U*N*C*L*E!!!! I cry Uncle... I can't take it anymore. Alternating between belly rolls of laughter, violent fits of rage, and open-mouthed periods of incredulousness has taken its toll on my fragile being. Someone please, for the love of God, make this whole debacle (and its proponents) go away before my head explodes... Bill M, please dust off one of your corny witicisms now...

The city council (rim shot) and
their pals are slowly coming undone at the seams like a cheap suit over the aerial turd.
Thank you all for your most informative posts and for keeping the fire lit under these fools feet.
On a side note, but related. It has been whispered that So What when completed will produce too much sewer outflow and that the tax
payers will be asked to fund a new water treatment plant in S.W. portland. Originally it was to be an on site treatment solution but to save money and time for Homer et. al this requirment was removed. Now, the taxpayer will get hit with a bond measure in a few years. Any truth to this?

I really hope everyone realizes that this is about far, far more than just the Tram [rimshot].

The process by which the tram was shoved down the throats of the neighborhood - the pre-determined outcome, sham public hearings, incomplete and misleading staff reports -- is endemic to the way city hall and the county government operates.

Whatever the project at hand - and the list is long: PGE Park, the Armory, the Burnside Couplet, the entire SoWhat district with its 10,000 biotech jobs, the Holman building, the Stream Scheme, the Try/On commune - they all share the same flaw: decisions based on political/social agendas and influence peddlers rather than providing the public what it wants.

So, please do not make the mistake of thinking the tram [rimshot] is an isolated circumstance. It is a SYMBOL of what is wrong with the political culture in Portland, brought to you by Vera, Neil, Homer, Charlie, Peter, Diane, Rex, and the rest.

Anagrams for "OHSU aerial tram" include OH AMATEUR LIARS.

If Rhodes and Mangan do leave, who should replace them? Charlie Hales and Len Bergstein? Don Mazziotti and Than Clevenger? Vera Katz and Ginny Burdick?

Let's not forget that Sara Graham was fined $15,000 for not being licensed in Oregon.

And if it were not for a couple people along with Nigel Jaquiss and WW we still would not the details about the first OHSU building not being an OHSU building, it's total tax exempt status and the absence of any biotech research.

Even today more deception continues with the SoWa budget taking on new forms at every URAC meeting.

All this and it's still gonna get built. Wow. You'd think they would pull the plug if for no other reason that to say "we hear you".

They've been called on it, and history will not be kind to them.

Under Jack's blog "You talk about your Conflict of Interest" posted on the 16th below, I posted on the 17th to MarkDaMan. It is a reply to his comment that $3.5M for the public share for the tram is a "paltry amount". I elaborated on what the price really is. Please read.

Another issue tht may be added to the tram, NM bag in the near future, is the possible mishandling, coverup (take it both ways) of the toxic, DEQ issues of NM. Another interested participant of this now 12 year NM process will be clarifying this.

I know it has been noted here several times, the "conflict of interest" concerning Vic Rhoads, but why is it not mentioned, explored at the "O"? He works for the city for decades, then works for Homer, and even "owned" by Homer, while directing the tram's PATI Board who is the "sudo" owner of the tram.

Update on the North Macadam URAC meeting on the 17th. PDC Larry Brown (and others) gave a update on the now and five year budget outlook:

1)Tram is underfunded by at least $5M still with no contigency included and it is still going up.

2)The URACs last months meeting requested an accurate life-cycle costs analysis. Tues meeting reply consisted of a two year old cost analysis performed by PATI that only compared the hard costs, operating costs (varied from $1.2M to $2.4M-my god) and maintenance costs. Where are the other costs to do a REAL life-cycle costing analysis- i.e. financing, land, insurance, etc.?

3)The street car extension into NM is underfunded/not funded by $3M

4)Affordable Housing is not funded/underfunded

5)Neignborhood Park on Moody is unfunded ($8M guess)

6)Greenway along the Willamette is unfunded to the tune of $45M

7)Internal Transportation projects in NM are not funded, like the north portal at Riverplace and the south portal at Bancroft and Macadam-the ONLY two ways to get to NM. Plus the other major surface road projects identified-unfunded. (guess-$150M)

Where is all this TIF, LID, tax dollars going? Where are the priorities of funding in NM? The TRAM, the parking garage, the streets, sewers, sidewalks, raising the site 9 ft, etc.!?

In fact, when SWNI, CTLH, Pedestrian Coalition asks for just a temporary hard surface N/S route through the 10 years plus construction in NM, PDC just stares at us. The city doesn't close off three blocks along both sides in downtown with construction-property owners as well as everyone else would /and have screamed. Its the tram.

Sorry "O". Seems the citizens have to get there news on blogs like this. The tram and NM issues we are talking about today were before you 3 years ago and longer, and believe me, they were pointed out to you.

"Adams, the transportation commissioner, wrote the statement after a flurry of tram activity sparked by a Jan. 12 report in The Oregonian. "

It's not really news until it makes a headline in The Oregonian. Have they no sense of shame or irony when they make comments like that? Do I smell Pulitzer? No that must be something else.

This is promising, but not definitive.

I'll wait for the other shoe before I break out the champagne.

I can't see where champagne will ever be in order. Either this thing will be built at tremendous cost, or it won't and years of litigation will ensue.

OHSU vs. City of Portland would be one hell of an interesting lawsuit to watch, though, wouldn't it?

