Sunday, May 3, 2009

Siyonara Brucey (and Cessna), We Hardly Knew Ye

Well, I have Good News and Bad News:

The Good News is, if you can survive in Bend, you can survive anywhere.

The Bad News is, You Can't Survive In Bend.

Yes, yes. Brucey, like Cessna, most homebuilders, graphic artists, PR freelancers, RE brokers & mortgage bankers and a raft of other amenity business owners cannot survive in Bend.

And, I guess I could say I share tim's sentiment with respect to the passing of Olde Brucey:

tim said...

Bruce, If you were tempted here by the PR, that is indeed a good reason to be mad. I didn't even know Bend was supposed to be special when I moved here.

Of course, I didn't know the paper was lousy, the Realtors were in control, or the local gov't was silly. But my expectations were clearly lower than yours.
Good luck to you.

I do like to see people make fun of you, but only because your reactions are so priceless.

Having said that, I like you a lot.


I agree Bruce, you and thousands of others were sold a Bill of Goods. A load of Shit. You were suckered in by the Bend Grifting Machine. And Bend takes no prisoners.

But rest assured Bruce, you're doing the Right Thing. This place is all smoke & mirrors. On a Good Day. On a Bad Day, it's suicides, mob hits, and losing your house & job.

You're catching flak Brucey, cuz I think you walked in like a lot of people declaring, "I'm going to run this shithole in 90 days!"

And then you slowly found out that living in Bend is like living on the Moon. The middle of nowhere, and precious little time left to Get Out after your blood starts to boil...

So I have to give the bad with the good:

tim said...

>>Some of you have to man up.

I hope you're joking when you say that. You, after all, are the poster boy for how much energy can be expended while effecting so little change.

I guess this is more of a life lesson than anything.

1) You talk about Anonymouses, and I understand what you're saying. But this is Bend, dude. Look what all the publicly ID'd commenters got: Bile & Loathing. Even Dunc, who is fairly highly regarded, got his share of ass beatings.

2) Combine #1 with the aforementioned "megolamania" about changing the World, and you're going to get roundly assailed. Anywhere. But on this blog, it will be relentless.

My own philosophy is to NEVER say I'm going to do something publicly, UNLESS it is for precisely the reason of motivating myself to do it knowing I will be lambasted if I do not succeed.

That's what happened here.

But, Dear Brucey, take solace in the fact that you are leaving for a better place. A lot of the cat calls are veiled shrieks of envy. Really. A lot of people are angry that you, someone they have beat on mercilessly, actually has the good sense to leave this imploding shithole.

All these cries of "Good Riddance", are tainted with envy. You can't survive in Bend. And neither can they, and they know it.

It's gotten so bad, Buster has regressed into a fetal ball in La Pine, fantasizing over Malay sex slaves.

No Brucey, you are leaving to a better place. Bend will implode into a firey ball of shit, taking most of us with it.

Bend IS exceptional: Highest 1% unemployment in the land. But we are actually The Top for how fast we got there. Bend has the single largest INCREASE in unemployment in the USA over the past year. Blew away Flint MI, that's for damn sure.

I salute you, Brucey. And wish you well. You WILL have the last laugh. Check in occasionally, while you watch Rome Burn from afar. And believe me, it will burn. Your own example of futilely trying to effect change from outside the Good Old Boy Beltway ensures that. You can't change Bend, and that will be it's downfall.

Really, do check in. Especially when unemployment hits 20%+. And laugh your ass off. This place is tearing itself to pieces, and will catastrophically explode.

Lot of people staying based on the idea that you can rise a souflette twice. Can't. Bend is 100% doomed.

And your example will lead the way Brucey. There is going to be a mass exodus the likes of which has never been seen. This Summer. 1 in 6 unemployed, and getting worse. That can't stand. People yank their kids and move ASAP in places like that.

Come back Brucey, when this place has hit rock-ass bottom, and medians are under $100K, and you can buy you a nice little shit-shack downtown for 100% cash, and live off your royalties. You'll be the last one laughing.

Everyone who decides to stay will be destitute.

You are doing the right thing Brucey, if only a little late. You drank the Kool-Aid, and then saw the Emperor wears no clothes. This place is a 100% grift scam. Nothing is real. How could it be 200 miles from anywhere? Again, it's a moonbase.

Good luck to you Brucey.




Cessna Closes

OK, it's hard not to gloat a little on this one. I called this before Cessna even bought the remains of Columbia Air. It seemed clear that Bend Oregon as an assembly point was catatonicly stupid. Moon FUCKING Base. Gat Damn.

We got the obligatory "We knew it was coming" bullshit from every corner, including the founder. Seems EVERYONE KNEW it was coming. No biggie. Uh huh.

That's how EVERY SURPRISE CLOSING is unveiled.

"Yeah, we knew it was coming."

What is left out, as usual, is the Reverse Synergy Angle.

Right? Yeah, the Bully, and every single interviewee (typically Roger Lee), categorically states that when these businesses are on the upswing (like CESSNA WAS IN 2007), that the synergies will spread out throughout the land.

For every hire done by Cessna, there will be 10 new hires by other companies.

600 hires at Cessna? 6,000 teritiary hires elsewhere, and $6 billion in new growth throughout Central Oregon.

Standard Op Procedure. Alana Audette does this daily. $600 bazillion in "tourist" economy dollars spent yearly here.

Audette & Lee are the masters of taking something ridiculously small and multiplying it by 7,000,000,000,000 to make themselves look important.

Funny though, that the same MULTIPLICATION is never unwound on the way down.

Now that Cessna is gone, there will not be an UNWINDING of 6,000 jobs, nor an UNWINDING of the $6 bazilion dollars they brought to our doorstep.

This is Bend. Everything is PR'd to 100X it's size on the way up, but never downsized when it explodes.

Rest assured Central Oregon, those 6,000 teritiary jobs Cessna brought here will NEVER GO AWAY.


This is the web that caught our Young Brucey, and THOUSANDS of other just like him.

Lies, and More Gat Damn Lies. Audette & Lee. All funded by our dear City Council & local government.

You are here to be bilked of EVERYTHING. Everything you've ever worked for.

Folks, if you arrived here in the past 5 years, it's time RIGHT NOW, to take a hard look at the facts. Many, MANY of you reading this blog are either UNEMPLOYED, horrifically UNDER-EMPLOYED, or about to be UNEMPLOYED. And if you bought a house, you have lost an average of $1,000/week. And that is not going to stop.

And Summer is coming. And the kids are getting out of school. THIS IS IT. THIS IS GO TIME.

Take a serious hard-nosed look at things.

CAN YOU afford to stay in a place that has NO HOPE of getting a Real Economy? This is a MOON BASE, light years form anything REAL.

CAN YOU afford to lose $1,000/week for the next year? Or even $500/week? This is more than many people make here.

CAN YOU afford to bet it all on your employer surviving a complete collapse of this place?

CAN YOU afford NOT to leave this Summer, and find a place that isn't completely falling apart at the seams?

This place is DOOMED. It is deteriorating at a rate FASTER THAN ANYWHERE IN THE USA. Housing WILL NOT GET BETTER. The JOB MARKET WILL NOT GET BETTER.

Don't believe me? Go talk to ANYONE who used to work for Cessna. Go to the Redmond School District, where they are talking about 4 day school weeks. THAT is on it's way here.

Redmond is just like Brucey; They have simply woke up & smelled the coffee before Bend, and are doing something about the problem.

This place will start hemorhagging people and jobs starting in ONE MONTH. Well, the jobs has already got a good start, people will now follow. Before we had RUMORS of exodus. Folks, at 17% unemployment, not even the mightiest PR efforts this place has to offer will be able to put down THE FACTS. People will leave Bend in DROVES.

There will be huge swaths of empty, decaying STD's ALL OVER. My God, Hollern has marked down Yarrow 80%! And still he won't sell anything...

It's time to MAN UP, and follow Brucey's example. LEAVE. Seriously. If you do not have a job, could get fired at anytime, are barely scrapping by, or own a house and aren't making $3K/week to make up for your losses, LEAVE THIS PLACE. You will not survive.

204 comments:

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Anonymous said...

# 1 on the adios dickhead comment page, and how fitting, I'm an anonymouse. Have a life in Jewtah, fembot. Someday when you man-up, maybe you can live in a place like Bend. You and people like you are part of the problem, and when you leave, it's part of the solution.

Anonymous said...

In the best seller book,"Outliers", the author talks about very smart people who end up working at low paid, dead end jobs, just because they live in isolated areas. They are never exposed to high paying jobs, with a true career path, like people in major urban areas have a chance to see. There are great people in Bend, woefully underemployed.
For those thinking about leaving-
Here is a college town, unemployment has DROPPED to 6.4% from 6.7%- NO state income tax.
Nice homes cost LESS than $100,000.
Warm weather. Austin,Texas.See Forbes magazine, April 13,2009.

Bewert said...

Re: Someday when you man-up, maybe you can live in a place like Bend

###

Wake up and look at the snow outside your window...

And enjoy your garden.

###

Good luck, Homer.

Anonymous said...

Does the 17% included the 1099er's?

What does the "unadjusted" rate include.

We are certainly going to bust through the 20% mark in the next 60 days.

IHateToBurstYourBubble said...

Wake up and look at the snow outside your window...
Yeah.... I forgot to mention THAT.

Jeebus H Christmas... It's SNOWING IN MAY.

IHateToBurstYourBubble said...

Sort of funny.... the Worst Case Scenario "stress tests" put to the largest banks in the Country throughout the past few months, has actually come to pass. Already.

And things are still getting worse.

IHateToBurstYourBubble said...

And just to reiterate:

CACB NPA's stand at about 10% of assets... TWICE as bad as the 5% that predicted FAILURE back in the S&L days...

Yank your cash folks, it's all over there.

The piece saying CACB is GAINING Checking Deposits was OF COURSE, 100% BULLSHIT. The national pres could not be bought for penny-ante bullshit nickels like our dear Bulletin could, so MossCo's BULLSHIT story about checking account deposits only played here.

The national news actually printed The Truth, which was time & brokered deposits were the main source of deposit growth, the LAST BASTION OF THE DESPERATE.

CACB will go down.

IHateToBurstYourBubble said...

Brokered deposits were actually the primary growth vehicle of Texas S&L's back in the day.

They BOUGHT deposits at ridiculously HIGH RATES, and then TOOK THE MONEY IN CLASSIC PONZI SCHEME FASHION, and paid older depositers... and in some instances, actually did try to make a go of it, by loaning.

When a bank up's it's brokered deposits significantly, it is THE END. Especially if they are hurting.

BROKERED DEPOSITS ARE THE LAST BASTION OF PONZI SCHEME GRIFTERS.

Bewert said...

From the Big O:

Tour of the Gila: After crashes and broken bones, tuning up for Italy with Armstrong and Leipheimer

Posted by Chris Horner, Special to The Oregonian May 02, 2009 17:51PM

Hi, again to the readers. Here's a short update since the last time I wrote at the end of the Tour of California. This will be the start of my lead up to the Tour of Italy, during which I'll be doing regular updates.

After the Tour of California, I had to take a two-week break to let the injuries I had sustained in my crash on Stage 3 heal. I spent the time off hanging out in Bend, but then headed south to San Diego to start training again toward my next goal, Tour of the Basque Country. Luckily I had a training partner for the first 10 days of my training block, Bend local, Carl Decker. He had headed south looking for warm weather and ended up staying with me in San Diego for a while. The two of us put in 10 intense days of training, including great riding, a good diet, and lots of sleeping and stretching. As I arrived at the Tour of the Basque Country, my form was some of the best that I have ever experience in all of my years at racing. That lasted a total of four days before I got caught in a crash during one of the stages and found myself flying over a cliff in the mountains of northern Spain. I had slid under the guardrail and had to hang on to the post to keep from sliding down the side of a mountain.

I ended up back on the DL with a fractured shoulder and a couple of fractured ribs. I took the first flight that would get me back to Bend for another week of recovery and time with my kids. With the Tour of Italy coming up, I had to dig deep to find the focus and motivation to stay fit despite the new injuries. After the week in Bend, I headed back to San Diego, to resume my training where I had left off when I headed to Spain.

Three weeks after the crash, I was off to New Mexico to race Tour of the Gila, an American classic, with none other than Lance Armstrong and Levi Leipheimer, the Tour of California winner. Levi's spectacular form, which never seems to fade, showed itself once again as he took the win on the first stage, a mountain-top finish, and with it, the leader's jersey for the race. That left the job of defending the lead to Lance and I, and since we only have a three-man team, it is a big job!

Levi's second win came Friday in the time trial, not only giving the team another exciting win, but also increasing his lead in the overall classification to make the job of defending easier for Lance and I. Today, we made it through a criterium unscathed, maintaining Levi's lead.

The next few days will be filled with lots of hard work, but with Lance, seemingly fully recovered from his own recent collarbone break, riding incredibly strong in his warm up race for the Tour of Italy, and my fitness improving every day, it just may be possible for a three man team to take on an entire field and take the win at the end of the week. The running joke on the team this week is that between our "advanced ages" and injuries, we are not only the oldest team here but also the most hobbled! Note: Levi won the Tour of Cali with a broken sacrum, while Lance broke a collarbone and Horner broke a shoulder and ribs earlier this year. Tough fucks all. Kind of reminds me of when I brought a friend to race the Utah Summer Games--he said after the road race that he had never hurt so much in his life and wasn't going to ever race his road bike again. And went back to mountain bike racing. And he was top 5 there, a good rider.I can't say how excited I am to be starting the Giro next Saturday in Italy. I feel like we are going to take the excellent motivation and momentum that we are gaining this week over with us to Europe. With how strong our three-man team has been, I can't wait to see what a full nine-man squad can do when we meet up with the rest of our Astana teammates in Italy.

Be sure to tune in for my next updates, coming to you directly from the 100th Tour of Italy, where the racing is sure to be spectacular, and where the world will be watching and waiting to see how Lance Armstrong's return to racing will light up the sport once again.

###

No, the 17% doesn't include the 1099ers. Like two of my neighbors the painter and the realtor. Both hurting big time. They are putting a good face on it, but talking privately...

IHateToBurstYourBubble said...

Is Spring ACTUALLY GOING TO ARRIVE AT SOME POINT?

My God! This is RIDICULOUS!

Bend Oregon: 300 Days Of Bullshit Every Year!

IHateToBurstYourBubble said...

