Today is the top ten stories for 2008 in the city of Portland, Oregon in my estimation.
Number one on the list is the great snow and ice storm of 2008. Not prepared for snow most winters the city was ill prepared for a storm that lasted eleven days dropping in excess of twenty inches of snow and ice in areas from as far South as Salem, Oregon to as far North as Seattle, Washington. Cities blew their winter budget with overtime, extra electricity to keep the cities working twenty four hours a day cleaning up roads. Mail delivery and garbage pick up was stopped in many areas. Five deaths were attributed to either the storm or the road conditions caused by the worst storm in Portland, Oregon history. Devoid of the correct number of snow plows to fight the winter blizzard only the main roads were plowed leaving side streets and many neighborhoods impassable.
Number two on the list was the visit of Presidential Candidate Barrack Obama to Portland resulting in record crowds to attend a political rally in our fine city. There were estimates that the crowd was in excess of fifty thousand.
Coming in third was the defeat of long time Oregon senator Republican Gordon Smith by a basically unknown Democrat, Jeff Merkley. Smith was considered untouchable at the beginning of 2008 but was swept away in the nationwide sea of change.
Fourth is the Oregon economy with the highest unemployment rate in over twenty years at 8.1%. Retail stores had the worst holiday season in history caused not only by the economy but also by people being housebound by what is referred to by some news stations as our Artic Blast.
The bombing in Woodburn, Oregon that killed three law enforcement officers and injured a fourth comes in at number five. Woodburn a normally quiet community with a large Hispanic population became the focus of national news. A father and son were arrested for a multiple of crimes including extortion.
Sam Adams was elected Mayor of Portland. The first openly gay mayor elected in the history of the Portland metro area comes in at sixth on the list. He replaces Tom Potter an ex police chief that had worn out his welcome as mayor.
Number seven was the decline of the Oregon College Savings Plan dropping value by as much as 40% by some estimates causing some students to consider dropping out of college and work to make up the money necessary to afford college.
Oregon passed a nonsmoking law in 2008 and becomes completely smoke free on January 1, 2009. Smoke free Oregon is the my eighth ranked story.
Coming in at number 9 is the decline in Portland's real estate market. The market held up until September then began to drop as the inventory of houses for sale increased. I ranked this ninth because the drop wasn't as severe as other cities, with Portland having the fifth lowest decline in real estate values in the nation.
Number 10 is reality TV bliss. The Amazing Race ended this season in our great city. Portlander Leanne Marshall won the most recent Project Runway and promptly moved to New York City with her winnings and hope for design fame. Local woman, Monica Carlson, won American Gladiator.
I would love to hear what the big stories of 2008 were in your city and your state. This is a great opportunity for us all to learn about each other's locales.
Hope your big story for today is a lottery win!
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Hmm... I can't really say that we had any "big" stories or anything I'd consider a "top ten" event in either Greenville or the state. And maybe that's a Good Thing. (Or maybe I'm not paying attention!)
The big year-end story is that the state has reduced the GAP program coverage from 95% to 10%. This program steps in for the elderly who need help paying for prescriptions when they hit the "gap" in Part D coverage and replaced the Silver Card system that helped seniors prior to Part D. Both were a Godsend for many of them, including Mom. There is a major outcry, but so far it's not changed the funding decision.
Unemployment is the highest here it's ever been, a result of all the mill closings over the past couple years, which has led to other stores feeling the pinch when folks don't have sufficient funds to buy groceries, let alone anything else.
Our illustrious governor has refused to sign the bill extending unemployment compensation through March, despite research and reports showing how desperately it's needed and that we may be able to get help from the feds.
While everything else is slow and people are homeless and hungry, our hospitals are building huge additions and "satellite" campuses everywhere you look and health care costs are going up accordingly. Unfortunately, they aren't building satelitte clinics and walk-in clinics to serve the many who need them desperately and who are, instead, using the local ERs as their "clinics" or doctor's offices, largely due to lack of money and/or insurance coverage.
At the same time, it's a been a year when developers are razing buildings downtown (many of which were rent-controlled apartments, again largely inhabited by the elderly on fixed incomes) and building very expensive high-rise condos and the like and clearing land outside downtown and putting up huge homes on tiny lots, all of which (condo/homes) start at a quarter mil for smaller places and go up from there. Many are questioning who's going to buy these places, of course. Many are also questioning the forced relocation from downtown of those who can't drive and are now miles from shopping/eating/entertainment of any kind, like all the free concerts.
