Well ... now that politicos are subsidized with Free Money, it's nice to see the next pieces falling into place, that everyone else in the gummit bidness can get theirs, too. In today's O, it was announced that the new labor contract between the CoP and its unions preserves taxpayer funding of 95% of city workers' health care insurance costs.

Our public officials in charge of managing this situation just don't get it -- that we need to change the way public spending is done; and that we should not continue pouring more and more into a corrupt system that locks taxpayers into unaffordable cost escalations.

We are not getting our house in order. Things will get worse before they get better. Wait until the next Tram [rim shot] budget estimates come out. I'm predicting $70 million because that's as much as the publicists will allow out, but in reality that could be a "misunderestimation" - and that's a problem - because nobody knows.

Keep in mind that the City Council took a hard line on this two years ago with the police officers union (PPA), trying to cap the City's contribution for premiums. The PPA took them all the way to binding arbitration -- and the City lost. The state arbitrator forced the City to cover 95% of PPA health costs, no matter how much they increase in the future.

The City has now offered the same deal to all their unions. Maybe they should have held out for more, but they probably would have lost in the end after hundreds of thousands more in legal fees preparing the case before the state board.

I heard a third hand rumor that the reason that the City Lost the Arbitration with the Police and Fire was because the wrong figure got typed in for the City's proposed settlement. So it made the City's position in arbitration which the arbitrator has to chose one or the other of the final and best offers. This brought to you by the same HR that "checked" references and hired the Finance Manager that got arrested last year. Anyone out there that can confirm or deny it.

It was an interesting column by Phil Stanford on the power struggle between the new "Government class" and the "Goldschmidt Machine" nice we have this non-partisan alternitive here in Portland so we don't have to be sullied by the two party system.

If Portland is indeed twenty years behind San Fran, who's going to be our Willie Brown?

""""Mayor Tom Potter helped Sten out at his kickoff, and gave him another bit of love the next day. After his meeting with Trail Blazers officials eager for some public help to stay in town, Potter emerged to face the TV cameras wearing a Sten campaign button on his lapel"""""

No surprise. They both think alike.

No coincidence the both voted for the failed Alexan Tax abatement.
That abatement, similar to others, would have given Trammel Crow residential a 10 year property tax abatement for a new luxury 320 unit apartment tower in SoWa.
In return the public would have received absolutely nothing.

The vote came out 3-2 against the applicant so Potter and Sten's effort to help "small business" failed.

The more I think about it, the more I think that taking 'clean money' will be Sten's downfall this election.

It's the straw that breaks the camel's back for me (I know, I know - there are other more substantive reasons to vote either for or against him, depending on your stance) - and I have to believe that I'm not the only one.

It reminds me of watching healthy 20-something adults rush for the airplane door (trampling the mom with two small kids in tow and the lady with the cane) when the flight attendant offers up early entry to those passengers 'needing extra time to board'

I notice Anna Griffin tells us at the bottom of the article that two other big O reporters contributed to it, although they had better things to do with their time. Many of the reporters I have encountered are like that-working to serve their own prererences rather than the public. Artistes. And completely unapologetic. They are our betters and we had better not forget it. If big O reporters started attending candidate forums and digging into the claims of every contender, assuming them to be serious, until they proved themselves otherwise, I think the public would be far better served.

The above mentioned juggling was donated by a professional in the interest of supporting a preferred representative. As a professional juggler, I also donate my several hundred dollars per hour professional skills to political causes. I feel this allows me to "give back" and to promote causes I believe in. For instance, I recently raised over $2000 for a Portland school using my lowly juggling skills. Several Portland professional jugglers, clowns, musicians recently and acrobats donated their professional skills to raise a great deal of money for the aid of displaced people in war torn areas of the world.

Jugglers make "several hundred dollars per hour"? The end times are upon us.

Maybe they bill in 5 minute increments.

Alice, let me offer some enlightenment. Most performing professionals, actors, musicians, and, yes, even jugglers, get paid a fair amount when you work it out as an hourly wage for time on stage. Once you factor in the time creating and rehearsing original material, and the costs of doing business like travel, costumes, and advertizing, you'll find performing artists work very hard to earn a modest and often uncertain living.

Portland is fortunate to have a number of professional jugglers living here, including alumni of Cirque du Soliel, Ringling Bros. and Clowns Without Borders, and acts that have been featured at international festivals and theme parks, major corporations, on television, at the Smithsonian and OMSI.

And to Jack I'd like to point out performers are disproportionately asked to donate their time and talent to many community and world-wide causes. That was this case here, and with no information you have incorrectly conjectured it was a paid gig, and therefore done at the expense of public schools.

There are far better ways to make your point than making stuff up.

with no information you have incorrectly conjectured it was a paid gig, and therefore done at the expense of public schools.

There are far better ways to make your point than making stuff up.

Wow, a snotty professional juggler! Do you understand what "if" means? I think you are now juggling the truth!

Nice try, Jack. I am not a professional juggler.

I remember "if" from my public high school education: from a false premise you can draw any conclusion. (Thank you, Mr. Lamont.) You wonder if the jugglers were paid, then propose a dialog that shows some relationship to school closures. Cute, but wrong -- the juggler was not paid. That kind of renders your argument moot.

In fact, you (a) had no information, (b) conjectured in spite of that, and (c) associated that conjecture with school closures. You're playing fast and loose with the truth, and then accuse me of "juggling the truth." Cute.

Don't let that stop you from rumor mongering and casting aspersions.

I hope you enjoyed your brief appearance here. I see you work in Hillsboro. I completely understand. In Sten's Portland there are no jobs, other than perhaps juggling and running condo jungle "discovery centers."

Dear Alice and Jack,
Alice- How much is the art that you do worth? I’m sure this thread is meant to belittle Mr. Sten but I hope your intent wasn't meant to belittle one of the most sought after jugglers in America. Maybe it was meant to belittle all jugglers, even those who made little shows like Cirque de Soleil a $500 million a year business. Non the less, an average juggler will run you about the same per hour as your average three month combined sewer and water bill, when and if you receive it. Should we lower the price of talent or raise the price of a natural resource? Both seem to have limited availability.

Good going, Jack...

Now you've pissed off the jugglers!

Who's next, the fire eaters? The bearded lady? Wolf boy? You can alienate the entire circus guild if you want to, but I'm done doing your dirty work.

Now I'm going to deposit my natural resources, before they increase the sewer rates to keep up with juggler pay scales.

I don't know how you sleep at night!

Do pro-bono tax lawyers earn more or less what pro-bono jugglers earn?

Are there any stats on pro-bono tax law work we can compare to the "disproportionate" societal demands placed upon the jugglers?

Are the jugglers involved in the City of Portlands investigation into high crimes and double billings at PGE, or are they relying on the lowly tax lawyers?

If the jugglers are so highly compensated, why are they voting Socialist?