It's gotten so bad, Buster has regressed into a fetal ball in La Pine, fantasizing over Malay sex slaves.

I'd be balled up too, if I'd lost $1,000 per week per house that I owned in Bend.

No matter how you slice it, losing your ass each and every week on your raft of rentals AIN'T FUN.

Anonymous said...

So really, we are already looking at 20%+ of the Bend population looking for work.

IHateToBurstYourBubble said...

So really, we are already looking at 20%+ of the Bend population looking for work.

AT LEAST! 17% is the "official" number, which leaves out the homeless, lesbians, and single mothers.

The REAL NUMBER is at LEAST 25%, and probably closer to 1/3rd looking for work.

Remember: this was the freelance capital of the NW. ALL those people are BROKE ASS BROKE and looking for a Mickey Dee's job, if they can get it...

IHateToBurstYourBubble said...

A reminder:

If you wish to purchase GOTTSCHALKS, it's market value is $132,961.

Please feel free to offer your East side shitshack STD in trade.

They won't take it, because like GOTTS itself, it is nearly fucking worthless.

2 months ago GOTTS had a value equal to a Highlands at BT megamansion... now it's equal to a rundown shithole Desert Skeeze tenement.

All is illusion anyway...

Anonymous said...

"If you wish to purchase GOTTSCHALKS, it's market value is $132,961."


I was thinking of buying it with my savings from holding a "70% off" sign on the sidewalk.

Every week I get closer to reaching my goal!

Bewert said...

Re: My God! This is RIDICULOUS!

###

"Prairie Home Companion" is excellent today.

hank said...

Butterball says:
"My own philosophy is to NEVER say I'm going to do something publicly, UNLESS it is for precisely the reason of motivating myself to do it knowing I will be lambasted if I do not succeed.

That's what happened here."
***


Okay, Bruce Pussy, as somebody who has regularly inquired (lambasted? cajoled?) on how the Exec Session manifesto was coming, I gotta say that Mr Butter is quite correct. NEVER say you are going to do something.... You know the old sayings, "Talk is cheap", "All talk and no action", etc. You come across as a braggart when you pop off about all the big things that you are ABOUT to do.

Better to just do it in the first place, if you in fact really planned on ever doing it. And don't feel bad about never filing the manifesto complaint... after the first couple weeks of bragging, nobody really thought you were going to do anything but talk about it anyway.

Good luck in the future life in Utah. And remember, next time you really want to make a statement, do it with your actions, not some meaningless comment on a worthless blog in the outter reaches of the internet.

Bewert said...

Re:
Better to just do it in the first place, if you in fact really planned on ever doing it.

###

Actually, better to not talk before reading the real law.

A present is coming, but it will only cover notice. I've met many who know, but won't talk, of those things discussed in "Executive Session pursuant to ORS 192.660 (2) (a through h)"

Straight from the current packet for Wednesday's meeting.

No one cares. They all are simply trying to survive.

hbm said...

In the best seller book,"Outliers", the author talks about very smart people who end up working at low paid, dead end jobs, just because they live in isolated areas.Sorry, I don't buy it. If they live in the contemporary USA there's no place that's still isolated enough for that to be an excuse. You are not "trapped" anywhere; you don't have to spend your life in the place you were born. And if you are a young person with brains, talent and ambition you will not hang around in an isolated shithole where there is no opportunity. You will fly, you will drive, you will get on a train or a Greyhound or you will walk, but you will GET THE FUCK OUT.

hbm said...

Jeebus H Christmas... It's SNOWING IN MAY.You're surprised? Jeez, you must be a real newbie.

hbm said...

Is Spring ACTUALLY GOING TO ARRIVE AT SOME POINT?June 14, 2:47 p.m. PDT

hbm said...

"Prairie Home Companion" is excellent today.Most boring show on public radio, and that's saying a lot. Not to mention the agony of listening to Garrison Keillor "sing." That dude is SOOOooooo full of himself.

The Powdermilk Biscuits song was funny the first 3,476 times I heard it.

IHateToBurstYourBubble said...

hbm said...

Jeebus H Christmas... It's SNOWING IN MAY.

You're surprised? Jeez, you must be a real newbie.


Nope. I'm just a dumbfuck.

Anonymous said...

Newbie? Even the oldtimers are bitching about the snow this year. Not sure why, but they are.

PopGoesBend said...

Marge doesn't seem to be around to post data, but this guy is doing a pretty good job of it:

http://www.centralorproperty.com/Central,ORTrends.html

He posted all of the April sales and it looks to me that of the 108 sales, there were 93 of type residential. 46 sold for less than $195k, 46 sold for more than $195k. One sold for $195k. Is that how they figure the median? Is it really finally sub $200k? damn.....

Anonymous said...

High desert weather this is what it is folks. Bend oregon I lived on the coast for 10 years and was brought up in eastern or. I think that if you don't like it here you won't like it anywhere. This truly is paradise. Oh yes snow in may how about snow in july love it saw it in the early 90's variety is the spice of life.

Anonymous said...

Newbie? Even the oldtimers are bitching about the snow this year. Not sure why, but they are.this winter has been mild...

If you are bitching about the weather, you must be new, stupid, or full of coolaid.

Get over it, despite what the touron pamphlets say, it gets cold here, it snows in April/May/June, and your tomatoes will freeze in July...fuggin deal with it already and STFU about the weather.

Anonymous said...

I just read this on zillow as a way to try and price homes in the Bend area, "I would go to DIAL (http://www.deschutes.org/index.cfm?obje ... C87DBBD7EA ), look up the address and check the assessed value for Jan 2007. Right now a good ballpark is about 65% of that value, but they will probably drop below 50% of that value." Any thoughts on the accuracy of this approach? I can tell you I looked up several "Bank Owned" properties and even they are over priced with this formula!

PopGoesBend said...

Sounds like a reasonable method. I don't know what % things are at currently.

You should download the PDF linked above that shows April sales, then go to DIAL and check the tax values for 20 or so of the properties chosen at random. Let us know what percent they are selling for currently.

As far as how much more it's going down - I'm figuring at LEAST 30% off today's prices, and I'll re-assess as things go. I've been fairly conservative on all my estimates so far, so I will not be surprised at all to see it go much lower than that.

Anonymous said...

Gave it a shot - 4/09 average sale price was 67% of 1/2007 total assessment.

Anonymous said...

Sorry Boyz, I missed the snow and an internet connection. Sitting in the Hark Rock Casino in Hollywood, Fl..Just returned from the Bahamas. Now that you have the stats, I won't worry about catching you up on that.
Be back in Bend soon to plant and replant my victory garden :)

Anonymous said...

Downtown Bend Loses Police Presence

http://www.kbnd.com/333302.aspx

hbm said...

"This truly is paradise."

Don't get around much do ya.

"fuggin deal with it already"

The best way to deal with it is to MOVE THE FUCK OUT, at least during the months of shitty weather (November through May). That's my plan.

Anonymous said...

The best way to deal with it is to MOVE THE FUCK OUT, at least during the months of shitty weather (November through May). That's my plan.===

That's cool, to each his own.

Come on back when the cone-slickers desend upon Sisters Roh-day-oh (although don't yell at me if you get a few light snow flurries in the air on Friday night).

Anonymous said...

My Bend house will be paid off in less than a year. I bought in 2004, just before things really took off to complete unreality. Instead of investing in the market (like this blog used to suggest ("rent and invest the difference"... uh...cough... NO!). I lived low and paid off the house. How's that for bucking the trends? Bend has been a great town for me. The biggest problem in the town is infrastructure. I plan to get involved.

Anonymous said...

Here's the appropriate song for the losers on this blog:

Brave Sir Robin ran away - No!
Bravely ran away, away - I didn't!
When danger reared its ugly head
He bravely turned his tail and fled - No!
Yes, brave Sir Robin turned about
And gallantly he chickened out
Bravely taking to his feet
He beat a very brave retreat
Bravest of the brave, Sir Robin

hbm said...

Anon 8:20: What the hell are "cone-slickers"?

Haven't been to the Sisters Ro-day-oh in about 20 years. It was fun at first but got boring after a couple of repetitions. Basically if you see one rodeo you've seen 'em all.

hbm said...

Anon 9:43: If people don't like it here, why the hell should they stay? Does it earn them brownie points in Heaven? Does it prove their manhood in some way?

I'm 62.7 years old, I'm sick and tired of the endless winters here and I'm getting the fuck out as soon as I'm able. If that makes me a "loser" in your eyes, so be it. I think the real losers are those who passively put up with shit instead of doing something about it.

Quimby said...

>> cone-slickers

I took it as a cross between "cone lickers" (summer locusts aka. tourists) and "city slickers".

Portlander said...

I just drop into this blog to read some about Bend from over in the valley.

I didn't know who Bruce was so I went back and read some of the last comment thread.

I check numerous blogs and all of them get cantankerous from time to time, but let me tell you guys something:

Judging by these comment threads, Bend has more than a real estate problem. You guys have a social cancer or something that's eating your minds out.

If these "discussions" are indicative of the social climate in Bend right now, I'd take the post's advice and get the hell out of there. There's a malignant cancer growing here.

Anonymous said...

Judging by these comment threads, Bend has more than a real estate problem. You guys have a social cancer or something that's eating your minds out.The kooks who moved here because they thought they'd like a change of who they are, are pissed cause they got duped. They got played for the suckers they are and they are now chapped and ranting.

The people who know why they are here don't really care how this pans out. It was a podunk ski town before the kooks moved in and it's ok with me if that's where we are headed.

Anonymous said...

This blog seems primarily for people who hate themselves and hate where they live. I just post here from time to time to let the casual observer know some of us love Bend and are doing OK and are invested in a positive way in Bend's future. It's probably a wasted effort though.

Bewert said...

Re: The biggest problem in the town is infrastructure. I plan to get involved.

###

Infrastructure First, Barb McAusland, 541-385-7102

Just talked to her this morning and they are just 500 signatures short of getting on the fall ballot. She is always looking for people to gather sigs.

The real problem going forward is Bend doesn't have anywhere near the money needed just to catch up with what's already developed. And I haven't met anyone with the City or Council that has a clue as to where it is going to come from.

When the SDCs were coming in fast and furious, even though they were too low, they could have been invested in infrastructure. Reed Market and 15th, Reed Market and 27th, a sewage system and treatment plant on the verge of being overwhelmed, etc. Bend needs hundreds of millions, probably close to a billion, just to get caught.

But, alas, it didn't happen.

Portlander said...

"The people who know why they are here don't really care how this pans out. It was a podunk ski town before the kooks moved in and it's ok with me if that's where we are headed."

I can understand that. As a native Oregonian, that's about how I feel about Portland and the state in general.

This was always a place to live a relatively modest life in a beautiful place. It's not a place to swoop in and get rich.

We've gotten the influx bad enough up here, but you got it much much worse.

Natives and long-timers, batten down the hatches. But don't let it spoil you on Oregon.

Bewert said...

...just to get caught up.

I don't hate Bend, per se. It is what it is--a tourism and RE development town with mediocre skiing, some fish left upstream, and some really good riding on both road and mtn bike. It's not Aspen, Jackson Hole, Ketchum or Tahoe. More akin to Prescott, AZ.

Unfortunately it's pretty much in the middle of nowhere, seems to sit in a natural cold weather sink, and has one of the highest unemployment rates in the entire country.

I don't think things are going to change, as Buster told me a couple of years ago, and Bend has dug itself a big hole. And it is still digging, which is what put me on the way out of here. If you think things are bad now, wait 12-18 months, after the City has to go through a few more rounds of budget cuts.

The revenue is simply not going to be there to even maintain the current level of services, although you can bet that everyone living here is going to get dinged with ever more fees and rate increases to try to bring it in.

hbm said...

"If these "discussions" are indicative of the social climate in Bend right now"

They're not. We just have a lot of drunken psychos (or psychotic drunks) hanging out here because Homer doesn't believe in moderating the comments. This site has become a loony haven.

Anonymous said...

>>This blog seems primarily for people who hate themselves and hate where they live.

I hate OTHER people and Bend. I love myself.

hbm said...

"The real problem going forward is Bend doesn't have anywhere near the money needed just to catch up with what's already developed."

Which is precisely the point that Infrastructure First has been trying to make for lo, these many years.

Bend has been run like a giant Ponzi scheme, letting development happen without the infrastructure to support it and hoping to pay for the infrastructure -- someday -- with revenue from future development. But that couldn't have worked even if the boom had continued indefinitely. And I'm sure our business and political leaders knew it. It was just a huge swindle.

Anonymous said...

Agree with HBM 100% on that one. The time to spend on infrastructure is during the boom. We stood up to the plate, closed our eyes, and got called out on strikes.

Missed our chance. 20 years of crap will rain on our heads as a result.

Bewert said...

Banker: 'What'd I Do Wrong, Officer?' Cop: 'You've Got Algae in the Pool, Sir'INDIO, Calif. -- Officials at a Citigroup Inc. office in St. Louis placed a call to this desert town recently. The bank had caught word that Indio was coming after the lending giant with fines and threats of criminal charges. The offense: an algae-infested swimming pool at 79760 Eagle Bend Court.

Citigroup wound up in charge of the foreclosed home, one of thousands of such properties it was managing across the country. But last year, Indio passed a law that allowed it to charge banks with a criminal misdemeanor if they allowed a home to fall into disrepair."If I need to do it, I'll say, 'Mr. Bank President, if you don't come and take care of your property, we're going to come arrest you and take you to court in California,'" says Brad Ramos, Indio's long-serving police chief.

The hard-line approach is part of this town's attempt to gain leverage over some of the nation's largest lenders. A couple of years ago, Indio was a real-estate bonanza. Old date farms were closing down, sprouting subdivisions in their places. Today it's a different scene with one in 10 houses either in default or foreclosure.

The upshot is that faraway banks have become the de facto landlords of Indio, and people here say the absentee lenders are letting the whole valley fall apart. Houses "look like dust bowls," says Gene Gilbert, the mayor pro tem, who thinks a glut of run-down homes may depress his hometown's local market long after the recession ends.Criminalizing things like algae in a pool has given Mr. Ramos a stick to make lenders snap to attention. Without that threat, the police chief says, "far-off banks, billion-dollar corporations, they could simply ignore us."

A Citigroup spokesman says the bank never meant to ignore Indio and all along had "tried to maintain the property in good condition." After the letters from Indio, Citigroup paid a $3,450 fine to Indio and sent a cleaning crew to fix the pool at Eagle Bend Court where Citigroup had managed the foreclosure process.