Jack says: "I can't see where champagne will ever be in order. Either this thing will be built at tremendous cost, or it won't and years of litigation will ensue."

A point well taken. Litigation at tremendous cost, too.

I fully expect that OHSU will turn to the state to underwrite the remaining costs of the tram *rimshot*. I trust that our legislators have been paying enough attention to not be pulled into the quagmire.

It'd be real nice to hear Gov Kolonscopi go public with a statement that he opposes and will oppose any move toward state funding.

Jack says: "OHSU vs. City of Portland would be one hell of an interesting lawsuit to watch, though, wouldn't it?"

I have my doubts that OHSU would go willingly into a lawsuit. My guess is they are too culpable. I could be in error, though. And the City could initiate the suit.

ooooooh to be a fly on the wall at City Hall this morning. Betcha the natives are restless, albeit clueless, hapless, hopeless, helpless. But less is more, right? Less vision, oversight, leadership, accountability.....just more of the same old same old....at taxpayers' expense.

It appears as though the plan was to run out the clock before anyone knew what happened. Now that the cat is clawing and hissing its way out of the bag, do the city and OHSU begin speeding things up on the tram? And if they do, what does that do for the safety of the thing? There are enough questions about this thing as it is. Who's building it? How many have they done before? What's the fastest they've ever put one up? How well does that one run?

Perhaps someone at TheO, or maybe an enterprising blogger, could take a look at your typical 2006 model year high speed quad lift and see how much it cost?

Be gondola Tram.
Commissioner Adams Sam
Last ride to heaven.

Thanks for the posting Mangan talking points memo. That was well worth reading as a behind-the-scenes doc.

sources say that not only is Sam Adams "out of control" when it comes to the tram project, he's out of control on nearly every issue and with every person in the building. I think the term being used is "nut job".

Thank The O's City Hall reporters -- they posted it. They're doing an end-run around their paper's weak web presence through their blog. Only a matter of time before someone in New Jersey pulls the plug on them, though.

Is that where Knight-Ridder is based, Jersey?

Or, is this another allusion entirely?

"""""OHSU vs. City of Portland would be one hell of an interesting lawsuit to watch, though, wouldn't it?"""""

And for a sprinkle of special on top of everything else OHSU president Peter Kohler is leaving soon.

How timely.

We're not the only city with a tram problem. Read more here:
http://www.billingsgazette.com/index.php?id=1&display=rednews/2005/12/28/build/wyoming/65-ski-tram.inc

From the article there, I gather that you can build some sort of tram for $20 Million. Why don't we find out who's building it, and hire them for the NM project??

I would like to change the plan I outlined on the Portland Freelancer site. I no longer believe OHSU should be moved to the river, and the abandoned buildings on Pill Hill turned into a McMenamins.
I know believe we should turn City Hall into a McMenamins.

A damn typo. Here's the rewrite:
I would like to change the plan I outlined on the Portland Freelancer site. I no longer believe OHSU should be moved to the river, and the abandoned buildings on Pill Hill turned into a McMenamins.
I now believe we should turn City Hall into a McMenamins.

What we really need to do is redesign the Tram [rimshot] to rum from the Convention Center to the Wapato Jail.

Presto - We have a Convention Center Hotel!

But Bill....McMenamins is a micro brewery. It strikes me that City Hall is a maxi screwery, am I right? Can the brothers scale up to handle that?

Tram Life-Cycle Costing Analysis

Concerning LCC analysis being fictitious or non-existent and not including things like financing, insurance, etc.;

Wouldn't insurance (liability and all) costs be extremely high for something so in your face with all the eco terrorists and world terrorists? Any insurance agents out there-like Lloyds of London?

An interesting question.

I've always thought that the OHSU Psych Department was sufficient risk for "an exciting ride on the tram." (Y'know, if they're adults, won't take their meds, and demand to be released....) I wasn't even thinking about eco-terrorists or the like.

Come to think of it, OHSU has it's own set of problems with the ALF people.

Notice Frank, that the Billings thing is an "estimated" cost. Actual numbers will be made available after construction begins.

Construction has begun!

See work at Terwilliger and Campus Drive, directly in front of Casey Eye Clinic. See work at base.

Where are the figures?

Jack Bogdanski:
Your name-calling, ridicule and poorly informed and reductionist commentary seem to have rallied to your point of view many people who respond to that distortive and dangerous approach to important and complicated matters. I wonder why you don't proceed more carefully and intelligently. Are you trying to compete with Lars Larson and Phil Stanford? Would you lose your audience--and whatever thrills their mean-spirited cheering provides you--if you were to proceed more carefully, honestly and civilly? Aren't you an educator by profession? And a careful analyst of complex rules and laws by training? Why isn't that at all evident in your blog? You seem to be blowing off steam for your own pleasure without regard to the damage that your hot vapor might be doing.
--Rich L.

I was just pointing out the similarities in Billings to those in Portland. I don't think "leaders" in either city know the cost. Neither do those who have been charged with building the them. I'd wager they've been directive to "build until it's done" and worry about costs later.

Same thing happened in Baltimore when they got hot to trot to build their new football stadium for the Ravens. Their directive was "build it, then tell us how much it cost". I got that from a conversation I had with a contractor at an Orioles game five or six years ago.

If you don't like it, don't read it. I stand by everything that's written in this post. If you would prefer a blander, less opinionated take, there are many Oregonian distribution boxes scattered throughout the metropolitan area.

