More property taxes for your! aerial! tram! [rim shot]
The long-awaited "new deal" for the OHSU aerial tram [rim shot] was finally shown around at Portland City Hall yesterday. The Portland Development Commission has "hammered out" one of its trademark transactions in which the bucket goes even deeper into the bottomless well of city taxpayer money. The new package just unveiled (36 hours after the public got an uninformative p.r. snow job that apparently never mentioned it) has the city paying $5.9 million of new green, on top of the $3.5 million that it's already paid, to build the Ski Lift to Municipal Bankruptcy. You math majors out there, hep us out, but I think that's a 168.6% increase.
There's that good old PDC fighting spirit that we've grown to know and love! They come in with this gem after three members of the City Council had already announced that the city shouldn't have to pay any new money. Perhaps we need to chip in to get the PDC a few subscriptions to the local newspapers.
Of course, that proposed $9.4 million revised total they're flashing around is another liars' budget. It hides the many, many more millions in underhanded subsidies that the tram has already received, which make the original $3.5 million already a fake number. Looked at more critically, the existing city taxpayer tab is probably closer to $10 million, and the new package would push it well over $15 million -- maybe closer to $20 million, as there are new forms of sneaky subsidies in the new proposal.
City Commissioners Leonard and Saltzman dismissed the new deal yesterday. But the Mayor and Sam "the Tram" Adams have made it fairly clear that they are committed to getting the tram built one way or another, and they appear to be open to "tweaking" the "new deal," with plenty more paid out of property taxes. They're softening us up with the proposed $5.9 million increase, so that they can look like champs when it turns out to be only $4.5 million (for now).
Which leaves our pal Opie as the swing vote. And he's trying to have it both ways, as usual. First he acted as though he was in the Leonard camp -- no new money, period -- but now he's hedging. He's sending out those Opie messages that you only get if you read between the lines to understand what's going on in his keen OSPIRG-like mind.
Erik Sten, two weeks ago: "We just got to a point now where we've got to say that's it. And if it's not worth the money to OHSU and the developers, then it doesn't get built."
Erik Sten, yesterday: "I'm not going to support a new agreement unless the private-sector developers eat some of the cost overruns."
Hmmm. "Unless." Hmmm. "Some" of the cost overruns. So if his "seed money" patron Homer Williams scratches up another $1 million by taking bottles back to Freddy's and giving plasma, Sten will vote to have the city pay the other $4.9 million of new city money in the PDC package? That's a funny way of interpreting "that's it."
Adams seemed to say as much: "Potter and Commissioner Sam Adams said they're open to more discussion, but Adams also wants to see more money from the developers."
At least this enhances the comedy value of the whole episode. Williams and his co-developer, a man named Dike Dame, probably don't have any more money. Developers are notorious for running on an extremely low checking account balance, reportedly getting themselves in cash flow binds fairly regularly on projects such as Homer's buildings in the Pearl. When you tell them they have to pay more money in the short term, it drives them nuts. They just don't have it. It's the stuff that HBO Sunday Nights are made of.
Meanwhile, there's another insane sideshow running under this tent. One ploy that's being used to try to obscure reality is Sten's dragging low-income housing into the picture. Opie and crew know that when they say "affordable housing," all the City Club sheep bleat loudly in approval. And so part of the new strategy is to somehow make it look as though by paying more money for the aerial tram [rim shot], Portland taxpayers are really somehow building apartments for the homeless:
An additional $18.7 million in new tax revenue would be steered into affordable housing. The city's goal is for nearly 800 of the 3,000 condos and apartments planned for the area to be accessible to low- and middle-income residents.This stuff cracks me up. What "new tax revenue"? Do you just wave a magic wand, and "new tax revenue" appears? And even if it did, how does the city's steering more money away from cops and potholes toward housing projects somehow justify steering even more money away toward the Kohler-Coaster?
And pardon me, but talking about "goals" is pretty silly. SoWhat isn't going to be a low-income neighborhood. So far the purported "affordable housing" projects down there have not advanced beyond identifying a couple of blocks of bleak (maybe contaminated) dirt that some day, maybe, if we can come up with more public money and if we can sweet-talk somebody into it, might contain some housing that someone might be able to call "affordable" (if they don't look up in the dictionary what that word actually means).
Adding onto that fetid pile of largely empty promises is not a justification for paying more city money for the tram. The connection between the two is so preposterous that they really ought to give up trying to get anyone to understand it, much less believe it.