Mr. Ramos has organized his department to focus on this new type of crime. Uniformed officers make weekly sweeps through subdivisions, casting about for infractions like dead landscaping. Financial institutions from Seattle to New York are finding themselves providing new services that include pruning bushes and watering cactuses.

On Austin Drive, J.P. Morgan Chase & Co.'s Washington Mutual bank had a real-estate agent water some dead grass after receiving a warning from Indio. On Palm View Street, Fannie Mae spent $7,000 to remove a fallen tree and took care of a few broken windows. Indio says it's still pursuing Bank of New York Mellon Corp., the trustee of a property on Avenida Linda Vista where weeds were "four to five feet tall."

Lenders say that such repairs and upkeep are part of the normal course of business, and that Indio's ordinance hasn't prompted any special actions. A Washington Mutual spokesman said local real-estate agents send in photos of bank-owned properties so the lender can watch for disrepair from afar. A Fannie Mae spokeswoman said the lender's first goal is to "stabilize neighborhoods." New York Mellon said its role as trustee didn't merit citations from Indio.

Even before the mortgage crisis erupted in full, big cities like Cleveland and Buffalo had fashioned laws of their own to browbeat banks into taking care of urban blight. Now some small towns are also taking matters into their own hands.

Indio's neighbors Palm Springs, Desert Hot Springs and Cathedral City each pushed ahead with laws much like Indio's. The town's own ordinance was fashioned off a 2007 law from Chula Vista, a city south of San Diego which began fining lenders up to $1,000 a day for unsightly or dangerous code violations such as broken windows.

"These lenders speak one language -- money," says Doug Leeper, the Chula Vista code-enforcement manager, who says he has issued around $1.4 million in fines against lenders. So far, he's collected half the fines and has plans to wrangle the rest through tax liens when the homes are eventually resold.Indio's gruff Mr. Ramos, however, is pushing it beyond tax liens, equating the matter to "arresting the guy that robs a bank." Any softer approach would put the city's home prices in further free fall, he says.

A former railroad pit stop, Indio was founded a century ago deep in the Mojave Desert's Coachella Valley. For decades, it scraped by as the "Date Capital of the World." But about 10 years ago, life began to change.

The booming Los Angeles housing market -- centered more than 100 miles away -- expanded to claim the Coachella Valley as its eastern frontier. Indio's population, about 49,000 in the 2000 census, swelled to an estimated 81,000 today. A new land rush was on.Longtime residents worried that the boom times wouldn't last. Mr. Ramos recalls looking at a map of developments pouring across old date fields and thinking: "I know our median income. Who is keeping up with the payments?"

By last year, some of the city's new developments were turning into pockets of decay and neglect. Million-dollar homes were being stripped of metal. New houses in gated communities became the domain of squatters.In March of last year, Mr. Gilbert penned a new law requiring banks to register homes the moment they went into foreclosure so the city could monitor if they were being maintained. Fines could pile up past $25,000 if the properties were found to be in disrepair. In a bold move that took its measures beyond mere civil offense, failure to comply was deemed a criminal misdemeanor that could lead to an arrest.

City officials say they ginned up a campaign to notify the banks about the new law, but few took action. "The banks were trying to test us to see if we were serious about this," says Jason Anderson, a code-enforcement officer in Indio.

Countrywide, one of the biggest lenders in the area, initially just tried to make the problem go away by writing checks, say city officials. Instead of attending to the upkeep on the properties, they'd ask, "How big was the fine?" Mr. Anderson recalls.

City officials say Countrywide has since become one of the most proactive lenders, contracting local real-estate agents to monitor properties and paying for gardeners to handle the upkeep. "There's considerable financial incentive for the bank" to maintain properties, a Countrywide spokesman said.

Write to Nicholas Casey at nicholas.casey@wsj.com

####

Sounds very possible here in Bend. A new, badly needed, revenue stream. Plus it would put some people back to work.

Anonymous said...

I don't hate Bend, per se. It is what it is--a tourism and RE development town with mediocre skiing, some fish left upstream, and some really good riding on both road and mtn bike. It's not Aspen, Jackson Hole, Ketchum or Tahoe. More akin to Prescott, AZ.The thing about the skiing is...while the terrain lacks in steepness, we are very consistent with the snowfall when compared to any of those places you mentioned. Year in and year out, our snow pack is far better than the places you mentioned. Tahoe, who wants to deal with the crowded, calikook factor and 2 out of 5 years are pathetic. Jackson, short season and talk about cold. Ketchum, cold and inconsistent. Aspen...mega kook factor...Tourons in gold one piece ski suits.

We get good quality snow and lots of it. This year was kinda weak and we still have a 100+ inch base. There are lots of great fishing holes, you just have to know where they are.

People who are bummed on this place got burned in the RE game or just flat out didn't realize where they were moving to. It's fuckin cold here 6 months out of the year.

Anonymous said...

Downtown Bend loses full-time police patrolAmid budget woes, police chief seeks alternative to patrols business owners say have been effectiveFor the past few years, when the weather turned warm and more people began heading downtown, the Bend Police Department assigned an officer to patrol on foot, by bicycle and by car. Business owners and city officials say the increased police presence helped prevent loitering, vandalism and other problems, and made shoppers and others feel safer.

But this summer, with the department navigating a tight city budget, Police Chief Sandi Baxter says things are going to be a little different.

With eight department positions vacant and officers busy dealing with other issues around the city, Baxter said she will have to cut the full-time downtown patrol assignment and devise another solution — probably using reserve officers or putting police on a rotating schedule. As a result, the department might have to react to problems that occur downtown rather than being there to stop them before they start.“We’re being stretched pretty thin, and until we get more people on board, I’m not going to be able to have just one dedicated person to patrol that downtown area,” Baxter said.

Downtown isn’t typically a problem spot for serious crimes, but Jeff Datwyler, the city’s downtown manager, said officials usually see more graffiti, unsafe skateboarding and public intoxication during summer, when there are more visitors and schools are out.

Downtown patrols are important because they keep most issues from getting out of hand and discourage bad behavior, he said.

“It’s not to a level (where) it’s to an overriding concern — it’s not a detriment to coming downtown, but we want to stay on top of it so when we do have behavior issues, we have recourse to follow up on them,” Datwyler said.

Downtown business owners think the regular summer patrols have made a big difference. Kelli Brooks, who has owned At the Beach on Wall Street for 12 years, said she sees Bend’s downtown as safe but feels better when there’s a police officer around.

“I think there’s a lot of young people just loitering and there tends to be graffiti and more vandalism,” Brooks said. “I just think having a presence of someone down here keeps them moving along.”

Heather Hanst, who owns Silverado Jewelry Gallery on Wall Street, said she’s had problems with young people loitering and acting irresponsibly around her store. She said she often tries to talk to the teens but appreciates having a police officer on patrol to help deal with the issues when they arise.

“I think it has an impact,” she said. “I think it makes them accountable for their actions a little bit more, making them see what they can and can’t do.”

Baxter knows the downtown patrols have a big impact and is seeking creative solutions to ensure the city’s budget woes don’t erode service. Reserve officers might be able to help, but they have less training and experience than other officers, she said. Another option might be paying officers overtime to do some work downtown, but money is limited, she added.

In the meantime, Chuck Arnold, the executive director of the Downtown Bend Business Association, said his group is working to ensure businesses are doing their part to help prevent petty crime and other problems. Arnold is encouraging business owners to keep track of any incidents they see so others know what to watch for, and is working to make sure the association keeps the area tidy to discourage graffiti and other vandalism.

Arnold hopes the police are able to continue patrolling downtown, but he said the department responds well to calls when problems arise.

“We’re doing the things we can to control the things we can control very well with a number of tools — communicating with each other, keeping it clean, and (working with) the Bend Police Department,” Arnold said.

Baxter said downtown is a priority for the department, but with less money, she has to weigh it against the police workload citywide.“It is very important, but at the same time I’ve got 32 square miles that I have to consider,” she said.

Erin Golden can be reached at 541-617-7837 or at egolden@bendbulletin.com.

Bewert said...

Re: snow consistency

###

I spent 20 years skiing Alta and Snowbird before moving here. I quickly became bored with sitting on a stopped lift in howling winds for a chance to ski flat runs. On occasion you get some decent runs in on the Backside or off the Summit lift.

Bachelor: 370" average
Alta: 500"
Jackson Hole: 450"
Squaw Valley: 450"

And, yes, I didn't know how cold it is here. All I ever saw was PR proclaiming 300 days of sunshine. Reality is more like 300 nights of freezes. I left Wisconsin because I got sick of the cold.

Bewert said...

Re:
We get good quality snow and lots of it

###

Mt. B has its moments, but you really do have to get around more...

hbm said...

"Mt. B has its moments, but you really do have to get around more..."

According to Oregonians, Oregon has the best of everything -- the most beautiful coast, the most magnificent mountains, the tallest trees, the most powdery snow, the sunniest sun, the wettest water ...

Never saw a place where people are always bragging on themselves and their state like Oregon.

Is it, perhaps, evidence of an inferiority complex?

hbm said...

"And, yes, I didn't know how cold it is here."

I knew it got cold here and I didn't mind that -- still don't.

What I didn't know, and do mind increasingly as I get older, was that the winters are SEVEN FUCKING MONTHS LONG. (That's in a good year -- in a bad year they're eight fucking months long.)

Enough, already.

Anonymous said...

>>Is it, perhaps, evidence of an inferiority complex?

Oh absolutely. It's too desperate to be sincere.

Anonymous said...

Next step for city council is a parcel tax, on top of property taxes. Should be about $1,000. per house.
Save your pennies,kids, this is really coming.

Anonymous said...

I don't like this Bewert guy. Never have, never will. He's the kind of guy that moved to Bend based on what he read in some glossy magazine. He's a pussy and he just doesn't have what it takes to live here. He's not Bend material.

I'll give him this though...it only took him a year or two to figure it out. It took that pompous ass, HBM, twenty years to figure it out.

And don't give me that anonymouse crap. I don't buy it. I'm just not stupid enough to post my name all over the internet.

LavaBear said...

>>>Enough, already.

For under $250 you and the wife can be in sunny Arizona. You just have to risk your life with Allegiant Air. And if you want a seat they will probably charge you more. And luggage is more. I think they have a breathable air charge as well.

I survived it a couple weeks ago. Tossed the kids in a pool and soaked up 88 degree days.

hbm said...

"There are lots of great fishing holes, you just have to know where they are."

Yeah, that's what they always say. The other cliche is: "Damn, you shoulda been here YESTERDAY!" (Or last week or whatever.)

Fishing around here doesn't begin to compare with what it was 20 years ago.

Anonymous said...

'I'll give him this though...it only took him a year or two to figure it out. It took that pompous ass, HBM, twenty years to figure it out.'LOL!!!

Bingo, we have a winner!!!!

hbm writes:
"According to Oregonians, Oregon has the best of everything -- the most beautiful coast, the most magnificent mountains, the tallest trees, the most powdery snow, the sunniest sun, the wettest water ..."

You forgot:
"the most pompous ass'ed writers"

Anonymous said...

And don't give me that anonymouse crap. I don't buy it. I'm just not stupid enough to post my name all over the internet.

===



I like this guy. Better than buster from ThighLand.

So, what you saying?

BPussy is a fool to post publically?

hbm, a fool?

dunc, also a fool?

LOL

I agree... and I PITY THE FOOL!!!

Bewert said...

Re: He's the kind of guy that moved to Bend based on what he read in some glossy magazine.

####

Actually we got talked into it by a friend who grew up here. The magazines just reinforced the image.

But then he's about had it, too.

Look at it this way--you can continue to struggle in a place with no money, a decaying infrastructure, and a drip-drip-drip consistent loss of family-wage jobs. Or you can simply move to a place where there are jobs, along with the resultant tax base that can maintain services and infrastructure at decent levels.

The Central Valley or Austin. Bend or Great Falls, MT. See http://www.bls.gov/web/laummtrk.htm for your choices. It's not rocket science. It is a conscious choice.

Having a river, mountains, and trees is not exactly restricted to Bend, you know.

Bend's nice in many ways. I was just walking the pup down on the river trail, in a pleasant light rain. I'll miss that part of it.

But I won't miss the incompetence and lack of foresight in favor of development at all costs.

It will be interesting to see how Bend fares in the next couple of years.

And as far as anonymouses go? If you don't stand up in public and nothing changes. The number of anonymouses in this town is directly correlated with the continuing incompetence of city management.

I mean, what's going to happen to you? Unless you are trying to keep suckling at the development teat, too.

And that has brought Bend real success and prosperity, eh?

Anonymous said...

Having fun talking to yourself?

If all your messages are uniformly witless and sophomoric, we still know it's you.

Buster is more interesting mumbling passed out on his couch.

Duncan McGeary said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

Sorry, Bruce. I was talking about Mr. T, there, the guy who wrote the previous two comments.

hbm said...

"He's not Bend material."

Thank you.

hbm said...

"I agree... and I PITY THE FOOL!!!"

I've been putting my name on what I write for more than 40 years. Too bad you never grew a pair of huevos big enough to do it.

Anonymous said...

"See http://www.bls.gov/web/laummtrk.htm for your choices."

Looking at the places in the bottom 10, I had to wonder ...

... is the unemployment rate low there because the economy is healthy, or because all the employable people already left?

Anonymous said...

Yeah, the guy is kind of ruining this place for me. He's like your classic boring troll.

Buster was almost a troll, but had something to say, and said it in a wacky way. You could cringe and laugh.

This Mr. T. is just empty insults.

Anonymous said...

Mt. B has its moments, but you really do have to get around more...That's the thing Bruce, I've been all over, and this is where I found consistent winter and no crowds. I won't elaborate on my status or drop names, I am just happy to ride all winter long. I do travel quit a bit during the winter to get because it's fun to ride different terrain, I am always glad to get back home to the land of no crowds. What's funny Bruce is that you live in a town full of world class athletes and yet you assume that nobody has ever lived life enough to know better. Maybe that's why you get kooked so hard on this board. You seem like a nice enough guy and I do like some of you efforts but the name dropping and the constant spray about your "been there, done thats" gets old real quick.

HBM, you must be fishing the same holes that all the tourons fish. There are tons of spots but the people who know tend to keep it quite so the kooks don't blow out the spot.

