I read in the Portland Tribune yesterday that a blue-ribbon panel has sent a report to the Portland City Council on how to revitalize the city's economic climate. Unfortunately, having the entire council resign, the city charter completely rewritten, and half of the municipal bureaucracy laid off were not among the recommendations.

What was prominently mentioned in the story, however, was the proposal for -- and I am not making this up -- drumroll, please...

Another expansion of the airport!!! According to the front-page portion of the story, "upgrading the airport for more national and international flights."

As we say on the 'net, ROTFLMAO.

Ladies and gentlemen of the council and the blue-ribbon panel! Head out to the airport. Any time of the day or night. Put down your ribbons and your mirrors for an hour and look around.

It's half-empty. Empty gates. Empty concourses. Empty baggage rack after empty baggage rack. Pretty deserted shops. A giant sucking sound down empty halls.

There's plenty of room for lots more flights in the existing, half-empty facility. There's just no reason for them to come here right now, or frankly, any time in the foreseeable future.

Take away two middle-class golf courses in relatively close-in Northeast Portland -- which is what the megalomaniacs at the Port of Portland are determined to do -- and add more aircraft noise to the entire Northeast quadrant of the city: That is going to help attract people to live and work in the City of Portland?

Last I checked, PDX was one of the most unpopular airports in the country. Ripping it up for a couple of years to overbuild it some more isn't going to help it recover its reputation among passengers and taxpayers.

Where do they come up with these blue-ribbon suggestions? How much did we pay these guys for this kind of insight?

Hmmmm... Call me paranoid, but could it be that some of the council's precious real estate buddies have land near the airport that they are having trouble developing or selling?