But the show goes on. Over in ring no. 3: OHSU's bringing its trial lawyer to the meetings with the city now. And the O is quick to point out that it's "one of the city's most prominent trial lawyers." Oooooh, scary!
Bring it on, dudes.
The craziest part -- and of course, the O acts like you shouldn't even consider asking about it -- is why work on this monstrosity continues at its frenzied pace when there's a major lawsuit looming over the financing.
Picture it this way: Let's say you and your neighbor agree to build a fancy new garage together. You and she sign a poorly worded contract that says you're going to build it, but both you and she will use the garage when it's done. The two of you will share the cost of $100x -- $50x that you will pay, and $50x that she will pay. When the thing's about a third of the way built, you discover that it's going to wind up costing $300x, and you and your neighbor can't agree on who's supposed to pay the extra $200x. The two of you are getting ready to sue each other's pants off over it. She's hired a hotshot lawyer already. The court case could take years to resolve.
Remember, you're the one who signed the contract with the carpenter. He shows up in the morning, and he's climbing back up on scaffolding. Wouldn't you tell him, "Hey, bad news, buddy, I'm not sure who's going to pay you for this. Maybe you ought to stop work until we straighten this out"? Or would you tell him, "Hurry up -- time is money"?
It's all a setup, people. The tram is going to get built, and the city's going to pay new money to build it. Sten and Adams will do their tweedle-dum tweedle-dee act, and the old West Hills money that they're supposedly "shaking up" will get its way.
It's funny watching them struggle to figure out how to put it over on us, though. They're proving themselves to be not very adept snake oil salesmen.
I don't understand what the mayor's doing. He should know better.
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Comments (43)
I just finished this item for Sam's blog and came here to preview it (Sam doesn't have a preview to test my bold & underline). But this is obviouosly the place to announce my suspicion:
Is the tram really a $107 million boondoggle?
Should we count $52 million more in the cost of the Tram?
One slide at the Town Hall listed a series of neighborhood improvements that added up to $52 million. The title of the slide was: “Tram Design Process and Neighborhood Improvements”
The rest of the slide:
$52 million in funded improvements
More than $14 million located west of I-5
Planned Improvements Include
*Gibbs Street Pedestrian Bridge
*South Waterfront Access Improvements/South Portland Circulation
*Gibbs Street Utility Undergrounding and Ornamental Street Lighting
*Liar Hill Street Planting Program
*Gibbs Basin Ivy Removal and Environmental Restoration.
*Gibbs Street Property Buy Out
*Lair Hill/Corbett Traffic Calming
*Marquam Hill Traffic Calming Study
Although several of the items appear to be unrelated to the tram, the presenter said they were all to keep the neighborhood happy (not a quote, but relays the meaning).
In response to my question another city guy said that they were all long planned projects.
Many neighborhoods have such long lists of “nice to do” long range improvements, most of which will never get done. It appears that these are only getting done because of the tram. As such the $52 million should be accounted for as a part of the trams cost. More importantly, most if not all of them would not be needed if there was no tram.
So, do we now have a $107 million Tram?
What other expenditures were made, that would not have been made without the tram? You know, like not counting the cost of moving utilities for the Interstate Ave train since it was paid for by the utility suppliers (and passed on to us in our utility bills)
A series of slides showed how far along the project was. Many of the big cost items were recently finished. One presenter said that they have spent 45% of the “revised budget”. Since the revised budget is only a month or so old (do I have that right?), that suggests that they had to know about the over-run a long time ago (when the issued the POs/let the contracts) and kept their mouths shut until too late to stop the project and/or they had to go public to get more money.
This looks, to me, like a successful, well planned scheme to lie to, and cheat the public in order to get a Goldshmidt pet project done. Everyone involved should be fired, (even those lower people who failed to squeal on their bosses) and the leaders should be charged with fraud for the deceit and cover up. Can we take it out of their PERS?
Thanks
JK
Posted by jim karlock | March 17, 2006 4:53 AM
Don't begrudge the neighborhood these improvements. They deserved them, even without the tram.
Posted by Jack Bog | March 17, 2006 5:32 AM
Here's an excerpt frpm the Match 3rd, Oregonian:
"Commissioner Erik Sten, who faces a tough re-election this May, says he'll join Commissioners Randy Leonard and Dan Saltzman to oppose tapping city funds to help plug a $15 million funding gap in the $55 million tram. "We just got to a point now where we've got to say that's it," Sten said. "And if it's not worth the money to OHSU and the developers, then it doesn't get built.""
