Portland.CityJournal.us

Budget giving Danville school officials headaches
GoDanRiver.com
There is also $1.8 million in federal stimulus money that is no longer available. Osborne said because they knew the stimulus money would not be around, it was put into specific projects and not personnel. The local ability to pay also went up, ...

and more »

ABC News (blog)
Editorial: Contraception mandate violates religious freedom
USA TODAY
Yet in drawing up the rules that will govern health care reform, the Obama administration didn't just cross that line. It galloped over it, requiring employers affiliated with the Catholic Church to include free birth control in their health insurance ...
Planned Parenthood Defends Obama Against Catholic CriticismABC News (blog)

all 658 news articles »

Romney Criticizes Stimulus in Factory that Received Money from Stimulus
ABC News
Mitt Romney renewed attacks on President Obama's stimulus plan during a campaign event at a metal company that received $2.3 million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act in November 2010. "This president came into office and said, "OK, ...
Romney assails Obama stimulus spending in ColoradoCBS News
Romney faults stimulus at plant that received $2.3 millionCNN (blog)
Romney: Obama needs to 'get out of the way'Colorado Springs Gazette
Wall Street Journal (blog) -msnbc.com (blog) (subscription)
all 14 news articles »

The Associated Press
3 Ore. mushroom pickers rescued after 6 days lost
The Associated Press
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Three mushroom pickers took refuge in a hollowed out tree after getting lost in an Oregon forest, fighting wintry chills for six days and drinking water from streams until a helicopter pilot spotted them. Belinda and Daniel Conne ...
Family lost for 6 days found alive in Oregon forestFox News
Ore. mushroom pickers found alive after 6 daysUSA TODAY
Mushroom pickers OK after 6 days lost in OR forestMiamiHerald.com

all 735 news articles »

Gold may test supports, rise higher
Hindu Business Line
Comex gold futures ended higher on Friday in over a month, after encouraging US payrolls data dented hopes of any additional stimulus from the Federal Reserve, which had been priced into bullion's recent rally. US non-farm payrolls jumped 243000, ...

and more »

Obama pressures Congress on housing
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle
(AP Photo/Susan Walsh) / by Susan Walsh, AP By Ken Thomas, Associated Press WASHINGTON (WTW) — President Barack Obama is rallying support for his plan to expand government assistance to homeowners, pressuring Congress to help lower lending rates for ...

This guest post from Aloysa is part of the “reader stories” feature at Get Rich Slowly. Some stories contain general advice; others are examples of how a GRS reader achieved financial success or failure. These stories feature folks from all levels of financial maturity and with all sorts of incomes. You can read more from Aloysa at My Broken Coin.

For six years, I lied to my ex-husband about how much money I was making. Some people make up lies trying to build self-esteem. Those people lie “up”. I lied down, hiding how much money I made, and underestimating the work I was doing.

I didn’t do this for some malevolent purpose. In fact, I thought I was doing my ex-husband a favor. I tried to protect his ego and his self-worth. Unfortunately, as we all know no good deed goes unpunished.

Background
I was born far away from the United States. When I met my ex-husband, my homeland was going through some turbulent times. The Soviet Union was in ruins: The job market was unstable, food was expensive and in scarce supply. Our government was changing the national currency on what seemed to be a weekly basis. Stability and financial security were ideas long forgotten.

When we got married, my ex-husband was serving in the military, making good money. By the time I graduated from college, our country had transformed from a socialist state into a free-market, exploring and building capitalism.

It was then that the tables suddenly turned: My ex-husband left the military and ended up laying cement for a private construction firm. As a college graduate, I got an entry-level position with a small firm in the automobile industry. A year later, that small firm grew into one of the biggest wholesale trading firms in the country, propelling my career.

Then the marriage trouble started.

Protecting His Ego
My ex-husband was sincerely happy when I got my first huge promotion and my first salary increase. That first increase put my salary way above his. He seemed excited about more money flowing into the family. That didn’t last long.

First, he started to make snippy comments about my job during conversations with our friends and family. Later, I noticed that every time people asked me what I was doing for a living, he dismissively waved his hands and said something non-essential, trying to undermine my achievements.

I started to suspect that maybe his ego was hurt. Maybe the fact that I was becoming a successful career woman who was working more hours, and ultimately bringing more money home, was somehow diminishing his self-wroth. Maybe he felt that his role as a “breadwinner” was being taken from him.

