An Oregon economist could not think of another example of “an area that has so quickly fallen into disfavor.”

By Nigel Jaquiss @ Williamette Week, Jan. 20

[....] A second economist, Mike Wilkerson, director of analytics at the consulting firm ECONorthwest, echoed Potiowsky, saying that investors' lack of confidence will stunt the city's rebound and predicted Portland "will have an impediment to growth until that's resolved."

That plunge in confidence appears to stem from factors that include widely broadcast images of protests and nearby wildfires. It may be exacerbated by the documented flight of businesses from the city's core and factors such as the cost of property insurance rising 30% to 50% amid repeated vandalism.

But it also fits into a debate over the future of the Bureau of Development Services.Business groups have implored the City Council to resist cutting the budget of BDS [....]