Sleaze bags. Wonder if they will at least send out Christmas cards thanking the Oregon taxpayer for their trips.

Good research!

It's not that I think that this sort of thing doesn't matter, but why is the Oregonian able to devote much time and resources to figuring out who's not reporting the comped G&T they got in Idaho, yet not able to devote time and resources to figuring out how our tram [rimshot] budget can be 3x original estimates?

The non-disclosure of this trip to the Idaho border hardly equates to the Mauigate scandal or the Israel trip for two reasons. First, the trip was of a much lower obvious economic value to the lawmakers (the bulk of the cost of the trip was an estimated $500 for a flight on a utility owned aircraft), and second, it had a legitimate fact finding purpose behind it. The legislators ate in a dining hall and double bunked in shacks with shared bathroom facilities which is about as much of a 180 as you can get from the Grand Wilea on Maui or an all expense trip to Israel. It's also hard to believe that a reasonably honest person would have any doubt in their mind about a trip to Israel or Maui exceeding the nominal gift disclosure threshold.

My personal opinion is that running the story at the top of the Metro section with the 4 mug shots was overkill, and a blatant attempt on the part of the Oregonian to toot its own horn and get a little more mileage out of their legitimate investigative work on the Mauigate scandal. Note to Oregonian...pretending to be a real newspaper with a non-story doesn't make you a real newspaper.

I think the answer to David J.'s question is obvious. The Oregonian doesn't want to do hard hitting journalism when it might piss off the elite Portland establishment. The tram and what it means to the pockets of the monied elite of Portland is obvious. I'm not sure if their failure to act like real journalists on bigger scams like the tram or selling off park land is because it might create too much unpleasantry for the higher ups at the newspaper when they play golf at the Waverly Country Club or work out at the MAC, or if they don't want to undermine their advertising revenue. It could be both.

Picture some of Oregon's finest lawmakers flying in a PRIVATE Lear jet, with a leggy "stewardess", eating the finest steak, drinking the lowest-taxed wine in America, on their way to East Payola-ville.

And Hasssaid he went to Salem to clean it up.

I guess he was part of the problem, versus part of the solution.

The above post should have been under UsualKevin. Old habits die hard...but I don't want to be confused with the other guy posting as Kevin.

As a dem I am beyond offended.It is a disgrace. Any dem involved has failed the leadership test and they, including Mr. Deckhart and Hass, should be removed from any leadership position.Absent such a clear signal dem's have no moral ground to stand on. It is not acceptable for Kate Brown, Peter Courtney and other dem's to mouth that the rep's also did it

It's just one other reason that I am happy to have helped send Billy Dalto packing.

(It doesn't yet make up for the embarrasment of having been represented by him, but it's a start.)

The system continues to work.

My name is Daphne. It's French.

Kevin is a man's name. Irish, I believe.

You still confused, like usual, Usual?