JB:
Of course I don't have to read your blog. I read it occasionally because it apparently has some impact on the community in which I live and it provides some insight into that community. I often don't like what I see on your blog, or the sort of responses--in both tone and content--that it encourages. But in general I will read things I don't like in order to become more informed. I'm not objecting to your approach and opinions simply because I dislike them; I'm objecting because I think your approach is damaging. You don't encourage intelligent analysis, and you reinforce simplistic prejudices ("government is bad," "spending public money is bad," "change is bad"). You actually go so far as to give insulting nicknames to people you don't like, and you encourage, in the fashion of Rush Limbaugh, your audience to join with you in your sloganeering and ridicule. Do you honestly believe that this approach is the only way to avoid being bland in the service of expressing your opinion? Ultimately, you're intellectually unconvincing. You try to have some power in the community by appealing to base instincts and inciting the hateful anger and glee of the mob. At least in your blog, you're a demagogue, not an educator.
--Rich

Yeah, Jack, and while we're at it, what's up with all those inconvenient, embarrassing FACTS you keep publishing, anyway? That's corrosive! ;0P

If you would prefer a blander, less opinionated take, there are many Oregonian distribution boxes scattered throughout the metropolitan area.

Blander anyway. And of course their opinions carry more weight, partially as a result.

The problem with the Tram is exactly that. I think the price being a lowball figure was widely understood. But no Oregonian reporter was going to challenge it in print while the Oregonian editorial board stood behind it.

One question that I have never seen an answer for is who pays the operating costs? OHSU is supposed to pay for their employees, but what happens if there are not enough thrill seekers to cover the rest? Is OHSU on the hook for the full cost?

In the short run there is really no serious problem with OHSU using North Macadam for parking. But the planning for the area showed serious transportation issues that required a lot of the employment to be come from people who lived in the area and walked or used transit. I don't think traffic issues will kill the residential development, but they could very well kill commercial development.

Moreover, the Tram carry's about 80 people at a time. I assume that most OSHU employees come in shifts at the same time. People aren't going to appreciate having to get to work a half hour early to wait in the tram line.

I am not sure that the budget was the only thing that wasn't completely thought through here. I think OSHU's insistance that they would move to Hillsboro if they didn't get the tram shut down critical evaluation pretty early in the discussion.

Rich,
I along with some others who are exceedingly informed on these issues have shared much more on this blog, much sooner than you obviously would prefer and have seen little from you.

Tell us exactly what is it that you have "intellectually analyzed"?

There have been so many false pretenses used to deliver the Tram and SoWa to approval and the public trough I wish I had some of the PDC budget to line them all up for you to chew on.

And while you're dining on crow the rest of us can create some hefty consequences for those who have mislead the public.

Rich L. = Tone Nazi. The ultimate sign of being out of arguments, as in "I don't like your tone." Way too common around here, and absolutely disgusting in defense of elitism.

The wide open door beckons for you and your cronies if you don't like it, Rich.

Maybe on your way out, you should stop to ponder whether you are surprised that crony pay-to-play government got us to this point. The debate is the way it is because good people are shut out of the process by the corrupt clowns you front for. The media has little interest in telling the public the truth up front because it bypasses their power and role in public life and threatens their relationship with crony government. It's hypocrites like you, Rich, who have filled the void, in the media and in crony government. Are you surprised then, when the rest of us want to decentralize power, stop crony government, and put power back into the hands of taxpayers?

It's your system Richie Rich - you own it. So stop whining.

And along those lines, may I strongly recommend this and this.

I'm almost totally convinced there is no real practical reason for the tram other than pure PR and marketing. OHSU needs a tram (badump-kshhhhh) to somehow increase their credibility. Portland wants the tram (badump-kshhhhh) to somehow increase tourism -- as if forest park, Mt hood, the rivers, the japanese garden, the zoo, etc. don't attract tourists.

And don't forget the free baseball stadium you're about to buy.

"It appears as though the plan was to run out the clock before anyone knew what happened. Now that the cat is clawing and hissing its way out of the bag, do the city and OHSU begin speeding things up on the tram?"

According to the Trib from a couple of days ago, the thing's tipped past the point of no return, and will be built.

... and the hot Canadian ladies who love to ride trams.

Rich took the words out of my mouth. Well put.

I too make this blog a regular stop, whether or not I agree with JB. Love it or hate it, this fills a need for a locals-only blog... most of the time it's a great read.

But maybe, JUST MAYBE, the author and the commentors here tend to be 'negative nellys' about any idea that comes out of the council. Everyone makes mistakes... just because they don't look like they're on Standard Insurance's board of directors doesn't mean they don't understand money.

For chrissakes Jack... run for office if they're all bums.

When the City Council does something right, I support it. Registration of lobbyists? Right on. Support of the public schools? Right on. Reasonable regulation of tow truck operators? I'm all for it.

And I've said so here.

If politicians don't want nicknames and caricatures, they're in the wrong business.

run for office if they're all bums.

They're not. But a lot of what they're doing lately are big mistakes.

Ross Williams writes:

One question that I have never seen an answer for is who pays the operating costs? OHSU is supposed to pay for their employees, but what happens if there are not enough thrill seekers to cover the rest? Is OHSU on the hook for the full cost?