And, back to economics and unemployment -- we have so many seeking jobs and yet we're losing out to other areas for large plants (Catepiller just selected GA for a plant that will employ 14,000, as an example) and the primary reason is the lack of people with proper training, education, specialization and such, yet there's no push to train those folks who lost mill jobs two years ago, which makes one question the ability of TPTB to think ahead.
Gee, I guess this is more an editorial on stories that caught my attention or observances I've made of what's happening. I'll try to do better next time (wry s)
Hmmm... nobody seems to be weighing in yet. You can certainly top me for local interest stories. Here in sleepy Burbank, I can't think of anything that would qualify as a Top Ten candidate. We're pretty boring here. Either that, or I'm not keeping abreast of local controversies and milestones, which is entirely possible. We've lost some big stores – Linens & Things, Shoe Pavilion, and worst of all, Mervyn's in the mall. I really wonder who if anyone will fill those huge spaces. There's a kerfuffle about our relatively new Chandler walkway/bike path, with walkers saying bikers go too fast and don't stay in the bike lane and bikers saying people walk 4 abreast, taking up the bike lane so they can't get by. We have a City Council election coming up, and that will turn out to be a bitter fight as usual, I imagine. A lot of people around here are nervous about whether the actors will strike in '09. I'm not personally involved any more, but it's in my interest to keep everybody working, and my opinion is that this is not the time for a strike. I think a lot of actors are wising up to that... I hope it's enough of them. Of course the theory is that they take a strike vote to give them clout in negotiations, even if they have no intention of actually striking, but who knows? Some of them are very militant.
We have the same declining home values and increasing unemployment as everyone else. Our state is broke and our Legislators haven't a clue what to do about it.
Weatherwise, we've been unremarkable as usual, though it's gotten cold (finally) and we got a little rain. I won't comment on the City of Los Angeles's Top Ten, as I pay little attention, though there's lots of political stuff going on there. Toll roads are still a local controversy, but they're planned mostly in places I don't routinely go, so I don't worry about them.
In the crime stats, some nut job went to his ex-wife's home in a Santa suit, shot the 8 y/o who answered the door in the face (she survived), maybe shot some more people, I'm not sure about that, and set the house on fire with an incendiary device, killing in total 8 people. He accidentally set himself on fire in the process, melting the Santa suit into his body, then drove somewhere and shot himself, which saved the court system some time and money.
Bill I liked reading your take on the top stories of your city.
I am not sure there was anything to consider a top story for me to tell of here in the big city of Cloverdale. Sad to say, but its not my city of choice so I don't try too hard to stay abreast of all the towns events/activities. (I think I am becoming bitter the longer I stay here)
But I will sum it a bit with this tiny list.
Cloverdale Restaurant Owner of Historic Landmark building finally sentenced with arson & 8 years
13 year old case that inspired "Zachary's Law" getting new court hearing for the 1993 molestation and murder of 10-year-old
Gas Prices
Treasurer arrested for racketeering, theft. The thefts are alleged to have occurred between July 1, 2007, when she took the job, and Nov. 30, 2008. The amount of the thefts is listed in court documents as $50,839.16.
In September 2003, the treasurer then was charged with taking nearly $60,000 from the organization between Oct. 1, 1998 and Sept. 18, 2002. The funds were on cosmetics and computer equipment. (Seems like the job doesn't pay too well)
Cloverdale has a New Board and a New Sheriff in town...(Thank God, as this town is very corrupt)
Ice caused several issues this past week on all roadways
Nearly 60 animals have been removed from the property of a Cloverdale woman who failed to comply with a state subpoena for her business and tax records
Gas Prices
Local bank is robbed at gunpoint for the first time in 79 years
I wish I could have done better here, but I only won 2 quick picks on the lottery draw this past week. :(
Gosh, Pat, your "top picks" seem to mirror a lot of mine. (wry g) The Santa killer got a lot of coverage. I cannot imagine a mind that could conceive of, let alone carry out such a deed.