I have been fishing one lake in particular for 15 years and nothing has changed...15-20 trout an hour without fail. There are spots the rivers that are the same way. You have to make an effort, the good shit isn't just handed out these days.

Anonymous said...

""I agree... and I PITY THE FOOL!!!""

hbm:
I've been putting my name on what I write for more than 40 years. Too bad you never grew a pair of huevos big enough to do it.

====


Mr hbm with Large Huevos, the original poster posted the following:
"And don't give me that anonymouse crap. I don't buy it. I'm just not stupid enough to post my name all over the internet."For 40 years you fool, for forty years. LOL

Anonymous said...

Um, that made no sense.

Anonymous said...

Duncan McGeary said...
This post has been removed by the author.
May 4, 2009 5:41 PM

====

Anonymous said...
Sorry, Bruce. I was talking about Mr. T, there, the guy who wrote the previous two comments.


=============

You go Dunc, I mean Anonymouse!

dunc: "Opps, I did it again."

Kinda hard posting anony, isn't tit, huh dunc?

You keep hitting "Publish Your Comment" when you are under Duncan instead of anonymouse.

ROTFLMAO!!!

You and the pussy and hbm are what make this blog fun for me. Keep it up!!!

Anonymous said...

"I'm just not stupid enough to post my name all over the internet."
===


"Um, that made no sense."

Yes dunc, that would make no sense to you.

Keep posting anonymousely dunc, you be very funny that way.

Duncan McGeary said...

Yeah, it's me.

I just didn't want to seem defensive.

It's not the insults that get to me, but just how stupid this guy is. He uses unoriginal stuff like "I pity the fool" and LOL and ROTFLMAO and ... and it's just so boring.

Duncan McGeary said...

Couldn't you make an exception on this guy, Paul-doh?

Anonymous said...

.... and also, my favorite:

"Fuck all you Republicans!!!"

from hbm herself.

Why be creative when you ripoff other peoples great lines?

Duncan McGeary said...

But I'm happy I gave you an orgasm to discover it was me.

Duncan McGeary said...

Like I told you when you first showed up.

You're kind of creepy.

Come back, come back Buster! All is forgiven!

Duncan McGeary said...

Dang. I was hoping you'd respond quicker, so I could call it a night.

But I'll just do it for you.

GOT YOU, DUNCAN!

Boy, you sure did. Now wipe yourself off.

I didn't really care all that much if I was anonymous, which is why I did such a half-assed job of it.

ONLY A FOOL DOESN'T POST ANONYMOUSLY.

O.K. Now you know who I am.

And I know who you are. You're the anonymous who posts flat content-free messages with borrowed insults.

If the first sentence sounds like it was written by a 12 year old, I know it's you.

And with that, I say, "Good Night!"

HAH! I GOT YOU!

Oh, good night.

Anonymous said...

, Buster has regressed into a fetal ball in La Pine, fantasizing over Malay sex slaves.

*

Fuck off, my girls ain't fucking slaves, they beg to be with me. I have long said my home is near newport.

Got the first time in a week, right now its 3:30pm, I'm on the thai-malay border, I speak thai, the girls speak malay, we converse.

I'm not a BP, cuz there is no manwife, I protect the women.

Got to go pon says no more internet.

Anonymous said...

Bend Bulletin - the reality from BendTech blog. FUCKING ZERO comments, SHIT interface, fonts for the BLIND, RSS feeds are TOTALLY worthless even for subscribers...and that's not saying anything about CONTENT, which is discussed below.


Part 1: http://blog.bendtech.com/2009/04/bend-bulletin-20/

Part 2: http://blog.bendtech.com/2009/05/bend-bulletin-20-part-15/

hbm said...

The Bull has a story today attempting to put a positive spin on this shitty weather. If the Black Death struck Bend and wiped out two-thirds of the population, The Bull would run one of its smiley-face stories explaining the bright side of it.

One thing they do get right, though: Shitty spring weather is NOT unusual here. Actually it's the norm.

Anonymous said...

Email I got this morning from BOTC

You know it's bad when the banks are spamming to get people to deposit money with them.

Dear (sucker),

When you deposit your money at Bank of the Cascades, you get more than just great rates. Your dollars are reinvested into the local economy, working for you and your community. Plus, when you open a new checking account between now and 6/30/09, we'll make a donation to the United Way. We feel that helping the community is our responsibility, and it is also our privilege. Call us or stop by one of our branches to learn more about our Money Market, Time Deposit and Checking Accounts for your business and personal dollars.

Open A New Time Deposit or Money Market Account And Support Your Local Economy

Anonymous said...

Re: What's funny Bruce is that you live in a town full of world class athletes and yet you assume that nobody has ever lived life enough to know better.

###

Hmmm--Park City, Boulder, COS, Austin, Tahoe, Durango, etc.? Actually Durango is pretty similar to Bend, high desert town with a OK town ski hill.

Mt. B is all right, but it a town hill. Nothing more, nothing less. With so much management turnover that things get fucked up too easy. Like several hundred people walking out of Outback not too long ago when the lift blew fluids all over.

But trying to convince me that Mt. B is better than Alta, Snowbird, Deer Valley, The Canyons, Snowbasin, Solitude, Brighton, Sundance, and Park City all within an hour of each other is like trying to convince me you prefer PBR to the entire line of Deschutes microbrews.

Just saying.

Anonymous said...

If I could be anywhere in the world on a powder day, Mt Bachelor would not be in the top ten...probably not in the top 20. That said, it does have certain qualities that make it a good choice for myself. The temps cold, we have good groom 3 weeks after a storm unlike the rest of the PNW or anywhere in Cali for that matter. Utah is sweet but who wants to live in Utah?...the laws suck and so do a large percentage of the population. The skiing is great in Utah but the season is not as long as what Mt B has to offer. I can live 30 minutes from the mountain and get a lot of days in and still work a more than full time job.

To each his/her own but this place works for me and a lot of similar minded folks.

Sorry for those who got duped into thinking our podunk town in the middle of BFE was something more than it actually is. It's a nice place to get the fuck away from everyone else...my kind of place.

Anonymous said...

http://www.idahomilitia1.com/

Anonymous said...

2 items

1. Relative who lives in Seattle (proper, not suburban) complained about 6 months ago that rents were ticking up because of condo conversions. He says that in the last two months everything changed. 11/12 buildings on his street now have vacancies. He said it's incredible. Moving vans. Can't figure out where they are going. Note on his door offered a bargain if he signs 1 year lease.

2. Recruiter tells me that, again, all of a sudden, people are willing to move from California to St. Louis for jobs. No hesitation.

High cost of living on the West Coast seems to be colliding with loss of jobs.

But does anyone have a reason for the suddenness of it?

Anonymous said...

>> But does anyone have a reason for the suddenness of it?

Popping of real estate bubble and financial crisis led to:


Disappearance of consumer credit
Scared and/or unemployed consumers
Fall in aggregate demand
Failure of businesses
Cratering stock market
Crash in consumer confidence
Feedback effects
More unemployment

Here in CO, as Duncan says, we are a "bubble within a bubble"

Bewert said...

Re: The skiing is great in Utah but the season is not as long as what Mt B has to offer.

###

Mt. B closes May 17.

Snowbird closes May 25.

Alta closed April 19th, with 696" of cumulative snowfall. According to the Collins Mid Mountain Remote Access Study Plot, it currently has a base of 140".

You can actually find a job in Sandy, and be within 30 minutes of Alta, Snowbird, Solitude or Brighton. The road to Mt. B is just as long as the drive up either Cottonwood canyon. Actually Little Cottonwood is only nine miles long, not 22.

But you can't get real beer on tap in Utah. Just 3.2.

To each his own. I'm not begrudging any of you who enjoy poverty with a view (the slogan of virtually every small mountain town) but please realize the trends show that it is going to get a lot worse before it gets better, unless enough people leave to reduce the workforce significantly. Be prepared for it.

A couple of local numbers:

Notices of Default:
thru 5/5/06 83
thru 5/5/07 126
thru 5/5/08 471
thru 5/5/09 1206

Unemployment:
3/08 7.8%
3/09 17%

Anonymous said...

More RE sales still being reported for April. Now there are 105 sold at $195k median for SFR Bend only. Finally went below the 200. $195k was the median for the year of 2003.

As he says, "Just sayin"

PopGoesBend said...

>Now there are 105 sold at $195k median for SFR Bend only.

Any idea how many were REO and short?

Anonymous said...

Twitter MonkeyX116:

"Sometimes, in the heat of the moment, it's forgivable to go ass to mouth."

Bend, OR

Bewert said...

Twitter amerine: @lightcap

I'm surprised that was the first time you've seen it. I guess we've done a bad job of promoting git here in Bend.

Bend, Oregon

Bewert said...

Hey, here's the link to Bend Twitters:

http://search.twitter.com/search?&near=bend%2C+oregon&within=50&rpp=15

Anonymous said...

If the REHO checked the right boxes the 63 were REO or short sales. In March when I read through each of them it was higher than that.

Bewert said...

Cinco de Mayo playlist from an old bike racer: http://www.playlist.com/playlist/16171369739

Anonymous said...

AHHH... and the truth of the stats are 78 sales were REO or short only 27 were ???? what do you call normal? Not distressed sales.. Although I expect there was stress involved as the sold price of those were not anywhere near the original asking price.

Anonymous said...

born and raised eastern or. This still isn't as bad as oregon in the 70's 80's we were always used to being conservative. Grew our own gardens raised our own beef hunted ect.My great uncle was born in 1899 he used to put beer cans on the stove to heat them up? warm beer ? that is what they did back then. They used to tell me about digging holes in the ground and lining it with straw, then putting sqwash punkin and the likes for long term storage. A lot of lost knowlege out there. get the firefox series they have a lot of that old survival stuff.does anyone have any info on the indians of this area 1800's and how they survived?

Anonymous said...

"does anyone have any info on the indians of this area 1800's and how they survived?"

Hunting and gathering?

Not as bad as it might sound -- some anthropologists argue that hunter/gatherer societies were better nourished (taller, heavier) than agricultural societies. The latter gets too overpopulated, etc.

Anonymous said...

Got to go -- pon says no more internet.
Poor Buster -- it must be hard being a 65 year old sex slave.

Just tell em that you got the aids.

Anonymous said...

>>ANon 8:24<<

Nice try. You are also a fake n bake. What are you really looking for here.

We are in real trouble. The Koolaide drinkers are back at the trough and think we are almost out of the woods. What is it about, recession, that Joe 6 pak doesn't get. Why is the MSM trying to make it look the "sun is coming out tomorrow"? It isn't.
Damn, these lame brains don't get we are in a WORLD of hurt. Greed is making dopes buy houses again. They don't know that next year it will also be underwater. It will not stop for a very long time.

Swine flu will rear it's head again in the late fall and there will be no fresh vegi's from Mexico. Border closed.

Since you can't eat or buy bullets, now people should have a bit of extra food and learn the way of the Indians, which includes punkins in a straw lined hole.

Bad thing about Bend is the growing season. Root vegi's are good though. Canning can be another advantage.

Wish you all the best. Baker City may be a good place to grow stuff. Many Indians in those parts in times past.

Comments?

Anonymous said...

Does anybody here have a job?
Most of these posts are about skiing, bumming around the world,etc.
Bend may be a great place for a 20-35 year old athlete, or a guy who wants to be a perpetual Peter Pan, but if you are 40, married, have kids, this is a horrible place to try and build a future.

Bewert said...

Re: Swine flu will rear it's head again in the late fall

###

Top 2 on the BULLY this morning:

Swine flu: Is it here?Bend couple back from Mexico awaiting lab results

Redmond Airport’s boardings down 12%

Bewert said...

Behind the BULLY firewall:

Room taxes continue to plunge in regionDeschutes County and the city of Bend reported 22.7% and 28.2% declines, respectively, in March room-tax collections...for the city of Bend it was the fifth consecutive month of double-digit declines...

###

Didn't have year over year numbers.

Without RE/construction and tourism, where is the money going to come from?

Anonymous said...

Money will come from a parcel tax.
Since you can not sell your home, you are "stuck" paying it.
Gov'ts. cut only visable programs
Police,libraries, etc.
Then they raise a parcel tax to give them back to you.
Trust me, this will be in place by end of 2010, or sooner.

Anonymous said...

but if you are 40, married, have kids, this is a horrible place to try and build a future.you might have missed the window or your expectations are too high.

You either got here too late or you think it's something more than poverty with a view.

I am in that age bracket with a family but we bought way before the boom and we live a very low overhead life. The combination of both of those things allows us to save for retirement and other things that are 20 years out.

It's hard now, shit costs too much and wages are weak. These days, you need to bring your money with you or be prepared to eat ramen and never retire

Anonymous said...

Fireside Red...Bend Gone

Sucks, another 15ish people out of work.

Bewert said...

Right now, this afternoon.

My dream of Bend>.

Bewert said...

Selected highlights from last nights CC meeting:

Council unanimously approved a resolution establishing a fee increase for Bend Area Transit and approved the Public Transit Advisory Committee's (PTAC) recommendations on route changes. (PTAC recommendations are explained in attachments to agenda packet)

As discussed at last week’s Budget Committee meeting Council approved (by 4/3 vote) funding $150,000 for Bend Area Transit shortfall (to maintain current service) using funds set aside for the left turn lane project at the airport. Councilors Greene, Eager and Teater were opposed.

...

Following the public hearing Council unanimously approved a resolution levying assessments for the Downtown Bend Economic Improvement District.

The City Council adopted an ordinance on March 18, 2009 that created the downtown Bend Economic Improvement District (EID). Staff sent notices of proposed assessments to commercial property owners within the district. The EID is anticipated to raise approximately $120,000 per year, based on an assessment of $.15 per square foot of commercial space in the downtown area.

Council considered whether to adopt a Resolution amending the FY 2008-09 fees resolution for changes to Building, Planning, Sign, and Engineering fees. The resolution was discussed during the preceding work session.

A public hearing was held on the proposed fee increases. Bruce White, Helen Eastwood, Andy High from Central Oregon Builders Association, Bill Robie from Central Oregon Realtors Association, and John McGinnis testified.

The resolution, as presented in the work session (with building safety fees to be implemented over two years as presented), was approved (by 4/3 vote). Councilors Clinton, Teater, and Mayor Eckman were opposed. Council directed a review of the fees in January.

hbm said...