Answer: Yes. According to the development agreement, OHSU is on the hook for a share of the operating costs (in excess of farebox revenues) attributable to OHSU. IIRC for the first two years the assumed OHSU share is 75 percent (or 85 percent, whatever). During that time ridership surveys will be taken and the share will be adjusted based on that. So if its 90 or 95 or 100 percent OHSU, then that's what OHSU pays.

Note that the development agreement is into its 8th amendment, so all this could change with the 9th, 10th, nth amendments ...

Hot Canadian ladies? I'm SO there!

Just a gentle comment in regards to Rich L and TK criticizing JB's blog and comments: I think what's reflected here in this blog is an undercurrent of major mistrust of the Healthcare-Government complex....much like Eisenhower's mistrust in the 1950s of the military-industrial complex.

There is a huge bunch of anger in the broad public against healthcare institutions who are big and flashy, spending lots of money that is generated by public dollars, when so many people are without necessary healthcare because of exorbitant prices. While JB is not saying this, and I don't speak for him, I think that is potentially one of the reasons why all the heat is on for this project.

Criticize JB and other bloggers if you like (we have broad shoulders and can take it) but understand that many members of the public have had it with arrogant tax-exempt organizations spending dollars in ways that we don't understand or agree with. Americans are just getting it that when a hospital or healthcare system decides it's going to spend a bunch of money on something, (and the price of healthcare increases and our employers tell us we're paying more copays as a result) we don't get to vote on it. When they drag in local officials to kick in even more tax dollars, we feel left out of that vote, too.

There's a money quote from this story in Buffalo that accurately describes our situation.

"The two most crippling problems are cronyism and stenography. From those, most of the other problems flow. For instance, credibility. . . Stenography comes at a price . . . as does superficiality. And that price is heavy. The [Oregonian] loves the image of being a watchdog. But is it? Telling us that the roof has collapsed, AFTER it has collapsed, doesn't do a hell of a lot of good, does it? Uh, yeah, well, thanks, but we've noticed."

TK and Rich are totally blaming the messenger, when in reality, when a story is uncomfortable to the powers that be, the media drags its feet, never questions the "facts" at the start, and consciously resists spilling the beans until the story's absence becomes embarrassingly conspicuous.

hypocrisy Bad, bad Jack Bogdanski! If only you'd let this stuff slide, we'd all be so much better off, and both the media and the crony government could retain an air of credibility! Bad, bad Jack Bogdanski, destroying confidence in our institutions of elite power! /hypocrisy

It's their game, they own it, it's their effing problem if they don't like it when it blows up in their face. Don't run for office.

Rich & TK:

I'm a long-time resident of Portland. I moved here when I was five and I'm now over 50. What I've seen happen in the past ten years over this project is just one less than savory example of what has gone wrong with politics in Portland.

It's been too long in the hands of presumptive elitists and their bankroll friends, both who think they know what is good for us...lining their pockets with cash from the public till.

If you have alternate viewpoints, I'd like to hear them, for one. All you've done is engage in empty ad hominems so far. Give us some substance. Give us something that might change our minds, rather than reinforce our prejudices that those who want this will shove it down our throats whether we want it or not. And make _us_ pay for it.

Who pays for the operating costs?

GarageWine answers most of it. What is left out though is that the Tram can be unsuccessful beyond the farebox revenues. The Agreement now does not answer who is left with the deficits explicitely. That means (gee, I love our city attorneys) that PATI (you and me, as taxpayers) hold the debt. Do you think OHSU would offer to pay, say the engineers screwed up the load calculations at the top terminal, or there is a break in the cable (rim shot), or a mentally ill patient on the tram caused a $5M lawsuit against the Tram. The Agreement doesn't cover the obvious(or hidden) circumstances that could cause us all to hold the money bag.

Whats with the idea that the tram issue is based on "mistrust" of the Healthcare-Government complex? Its the TRAM!

See, Rich and TK, there is useful conversation.

Upon further consideration it appears Homer and Vera got together and created Rich so they could tell us how they feel without being further umbarassed.

The OHSU Medical Group had the opportunity to obtain a performance bond, at the outset, with some entity other than the fleeting personalities on the present city council as a financial backer.

They might have planned to save a few bucks on the cost of the bond by instead choosing a path of certainty that is as secure as placing bets on a greased pig catching and holding competition at the county fair.

I blame the lawyer for the OHSU Medical Group for such oversight. It might even be legal malpractice, but if he (or she) is not a member of the bar then the bar's liability fund for such actions would not be available for cover either.

"PDC takes right step in seeking tram inquiry." (The Oregonian, Sunday, Jan 15, 2006) Sounds great.

But wait. Isn't this the same PDC that is party to the South Waterfront Central District Development Agreement along with OHSU; River Campus Investors, LLC; North Macadam Investors, LLC; and Block 39, LLC? Doesn't Homer Williams own one of these properties, perhaps through Williams and Dame?

But wait again. Isn't this the same PDC that the Oregon DEQ believes underwrote the SOWA Central District private funding? With PDC as a party to the financing, DEQ believed it negated the requirement of a remedial investigation (RI) and risk assessment (RA) to alleviate DEQ's concerns of potential toxin contamination.

Back in July, 2003, a voluntary final human health risk assessment (HHRA), an RI and RA was submitted to the OR DEQ by the ZRZ Realty (Zidell). The OR DEQ, if not previously, was then aware of the toxic contamination located on the ZRZ realty property just north, and adjacent to the proposed OHSU/City tram site along Gibbs street. As a result, the DEQ was very concerned about contamination of the SoWa Central District and future liabilty.

