Down the "urban renewal" drain

Honey, bring the Dr. Scholl's spray, quick. That "creative" sneaker hub deal in Portland Old Town, whch has sucked up millions of tax dollars, is getting stinkier by the hour. Maybe bring the Rat X, too.

I wrote about this instant fiasco last year, when the geniuses at "Prosper Portland" were turning on the public money faucet for "Made in Old Town." It was absolutely preposterous then, and it's even worse now. Last week we learned that the "executive director" of the borrower has quit, and as I've been meaning to note, just before Christmas we found out that her employer had already defaulted on the Prosper loan.

Inflated prices for real estate, agency guidelines ignored, a loan that looked bad before it was even made, the governor feeling double-crossed, no one involved returning reporters' calls, crazy-fast turnover at the top – in New Jersey, this is called corruption. I don't know what you call it in Oregon. Maybe the U.S. attorney could tell us.