill, Oregon Sparkling Wine, Brut
Chandler Reach, Monte Regalo 2006
Elk Cove, Pinot Gris 2008
Kirkland, Columbia Valley Merlot 2008
D'Aragon, Old Vine Garnacha 2008
Columbia Crest, Walter Clore Private Reserve 2005
Pavin & Riley, Merlot 2006
David Hill, Estate Pinot Noir, Barrel Select 2006
Castle Rock, Paso Robles Cabernet 2006
Magnificent, Cabernet, Steak House 2008
Conundrum 2008
Beaulieu, Cabernet, Rutherford 1998
Saint Cosme, Cotes-du-Rhone 2007
La Granja, Tempranillo 360, 2008
Santa Rita, Mendalla Real Cabernet 2006
Columbia Crest, Grand Estates Merlot 2006
Andezon, Cotes-du-Rhone 2007
Collegiata, Montepulciano d'Abruzzo
Troon, Druid's Fluid 2008
La Granja, Tempranillo 2008
Monte Antico, Toscana 2006
Vieux Papes, Blanc de Blancs

The Occasional Book

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: 54
At this date last year: 50
Total run 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


Clicky Web Analytics