By the way, there was no denial that he said that - no clarification saying he had been misunderstood by the Oregonian. He let those remarks stand as his true position.
If Sten votes for more city money for the tram, after saying that, he is the biggest weasel in Portland. Why? Not only would he have lied to us, but he would have tried to use those lies to help his chances of getting reelected. As little as I really know about him as a person, I can't believe he'd want to take that path. Erik was on the news talking tough about holding the line, just last night. If he's doing that as a charade than it's a disgrace. How shall it profit a man if he gains the whole tram but loses his soul?
Posted by Bill McDonald | March 17, 2006 6:45 AM
I thought I heard on the Radio that Dave Lister got invited to the City Club Debate, He can do math. It will certainly liven things up. I can't wait to hear his three questions to the other candidates.
Posted by Swimmer | March 17, 2006 6:50 AM
JK says:
What other expenditures were made, that would not have been made without the tram? You know, like not counting the cost of moving utilities for the Interstate Ave train since it was paid for by the utility suppliers (and passed on to us in our utility bills)
You figured it out. Ivy removal is the "vital linchpin" to SoWa development. Without ivy removal, we wouldn't have the Tram [rimshot], and with out the Tram [rimshot], we couldn't leverage $1.9 billion in investment (*cough*) and 10,000 in high-paying biotech jobs (*cough* *cough*).
I'm expecting Steve Stadum to write his next "butterfly effect" piece in the O any day now ...
Posted by Garage Wine | March 17, 2006 6:58 AM
Does anybody really believe we are going to get 'affordable housing' in a riverfront high-rise condo farm?
The City ought to issue a work stop order effective at noon today: give the construction crews a 2 week break. That will get OHSU and Homer thinking much more creatively.
Posted by Alice | March 17, 2006 7:07 AM
"I don't understand what the mayor's doing"
Oh c'mon, Jack....he's "visioning"....but still blind.
Posted by veiledorchid | March 17, 2006 7:20 AM
I was particularly taken with the bOregonian's final paragraph in this morning's lead front-page article....
Quoting Harry Lenhart, OHSU Media Coordinator, "We've been operating under the assumption that the city is legally responsible for building the tram whether or not additional funding is available from other sources."
Now, doesn't that just say it all. It says that the primary beneficiary set this whole thing up, using scam low-ball numbers to convince the city to chip in and become the construction manager for the tram...and then, when the thing ran way over cost, OHSU would stick it to the city.
Talk about sleeze-bags. Kohler is the highest paid state employee. He makes more than the governor. Plus, the administrators of OHSU must be some of the best-paid public employees in the state. What we are seeing with this project is a huge violation of fiduciary responsibility and public trust. So... Lawyer up, everybody.
Posted by godfry | March 17, 2006 8:59 AM
"I don't understand what the mayor's doing"
It's easy to understand Jack - he's channeling the spirit of former mayor Katz; who never met a boondoggle that she didn't like (PGE Park, the Convention center to name a few). The fact that Katz has come out against the new transit mall design proves that indeed Gramps has stole her spirit and is channeling it (or maybe it's just that Katz is out of sorts because she's no longer getting all the perks and special attention - naw, it's the first idea).
Posted by Mmmarvel | March 17, 2006 9:01 AM
Hey, Jim...
Those neighborhood improvements were planned long before the tram *rimshot* or the whole SoWhat project was even a gleam in Goldschmuck's eye.
The neighborhoods impacted by the crappy traffic circulation problems associated with the west end of the Ross Island Bridge and connections to and from I-5 have had city-approved plans to restructure the area since the mid-1970s (IIRC). Then, when the city goes all ga-ga over the SoWhat plan and the neighborhood residents balk at having buses flying overhead, the neighbors leveraged their position and got commitments to do something about their long-standing complaints as part of the whole SoWhat shebang. It was salve for the injurious insult of the city whoring after big new money, while ignoring the concerns of existing city residents who would be adversely affected.
If you had attended the 2003 public meeting at the riverfront Marriot ballroom, you'd have known that.
It is interesting that they lumped them all together like that, though.
Posted by godfry | March 17, 2006 9:46 AM
""""The new package just unveiled (36 hours after the public got an uninformative p.r. snow job that apparently never mentioned it)""""
This is entirely unacceptable.
200 hundred citizens take the time to show up and participate and the PDC hides their plans during the entire meeting.