On August 20, 2003, Mr. Matt Brown was e-mailed the following question,
"What measures has the City, State and OHSU taken to ensure the PATI Citizens Advisory Committee is not designing a tram to be constructed on potentially toxin saturated contaminated property?"

Mr. Brown's almost immediate response was lengthy. It contained the following,
"...the Schematic Design process for the tram will include geotechnical testing of these two South Waterfront building sites." and "...similar procedures will be undertaken with the rest of the public projects in South Waterfront, including the street improvement project and streetcar extensions."

Has anyone heard of any "geotechnical testing" of the two tram terminus sites or of the "...public projects in South Waterfront..." that might confirm an uncontaminated site?

One would expect that if testing had been done and the area found clean, there would have been an abundance of press releases to announce that finding.

Besides, wouldn't the future residents of the SOWA like to know just how clean the area is?

Has "geotechnical testing" of the SoWa been included in any SoWa budget. Will it be included in the new PDC "independent review.?"

It is suspected this new "independent review" will be used by Commissioner Adams to request additional tram funding from City Council.

The Shadow

If they're already pouring concrete, it sounds like a done deal. Didn't the contract define who would be liable for cost overruns? If not, then don't fire the PR hack or the consultants, fire the attorneys that drafted the document (or sue them for malfeasance).

And if the City Council signed off on a contract which obligated them to pay for cost overruns of any stripe, then shame on them (and hooray for the contractors, engineers and architects that got a blank check!). Come to think of it, I may have to toss my hat in the ring for a community visioning grant: $15,000 would go a long way towards making my vision of Portland a reality.

AERIAL TRAM: It's incredibly hard to believe our current City Council had NO IDEA that the tram might cost more than $15.5 million. The information was out there. You shuld have DONE YOUR RESEARCH, COUNCILORS.

They are either incredibly UNQUALIFIED to serve as councilors (most likely) or they knew it would cost more and should be prosecuted for racketeering.

I might suggest some enterprising person market a brand new set of bumper stickers. My suggestions would be "SAM TRAM - Just Do It?" or "Rim Shot, PLEASE". I think that the word of mouth and the blog traffic about this insanely inept development/situation has reached a critical mass.

I'd pay the $5 or $10 just to see my fellow Portland commuter smiling and shaking their heads in agreement as they pass me by.

Hey PORTLAND CITY COUNCIL, wake up and pull the plug on the TRAM. Save us the money and you might save your own seat on the council. Just a thought... RIM SHOT.

I think SS is on to something; it does sound like some of Vera and Homer's brainchildren talking about "Negative Nellies". And don't forget NIMBYS.
Anyone with another take is dangerous, rude, contrarian; in a word:BAD like the opposite of GOOD in Good Old Boy or Goodfellow. It seems formulaic by now. Then they try to project their narrowness onto others with a haughty tone.
I like this blog because it is truth oriented, informative and FUNNY, reflecting a state that has become truly hilarious in recent years. And there has long been a need for a forum to express the "negatives": the fact that all the good old action has consequences and victims with very little recourse outside of cyberspace. Maybe people aren't being negative; maybe they are simply telling like it is because you can't solve problems before you define them.

When they come after you personally, you know you're getting to them. It's empowering.

Cynthia said: "I think SS is on to something; it does sound like some of Vera and Homer's brainchildren talking about "Negative Nellies". And don't forget NIMBYS. Anyone with another take is dangerous, rude, contrarian; in a word:BAD like the opposite of GOOD in Good Old Boy or Goodfellow. It seems formulaic by now. Then they try to project their narrowness onto others with a haughty tone."

Y'know... That approach sounds kinda familiar. I think it was a politician who used it, too. "Nattering nabobs of negativity," was the phrase. I think that politician went down in a scandal over construction projects.

Yeah, Spiro... That's the ticket to spin your way out.

Oregonian Headlines:

KOHLER LEAVES OHSU VIA TRAM

Willamette Week Headlines:

OHSU KITZHABER ATTEMPTS CABLE WALK-FAILS!

The only comment I have about the tram [rim shot] is that it is a waste of money and obviously a strain on the City of Portland and OHSU's credibility. What I really want to say is this dicsussion has been the most entertaining I have encountered in a long time. You all rock!

"I'm not objecting to your approach and opinions simply because I dislike them; I'm objecting because I think your approach is damaging. You don't encourage intelligent analysis, and you reinforce simplistic prejudices..."

That's more a problem among the commentors than the blogger himself. To understand this forum you must keep in mind that the host is not the sole author of all the comments... you can't blame all the cruft on him.

That said, our host has strong opinions and he's not afraid to share them... but he also provides some pretty solid information, links to back up his opinions, and the opportunity to challenge his opinion right here. If he's provably wrong, it's not hard to call him out on it here, by including one's own information and links in the comments.

I note with interest that you have not yet provided any additional information, only opinion. :-)

Bojack: 1 Rich: 0

" ... ("government is bad," "spending public money is bad," "change is bad")... "

Pshaw. Jack supports public money for bringing Major League Baseball to Portland, for heaven's sake. He's obviously a fan of some civic projects, just not all of them.

You've yet to score a hit.

Bojack: 2 Rich: 0

"You actually go so far as to give insulting nicknames to people you don't like, and you encourage, in the fashion of Rush Limbaugh, your audience to join with you in your sloganeering and ridicule."

