Ah, the legacy! Burnishing Portland
and Oregon's "green credentials"! The heady atmosphere of the photo-op, and the harrumphing and speechifying! Good times, good times.
Yes, the hicks in Wilsonville, over there in Clackamas County, rebuffed SoloPower because they were too stupid to offer tax incentives and millions in subsidies to the company that would revolutionize solar energy with their thin-film technology, creating hundreds of jobs and putting Wilsonville firmly on the map when it comes to Clean, Green, Cutting-Edge Technology. Former Portland mayor Sammy Adams and former Oregon governor Teddy Kulongoski were only too happy to step into the void; successfully wooing the company to Portland. What a feather in their caps! The photo above was taken two years ago, as the SoloPower CEO and the former mayor bathed in the glory.
Already the state of Oregon is out $20 million in state tax credits issued to SoloPower, which is scheduled to close its factory next month, barring arrival of a white knight bearing fresh capital.
Oh, that 450 jobs SoloPower promised? Silly rabbits! They hired 29, and then "laid them off". And as was so often the case during the bizarre reign of Sammy, he miraculously "found" $5 million to give the company. That came out of parking meter revenue, which for some unknown reason saw a sudden increase in the amounts of fines imposed for parking violations.
Another of Sammy and Teddy's green dreams goes bust. It wouldn't be so bad if the green they were "investing" actually belonged to them.