"These days, you need to bring your money with you or be prepared to eat ramen and never retire"

It's always been like that in Bend. It's never been the land of economy opportunity, and anybody who comes here expecting to make a lot of money is delusional.

If you're lucky enough to land one of the handful of managerial/professional jobs available, you'll do okay. Otherwise, better bring your money with you when you come.

"What's the best way to make a small fortune in Bend, Oregon? Start with a large one." -- Old Bend Saying

St Paddy said...

Hey Bruce,

Good luck in Utah, I was just there visiting my cousin who is an engineer/rock climber and it's a pleasant place the mountains are beautiful. But I'm really getting sick of hearing about it.It's nice that you are building it up in your mind as this utopia to reinforce your decision to move back. The truth is if it was so perfect you probably wouldn't have moved away in the first place. Give yourself a few months back and you'll be bitching about all the problems there.(let us know when the new blog starts up)It's kind of like the gal you dated several years ago and you recently crossed paths, you end up spending some time together, usually it's sexual and very quickly you remember all the things that drove you away in the first place. Some facts on Utah: The beer is weak, it's god awful hot in the summer, it's so dry it makes Bend feel like a rain forest, and best of all you need to drive to access the outback, lots of freeway driving( wait til $5.00gl fuel). All the resorts you name especially Park, it may be awesome terrain and powder all one run half untracked you get when the 14 million other powder hounds that you waitied in 40 minute lift lines with are after the same thing. So enjoy the place if it's for you.

I've done ski seasons in the Rockies and Sierra's and yes they are world class but that's the problem, world class brings world class crowds, again enjoy that if it's your thing.

I personally love living in Bend, I came here(via East coast,Tahoe/sierra's/colorado) with very simple expectations and have exceeded them "yes I made a shitload of money here" I still have it and continue making it, I didn't let it go to my head, I live far below my means and carry no debt whatsoever. This recession is going to cleanse Bend of all the whiners who don't belong here anyway. So Bruce again I wish you the best of luck in Utah and anyone else who is leaving so remember "DON'T LET THE DOOR HIT YOU IN THE ASS" If you can encourage a friend to go with you.






SP

St Paddy said...

Hey Paul Doh, god job on talking the place down, you my friend are helping the cause of getting the whiners out of here.I love your style.I know you are hanging around, we'll have to go meet up for a beer at deschutes sometime, I know of two empty seats down there on Mondays.

Anonymous said...

If you're lucky enough to land one of the handful of managerial/professional jobs available, you'll do okay. and okay means, if you are smart with your money, you might not have to work forever. The reality of wages in CO is that the pay is half of what you would make in a major metro area. I get resumes all the time and it's laughable what people demand as a minimum salary.

"I can't move there for any less than $120K"

"I hear you, sorry you won't be moving here"

It's poverty with a view but it's a good view. I grew up in the city...fuck that madness, I'd rather be broke.

Anonymous said...

hbm:
"These days, you need to bring your money with you or be prepared to eat ramen and never retire"

It's always been like that in Bend. It's never been the land of economy opportunity, and anybody who comes here expecting to make a lot of money is delusional.

If you're lucky enough to land one of the handful of managerial/professional jobs available, you'll do okay. Otherwise, better bring your money with you when you come."

===
So true, hbm! The existing jobs are already spoken for; harder to get than a good Manhatten apartment, and via the same avenue (look in the obituaries).


St Paddy:

"I personally love living in Bend, I came here(via East coast,Tahoe/sierra's/colorado) with very simple expectations and have exceeded them "yes I made a shitload of money here" I still have it and continue making it, I didn't let it go to my head, I live far below my means and carry no debt whatsoever."
===
Okay, St Paddy, spill your beans, how did you do it? (no ID details, just give us a picture of how somebody brings an outside income to Bend.

As for me and my story, I was a telecommuter employed by a high tech company that allowed people to work from anywhere. Economy, consolidation, etc determined the "was" clause in the previous sentence.

Are you a financial wiz with a large book of clients?

Are you a buster with a fleet of no-mortgage rentals?

Are you a drug lord with a big wholesale and retail business?

IHateToBurstYourBubble said...

Marge said...

More RE sales still being reported for April. Now there are 105 sold at $195k median for SFR Bend only. Finally went below the 200. $195k was the median for the year of 2003.


Thanks Marge!!

Bewert said...

Don't, worry, SP, I won't :)

Take care, and drink one for me on Monday nights. I'll miss the beer here most of all.

Anonymous said...

Bulletin says 1031 Exchange called "Ponzi" by Portland judge.

State and FBI investigating.

hbm said...

Good bye and good luck, Bruce (if this really is good bye). Are you even allowed to drink beer in Utah? I've never lived in Utah but I spent a month in Salt Lake City one night. (Apologies to W.C. Fields)

hbm said...

""yes I made a shitload of money here"

Define "shitload," please.

hbm said...

"It's poverty with a view but it's a good view."

When you can see it, i.e. when the clouds and/or a big box store isn't in the way.

Best solution: Make a shitload of money in the big city, buy yourself a place in Montana, fly there in your private plane for weekends, move there when you retire.

Simple, eh?

Anonymous said...

Old news, must have missed it first time around:

Federal investigators looking at Bend investment firmby Jeff Manning, The Oregonian
Thursday January 08, 2009, 4:24 PM

To the surprise of nobody, federal criminal investigators are looking into the sudden collapse of Summit 1031 Exchange.

Ron Hoevet, a Portland criminal defense attorney, said in U.S. Bankruptcy Court hearing Thursday that Summit has been served with a federal Grand Jury subpoena. The FBI wants to interview certain company employees and also requested access to the company's records, Hoevet said.

The Bend company held more than $27 million in trust for clients while they completed 1031 real estate exchanges. That the case would go criminal seemed likely ever since Summit acknowledged that it has only about $13 million on hand of the $27 million it owes to clients.

Summit filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy in late December.


So-called 1031 tax-free real estate exchanges, named after a section of the IRS tax code, are a highly popular tax strategy that allows investors to sell real estate and defer the capital gains taxes as long as they use the sales proceeds to buy other qualifying real estate.

Summit held clients' money while they arranged the next transaction. Summit's four principals - Mark Neuman, Brian Stevens, Lane Lyons and Tim Larkin - have admitted that they did not invest all their clients' money in short-term, liquid securities as promised. Instead, they put millions of dollars went into various real estate deals.

"I suspect these individuals will face their own criminal issues," U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Randall Dunn said Thursday.

Several Summit clients objected to the company's request that it hire Hoevet to deal with the criminal investigation. They argue that the $35,000 Summit proposes to pay Hoevet is coming out of their pockets.

"They seem to have misappropriated our money," said Roland Andrews, of Montana. "And now they are asking us for more money for lawyers."

Susan Ford, a Portland bankruptcy attorney representing Summit, insisted that no client money would go to Hoevet. She predicted that not hiring Hoevet could end up costing clients more in the long term if, as a result of his absence, the federal investigation impedes the company's ability to finalize 1031 real estate exchanges.

Judge Dunn ultimately gave Summit permission to hire Hoevet. But he said clients will be given the opportunity to trace their money through the Summit organization. If it turns out that any of Summit law firms received client trust money, the firms would have to return it.

jmanning@news.oregonian.com.

St Paddy said...

Listen guys not everyone that came here was stupid with their money regarding real estate.During boom times it goes something like this, make chunk of cash pull it off table, make another chunk of cash, pull it off table repeat over and over, minimize tax impact and repeat, always have exit figured and prepared before commiting. No doubling down for St Paddy.No drinking kool aid for St Paddy. Now I wait for stupid people to finish getting their clocks cleaned and go back to buying cash flow, real cash flow, minimum 12% cap rates or no go.If your net income isn't minimum 1 % of purchase then walk. Don't think we'll see that shit again? Wait and see. All the sheeple walking to slaughter right now will be next years NOD's.All the sheeple holding on for the market to rebound(laugh my ass off) Smart guys were making money here in the 70's and 80's just like they are now and will in the 2010's and beyond.All of you employee minded people will never get your slice so quit waiting around for it and go join a union or something, it's your only chance. Entitlement mentality is a thing of the past living wage job=joke, pension=joke employer provided health care=mirage/joke, job security=joke

Afternoon coffee rant whew!!


Hey buster! hows Laphainland and the lapanese women treating you?

Anonymous said...

Looks like it took someone in Portland to say "Ponzi." Don't remember Bulletin using that word before today.

Dana Bratton said...

"Is Spring ACTUALLY GOING TO ARRIVE AT SOME POINT?June 14, 2:47 p.m. PDT"

Actually, I predicted it would arrive at 2:47 p.m. on April 25 ... Costa reported it like it was news ... I wonder what could have gone wrong?

Anonymous said...

"If your net income isn't minimum 1 % of purchase then walk."

Am I the only one that has no clue what St. Paddy is talking about?

I read it twice and only got the part about cool aid.

*

Does that make me a sheeple?

Anonymous said...

"I read it twice and only got the part about cool aid."
====

Me too.

Could be monthly cash flow info...

Buy a house at $100,000 cash. Rent it out at 1% PER MONTH or $1,000/mo.

But SP was a bit too criptic for me.

PS He sounds like a buster blow hard. buster bragging about all the women he screws in Thighland; SP about all the massive millions he has made here in Bend. I know lots of millionaires, none of who troll retard blogs like this. Anybody who comments here (by definition) are loser renters or tards or both.

Quimby said...

>> Anybody who comments here (by definition) are loser renters or tards or both.


You got that right!


(awkward pause)Hey, WAIT A MINUTE.....

Quimby said...

stupid post tag LF bug....

Anonymous said...

More on Summit 1031:

Bend 1031 eschange 'arguably' a Ponzi, judge says

A U.S. bankruptcy judge said Wednesday at a hearing in Portland that Summit 1031, a Bend-based real estate services company, arguable ran a Pomzi scheme and that its business was a "house of cards" waiting to collapse.

Judge Randall Dunn made the remarks before approving a liquidation plan for Summit Accomadators Inc., which did business as Summitt 1031 Exchange. The plan will attempt to return more than $40 million in asserted claims to the company's roughly 120 unsecured creditors by, among other things, selling speculative real estate throughout the Western US and Mexico that was purchased by the company's shareholders or related third parties through as many as 91 separate legal entities.
...
The liquidation plan allows the trustee to transfer assets, mainly 87 different properties identified so far, from the company and its related legal entities into a trust that will attempt to sell the properties...
...
There are no laws specifying where a 1031 exchange company can or cannot park its client' money. However, Summit , in its exhange contract, did specify it would place its clients' money into deposit accounts at financial institutions...Padrick testified that Summit deposited the money but then transferred roughly 90% of it to Inland Capital Corp., a corporation owned by Summit's four principal shreholders: Mark Neuman, Brian Stevens, Timothy Larkin and Lane Lyons.

"Inland was described by them as a conduit...Inland provided those funds to various entities or to (the four principal sharholders) directly as well as in a few cases to unrelated third parties."...over time tens of millions of dollars were transferred srom Summit to Inland, often for purchase of speculative real estate or, in some cases, for personal reasons. Padrick said Neuman used money from Inland to renovate his home and provide a down payment for his daughter to purchase a home.

The money transferred out of Summit was replaced with money deposited by new exchange clients..."Lots of the property is underwater, (creditor attorney) Thomas said..."I think it's very unlikely in the next two to five years that property prices are going to double."

####

Hmmm, wonder if any properties have been sold to an "unrelated" insider?

Anonymous said...

Also noted in a little sidebar on NODs through April (which I can't find now--yesterdays business front page top left) that, if I did the math in my head right from the rate of NODs and the total NODs, about 1 in 8 Deschutes County properties have been foreclosed this year already. Adding in the 1928 NODs from 2008 and the number goes up to 3 in 8.

PopGoesBend said...

Also noted in a little sidebar on NODs through April (which I can't find now--yesterdays business front page top left) that, if I did the math in my head right from the rate of NODs and the total NODs, about 1 in 8 Deschutes County properties have been foreclosed this year already.I'm not sure you did the math right. Numbers that were on Realtytrac.com (that I can't find now) put about 54,000 housing units in Deschutes county. The 1233 NODs so far this year puts that at 1 in 54. Including 2008 it puts us at 1 in 17. I fully expect us to get worse than 1 in 8, but we aren't there yet.

What were you using for number of housing units in Deschutes county, and where did you get that number?

Bewert said...

Pop, it was in the top couple of Business Briefs on the left of the BULL Biz front page yesterday. It was thrown away and I haven't had time to track one down. Someone should.

Summit 1031 Liquidation Plan here:

http://www.juniper-ridge.info/summit1031.liquidationplan.pdf

Still packing and cleaning. Haven't had any time to look at it.

Anonymous said...