Ah, there's a winner at last. Damn uppity lefty using Rush's own tactics. For shame!

(Yet encouraging ridicule is not the same as unfairly originating it. In large part Jack's targets have made themselves ridiculous. Mind you, he does seem willing to pile on now and then.)

Bojack: 2 Rich: 1

"Do you honestly believe that this approach is the only way to avoid being bland in the service of expressing your opinion?"

He did not actually claim that this forum is not bland, only that The Whimperer is bland. Nice to see that you think the blog is interesting, though. Me too.

Bojack: 3 Rich: 1

Ultimately, you're intellectually unconvincing.

Dang, you better make sure them big words don't fall on y'all, cause they ain't got no support 't all.

Bojack: 4 Rich: 1

"You try to have some power in the community by appealing to base instincts and inciting the hateful anger and glee of the mob. At least in your blog, you're a demagogue, not an educator."

Well, judging by the fact that a City Council hopeful and a City Council member have each posted here in the last few days under their own names, I'd say he's beyond trying to have power in the community. He's already got some. Not a lot, but it surely isn't none.

And I don't know that it's fair to say that he's trying to have base appeal... he clearly does have some, but I think that's more a matter of the blog format removing obstacles to public expression than any actual incitement of a mob.

As for not being an educator here, the truth or falsehood of your assertion is made irrelevant by its idiocy. This is clearly a personal hobby of Professor Bogdanski's, not an extension of his work for that school on that other hill. One would not expect a physican's hobby blog to be all about medicine, unless one were a complete sap.

Bojack: 5 Rich: 1

Thanks for playing, Rich. I do hope you'll be a good sport about losing.

("Rich" might be an unfortunate choice of nickname, by the way, when defending business interests accused of shady dealings.)

Why is ridicule presumed always to be negative? I believe it can be an effective political tool where systems become stagnant with cronyism and conflicts of interest, where the forums(fora?) for free speech start to contract. A friend keeps recommending a film by the title, "Ridicule" (French, I think) reportedly on this subject. I haven't seen it yet, though. I did read a series of essays by Bertoldt Brecht years ago "Brecht on Theater" that, if memory, serves, touched on this.

Jack-
A handful of BoJack Groupies seem to be relishing the opportunity to defend your honor and receive affirmation in the process (thanks Alan for keeping score!). I think that's great... we all need a hug sometimes, even if it's a virtual one.

But you guys have to understand... calling the mob mentality on this subject 'negative' doesn't mean I don't appreciate the discussion or the ability to call politicians out for missteps. I just think it's important to bring their intentions into context, have a little empathy, and keep things in perspective. Think about it: their jobs require they become 'instant experts' on a mind-boggling number of subjects, including economic development, schools, construction, public security, infrastructure, and the tax system. Understandably, they need to lean on real experts in each of these fields for an accurate assessment. The Iraq 'war on terror' notwithstanding, haven't we come to expect they're going to take minor gambles that don't work out?

Have a little perspective... it's one thing for this council to misjudge what their $15 million will get them. Every city, county and state government rolls the dice on the future. But it's not like the GOP-led federal government, wasting billions (trillions?) for crooked, sweetheart deals and pork projects. I think we can all agree this council's missteps are fairly benign compared with the beltway crowd, or even Salem for that matter. This is probably the biggest group of do-gooders on the council that we've had in 15-20 yrs. Really.

Believe me, I probably sound infinitely more negative on our national and statewide government missteps than most of you. But that's because the f**k-ups are a result of deliberate undermining of our system... and it warrants REAL OUTRAGE. Sigh. Maybe this is the world we live in... one where the public's outrage is reserved for a botched American Idol voting system or 'wardrobe malfunctions'.

There you go again, TK with name calling and insults. I have personal experience, both as a lawyer and a layman, with the City-and County-making unreasoned decisions to favor cronies without regard for the public interest in the law or sound finance. I imagine other readers do as well. It can be demonstrated that the tram is an example of a favor trading culture where the ordinary citizen just doesn't count very much.

it's one thing for this council to misjudge what their $15 million will get them.

$15 million? Are you kidding? Sten alone has blown five times that in his 12 years.

I'm as anti-Bush as anybody, but it's mostly because I'm anti-stupid.

TK: I think in large part most bloggers have definatively shown that Council, PDC, PATI, and etc. have not "misjudged" as you state. Sorry that you don't see beyond that thinking. There has been a mission on their part and not a misjudgement. Now, you might retort that their mission was honorable, and maybe some of it was; but consider all the issues just on the tram that has been expressed. It has been beyond an "honorable mission". Consider the public participation aspect and its ignorance. The tram and NM has many civic lessons that we can learn from. It is not fair to pollyanne it.

Adams is a blogger. Thus he has . . .

TK is right. The whole Ski-Lift, SoWhat boondoggle will likely cost the CoP less than $100 million in combined hard/soft expenditures. Chump change in a budget the size of Portland's.

The real damage will be done once the Socialists have consolidated their power via Voter Owned Elections. Imagine a City Ordinance that requires Starbucks to offer PERS level retirement benefits to every barista.

Not to mention the doubling of water and sewer rates to play catch up on infrastructure improvements. We are likely to have reached our bond issuance limits by then, so ratepayers, progressive City Income Tax rates, and "one time" property tax asessments (or LID's) will be the only "emergency" funding solution. We can't just let raw sewage leak into your neighborhoods, can we?

