While mainstream media wallows in President Obama's State of the Union speech, the world rolls inexorably - or perhaps execrably - on. OSU discovers that wildfires are not as bad for forests as logging. In downtown Portland one man set fire to himself and City Hall was evacuated because of a burning bagel (Presumably, the bagel did not set fire to itself...) A couple of enterprising businessmen from - Where else? - Lake Oswego want to turn the old Wood Village dog park into...wait for it...a casino. Well, gambling's gambling whether it's Chemin de Fer or Chien de Fer...And emboldened by the passage of Measures 66 and 67, the Guv wants to permanently convert the 2 percent 'Kicker' into the mythical 'Rainy Day Fund'. "Carpe per Diem", I always say. The FERC Chairman, Jon Wellinghoff, says he's just waiting for that last seat on the five-seater Commission to be filled before he does what he calls "make new policy". So far, he's voted against three of the last four LNG project applications that have crossed his path. Not that the Feds are going to stop developers. NorthernStar says pipeline or no pipeline, the Bradwood terminal will be built. Light the bagel - and run...
- KBOO