Logo
ISSUE #34.46 • NEWS •
[ECONOMY]

Bail Out This


As Wall Street crumbles, WW hits Sandy Boulevard to gauge the effect on Portland’s economy.

Recently in "News"

November 18th, 2009
Murmurs • Going Rogue Each Week4 comments

November 18th, 2009
Dr. Know2 comments

November 18th, 2009
Letters to the Editor • Inbox1 comment

November 18th, 2009
Cover Story • Randyland, Part II | WW examines whether Randy Leonard is using his power to benefit downtown’s largest private property owner.80 comments

November 18th, 2009
Rogue of the Week • Bureau Of Transportation | One more mouth to feed.5 comments

November 18th, 2009
The Back Of The Bus | Why TriMet is carrying Anti-Fred Meyer ads. 3 comments

November 18th, 2009
Chronic Debate | Where there’s smoke, there’s a dispute.0 comments

November 18th, 2009
Making It Rain | Oregon’s most litigious stripper is out to reform the industry.14 comments

November 18th, 2009
Fire Drilled | After the blaze at Marysville School, a retired inspector sounds the alarm.12 comments

November 18th, 2009
By The Numbers | Fare Trade0 comments

BY KATIE GILBERT AND JAMES PITKIN | kgilbert at wweek dot com, jpitkin at wweek dot com

[September 24th, 2008]

While the titans of Wall Street and their minions in Washington, D.C., prepare a $700 billion bailout of the financial-services industry, one fact is already taken for granted—average Portlanders won’t get a dime of relief or any more certainty about their own future.

Since the fall of Fannie Mae and AIG from 3,000 miles away may be hard to wrap your head around, WW visited Northeast Sandy Boulevard last week, cruising from 16th to 82nd avenues to find out how the economic collapse is affecting business at home.

We don’t expect that four-mile stretch to figure in the mental map of U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson. But Portland’s everyman street gave us a snapshot of what’s happening to the kinds of industries that make our local economy hum—from strip clubs and record shops to cashing in bottles and cans.

If Sandy offers any lesson for investors, it may be this: music over mortgages.













icon Story continues below

advertisement

advertisement

Rate This Story
5 average/3 votes

 
read all 3 comments | add your comment
 

RECENT COMMENTS ON “Bail Out This”

1

Nice article! Good reporting and insightful local angle on the national financial upheaval.

Riding TriMet's #12 bus down Sandy to get to work the last several weeks, I'm noticing a ...

Eric, Sep 24th, 2008 2:27pm
2

nice article, ironically the 42nd street section has been imploded with Trader Joes, the Piano Store and R & R cafe gone. Don't know how you skipped the HollyWood burger Bar. Thats middle America.

mark, Sep 25th, 2008 1:31pm
3

I agree with Eric (and not just because I think he is a friend of mine...is that you, Eric?). A lot of places are clearing out, everything is on the shrink. And not just in Portland. I travel all over...

Aubrey, Sep 29th, 2008 7:35pm
 
 
 





Recently in Willamette Week
December 31st 1969Washington State | The Canada of Oregon has it all—a Stonehenge replica, a longboarder's concrete wet dream and dark, damp underground lava caves. Vive les rocks.
December 31st 1969Oregon's Outer Edges | Crater Lake. Hell's Canyon. Wallowa and Steens mountain ranges. Hell, yeah.
December 31st 1969Central Oregon/High Desert | No rain, plenty of snow, obsidian flows and great local beer. The folks from the real eastside know how to unbend outside.
December 31st 1969Great Cascades/Columbia Gorge | With plenty of room to roam—and hot springs for your weary feet—it's the place to ramble and relax for the weekend.
December 31st 1969Willamette Valley | Monks, tracks, tubing and wine make the fertile strip a virile place to play.
December 31st 1969Stumptown | Tons of public parks, an extinct volcano and nude beach volleyball to keep you jolly. Get out and collect those merit badges, without leaving the city.
December 31st 1969The Coast | The beaches are public. You own them. Go play—hike in the old-growth forests.
December 31st 1969Cycle Tour 101: Your on-bike guide to Highway 101 | To ride the greatest bike route in Oregon, you need to get out of Portland.
December 31st 1969Doggin' It | What happens when a Portland running club jogs with pooches from the pound?
December 31st 1969Over the Edge | Sam Drevo will paddle yr ass.