Turns out that the guy who's mainly pushing the proposed ice rink for Pioneer Courthouse Square is somebody named Kim Kimbrough, who has also spearheaded such efforts in his prior homes of Jackson, Mississippi and St. Louis, Missouri, where rinks apparently were tried and failed. Ice rinks have bombed in Norfolk, Virginia, and Manchester, New Hampshire, too. But here in the Rose City, this incredibly bad hack of an idea just won't die.

Great reporting on this by Alliance Watch, Portland Communique and others. You won't read this stuff in The Oregonian, which has already publicly been sucked into the rink backer group. Never underestimate the power of the blog.

Also fascinating, as reported by Willamette Week: 80 percent of Kimbrough's $11 million budget is public money, supposedly being spent to promote the city.

You would think having decent schools and other basic public services would be a better means of promotion.