Trouble in the Oregon government facilities office
A couple of honchos are on leave, and there are "issues concerning business management practices." Sounds like a job for Dave Frohnmayer's law firm, doesn't it?
Much public money sloshes through the state facilities division. One of the managers who have been yanked from her desk says here that she manages an annual budget of $110 million. She adds:
Oversaw multilevel government joint venture in surplus land development for the State of Oregon, implementing unprecedented economic development project in conjunction with the City of Salem, projected to generate $70M in land sale proceeds to fund state programs.A case worth watching, to be sure.
| Posted at 7:47 AM | Permalink |
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Comments (3)
Memo from AG Kroger:
Nothing to see here. Everything's OK. Now where's that campaign check from SEIU?
Posted by Garage Wine | April 29, 2011 7:56 AM
One can hope it is about the Oregon School for the Blind. Press went along with the cute pretense that it was just about where blind kids should go to school. It was really about a gigantic conversion of public assets to private profit at an astonishing discount -- plundering the commons -- Washington HS on steroids.
Posted by dyspeptic | April 29, 2011 9:27 AM
There are many multilevel land scams out there involving government and private parties. I pray to God that the whole mess is ultimately exposed.
Oregon has been a good old boys (and girls)' haven for such a long long time, and many, many people are aware there are problems. I understand why there details cannot be revealed during an investigation; beyond that, I don't think secrecy helps the public to trust government- transparency does.
The Department of Justice recently agreed to settle charges it brought against Umatilla County DA, Dean Gushwa, out of court. This is a situation where Sean Ridell tried to intimidate Gushwa and his lawyer into pleading out a case they believed was bogus. From watching the operation of this state's squalid justice system year after year, I have come to believe that prosecuting a DA on very thin charges is the kind of thing that happens when an independent DA makes the "mistake" of prosecuting a good old insider. I would love to know the real story there.
I think the public deserves more than secrecy in these cases, because it is already obvious to much of the public that we are receiving less than adequate public service.
Posted by Cynthia | April 29, 2011 7:51 PM