ARTICLE 5
PROVISIONS FOR TREATMENT OF CLAIMS AND INTERESTS

The treatment of and consideration to be received by holders of Allowed Claims pursuant
to this Plan will be in full settlement, release and discharge of their respective Allowed Claims
unless otherwise specified herein.
Case 08-37031-rld11 Doc 266-1 Filed 03/23/09

PAGE 11- JOINT PLAN OF LIQUIDATION
70221-0001/LEGAL15448979.2
Perkins Coie LLP
1120 N.W. Couch Street, Tenth Floor
Portland, OR 97209-4128
Phone: 503.727.2000
Fax: 503.727.2222
5.1 Priority Claims (Class 1).
On the latest of: (i) the Effective Date; (ii) ten days after the date a Priority Claim
becomes an Allowed Claim; and (iii) the date on which the Chapter 11 Trustee or the SA Trust
Trustee, as the case may be, and the holder of such Allowed Priority Claim otherwise agree in
writing, each holder of an Allowed Priority Claim will be entitled to receive Cash (from sources
other than the Existing Cash) in an amount sufficient to render the Allowed Priority Claim
unimpaired under section 1124 of the Bankruptcy Code, in full settlement, release and discharge
of such Allowed Priority Claim. Class 1 is unimpaired.
5.2 Unsecured Claims (Class 2).
Each holder of an Allowed General Unsecured Claim shall be a beneficiary of the Trust
and shall be entitled to periodic distributions from the Trust as provided under the Trust
Agreement until such time as its Allowed Claim is paid in full. Notwithstanding the foregoing,
pursuant to the terms of the Trust Agreement, the Existing Cash shall be used solely for
distributions to Exchange Creditors on account of their Allowed Principal Exchange Claims. All
other Unsecured Creditors, including Exchange Creditors with Allowed Principal Exchange
Claims, will receive distributions on their Allowed Unsecured Claims from all other Assets
transferred into the Trust and such distributions shall be made to creditors without Allowed
Principal Exchange Claims in the amount required to provide them with the same pro rata
distribution as creditors with Allowed Principal Exchange Claims will have received on account
of their Aggregate Exchange Claim. Class 2 is impaired.
5.3 Interests (Class 3).
On the Effective Date, to the extent not previously canceled, all Interests will be canceled
and become null and void and the holders of Interests will not be entitled to receive any
distributions under this Plan. Class 3 is impaired.
Case 08-37031-rld11 Doc 266-1 Filed 03/23/09

PAGE 12- JOINT PLAN OF LIQUIDATION
70221-0001/LEGAL15448979.2
Perkins Coie LLP
1120 N.W. Couch Street, Tenth Floor
Portland, OR 97209-4128
Phone: 503.727.2000
Fax: 503.727.2222
ARTICLE 6
MEANS FOR IMPLEMENTATION AND EXECUTION OF THIS PLAN
6.1 Transfer of Assets.
This Plan will be executed by the transfer and assignment on the Effective Date, pursuant
to sections 363 and 365 of the Bankruptcy Code of the Assets to the Trusts. The Confirmation
Order will provide for the transfer of the Assets to the Trust on the Effective Date.
6.2 Summary of Trust Agreement.
The following is a summary of certain essential terms of the Trust Agreement.
a. SA Trust Trustee: Obsidian has been selected as the SA Trust Trustee.
b. Responsibilities of SA Trust Trustee: The SA Trust Trustee shall be
responsible for liquidating any and all assets transferred into the Trust by Debtor, the
Shareholders or any Shareholder Entity. This includes pursuing all Causes of Action and
Avoidance Actions that the SA Trust Trustee, after consultation with the Advisory Committee,
believes is in the best interests of the beneficiaries of the Trust. . The SA Trust Trustee may
retain professionals, including attorneys, to assist in the performance of the duties under the
Trust.
c. Beneficiaries: The beneficiaries of the Trust shall be all Unsecured
Creditors with Allowed Claims.
d. Term of Trust: Pursuant to the Trust Agreement, the term of the Trust is
for a period of five years but may be extended with the advance written approval of the Advisory
Committee for such period as the SA Trust Trustee, determines is necessary to accomplish the
purposes of the Trust; provided, however, that any extension or extensions that individually or in
the aggregate would extend the term of the Trust out more than two years from its original
termination date, shall require the approval of the Bankruptcy Court or other court of competent
jurisdiction.
Case 08-37031-rld11 Doc 266-1 Filed 03/23/09

PAGE 13- JOINT PLAN OF LIQUIDATION
70221-0001/LEGAL15448979.2
Perkins Coie LLP
1120 N.W. Couch Street, Tenth Floor
Portland, OR 97209-4128
Phone: 503.727.2000
Fax: 503.727.2222
e. Distributions by the SA Trust Trustee: As set forth more fully in the Trust
Agreement, the SA Trust Trustee shall make the distributions from time to time as the SA Trust
Trustee, in the SA Trust Trustee's discretion, determines that after either payment of or
reservation for Trust expenses, there are sufficient aggregate proceeds available for distribution
to the beneficiaries. In addition, the SA Trust Trustee shall make distributions on the "Required
Distribution Date," which is the date that is six months after the effective date of this Trust
Agreement and every six months thereafter, provided that the SA Trust Trustee shall not be
required to make a distribution on the Required Distribution Date if the SA Trust Trustee
determines that the aggregate proceeds available for distribution at that time are not sufficient.
f. Bond: The SA Trust Trustee shall be required to post a bond equal to
125% of the Cash and Cash equivalents, or in such other amount as the Bankruptcy Court may
require, after request of any party in interest and opportunity for hearing. The bond shall be an
expense of the Trust, payable from the Trust estate.
g. Compensation of SA Trust Trustee. The SA Trust Trustee will receive as
a fee for its services as SA Trust Trustee 15% of the gross proceeds due to the beneficiaries of
the Trust in respect of (i) the collection, liquidation and distribution of the Trust assets (other
than Existing Cash) and (ii) the liquidation or sale of Inland and Three Sisters (the "OFG Fee");
provided however, for clarity the parties have agreed that out-of-pocket expenses shall be
deducted prior to the computation of the OFG Fee as a percentage of the gross proceeds due to
beneficiaries, all as more fully set forth in the Trust Agreement. The SA Trust Trustee will be
paid on an hourly basis for services provided in connection with the prosecution of all Causes of
Action and other duties more typically performed by the Chapter 11 Trustee.
h. Advisory Committee: The SA Trust Trustee shall be obligated to consult
with the Advisory Committee on a regular basis regarding the liquidation of assets of the Trust
and shall be required to prepare and deliver a liquidation plan for each substantial asset. The SA
Trust Trustee shall consult with the Advisory Committee regarding the disposition of any assets
Case 08-37031-rld11 Doc 266-1 Filed 03/23/09

PAGE 14- JOINT PLAN OF LIQUIDATION
70221-0001/LEGAL15448979.2
Perkins Coie LLP
1120 N.W. Couch Street, Tenth Floor
Portland, OR 97209-4128
Phone: 503.727.2000
Fax: 503.727.2222
of the Trust and will give strong consideration to the preference of the Advisory Committee
without being bound by them. Additionally, the SA Trust Trustee shall, no less than quarterly,
provide financial reports on the operations of the Trust to the Advisory Committee.
6.3 Continuing Existence.
a. Debtor will continue in existence following the Effective Date in order to
allow the Chapter 11 Trustee to wind up Debtor's affairs as expeditiously as reasonably
practicable, including, without limitation, taking all actions necessary to effect the transfer of the
Assets to the Trust, filing appropriate tax returns, and filing the final report.
b. Following the Effective Date, the Chapter 11 Trustee will be authorized to
take any necessary action at the appropriate time to file certificates of dissolution for Debtor, and
otherwise to dissolve Debtor and wind up its affairs under applicable law. Notwithstanding the
foregoing, however, if such actions are not taken on behalf of Debtor, upon the distribution of all
assets of Debtor's estate to the Trust as provided in this Plan and the completion of all other
necessary actions, Debtor will be deemed dissolved and its business operations withdrawn for all
purposes without the necessity of filing any document, taking any further action, or making any
payment to any governmental authority in connection therewith.
6.4 Liquidation of Assets.
From and after the Effective Date and the transfer of the Assets to the Trust, the SA Trust
Trustee shall be authorized without further approval of the Bankruptcy Court, to use, sell at
public or private sale, assign, transfer, abandon, or otherwise dispose of any Asset and liquidate
and convert the same to Cash (other than those Assets previously abandoned by the Chapter 11
Trustee, if any), pursue and settle Causes of Action and Avoidance Actions, reconcile and allow
or dispute Claims, make distributions, and otherwise fully consummate the Plan, and perform its
obligations under the Trust Agreement. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the SA Trust Trustee
may seek any order of the Bankruptcy Court or other court of competent jurisdiction to effect
any provision of this Plan or the Confirmation Order.
Case 08-37031-rld11 Doc 266-1 Filed 03/23/09

PAGE 15- JOINT PLAN OF LIQUIDATION
70221-0001/LEGAL15448979.2
Perkins Coie LLP
1120 N.W. Couch Street, Tenth Floor
Portland, OR 97209-4128
Phone: 503.727.2000
Fax: 503.727.2222
6.5 Accounts.
The SA Trust Trustee may establish one or more interest-bearing accounts for the Trust,
and may transfer property of Trust into or out of such accounts, as necessary or desirable to
effectuate the provisions of this Plan, all in accordance with the Trust Agreement.
6.6 Closing of the Bankruptcy Case.
When all Disputed Claims filed against Debtor have become Allowed Claims or have
been disallowed by Final Order or at such earlier time as the Chapter 11 Trustee deems
appropriate, the Chapter 11 Trustee will seek authority from the Bankruptcy Court to close the
Bankruptcy Case in accordance with the Bankruptcy Code and the Bankruptcy Rules.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Bankruptcy Court may retain jurisdiction over any adversary
proceedings initiated prior to the closing of the Bankruptcy Case.
6.7 Transactions on Business Days.
If the Effective Date occurs on a day that is not a Business Day, the transactions
contemplated by this Plan to occur on such day will instead occur on the next succeeding
Business Day.
6.8 Funds for Distribution.
All funds necessary to make any distribution called for under this Plan, including funds
for payment of Fee Claims and Plan Expenses, will be held by the SA Trust Trustee, in
accordance with the Trust Agreement.
6.9 Preservation of Causes of Action and Avoidance Actions.
All Causes of Action and Avoidance Actions are preserved and reserved for later
adjudication in accordance with this Plan and the Trust Agreement, and therefore no preclusion
doctrine, including, without limitation, the doctrines of res judicata, collateral estoppel, issue
preclusion, claim preclusion, estoppel (judicial, equitable or otherwise) or laches will apply to
those claims or causes of action on or after Confirmation or the Effective Date of this Plan. The
failure to specifically list or otherwise identify a Cause of Action or Avoidance Claim in this
Case 08-37031-rld11 Doc 266-1 Filed 03/23/09

PAGE 16- JOINT PLAN OF LIQUIDATION
70221-0001/LEGAL15448979.2
Perkins Coie LLP
1120 N.W. Couch Street, Tenth Floor
Portland, OR 97209-4128
Phone: 503.727.2000
Fax: 503.727.2222
Plan or the Disclosure Statement: (i) is not intended to effect, and to the extent permitted by law
will not be deemed to effect a release or waiver of such Cause of Action or Avoidance Claim;
and (ii) is not indeed to impair, and to the extent permitted by law will not impair, the SA Trust
Trustee's right to pursue such a Cause of Action or Avoidance Claim.
6.10 Retention of Counsel.
The Chapter 11 Trustee and the SA Trust Trustee will be authorized to retain counsel,
including Tonkon Torp LLP and Perkins Coie LLP, to pursue any and all Causes of Action and
Avoidance Actions, object to claims and take any other action necessary or required to
implement this Plan and the Trust Agreement. Notwithstanding the foregoing, only one counsel
shall be retained to pursue any particular Cause of Action or Avoidance Action and there shall be
no duplication of effort by any counsel retained by the Trust. Nothing provided herein shall
prevent such counsel from consulting with other counsel as deemed to be reasonable and
necessary.
6.11 Compensation of Professionals.
All professionals employed after the Effective Date by the Chapter 11 Trustee and prior
to the closing of the Bankruptcy Case will, periodically, but not more than every month, serve
invoices on the Chapter 11 Trustee, the U.S. Trustee and the Advisory Committee. Any party
who objects to a particular invoice must serve upon the Chapter 11 Trustee and the particular
professional, within ten calendar days after service of the invoice, a written objection to all or
part of the fees or disbursements requested in the invoice. The objection must identify the
amount objected to and the specific services objected to so that the undisputed portion of the
invoice can be paid. In the event such an objection is timely filed, the Chapter 11 Trustee will
pay only the undisputed portion of the fees or disbursements pursuant to the procedures set forth
herein. To the extent that any objection cannot be consensually resolved by the parties, such
objection will be resolved by the Bankruptcy Court. Upon objection, the requested
Case 08-37031-rld11 Doc 266-1 Filed 03/23/09

PAGE 17- JOINT PLAN OF LIQUIDATION
70221-0001/LEGAL15448979.2
Perkins Coie LLP
1120 N.W. Couch Street, Tenth Floor
Portland, OR 97209-4128
Phone: 503.727.2000
Fax: 503.727.2222
compensation will not be paid until the earlier of: (i) the date on which the objecting parties and
such professional otherwise agree in writing; or (ii) if the parties cannot agree to the fees to be
paid, a court of competent jurisdiction enters an order approving the payment of such fees.
Professionals' compensation will be paid from property under the control of the SA Trust Trustee
as more fully set forth in the Trust Agreement. Nothing contained herein shall be deemed to
apply to payment of professionals retained by the SA Trust Trustee pursuant to the terms of the
Trust Agreement. The terms of the Trust Agreement shall control the payment of such
professionals.

###

Placeholder for now. Meatiest part of the 1031 mess.

Anonymous said...

There's an amusing argument between someone named "Bike" and RDC over on that other board. Long story short, Bike thinks that OSU-Cascades is poorly executed and won't survive, while RDC says it can if it's a matter of will.

My two cents: Bike is right. Oregon already has WAY too many 4 year institutions for a state of this size, where 3/4 of the population and money is in the valley anyway.

It's quite likely that OSU-Cascades will get the ax, and honestly one wonders why we also need a Western Oregon Univ., a Southern Oregon Univ., and an Eastern Oregon Univ. -- currently 2 of 3 are money losers.

RDC likes to say that Wash. State is a thriving university in a boring area. Therefore Bend should surely do at least as well.

But what he doesn't recognize is that we already have an excellent counterpart to Wash State -- it's called OSU Corvallis.

And our alternative to University of Wash-Seattle is something called U of O - Eugene.

And did I mention PSU, the largest institution (in terms of student numbers, not quality) by far?

*

Wouldn't have to post this here, but don't want to have to register over there.

Anonymous said...

Marge, any idea on when the NODs were issued on the REO sales this last month?

Just thinking ahead, as NODs have almost tripled this year over last.

Anonymous said...

If I felt so compelled, for your benefit, I would spend 3 hours sorting thru them and cross checking with the County site. Since I am about to depart on a camping trip, I will pass on that challenge. Too much work for this retiree:) If I happen to get really bored sometime I may check on a few of them.
Excellant question though.

Anonymous said...

Looked up one on Cassin.
Sold in 02 for $169k.
NOD 10/08
Affidavit 2/09
Listed 3/23/09 for $148k
Pending 4/06/09
sold for $140k 5/09

hbm said...

"Actually, I predicted it would arrive at 2:47 p.m. on April 25 ... "

Damn, I slipped up and let BRATTON DAY pass without notice this year. I promise I won't let it happen again. Gonna mark my calendar.

Bewert said...

So NOD in Oct. 08, sale in April 09.

Since NODs have tripled again in '09, seems like a hell of a lot more REO inventory is coming into the pipe next fall and winter.

Anonymous said...

Paul Doh, you better pull your hands out of your pants and write something tomorrow morning.

A man's gotta have something to read in the morning.

