Recently the Portland City Council approved a $51 million dollar extension of the Central Eastside Urban Renewal District. Public money for this project will be used for road improvements, seismic upgrades, and a new Portland Streetcar loop. Perhaps these improvements sound like good ideas, but what is the cost of Urban Renewal?

Lewis & Clark Law School professor and local blogger Jack Bogdanski, reported that a . . . Read more!

The Portland City Council recently approved an initiative mandating the sale of ethanol-blended gasoline and biodiesel within city limits. However, this plan is unlikely to result in environmental benefits and will impose significant costs on Portland residents and businesses.

The price of ethanol has risen sharply in recent months, pushing the price of . . . Read more!

We are living in an age where growing numbers of individuals and groups are clamoring for nontraditional renewable energy resources. Organizations, such as Renewable Northwest Project, have been touting wind and solar energy for years, and the coming legislative session in 2007 promises to be a battleground for the adoption of a renewable energy standard. However, we should not advocate energy sources that are not sustainable on the open market.

Instead, Oregonians should listen to . . . Read more!

Last week, President Bush responded to the US Supreme Court’s decision on eminent domain, known as Kelo, with a decision of his own: an executive order to limit the federal government’s ability to take private property in order to transfer it to another private owner.

However, the order contained significant . . . Read more!