Living in Portland is going to be very expensive in another l0 years, if it isn't already.

TK: For a little more perspective and context, I refer you to a late 1990s WW article "Backroom Vera" and to old tapes of Metro Council hearings during which former council chair Jon Kvistad was known to say such things as, "But we've made promises" to explain why certain developers didn't have to play by the rules. Among our current crowd of "do-gooders" we've got actors; I am waiting for their production of Promises! Promises!

Granted, we have more than our share of easily hornswaggled decision makers, both locally and statewide. And that is kind of sad and pathetic, all right. But the public deserves better.

If it turns out any or all of the city council is crooked, I won't hesitate to join this mob. Regardless, I actually don't take the tram's busted budget lightly. Conservative or liberal, we should expect our leaders to be fair, honest, fiscally responsible, and not crooked.

Portland is a work in progress. This country has enough big cities without character or vision. Homogenous cities, without a sense of place, without a history and likely without a future. Drop yourself in a suburb of Phoenix or Vegas and you wouldn't know the difference. Orlando-Tampa, Sacramento-Fresno, Houston-Dallas... it doesn't matter. My point? These homogenous places have spawned a view of government that has put George W. Bush in power for two terms... The far right has eschewed individuals and their vote in favor of letting corporations write our laws. Laws that open this country up to the biggest corporations to dominate every sector. Laws that allow unhindered population growth, and paving over our farmland simply so we can all have ill-conceived tract-home sameness. If that's their societal experiment, why not try a new approach here in the NW? I don't think it's a bad thing to dream big, do you?

I'm not talking utopia here, but we live in a special, unique place that needs to find its way again. We're lost at the moment because we cripple our government into taking the low road, and it's because up until now we've had to rely on the same 5 media conglomerates to tell us what the role of government should be. If you don't believe me, simply look at our political shifts from the advent of mass media, through it's growth and consolidation at the present date. It has shaped our views enough for us to vote against our best interests... and it's getting worse with every election cycle.

The issue seems to be a world away when we think of Portland. But it's not. The tram may turn out to be a boondoggle, or it may turn out to be an iconic boondoggle. But we can't fault our leaders for taking risks that may have high costs for long-term results. Short term thinking would never have given world-class cities their landmarks, notable character, or destination quality. God forbid we build a new Sellwood bridge that doesn't look like the 72nd Ave overpass. Or build a new school out of bricks and mortar rather than mobile trailers. Or invest in a downtown public market. Or a bridgehead that looks marginally better than a glowing-orange Home Depot sign.

TK,

The travel time of the tram is 2 minutes 45 seconds, with a 12 ton, 70 - 80 passenger cabin the size of a bus, passing over a residential neighborhood, 24 times an hour, 18 hours a day, 7 days a week, 360 days per year, not counting for maintenance down time. (Rhodes Consulting, Inc., Portland Aerial Tram Operations Plan, April, 2003, pp 3-4).

Oh, I'm sorry, didn't he just resign? Didn't give all the facts? The citizens are left with the residue to clean up.

One would hope Portland could distinguish itself in a more notable, useful, long-term, informed manner.

We can be unique without empoverishing ourselves and enriching the carpetbaggers.

Oddly enough, TK, I sort of agree with you. There's probably some corruption in city government... there is in any large enough organization, public or private. But I think the council itself can be assumed to have goodwill in this. (The assumtion might be wrong, of course, but it'll harm little to assume it in the short run.)

What I see here is a little bit of corruption snowballing into a huge screwup. The initial corruption, if any, wasn't all that bad. It was probably even well-intentioned, maybe a staffer or two being overly influenced by a developer's point of view and seeing this project in a more positive light than a skeptical observer might. Some numbers were fudged, and once the numbers were in place no one thought or dared to challenge them. Everyone assumed the goodwill of everyone else involved, and closed ranks against the crtitics from outside their organization. (Who, after all, did not have access to the bulk of the information.)

The project gained its own momentum, and it became harder and harder to challenge the underlying assumptions. By the time it made it to the council, most council members probably made the very reasonable assumption that the estimates they were seeing were correct... after all, this process had been going for years and hundreds of people had reviewed it. Probably some councillors ignored the critics, because they hear from crackpots all the time and have had to develop filters just to stay sane... it can sometimes be hard to tell a crackpot from a whistleblower. They counted to three and that was that.

There may have been corruption higher up, of course, or undue influence of a social nature. But one does not need corruption of councillors to explain this debacle... just a long chain of honest mistakes and a little misplaced trust.

This is why I think an honest failure analysis is really cruicial. If staff "lied" to council, as Mr. Leonard asserts, the systemic causes of the misinformation need to be discovered and repaired. If staff was just wrong, that represents a different sort of failure that might be harder to repair. And if staff told the truth but the council ignored it, then the voters need to know that.

There's one particular failure that seems completely avoidable to me, that if avoided could have nipped all this in the bud. I think the council was foolhardy to make big changes to the north macadam plan without having the planning commission review and comment on those changes. I think things might be very different now if they'd just gotten that one review.

TK at January 21, 2006 12:11 PM : Portland is a work in progress. This country has enough big cities without character or vision. Homogenous cities, without a sense of place, without a history and likely without a future. Drop yourself in a suburb of Phoenix or Vegas and you wouldn't know the difference. Orlando-Tampa, Sacramento-Fresno, Houston-Dallas... it doesn't matter.