Proof positive they do not work for the citizenry.
Posted by Steve Schopp | March 17, 2006 9:50 AM
That right there should result in terminations at the PDC.
Posted by Steve Schopp | March 17, 2006 9:51 AM
Jack:
Are you at all surprised or upset that Dave was left out of the O! coverage yesterday of the candidates?
I'm sure you weren't surprised, but I hope you work up a healthy indignation about it and post accordingly.
Sharon Nasset was also excluded. She's having a signature party tomorrow at her NoPo headquarters (2225 N. Lombard St.) if anyone can get by. 4:00 to 8:00. Go to lectnasset.org for details.
The only two "voices of reson" in the race and they are excluded by the O. Hmm....
Posted by Don Smith | March 17, 2006 10:48 AM
Portland is proving itself to be one of the most corrupt cities, and continues to be headed for financial ruin. These people have no business sense are too busy visioning their perfect yet unattainable utopia to pay attention to the fact that they are getting taken advantage of again and again.
Vote them out, fire them or give them a one way ticket to Cuba! We've got to get some decent business minded leaders in this city. They have taken the concept of "Fool me once, shame on you, Fool me twice, shame on me" to the 1,000th degree.
Posted by Slacker | March 17, 2006 10:57 AM
I thought it was "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, fool me don't fool me again." That's W's version....
Posted by Don Smith | March 17, 2006 11:02 AM
"I don't understand what the mayor's doing."
Per this morning's bOregonian, maybe he's taking Paul Allen at his word and is expecting to make up the difference with Allen's payments on the broken Blazers contract, once they are moved from Portland before the 2023 contract end date?
Posted by godfry | March 17, 2006 11:38 AM
Thank you, I am much better informed from you than the Oregonian. You provide a true service of investigative reporting.
I read the Oregonian now and see the holes that the reporters just skip over, tra-la-la.
Posted by Jeff | March 17, 2006 1:10 PM
Has anyone seen the "Monorail" episode of the Simpsons.......
Posted by gl | March 17, 2006 1:13 PM
Will Markowitz vouch for the City Auditor's work too, or poke holes in it? That's odd. Neither move is in favor of OHSU.
Posted by Ron Ledbury | March 17, 2006 2:16 PM
For those who are upset about the Potter/Adams Show at PSU not divulging the PDC/City/OSHU Dealings that came out just hours later, get a load of this:
At the PDC North Macadam Urban Renewal Advisory Committee Meeting (the Tram UR District) from 8:30 to 10:30AM yesterday-just 3 and 1/2 hours before the Tram City Council Meeting, there was not ONE mention of the tram or any of it's details regarding what PDC was going to present to Council. Even though there were PDC, PDOT staff galore, not one word.
There you have a so-called citizens advisory committee with all kinds of "steakholders', the ones who are responsible to scrutinize all the NM issues like the "lynchpin" (the tram) of North Macadam. and the staff says "boo", and the committee does not ask the questions-even though they wouldn't get an answer anyway. Where is the true citizen involvment in our URAC's and city government? And when there is-"SoWhat".
Posted by Lee | March 17, 2006 2:46 PM
Has anyone seen the "Monorail" episode of the Simpsons.......
Yeah, I hear Conan O'Brien (he wrote that episode) is thinking of suing Portland for theft of intellectual property.
Posted by Dave J. | March 17, 2006 2:50 PM
I always view "citizen advisory" committees that are selected by those in office with GREAT disdain. They don't ask tough questions or push for answers cuz then they wouldn't be invited to serve on the NEXT advisory committee.
Posted by Charlie in Gresham | March 17, 2006 2:50 PM
And how about the statement that OHSU will be ponying up more dough for the tram? As far as I know, OHSU is still part of the state university system, which means that much of the (theoretical) monies coming from OHSU came FROM the taxpayers to begin with.
I have never, ever, met a sleazier bunch of people than these developers and some of the PDC staff and, oh yeah, Kohler. DO they really think the public is THAT stupid??
What happened to our "leadership"?? Randy, you're cool,and thanks for all that you do. Tram, why oh why did I vote for you?? I really regret it now. And Opie.....well, I've been hip to your ineptitude for years now. And Mr. Mayor, I voted for you because I thought you had guts to stand up to the blatent corruption here in Portland. Something went wrong, somewhere.......