Just sayin'.

Anonymous said...

yeah, come on paul. For the last two years of my pathetic life, the sunday morning BB2 blog is the first thing I read...so get off your lazy ass and write something clever and witty. Come on man!! It's all I've got!!

Anonymous said...

Happy Mother's Day, Bewert. You deserve it.

Anonymous said...

Big NOD: 58 lots at Northpointe from the Hollman Company, $4.9M owed Community First.

Anonymous said...

Looked around at some of the recent solds and found several that didn't show up as NOD's but had deeds in Lieu. 8 NOD's started back in the spring of 08 and just sold. This surely can take the inventory on a slow uphill train.

So where is the new post? No love for us junkies. Maybe only for his Mother today.

Anonymous said...

Did we ever get final median prices for April - did we go sub 200k?

Anonymous said...

\\|//

May 10, 12:31 PM EDT
Once booming, Bend tumbles
By MARY HUDETZ
Associated Press Writer

BEND, Ore. (AP) -- Not so long ago, Bend was a gleaming mecca to people like Biff Ingels, a skier, kayaker and hiker who moved to this high desert town for the easygoing lifestyle and bounty of recreational opportunities at its doorstep.

Ingels, 58, came from Merced, Calif., where he worked as a county employment training specialist, and easily found a job in Bend managing recreational and sport programs with the city parks department. Finally, he was living the life he had dreamed about for years.

"You only live once," he said, "and I always wanted to come to the mountains."

It was 2005. Thousands of people, many from California, came here and found jobs in the high-tech manufacturing, service and homebuilding industries.

Located on the sunny side of the Cascade Range, this resort town was once the nation's sixth fastest-growing community. It seemed developers couldn't build homes fast enough to accommodate the newcomers.

But Bend's boom has gone bust.

The city's jobless rate ballooned in March to 17 percent, a 9.2 percentage-point increase from a year earlier and the second-biggest monthly gainer among all metropolitan areas in the United States.

"There was a general sense of excitement" before the economy turned sour, said Oran Teater, a former Bend mayor who now serves on the city council. "Has the atmosphere changed now? Yes."

It's gotten so bad that some transplants, like Ingels, are considering leaving. He lost his job seven months ago and stops by a state employment center each day looking for work. Maybe Colorado would have more to offer, he said, but the economy could be just as bad there.

He's been told by the parks department he will be hired back this summer, but only for two months.

"I think in hindsight I would have stayed in California," he said.

The road that leads out of Bend and toward the east slopes of the Cascades is lined with sagebrush, horse pastures and dozens of homes for sale.

"For-sale" signs dot the landscape. Some stand in multi-acre spreads on the edge of town, advertising a "REDUCED PRICE."

The median price of homes slid from $396,000 in May 2007 to $215,000 in February, according to the Central Oregon Association of Realtors, and only 214 of the 1,132 Bend-area homes for sale in March sold that month.

"It was a frenzy for quite a while," said Teater, the former Bend mayor. "We knew it wasn't going to sustain."

By the time Teater left office in 2004, after eight years as mayor, the population had more then doubled - 30,000 to about 65,000. Bend has since grown to 80,000.

"We were discovered. We were on the map," Teater said. "It was a frenzy for quite a while."

But when the boom went bust, the Bend area again stuck out. About 11 percent of the jobs in the area had been devoted to construction, twice the statewide average, said Roger Lee, executive director of the nonprofit Economic Development for Central Oregon. As construction slumped, the number of construction workers idled made for fast-rising unemployment percentages.

Signs of tough times can be found on street corners, where panhandlers stand and workers wave retail liquidation signs.

"Going Out of Business," says a yellow banner billowing in the wind on a corner outside Mountain Comfort Furnishings and Design, a downtown luxury furniture store.

Jerry Laymance, a 50-year-old salesman at the store, said he expects all items will be sold within two months, about the same time his partner also will be looking for work.

She works at Gottchalks, a retailer that announced it would close department stores just months after opening one in Bend.

Laymance, who moved to town 10 years ago from Seattle, hopes he won't have to take his job search elsewhere. He considers Bend a "friendly, mountain-like town" and on his days off he likes to ride his Harley on open roads of Central and Eastern Oregon.

"I have friends who are heading out of town, they think Bend is dried up," he said. "But the bottom line with me is I'm hopeful."

In March, the Central Oregon Association of Realtors reported median home prices increased slightly to $221,000 in March, marking the third month median home prices remained relatively steady and hovered around $225,000.

That's reason to hope the worst of the downturn in local housing market has come and gone, even if it doesn't mean a return to the building and buying craze of the 2005-2006, said Wendy Atkisson, a principal broker for the Bend-based Garner Group.

"Homes in Bend are affordable again, and I think we have hit bottom," she said. "I think there are signs of recovery."

But the job market has yet to show signs of a turn-around.

Cessna Aircraft Co., the nation's largest builder of corporate jets, announced in late April it will close its Bend plant, putting 109 people out of work.

The announcement, which came just 18 months after the company acquired a factory in Bend, was yet another reminder of the rapid rise and fall of Bend's economy.

The day Cessna said the Bend operation would close, the plant was empty but for a few glistening planes.

"That was a real feather," Teater said. "Just a year ago, they had a backlog."

Anonymous said...

Marge posted April stats above, including a second updated post. Medians ended up at $195K--2003 levels. This time we have a huge inventory overhang to deal with though. $150K medians, anyone?

Anonymous said...

Classic koolaid drinker:

http://www.bendoregonrealestateexpert.com/bend-real-estate-blog/

Anonymous said...

Wouldn't be surprised if that Kool-Aid drinker has been calling the bottom for 3 years running.

PopGoesBend said...

>This time we have a huge inventory overhang to deal with though. $150K medians, anyone?

We are going below $150k. I don't see that being a problem at all.

Inventory is still at 20+ months. Foreclosure listings are around 50% of sales, but hovering around 5-7% of listings. If you take the foreclosure listings and sales out we have almost 4 years worth of inventory. NODs are more than double the sales and on track to have about 1 in 5 houses receive NODs by 2012. Add in people leaving town and 17% unemployment. The only metric we have that looks better than last year is that sales are up. Big whoop. Sales will go up and prices will continue to go down. More and more people catching knives.

Six months ago I thought it may stop around $150k, but it's looking more and more like it's going to drop below $130k without too much trouble. In another six months we may think that $130k is too high.

Anonymous said...

My Manhattan ProjectHow I helped build the bomb that blew up Wall Street.

It hurts when people say I caused this mess. I was and am quite proud of the work I did. My software was a delicate, intricate web of logic. They don’t understand, I tell myself. Perhaps it was too complicated. But we live in a world largely of our own device. How to adjust and control these complexities, without stifling innovation, is the problem.

The other day, Professor Gesiak brought me a pitcher of his basement-brewed beer, bartering for oysters. He mused that the U.S. government would, like Poland’s, make the currency worthless. What do we have, I wonder, that like the vodka in communist Poland, can be counted on to hold its value in this age?

###

Good read.

Anonymous said...

Re:
"It was a frenzy for quite a while," said Teater, the former Bend mayor. "We knew it wasn't going to sustain."

###

Wouldn't want to take advantage of the cash flow to make your city a little nicer, would you?

Bewert said...

Looks like BB2 is dead, too. Dammit.

Anonymous said...

>>Looks like BB2 is dead, too. Dammit.

What do you mean?

Bewert said...

Frank discussion isn't happening. For whatever reason.

Remember those 800+ comment weeks?

Homer is even over it.

LavaBear said...

>>>Frank discussion isn't happening. For whatever reason.

I've been outback finishing my Ark. Damn near got two of everything ready to weather the next Tsunami that rolls in and wipes out everyone else. People called old uncle Noah a freak in his day but now we know he was a visionary. I'm drawing a line with the fucking Ostridges. Hate those dirty birds.

Hey Butter, it's time for more boobs please and some witty verbiage if you have the time.

hbm said...

"Homer is even over it."

How many times and in how many ways can you say the same thing? I think the topic has just about been exhausted.

LavaBear said...

>>> I think the topic has just about been exhausted.

So do you think we need to start talking about Green Shoots?

Anonymous said...

"How many times and in how many ways can you say the same thing? I think the topic has just about been exhausted."#

###

All we need is for BP to say something stupid again, like how statutory rape is cool, and then we will have more comments.

Or maybe dunc could get sick and stay home and get online to rant and rave about how bad Bush is. Oh wait, Bush left office... Maybe dunc could rant and rave about how cool Obama and socialism are.

Or hbm and his boring rants against the weather.

We don't need pics of more boobs when we have three of the biggest boobs right here in Bend.

hbm said...

"Maybe dunc could rant and rave about how cool Obama and socialism are."

Ah, one of the few, the proud, the 20 percent! Give it a rest already, loser. Go watch Hannity on Faux News and give yourself a hard-on.

hbm said...

"So do you think we need to start talking about Green Shoots?"

Say what???

Oh yeah. I've seen a few in my garden. In the RE market, no.

St Paddy said...

Did you guys see the LA Times report on the bank demolishing the brand new homes in Victorville?
What brainchild of a development could that happen to here? Yarrow?

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-demolish5-2009may05,0,4930126.story

Anonymous said...

"Hey Butter, it's time for more boobs please and some witty verbiage if you have the time."

Once BendBust gets back from IndoChine everything will be back to normal.

Till then, we have to rely on Duncan to supply us with commentary on the local scene.

IHateToBurstYourBubble said...

lurk.... lurk... lurk....

or is it


work.... work.... work....

?

IHateToBurstYourBubble said...

How many times and in how many ways can you say the same thing?Lemme check The Wandering Eye re Gordon Smith....

Anonymous said...

>>Remember those 800+ comment weeks?

I remember rants about Israel, random posts from Shakespeare, articles that had nothing to do about Bend Real Estate posted in their entirely. Reposts from DKOS, etc. Is that what you mean?

Anonymous said...

"Reposts from DKOS, etc. Is that what you mean?"

----

The BPussy and his Koz.

The HBPussy and his 20% Republicans.

The DuncPussy and his meltdowns.

Anonymous said...

We're just in another lull. Boring waiting game. No developer suicides lately. No bank failures yet. Just a bunch of fools buying crap houses in crap neighborhoods at $100k because they think we can't go down from here.

Quimby said...

I remember the week we broke 1000 comments. I'm frankly too lazy to go find it but I thought it was mostly actual relevant commentary.

Anonymous said...

I thought it was mostly actual relevant commentary.
Agreed.

Anonymous said...

So what are we supposed to do? Repeat all that?

I'm sure if anything new happens that's worth talking about we'll have a 1000 post week that's not all repetition.

DiLusso's Galveston closed. "Unforeseen circumstances."

Quimby said...

>> DiLusso's Galveston closed. "Unforeseen circumstances."

aka. poor planning, gambling and lost, kool-aid guzzling, giving it the 'ol college try, riskin' it for the biscuit.

Shit happens I guess.

>> So what are we supposed to do? Repeat all that?

Hopefully not, I don't have the time & patience to read all that stuff anymore. Condensed commentary is fine by me these days. I got my fix. But yes, it is a little "too quiet".

I suspect that Buster's wife will make his bail soon and he'll be back with us again in his finest form.

Anonymous said...

Today's Bulletin: Cessna always planned to move Bend jobs south

WASHINGTON — Is it better to see your job shipped overseas, or cut because of low demand for your company’s product? Neither, you say? Actually, the answer makes a big difference when it comes to federal aid for the workers who lose their jobs.

Employees laid off by Cessna Aircraft Co. could qualify for beefed up federal benefits created by the stimulus bill earlier this year — but only if federal bureaucrats decide that their jobs were shipped overseas, rather than cut because of flagging demand for airplanes.

Last month, Cessna announced it would close its Bend manufacturing plant and let go of the roughly 200 employees left after earlier rounds of layoffs. At the time, Cessna spokesman Doug Oliver said the company closed its 140,000-square-foot plant to cut costs in the face of falling demand.

But Cessna was also in the process of shifting jobs from Bend to a factory in Chihuahua, Mexico, where it makes composite airplane parts, Oliver said Monday.

“It was in the process of happening when the decision was made to close plant,” Oliver said. “That was always the plan — to move work where we had facilities to better do the work.”

The Central Oregon Intergovernmental Council plans to apply for trade adjustment assistance on behalf of the Cessna employees, after expanded benefits from the federal stimulus bill go into effect next week.

Then it will be up to the federal Department of Labor to judge which is the real reason Cessna’s employees are losing their jobs, said Beverly Malone, Trade Act coordinator for the Oregon Employment Department

“They do quite an investigation in where they also survey the customers of the company to determine the root cause,” Malone said.

On Friday, the Labor Department released $101 million in trade adjustment assistance, including $5.6 million for Oregon. Those benefits, for workers who made less than $55,000 a year, go far beyond what’s normally available to the unemployed. They include:

•Up to $1,500 in job search costs.

•A tax credit for 80 percent of their monthly health care premiums.

•Up to 130 weeks of cash payments for workers enrolled in full-time retraining classes.

“The Trade Act benefits are so significant, you don’t want to see anyone unnecessarily deprived of those benefits,” said Ann Delach, adult programs manager for the Central Oregon Intergovernmental Council.

The money is supposed to help “trade-affected workers who have lost their jobs as a result of increased imports or shifts in production out of the United States,” according to a Labor Department fact sheet, and get those workers back into a job as quickly as possible.

COIC had applied for Trade Act benefits for Cessna employees in December, after an earlier round of layoffs, but the Labor Department hadn’t made a decision. So the council decided to reapply next week under even more significant benefits created by the stimulus bill that became law in February, Delach said. It could take a few months after that for the department to judge whether Cessna employees qualify for the aid.

But Delach said her contact at the Labor Department indicated Cessna’s former workers might not qualify for trade assistance.

“He said he was having some trouble getting together enough justification to approve them, but he wasn’t ruling it out yet,” Delach said.

Former employees at Madras-based Bright Wood did qualify for that assistance under the earlier version of the Trade Act. Cratering demand for the company’s wood components, including door frames, forced Bright Wood to slash its work force from about 900 last March in its Madras and Redmond facilities, to about 500 employees today, said company President Dallas Stovall.

In recent years, Bright Wood has imported wood from China, Chile and New Zealand to meet demand and cut costs, Stovall said. That meant fewer jobs in Central Oregon, because the foreign wood was already processed. It also had up to 80 employees at a plant in New Zealand, although now there are only about 20 workers there, Stovall said.

