For the last two hours, folks in my neighborhood have been serenaded by the drone of the city street sweeping machine making its repeat rounds along our streets.

Add another waste of money to the long list of how we do things in Portland.

Sure, this block needs street sweepers -- exactly twice a year, once in mid-fall and once in late fall. Without them, the fallen leaves clog the sewer grates and make a real mess.

But all the leaves have been gone for nearly two months now, and there's nothing to sweep up. Why is the city that can't afford the basics so obsessed with making our curbs clean enough to eat off of?

Can't we switch over to seasonal sweeping, lay off the guy who's riding along here wasting his time and our money, and open a public school for a few extra hours?

And they wonder why voters are angry about their taxes.