Posted by Lily | March 17, 2006 2:54 PM
They are also not telling the public that SoWa is now in fiscal crisis with over $100 million in vital infrastructure unfunded.
There is no money.
Yet the PDC says, "The infrastructure can come later if and when it is funded?.
The south and north portals to enter SoWa can wait?
The I-5 ramp? The greeway, Moody and other street improvements, the list is big.
The 19 page updated budget hopefully will be posted by Jim soon.
Posted by Steve Schopp | March 17, 2006 3:02 PM
Ok I know I'm late to the indignation party, but I CAN'T believe that there is no legal recourse to stop construction until they figure out the financing. The stall-tactic while they fumble around trying to fool us should be 100% criminal.
Posted by Sebastian | March 17, 2006 4:52 PM
Sebastian, It is. But the DA has been on Mars for a while now. Radio contact is real weak. The feds just like bonds. The more the better. The only value of local criminality is the threat to bring charges unless folks issue even more bonds. It is fun game . . . . gaming the local little taxpayers on their speculative valued abodes to supplement the interest rate take. Potter (Gramps) will genuinely not figure it out, ever. Sten might have time to have a "What Have I Done!" moment when he writes his memoirs.
Posted by Ron Ledbury | March 17, 2006 5:13 PM
I agree with you absolutely, Sebastion. It SHOULD be criminal. These people are deliberately misleading the public, which I happen to view as a form of embezzlement.
Since Vera's been gone, the scene has become remininescent of that scene he Wizard of Oz where the curtaiin blows open and there it is, worthy of Heironymous Bosch: A writhing clump of developers and certain PDC big-wigs, climbing over one another, scrambling, their cloven hooves struggling for purchase on the slick hill of bullsh*t they've created. Kinda like those snake balls I used to see sometimes back in the South.
Oh, but I'm not jaded.
Posted by Lily | March 17, 2006 5:15 PM
P.S. Please forgive my typos, I can't find my reading glasses.
Posted by Lily | March 17, 2006 5:18 PM
The big O editorialists ought to start applying the conclusory and hollow adjectives "world-class" and "state-of-the art" to this comic farce. Set-ups and unwitting comedy are areas in which the Portland crowd really does excel.
Posted by Cynthia | March 18, 2006 9:53 AM
The mythical town of Mayberry has been kicking around in my head ever since I saw Erik Sten referred to as Opie by Jack.
Tom Potter makes a pretty good Andy.
Randy Leonard is a natural Floyd.
Saltzman is a passable Gomer.
Sam Adams is stuck with Barnie.
Where is Aunt Bea? There must be an Aunt Bea
somewhere in City Hall.
The dysfunctional "Sisters of Hawthorne" at Mult county offices are those naughty gals over in Mount Pilot.
Nostalgia floods my head....where is Frank Ivancie when we need him most?
Posted by Charlie in Gresham | March 18, 2006 10:09 AM
It should be noted that the recent big "Bio Tech" fish reeled into the region, did not locate in South Waterfront Development or in the Portland Tax base.
http://www.oregonlive.com/editorials/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/editorial/114263611534740.xml&coll=7
Posted by Swimmer | March 18, 2006 10:23 AM
It should be noted that the recent big "Bio Tech" fish reeled into the region, did not locate in South Waterfront Development or in the Portland Tax base.
Nope... They located in Hillsboro, not far from OHSU's West Campus, from where OHSU will be moving the OGI folks.
ROFLMAO.
Posted by godfry | March 18, 2006 11:06 AM
I nominate "Charlie" to be Mayberry's Ernest T. Bass.
www.ernestt.com/etb.html
Posted by Randy Leonard | March 18, 2006 11:10 AM
Nomination gratiously accepted!
Posted by Charlie in Gresham | March 18, 2006 11:18 AM
Jeff,
Folks at the O consider encouragement to dig into the issues "harassment". It is part of how the mainline Democrat crowd plays: an activist(admittedly somewhat of a gadfly) told me that Senator Kate Brown filed a stalking complaint against him for persisting with a public records request. More at the O ought to be open to discovering that this crowd really ain't where it's at.
Posted by Cynthia | March 18, 2006 11:21 AM
Here is the article.
The incentives are much less than $5 million, that's somewhere between 3-5 years operating expense of the TRAM, and the tax incentives are only after the $25 million threshold. This is fair, as much of the equipment type property in high tech, is only good for a few years and is hard to value for tax purposes. Also notice that they pay a community service fee that helps defray the ongoing cost of roads, schools, etc. This is what economic development should be like. It would be interesting to do a cash flow and cost benefit on SoWA and this for economic bang for the buck to the local economy.