I thought about it, I dwelled on it, and finally determined that it was all my fault. I decided that I was not going to disgrace my ex-husband’s sense of self-respect by announcing that I made a bonus that would allow us to renovate our small apartment.

It was the beginning of our end.

Easy Come, Easy Go
We were always supporting our relatives from both sides as much as we could. But when I started making more money, I was pressed to help the family of my ex-sister-in-law more than usual. The more I worked, the more I made, the more money was leaving our family and going into her household. Every bonus, every salary increase was viewed by my ex-husband as an additional source of support for his sister.

She was a stay-at-home mom with a stay-at-home alcoholic husband. Both seemed to conveniently live off our (well, my) money. I didn’t mind helping them, but constantly supporting them with every extra penny that we could made me feel that we were encouraging and sustaining her husband’s alcoholism.

Another major concern surfaced about the same time. Between our own expenses and helping their family, we weren’t able to save anything for ourselves. It didn’t matter how much both of us were bringing home. It was all gone by the end of the month. We had no savings, no emergency money, none of the financial security that both of us wanted.

How It All Unraveled
Over the years, I began to keep secret most of my pay increases and bonuses. I stashed away money, and I hid my purchases.

Did I feel guilty? Of course I did. But over time, you get used to lying, and it becomes your second identity. You live a life of lies, and you think that this is the way to live it.

It’s one of the things lies do to you. Everything you lie about works to replace moments, words, events from your life, until you cannot remember why any of it mattered. It takes so much energy to hold on to the lies that you lose your grip on what’s important.

And every lie is a relationship killer. Even a small lie, because eventually that small lie will become a big one.

Lies make you feel empty — and afterward, lonely too.

Why I Would Never Do It Again
You could say that I was young and naïve. I thought I could save a marriage built on lies. I call myself foolish. Foolishness is always best seen in retrospect.

Joint goals make a strong foundation to marriage, along with trust and understanding. Years later, after the divorce, I look back at our marriage and I have to admit that we didn’t have any common goals. We didn’t know where we wanted to go together, what we wanted to build.

Sometimes you have to accept that a notion of a “traditional relationship” is a fluid one. Roles can be reversed any time. Life can change on a dime. It shouldn’t matter who makes more money in the relationship. What should matter is having similar attitudes towards money.

No one should ever equate money to power in marriage. Marriage is a partnership, not a rivalry. If you can’t be happy for your partner’s success, then maybe it’s time to reconsider your relationship.

Reminder: This is a story from one of your fellow readers. Please be nice. After more than a decade of blogging, I have a thick skin, but it can be scary to put your story out in public for the first time. Remember that this guest author isn’t a professional writer, and is just learning about money like you are. Henceforth, unduly nasty comments on readers stories will be removed or edited.

NAU women can't keep up with Portland State
FS Arizona
PORTLAND, Ore. -- Portland State shot 55 percent for the game and turned a two-point halftime lead into a 73-59 win over the Northern Arizona women on Saturday. NAU junior Amy Patton scored a game-high 24 points to go with six assists and sophomore ...
Vikings Shoot Their Way To 73-59 Victory Over NAUPortland State Vikings
Futter signs with Portland StateEast Oregonian

all 46 news articles »

Alaska Dispatch
How Obama's stimulus revived the electric car
Alaska Dispatch
A common criticism of President Obama's $800 billion stimulus package has been that it failed to produce anything – that while the New Deal built bridges and dams, all the stimulus did was fill some potholes and create temporary jobs.

and more »

The Idaho Statesman
Emerald Wood Products in Emmett is a stimulus project that went awry
The Idaho Statesman
He'd pumped nearly $7 million of his own money and $4 million from taxpayers — federal stimulus dollars — into building a small sawmill in Emmett. In May 2010, he started cutting logs and building a payroll that would eventually cover 57 people in a ...

