Lars Larson: The Big Pink flop

By Lars Larson
NW and national radio host,

The Northwest Nonsense

Leadership in Portland claims they see improvements happening after the city’s tragic decline over the last decade.

Mayor Keith Wilson apparently thinks his job isn’t so much leader as cheer leader.

How about one-third of a billion dollars in evidence that contradicts all the happy talk you’re hearing from City Hall.

Ten years ago, the Riot City’s signature downtown U.S. Bancorp Tower…known as “Big Pink” sold for 372 million dollars to someone who thought Portland’s downtown would stay prosperous.

We learned that the owners who offered up Big Pink at a firesale price of 70 million, actually got only 45 million bucks, a discount of one-third of a billion.

Portland has allowed and now even invited riots for at least half a dozen years in its downtown, leaving behind boarded up store fronts.

In 2018, failure Mayor “Tear gas” Teddy Wheeler announced he supported the “occupy ICE” siege of federal immigration offices. The guy who promised to clean up the mess, Keith Wilson…promised something new and different.

It’s not. More riots, less law enforcement…and for people who live nearby, nightly noise and chaos.

ODOT’s broke, Trimet’s headed the same way, and the unemployment rate is ten percent higher than the rest of America.

Who you gonna believe…lying politicians or your own eyes.