Gee, Dona, doesn't sound like Cloverdale has a lot of good luck picking out their treasureres! At least you did better on your lottery ticket picks than I did!
So funny! Your post inspired me to look up the top ten stories for my little town. Almost all of them had to do with the local senior center. During the year, the seniors wanted new management and self governance, fired all their leaders and took over themselves. Now they're negotiating with the city for a new facility. And I had no idea! So thank you for making me pay attention.
Other than that, not much at all going on in my tiny town. They finally plowed my street yesterday, and I have high hopes of getting the garbage picked up tomorrow, for the first time in two weeks. That is almost unbearable excitement at this point.
Hi Dr
You did good! 95% to 10& is a huge drop, unfortunate in bad economic times it always seems like the elderly take it in the shorts.
Unemployment seems to be a common thread for all locales.
What an idiot governor you have, he has to be on of the few to not exten them.
They did the same thing here with rent controlled buildings and motor home parks. Big develoments vs. affordable rents.
Thanks, DR. Interesting to see what is going on in your neck of the woods. Editorializing is permitted!
Bill
Hi Pat
I like sleepy, Burbank is sounding better all the time.
Maryvn's closed here and was replaced by Dick's Sporting Goods. The mall is actually full.
I'd probably side with the walkers having bikes go by me and barely miss me when I am out walking.
I'm kind of wondering about the actors strike myself. I agree with you that it isn't the time to strike right now.
I've been reading about California going broke. I hope they get some aid somewhere.
The idiot Santa we got a lot about here but I didn't know the 8 year-old survived.
Bill
Hi Dona
Thanks for checking in! You did better in the lottery than I did, I hope one of us win the big one in 2009.
It isn't your city of choice? OK about we start a commune and all move to LA and buy a ten bedroom home where we can help with each other's parent? And I understand the bitterness because I am sometimes bitter that due to my situation I can't always go where I want.
Interesting stories. Did he burn the restaurant down for insurance money?
Why in the world would there be a new hearing on the Zachary Law case, that sucks.
We had some big embezzments here too, the city treasurer of a bording city, West Linn, is now in prison for stealing millions.
Corruption seems to rule supreme every where in bad economic times.
I have a lot of empathy for anyone dealing with ice now!
Do better, are you kidding your did great!
Bill
Mary!
Hope your survived our storm, as bad as our was yours seemed even worse. Hope your aunt is doing better.
I didn't know your hometown had a lot of seniors when I was there it seemed like a pretty young community. You have to admire those pesky seniors that wanted to take over management!
They still haven't picked up my garbage, it is scheduled for Saturday. They never did plow my street, it melted first.
Thanks for checking in!
Bill
Not my city of choice for the reason I am here...also its became a very corrupt city.
Yes the Arsonist only wanted money.
The new Zachary Law case is because the guy has seemed to slip through the cracks yet again.
And Yes I think I am going to apply for the new Treasurer job...I think there is an opening!
And I fortunately have a new one from this morning maybe to get me closer to the list of 10......when a cow got loose and decided to walk down main street and caused a Major traffic jam. It was odd as no one seemed to know how to get the poor thing corraled and this city is full of nothing BUT Farmers!
Then I forgot to mention that if people in this town think they can get one over on the New Sheriff...think again as he also built,owns and operates the New Mortuary in town.
Happy New Year to Everyone!
Hi There Dona
I hate it when criminal perverts slip through the cracks.
Good luck on the new job!
Love the cow story! lol
The Cloverdale Sheriff sounds like he is the kind of guy to die for!
HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOUR AND YOURS AND EVERYONE HERE!
Bill
I have to say that I didn't follow the latest season of The Amazing Race (mostly because I work nights so I kept missing it on TV when it was being telecast) but I made it a point to watch the finale because it was in your neck of the woods. It's really nice to be able to see what your locale is like. And so scenic too.
Wishing you and everyone here a Happy New Year.
Hi Snug
I'm going out of my comfort zone again and doing something I never do, posting the thirteenth message on a blog!
I'm glad you got to see some of my area. If you and your husband ever visit here, you have your own personal guide, me!
Happy New Year to You and Yours!
Bill
Hey Dr
I read in the paper today that your Gov changed and did allow for the extension of benefits. Had you not posted the story yesterday I would have never even seen the story!
Bill
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