JK : They may not have a sense of place, but they have better schools, better jobs and better public services. I’ll take the latter and let you dream of the former.

TK at January 21, 2006 12:11 PM : . . .simply so we can all have ill-conceived tract-home sameness. If that's their societal experiment, why not try a new approach here in the NW? I don't think it's a bad thing to dream big, do you?

JK : Some of those disgusting places also have affordable homes, because there is no artificial shortage of land. Take your choice: affordable housing or your “new approach” that is already an obvious failure. Dream with your own life and money NOT OTHER PEOPLE’S. We have our own dreams. Have you noticed that you are espousing a life style and hence a religion?

TK at January 21, 2006 12:11 PM : But we can't fault our leaders for taking risks that may have high costs for long-term results.

JK : Even if they lie to us, ignore us and fail to fund police fire and schools, but fund well connected developers?

TK at January 21, 2006 12:11 PM : Short term thinking would never have given world-class cities their landmarks, notable character, or destination quality.

JK : In case you didn’t notice it: PORTLAND IS BROKE. Mostly because of trying to do what you are advocating. Please go loot some other town, Homer.

Thanks
JK

Why does the website state 75 comments, when there are only 64 to be counted? I may be off by one or two, but the odds are way against it.

"These go to Eleven."

Mr T wrote""""TK is right. The whole Ski-Lift, SoWhat boondoggle will likely cost the CoP less than $100 million in combined hard/soft expenditures. Chump change in a budget the size of Portland's.""""""""""

This is amazing. The false information is never ending.
The 20 year budget for SoWa is $288 million plus $160 million in debt service.
Years more and many more millions to completely retire the debt.

That doesn't include all of the costs incurred in the SoWa plan.

All of which will be paid from property taxes diverted from 409 acres, by making the 120 acres of the South Waterfront project a 409 acre urban renewal district. Meaning all of the property tax increases from 289 acres of existing development will be spent on the new development for over 20 years. Along with nearly every dime generated within the 120 acres.

That's only one Urban Renewal district.

Portland has 9 or so UR districts with 12,000 acres of property tax increases never finding basic services for decades.

As long as the PDC continues to violate State Law by not filing yearly impact reports we'll never know the drain and harm this is causing.

Mt.T, TK and Rich, you have MIS-located the mob mentality.

Why does the website state 75 comments, when there are only 64 to be counted? I may be off by one or two, but the odds are way against it.

One of those mysteries, I guess. The server on which this blog resides has been very sick the last couple of days. Perhaps that has something to do with it. We're moving -- I hope, within the next week.

T, TK, Rich and fellow mobsters:

Easily hornswaggled decision makers are not necessarily corrupt; they are impressionable-or corruptible. Sam Smith's "Great American Political Repair Manuel" suggests that change comes when we focus on the corruptors, rather than the corrupted; spec developers in this case. Non the less, the council is entrusted with the responsibility to do some critical thinking on our behalf.
I came to Portland to go to planning school because I believed in it to be a special place where land use planning really mattered. What I have found is more of a project planning emphasis and virtually no respect for basic 5th Amendment rights, basic things like notice and a hearing before major zone changes are attempted-or treating similarly situated property owners alike-not even reaching the regulatory takings question (which is a real one requiring nuanced analysis imho.) It is possible to respect both planning principles and the Constitution: I have seen it in other places, notably jurisdictions in California where I have worked. The stuff about Portland being so "special" that it can ignore these things is starting to ring hallow as are the attacks on those who ask questions.

Hollow. Sorry.

Steve Schopp: are you saying that this whole project costs $488 million, or just the public subsidy? Damn. That IS real money.

Yo Shadow:

Do we have a mechanism that will instantly load and unload the passenger? If not, you better add at least 90 seconds for passenger loading and unloading. Assuming 75 passengers on every trip, that works out to 12,706 passengers every 24 hours, with no downtime. How many buses would that require? For $60 million, we can probably afford leather seats and T.V.s on the buses.

""""Steve Schopp: are you saying that this whole project costs $488 million, or just the public subsidy? """""""""

That is only the public subsidy portion.
Which is primarily free infrastructure for the developers and OHSU.
$288 in projects, (streets sidewalks, sewer,water etc,)and $160 in debt service in PDC's 20 year SoWa budget with additional years and millions to completely clear the debt.
ALL of which comes from property taxes in the district. The new development will be 120 acres but the district is 409 acres in order to siphon away more property taxes that the new development would produce by itself.
Along with millions in free infrastructure, sweeping zoning changes were handed to the developers providing them a windfall in land value.
What does the public get in return?
High density at all costs.
And a Tram of course.

Mr. T: The projected passenger count per PDC/PATI (one year ago projection) was 1800 per day-the tram operating 18 hrs/day. The tram car, if people are stacked like wood is approx. 68 people fully loaded. Assuming a wheel chair, guerney, crutches, walkers, a coughing flu patient, a hepatitis D patient, a severly mental ill patient, the capacity becomes much less. Of course the tram won't be fully loaded on all it trips just like MAX or buses-that is why 1800/day might be realistic. 90 seconds for passenger loading, on loading is not realistic, it will take much longer. By the way, if you look at the scaled drawings of the tram car you also wonder how you can even fit 68 passengers in, even placed like a Tokyo subway car.