Anyone who has ever sat through a sales pitch at one of those “free” dinners put on by groups selling vacation time shares will have a sense of the the typical power point presentations at the Port of Coos Bay commission meetings. Plenty of charts and graphs and industry bullet points but little or no actual analysis and no room for public involvement. Last night’s Project Mainstay presentation, about building a coal export terminal on the North Spit, before the Milwaukie City Council was evidently no different consisting of “…a series of boring PowerPoint charts and graphs suggesting the Port is willing to take huge risks for uncertain profits” and that there was “no engagement” with the audience or council on the part of the port staff.

It is expected the city council will resolve to oppose coal trains next month no matter how much port officials believe industry claims.