Of course they aren't building Condos, and that makes the difference.
Biotech company to build facility in Hillsboro
BY TED SICKINGER
THE OREGONIAN
State economic development officials said Friday that they'd landed a big one, luring the California biotech company Genentech to put a new manufacturing facility in Hillsboro that could eventually employ as many as 300.
Genentech plans to break ground at a 100-acre site on Shute Road later this year, have the building competed in 2008 and licensed and operational in 2010. The company will use the facility to fill and package biotechnology therapeutics. The company says it could create as many as 300 jobs there in the next decade.
The state has pulled out its financial stops in the recruitment, pledging a total investment in the project of $4.8 million, including $2 million from the Governor's Strategic Reserve Fund. The state funds would help the company train local workers and make needed infrastructure improvements for the facility.
The company will also pursue tax relief under Washington County's Strategic Investment Program, which exempts the company from property taxes on the portion of its plant investment that exceeds $25 million. In exchange, the company pays a community service fee.
Posted by swimmer | March 18, 2006 11:51 AM
Mildred Schwab was Aunt Bee.
Posted by Hinckley | March 18, 2006 12:38 PM
"Nomination gratiously accepted!"
Now you really are making your fellow Kellogg Grade School grads look bad.
Its "graciously" not "gratiously".
You really should be more supportive of additional school funding!
I’ll see you Monday!
Your Secret Friend
Posted by sam | March 18, 2006 1:32 PM
Lily:
I hope you don't find your glasses: that was poetry, my dear.
"A writhing clump of developers and certain PDC big-wigs, climbing over one another, scrambling, their cloven hooves struggling for purchase on the slick hill of bullsh*t they've created."
I can picture the Tram-Man all decked out in body hugging leather and chains, six-pack abs rippling while he polishes Homer's boots...Opie serving pitcher after pitcher of re-election punch into shiny new "AFFORDABLE HOUSING" mugs.
A big Stand for Children poster flaps in the background, and the Powerball Billboard is now the Tram-Scam public subsidy clock: $19,250,334.
Have you bought YOUR ticket yet?
Posted by Alice | March 18, 2006 1:52 PM
Posted elsewhere, but seems appropriate repost here.
Re: "Oversight to anchor tram cost never in picture." Oregonian, Thursday, March 16, 2006
Amazing. So the O agrees that "Current and former City Council members say they're not to blame."
You've got then Commissioner Francesconi serving on the PATI Board presumably reviewing and approving the OHSU/developers decisions while at the same time serving on the City Council presumably looking out for the public interest.
Seems like the principle of interlocking board members becomes a problem in a situation such as the TRAM. A City Commissioner becomes a cheerleader for a project on whose board he serves. Rather than looking out for the public interest, he and other council members conveniently ignore asking the necessary hard questions. And, additionally, they then have the chutzpah to state, "It wasn't my responsibility."
Interlocking commission members also occur with members on the Design Review Commision and the Planning Commission. A "yes" vote on the Design Review Commision becomes a supportive "yes" vote on the Planning Commission. Yet those citizens who may question the validity of a design or developement must spend time before both commissions arguing their case against an already entrenched opinion.
As a result of the TRAM and the NMD development, I've come to the conclusion that City Council believes concerned citizen participation, particularly when it is contrary to the political desires is looked upon by council as participation by citizen crybabies.
Council's attitude seems to be "Don't believe the citizenry. They can't be trusted. After all, look who they elected."
Posted by The Shadow at March 16, 2006 01:37 PM
Posted by The Shadow | March 18, 2006 2:20 PM
Jim Pasero wrote a great article in Brainstorm a couple years back entitled "Banking on Biotech". You can find it in their archives. It's been a long time since I read it, but the basic theme was that biotech in the high-rise environment of south waterfront was a long shot.
Posted by Dave Lister | March 18, 2006 4:59 PM
It should be noted that the recent big "Bio Tech" fish reeled into the region...
Another embarassing episode of state government forking over huge subsidies so Hillsboro workers can "assemble" packages of biotech drugs made elsewhere. Nothing bio-tech about it...
Posted by Frank Dufay | March 18, 2006 8:18 PM
Remember Sam? I'll be in Salem on Monday.
See you Tuesday.
Posted by Charlie in Gresham | March 18, 2006 9:14 PM