“We were buying quite a bit out of China the last three or four years, something like that,” Stovall said. “That displaced a lot of the domestic production here in Madras.”

Keith Chu can be reached at 202-662-7456 or at kchu@bendbulletin.com.

Anonymous said...

If you can stand some national news, I thought this was interesting. Too bad it doesn't necessarily apply to here!


May 12, 2009
We’re Dull, Small Banks Say, but Have Profits
By DAVID SEGAL

INDIANAPOLIS — It’s unlikely that any group of professionals is happier to highlight the dullness of their work than small-town bankers.

At a recent conference held here by the Indiana Bankers Association, attendees said it over and over: our business is plodding and boring and we would not have it any other way.

“Banking should not be exciting,” said Clay W. Ewing, president of retail financial services at German American Bancorp, a community bank in Jasper. “If banking gets exciting, there is something wrong with it.”

It is an ethos squarely at odds with the risk-addicted style of megabanks, like Citigroup and Bank of America, that trafficked in the subprime mortgages and complex financial products that helped drive the country into the grimmest recession in decades.

But to the deep chagrin of Mr. Ewing and others at the conference, the public, politicians and the media have made little distinction between the stress-tested behemoths and the 7,630 community banks across the country — the vast majority of which have watched the crisis like bystanders at a 10-car pileup.

As a result, community bankers have felt compelled in recent months to mount public relations campaigns to emphasize their fiscal health and in some cases to announce they rejected Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP, funds. Some have held cookouts, others have held “reassurance” meetings in their lobbies, hoping to educate customers and prevent panics. All are dealing with banker jokes and the occasional wisecrack.

“I was on vacation in California and this guy I had just met said, ‘So, traveling on that bailout money, huh?’ ” said Blake Heid, of First Option Bank in Paola, Kan., which didn’t take any bailout money. “I didn’t find that very amusing.”

Though they greatly outnumber the national and regional banks, community banks have barely registered in any of the fallout from the credit crisis, in part because they hold less than 10 percent of the $13.8 trillion in bank assets nationwide.

The 50 or so bank failures have been largely clustered in a few states, like Florida, Arizona and California, where the bursting housing bubble had the greatest impact.

In states like Indiana, where property values never soared, community banks have been rock solid. The last failure in the state was in 1992.

To spend time with these Indiana community bankers is to step into an alternate universe, where everything sounds a little strange because it makes perfect sense. You hear things like, “If you don’t understand the risk you’re taking, don’t take it.” And, “We want to be around for decades, so we’re not focused on the next quarter.”

Forget “too big to fail.” These banks consider themselves too small to risk embarrassment. They are run by people who grew up in the towns where they work, and their main fear is getting into a financial jam that will shame them in the eyes of their neighbors.

The steep profits earned by national banks didn’t turn their heads in the last decade because they were inherently skeptical of double-digit growth rates.

“We like a nice, gentle, upward slope,” said Donald E. Goetz, the president of DeMotte State Bank, an 11-branch operation in the northwest part of Indiana.

“This kind of growth, like you see in the stock market” — Mr. Goetz ran his hand through the air, tracing the shape of a mountain range — “that doesn’t interest us.”

One recent morning Mr. Goetz gave a tour of his bank, which included a bulletin board with fliers for a fire department fish fry and the Kankakee Valley Women’s Club flower sale.

There is a lot of bric-a-brac in his wood-paneled office and a Thomas Kinkade painting of a green-gabled stone house after a snow fall, titled the “Olde Porterfield Gift Shoppe.”

“There is one set of footprints, going in,” he said, pointing to the painting. “That’s how we feel as a business sometime. We’re walking alone.”

Mr. Goetz, who was wearing a tie and a short-sleeve shirt, started as a teller at DeMotte right after he graduated from college in 1976, and he’s been president since 1988. He is a stolid guy who, when asked what he does for fun, offered two words: “Yard work.”

He sounds somewhat aggrieved. His bank, which opened in 1917, didn’t make any subprime loans, nor did it take any bailout money. Even when bank stocks were soaring, not one of his 246 shareholders needled him to earn more than the 3 to 4 percent dividend that DeMotte has generated for years.

Still, he’s had to train employees in the art of assuaging the fears of jittery customers. He programmed the blinking signs outside his branches to read “Safe, Strong, Secure.”

Despite these efforts, he’s fielded some customer calls at night, to his home. In rare cases, people withdrew their savings.

“We had three or four people panic,” he said. “A couple of them said, ‘It’s not the bank. We just don’t trust the government.’ And I told them, ‘If the government fails, the money you’re taking out of this bank won’t be worth anything.’ ”

Mr. Goetz, like a lot of his competitors, is livid about the mortgage shenanigans born of the securitization craze. But he thinks his public relations problem had many authors.

“The media, Congress, the president, everyone just keeps saying ‘the banks, the banks, the banks,’ like we’re all the same thing,” he said. “Well, we’re not all the same thing.”

Explaining that distinction has been especially challenging for community banks that signed up for TARP funds, which initially were pitched by the government as a way to shore up healthy banks. Only later, after the American International Group bonus fiasco, community bankers say, did the TARP acquire a stigma.

“We heard a lot of smart-alecky comments,” said James C. Latta, president of the Idaho Banking Company in Boise, Idaho, which took $6.9 million in TARP funds. “A lot of ‘Wish I had a bailout.’ ”

At DeMotte, Mr. Goetz is bracing for a steep increase in a crucial overhead cost: the bill from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, which is basically an insurance fund underwritten by banks.

Last year, DeMotte paid $42,000 into the fund. This year, because of failures in other parts of the country and particularly among national banks, that sum will rise to $500,000 or more.

“Isn’t that the American way?” he says, folding his arms. “Whoever is left standing, whoever was prudent, is always the one who has to pick up the pieces.”

Anonymous said...

oh god, it's windy, everyone move somewhere less windy before it's too late

hbm said...

"DiLusso's Galveston closed. "Unforeseen circumstances."

"aka. poor planning, gambling and lost, kool-aid guzzling, giving it the 'ol college try, riskin' it for the biscuit."

Hell, Quim, they've been there for many, many years -- far longer than the typical small business survives. It wasn't a Kool-Aid-inspired business.

I thought you've been around here long enough to know that. Or do you just automatically attribute every business failure to "Kool-Aid guzzling"?

hbm said...

"How many times and in how many ways can you say the same thing?Lemme check The Wandering Eye re Gordon Smith...."

Uh, he was our incumbent senator engaged in a fight for his political life (which he ended up losing). Haven't seen much about him since the election, have you -- except for a flurry of speculation about whether he'd run for governor.

Quimby said...

>> Or do you just automatically attribute every business failure to "Kool-Aid guzzling"?

I gave a myriad of reasons....I was pretty broad. No, I don't know the answer. I've never been in there as I make my own coffee at home. It consists of very hot water dripped through ground up roasted coffee beans. It's very inexpensive. None of this fru-fru coffee loaded up with sugar and cream (Starbucks, Dutch Bros, DiLusso etc).

Who really knows for sure though...could be, God forbid, a death in the family or something like that.

Interestingly, I've recently picked up a few issues of this "Source" paper that you write for. It's like watching Fox News (shudder), only it roots for the opposite team.

Duncan McGeary said...

"Hell, Quim, they've been there for many, many years -- far longer than the typical small business survives."

Actually, I think they bought into big time. Buying Royal Blend coffee was a pretty interesting thing to do....

Duncan McGeary said...

I think the Bend 'bubble' extends further back than just 5 years of so. I thought people were betting on Bend's growth 10 and 15 years ago, too.

Duncan McGeary said...

Anybody know how many locations DiLusso's and Royal Blend have had over the years? I can think of at least two others....

I think they bought into the bubble as much as anyone.

(Word verification: 'Hipee.' Hey, what did you call me!)

hbm said...

"I think they bought into the bubble as much as anyone."

DiLusso (that's the actual name, not "DiLusso's" -- means "deluxe" in Italian) started out as a small bakery selling its products to the local markets (it still does), then opened the little restaurant on Newport, then got into a partnership with the Royal Blend people (I don't know the details), then bought out Royal Blend. All this took place over a period of about 15 years. So unless you date the start of the bubble at 1994, it's tough to maintain that DiLusso's growth was a frenzied bubble-driven affair.

hbm said...

I think I've got "island fever."

People in Hawaii sometimes complain about having "island fever." Comes from staying too long in one small, isolated place. Seeing the same landscape (beautiful as it may be) and the same people every day.

You don't have to live on an island to get island fever. Living in a small, isolated town in the middle of nowhere will do it too.

Think I'll get in the car tomorrow and just drive. Where to, I don't know. LaGrande, maybe.

Quimby said...

HBM: Do you have a financial interest in DiLusso?

St Paddy said...

I remember Royal Blend had several locations, one right on the Northeast corner of 20 and 27th street, one on Franklin just east of the underpass across from Schwabby (i think it was their roasting facility as well)Newport ave (where back porch is) I can't remember if downtown and Galveston opened after the Dilusso merger. I did know that it (Royal Blend ) was started with local business assistance money from the county or state and was saddled with lots of debt from the get go. I did enjoy their coffee, it was good hardy dark brewed Northwest style coffee.
I'm sure there is a conspiracy story behind the entire situation maybe Bruce could, oh wait---- nevermind.

BTW I think Thump on Minnesota has the strongest coffee in town these days.

Anonymous said...

I never caught on to the "Bend is beautiful" thing. I still think it's ugly overall. I prefer green. But the river and the mountains and the night sky are great.

Duncan McGeary said...

I don't think Bend exceptionalism started only 5 years ago. It was in full force ten even fifteen years ago. It reached a frenzied stage, yes, but before that there were some unwise choices being made.

People were opening businesses that were scaled incorrectly, even then.

Royal Blend was a perfect example of that.

I guess what I'm saying is, I thought Royal Blend was way too built up for the size of the town.

And this was when the population was much lower.

DiLusso buying it, by my definition, way buying into Bend being more than it is.

This is not a judgement on the quality of Dilusso or Royal Blend, just that having 5 or 6 locations, big ones like downtown, might have been overreaching.

hbm said...

Quim: "HBM: Do you have a financial interest in DiLusso?"

No.

Dunc: "People were opening businesses that were scaled incorrectly, even then."

Doesn't that happen in all towns, all the time?

"Royal Blend was a perfect example of that."

You can't equate Royal Blend with DiLusso. Royal Blend was badly managed from the git-go and had all sorts of problems. DiLusso might have made a bad move in going into partnership with them, but when they bought them out they wisely closed the money-losing satellite coffeehouses and kept the main one at Bond and Franklin -- which has been in operation for quite a number of years, so I have to assume it's making money, or at least it was until this recession hit.

It's tempting, but wrong, to assume that every business that folds or contracts in this recession was a casualty of Kool-Aid addiction. I have no dog in this fight -- I don't even know the owners of DiLusso, much less having a stake in the business -- but I don't like to see anybody unfairly maligned.

hbm said...

St Paddy: "I can't remember if downtown and Galveston opened after the Dilusso merger."

No. Royal Blend had the big place downtown (that was their first coffeehouse) and DiLusso had the little place on Galveston before they merged.

"I did know that it (Royal Blend ) was started with local business assistance money from the county or state and was saddled with lots of debt from the get go."

Correct. And as I recall the county had to eat that debt.

Quimby said...

>> QUIM: aka. poor planning, gambling and lost, kool-aid guzzling, giving it the 'ol college try, riskin' it for the biscuit.

Maligned? Really? Grow a skin man.

Duncan McGeary said...

Back when I was struggling just to pay the electric bill, reading about the money Royal Blend was borrowing and bleeding used to irk me.

I thought that kind of money could've supported 10 real businesses.

I do wonder why Dilusso bought them. Seems like it would've been easier to just wait, or open their own location, or start their own coffee.

I hope I haven't maligned them too much.

hbm said...

Quim: "Maligned? Really? Grow a skin man."

Yes, really. "malign (vt) -- to speak harmful untruths about"

But it ain't my skin, dude. It's just that your comment was bullshit. You know it, but you won't admit it.

Dunc: "I do wonder why Dilusso bought them."

I guess they made a mistake. When you take risks in business mistakes sometimes happen. But without taking a risk now and then a business never grows. You take risks in your own business, in a small way -- I know it from reading your blog.

Anonymous said...

As posted on Duncan's blog today:
"Dunc,
I feel the slowing of big things going down. I thought the fall may come faster. This IS going to take a very long time to wash out. Since comments have slowed on all of the blogs we are falling into comas and have no real new news. Nationally is the same ol same ol. Locally no one really wants to hear the poor are getting desperate and petty theft is up. People are sneeking out of town slowly but surely. Two renters a day, maybe two former homeowners a day. By the end of summer the numbers leaving will become very apparent.
Maybe Bend will do a Victorville and start tearing down unfinished homes. Hell the water is available in these "dustdivisions". Turn them into community gardens for a while. It's better than dust.
The silence in town is deafening and feels uncomfortable to me.
The slower this train rolls the worse it will be."

Glad to hear a few more comments today. Where the hell is Paul Doh?
This unwinding is soooo slow.. We have at least 2 more years of uncertain and declining times. So goes the slow recession and into the abyss. I am getting bored. I shall take a trip away from the net for a while. Happy Spring ya all!

IHateToBurstYourBubble said...

Where the hell is Paul Doh?

I shall take a trip away from the net for a while. Happy Spring ya all!


Asked & answered, dear Marge :-)

I've actually been incredibly busy. Beyond busy. Sorry.

I will try to come up for air, and do something here soon...

IHateToBurstYourBubble said...

LaGrande, maybe.

In Italian, this means Far off shithole.

IHateToBurstYourBubble said...

Today's Bulletin: Cessna always planned to move Bend jobs south

WHAT! I am shocked and outraged!

That seems unbelievable! Bend is exceptional, GAT DAMMIT!

WE have a perfect distribution system, simply truck or fly parts in from Ugoslavia, our AMERIKKKAN-bred superior workforce will construct the thing for 215X what they could in GUATE-RICA, and we will then ship our product out on the back of a 747!

Fucking Cessna!

IHateToBurstYourBubble said...

>>Remember those 800+ comment weeks?

Yes. They sucked, and were full of shit about Shakespeare, and other bullshit.

I'd rather have 20 decent comments, than 1,000 shitters.

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