Christian Science Monitor
Solar energy subsidies: sticky wicket for Tea Party recipient?
Christian Science Monitor
But Mark Neumann, who decries Obama stimulus plan, got the solar energy credits under President Bush. By Scott Bauer, Associated Press / February 5, 2012 Mark Neumann (shown here after losing a 1998 US Senate race in Wisconsin) is a Tea Party candidate ...
Senate candidate Mark Neumann got stimulus fundsGreen Bay Press Gazette
Republican candidate Mark Neumann: Companies got $500000 from stimulusAppleton Post Crescent

all 80 news articles »

OregonLive.com
Blazers beat Nuggets 117 - 97 (photo essay)
OregonLive.com
By Bruce Ely, The Oregonian 1 of 18 Link to this photo | Comments about this photo essay (1) PORTLAND, OREGON -February 4, 2012 - Portland Trail Blazers head coach Nate McMillan and Denver Nuggets head coach George Karl greet each other pregame as the ...
Portland Trail Blazers beat tired Denver Nuggets 117-97Denver Post
Nicolas Batum scores 33 points to help Trail Blazers beat Nuggets 117-97Washington Post
Batum scores 33 points to help Blazers top NuggetsAlbany Times Union

all 599 news articles »

Universe.byu.edu
BYU vs. Portland: Report card
Deseret News
By Brandon Gurney, Deseret News PORTLAND, Ore. — It wasn't a pretty game, but the Cougars got it done -- defeating the Pilots 79-60 with a scrappy and effective defensive effort Saturday night. Grades are in for every position group and for the team ...
Brandon Davies has 18 points and 13 rebounds as BYU rolls to 79-60 victory ...Washington Post
BYU basketball: Even on road, Cougars often feel at homeSalt Lake Tribune
Davies leads BYU to 79-60 victory over PortlandUniverse.byu.edu
ABC 4
all 33 news articles »

OregonLive.com
Vancouver's Mountain View High School beats 64 teams in nation's largest ...
OregonLive.com
The 21st annual Science Bowl regional competition brings high school students from the western Oregon and Washington area to the University of Portland campus for a chance to compete at nationals in Washington, DC During the silent pauses between ...

and more »

USA TODAY
Ore. mushroom pickers found alive after 6 days
USA TODAY
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) – A family of three huddled on the edge of an old-growth Oregon forest for six days, lost and cold, unable to signal search helicopters flying low and slow overhead. AP Belinda and Daniel Conne, both 47, were found injured but alive ...
3 Ore. mushroom pickers found alive but injured, hungry after spending 6 days ...Washington Post
Missing Ore. mushroom pickers found alive after 6 daysBangor Daily News

all 478 news articles »

Deseret News
BYU basketball: Cougars hoping to avoid letdown at Portland
Salt Lake Tribune
By Jay Drew Portland, Ore. • This one has trap game written all over it for the BYU Cougars. Having split a pair of matchups with the best teams in the West Coast Conference the past seven days -- losing to St. Mary's and beating Gonzaga -- the Cougars ...
Cougars look to improve position on bubble as they face PortlandDeseret News
BYU Hoops Game Night: Can Cougars put it on auto-Pilot tonight?Daily Herald

all 351 news articles »

Bonds sell off as jobs report cuts bets on stimulus
Business Recorder (blog)
The data reduced the chance of further monetary stimulus from the Fed, economists said. Some traders even started to bet that interest rates could rise in early 2014, causing investors in general to reassess their long Treasuries positions.

and more »

Romney faults stimulus at plant that received $2.3 million
CNN (blog)
Colorado Springs, Colorado (CNN) - Hailing a metal engineering plant that received $2.3 million in stimulus funds as a small business success story, on Saturday Mitt Romney told an audience at the plant the federal recovery program "did not do the job.
Romney Criticizes Stimulus in Factory that Received Money from StimulusABC News (blog)
Romney assails Obama stimulus spending in ColoradoCBS News
Romney Credits Business Owners — Not Obama — for Improving EconomyWall Street Journal (blog)
msnbc.com (blog) (subscription) -Denver Post
all 12 news articles »

Will Kitsap industries funded by 'Green Jobs' grant stay green financially?
Kitsap Sun
Their jobs are among the estimated 30 Kitsap County officials say were created with a $2.23 million stimulus grant the county received in late 2009. After hours of poring over every crack and crevice of a building, Stefnik gives homeowners a detailed ...

and more »

Chicago Tribune
Romney assails Obama stimulus spending in Colorado
CBS News
Mitt Romney slammed President Obama's $787 billion stimulus package Saturday at a rally featuring a plant owner who said he received some of the money and it didn't create any jobs. "This president came into office and said: 'OK, we're going to get ...
Romney Criticizes Stimulus in Factory that Received Money from StimulusABC News (blog)
Romney faults stimulus at plant that received $2.3 millionCNN (blog)
Between the Rockies and a political hard place, Romney hits Obamamsnbc.com (blog) (subscription)
Wall Street Journal (blog) -Denver Post -Los Angeles Times
all 66 news articles »