Please have snow, and mistletoe

All of a sudden the local politicians are suggesting that it won't be until year-end that we know whether (and how much) the city and county are going to pay to renovate the Moda Center arena for the billionaire-owned Trail Blazers. The state is putting up $365 million, but only if the city and county pungle up nine figures apiece themselves. The last numbers I saw were $100 million from the county and $400 million from the city. If those numbers hold, for Portland residents it's a total of about $850 per person.

This week Julia Brim-Edwards (brimming with photo ops), candidate and odds-on favorite for county commission chair, is saying that the taxpayer tappers are "nowhere near a done deal," and that we won't know until months from now what the deal is. 

City and county lawmakers are pumping the brakes, saying it’s better to take the time to get it right than to sign away huge sums of public money under pressure from Portland’s professional basketball franchise, which has called the Rose City home since 1970....

Dunphy, the city council president, said he and a number of his colleagues are also committed to having the public help shape the city’s position on what a final deal could look like. Dunphy also made no firm commitment on when critical votes might come to council, though he recently indicated that he’d like to have a lease agreement approved by early next year.

I can tell you one thing: There are going to be a lot of unhappy people in Portland no matter which way things go. And with half the city council, the county chair, and a county commissioner up for election in November, there's going to be an awful lot of talking out of both sides of the politicians' mouths between now and then.

They might do it. They might not. Or only if the public gets a good deal. It reminds me of the bullpuckey that was being flung around when they were fleecing the city taxpayers to build the preposterous aerial tram and the South Waterfront concrete jungle.

In the end, I'll bet that the Blazer overlords get their local tax money, and that the crucial votes will take place in December, when they will get lost in the holidays. Listen, it's Burl Ives! Make it a billion. I'm thinking December 23 might be appropriate. It's a Wednesday.

Meanwhile, expect a lot of comedy as the predatory loan shark guy who controls the team goes head-to-head with the socialistas and other children who control the City Council. At some point Donovan Clingan may wind up slam-dunking Steve Novick through a hoop set up in the middle of Pioneer Courthouse Square. I would pay my $850 to see that.

And for a Greek chorus, the Oregonian guy who writes about the Blazers will be pounding out the owners' talking points for them. Well, of course he is. If he gets on the wrong side of the owners, he'll be frozen out of every scoop. Funny how keeping your job can color your views on public policy.