Interesting piece in the Trib today about the latest City of Portland bond drama. Now a bunch of adjustable-rate economic development bonds that were used to build up the Portland State University empire are about to go postal, and the city's going to try to refinance them on PSU's behalf. You couldn't pick a worse moment to try to borrow money, I would think, but unless somebody's willing to lend the city and PSU a few tens of millions at, say, 6 or 7 percent, the interest rate is reportedly going to go to 9 percent. Times are so tough now that the insurance company that backed the original bonds, in 2003, is reportedly threatening to invoke a "market disruption" clause that triggers the interest rate jump.

At least these bonds are not the city's responsibility. They're payable solely from money collected from PSU and its affiliated entities.