Our blog posts about the quarterly results at OnPoint Community Credit Union — a Portland-based financial institution that we consider at least some indicator of the state of the area’s economy — have led readers from time to time to request comparisons of OnPoint results with those of other credit unions. We’ve resisted that invitation on a number of grounds — mostly because we’re not really an expert on financial institutions. We’ve been pulling numbers off the voluminous reports filed with the regulators with interested but highly untrained eyes. Besides, it’s a time-consuming deal.
But the challenge has been too good to keep down, and so with the important caution that we are not expert in these matters, just for kicks we’ll compare some of OnPoint’s financial data with that of three other Oregon-based credit unions that readers have mentioned: Unitus here in Portland, First Tech in Beaverton, and Oregon Community down in Eugene.
One number that we’ve been tracking for OnPoint has been its ratio of delinquent loans (two months or more) to total loans — the higher the number, the worse the portfolio from a delinquency standpoint. Here are the percentages for all four of the credit unions in that department:
| Credit union |
9/30/08 |
6/30/09 |
9/30/09 |
| First Tech |
0.75 |
0.96 |
1.12 |
| OnPoint |
0.63 |
1.23 |
1.16 |
| Oregon Community |
0.53 |
1.13 |
1.87 |
| Unitus |
0.38 |
1.85 |
1.59 |
Another ratio that we’ve been watching at OnPoint is delinquent loans to net worth. Here are the percentages for the whole group on that score:
| Credit Union |
9/30/08 |
6/30/09 |
9/30/09 |
| First Tech |
5.22 |
6.06 |
6.98 |
| OnPoint |
5.74 |
10.67 |
10.05 |
| Oregon Community |
5.76 |
12.63 |
21.41 |
| Unitus |
2.90 |
13.22 |
11.42 |
The side-by-side reviews turned up one curiosity: Not all of the credit unions are accounting for the industry’s deposit insurance troubles in exactly the same way. OnPoint and Oregon Community both showed millions in “stabilization expenses” for the first time this year on their third quarter financial reports, whereas First Tech and Unitus had been showing that expense since the first quarter of the year.
Finally, let’s take a gander at the year-to-date net income (loss) figures for the group over the first three quarters. Although given their varying sizes, we’re likely talking apples and oranges, the trends are probably worth comparing:
| Credit Union |
9/30/08 |
6/30/09 |
9/30/09 |
| First Tech |
$11,004,579 |
$15,679,047 |
$19,083,328 |
| OnPoint |
$16,329,466 |
$18,586,772 |
$21,965,019 |
| Oregon Community |
$2,276,125 |
($1,600,252) |
($1,663,273) |
| Unitus |
$1,638,409 |
($2,932,744) |
($3,713,168) |
You wanted comparisons? Well, there you have some, folks. Obviously, of the group, Oregon Community has got the biggest delinquent loan problems, is reporting its delinquencies more conservatively than the other three, or both. Relatively speaking, First Tech appears to paint the rosiest picture of the four.
If this sort of discussion makes you want to hunt around through the credit unions’ financial reports yourself, just head over here and get started. Once you have the identification number of the institution you’re looking for, lots of data can be gleaned here.
Written by Travel News on November 5th, 2009 with no comments.
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After three years of stonewalling, the City of Portland is actually proposing that the two officers involved in the senseless killing of James Chasse be suspended for a couple of weeks. Apparently the reason is going to be failing to get him to the hospital, not for literally beating the living daylights out of him and lying repeatedly about what happened.
This admission of wrongdoing comes as the family of the victim prepares for a March trial in a lawsuit that seems likely to cost the taxpayers millions.
The news that Commissioner Dan Saltzman is showing some spine after a decade of slumber on the City Council is making headlines, but the fact that it has taken the city three years to get to this point is quite telling. If the police here mistreat you, justice will be delayed at best, and more likely denied.
Of course, the police union is “disgusted” that even relatively mild discipline is being proposed. That goes along well with its other character, “disgusting.”
Written by Travel News on November 5th, 2009 with no comments.
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In our recent check of our property tax bill, we noticed that a Portland parks tax that was there in previous years was gone. But we should have known — it will back again soon. Zsa Zsa says they may borrow up to another $150 million if the voters let them.
I remember the last time we voted in a bond and accompanying tax for parks. It was supposed to be for maintenance, but they used it for new capital projects.
I wish we would take the millions that the city is putting aside to run a superfluous streetcar system, dedicate it to the parks, and leave the property taxes where they are. But hey, I guess I’m just not enough “for the children.”
Meanwhile, they’ve come up with yet another plan to turn Washington High School into a community center for the long-suffering Buckman neighborhood. You guessed it — condos! I wish I were kidding.
Written by Travel News on November 5th, 2009 with no comments.
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The Ardèche Gorge, the largest natural canyon in Europe, angles through southern France, northwest of Avignon. Its craggy limestone cliffs rise as high as 1,000 feet. The Ardèche River begins in the massif central, cuts through the gorge and crosses the plateau to flow into the Rhone.
The best-known landmark of the gorge is Vallon Pont d’Arc, a huge natural bridge arching far above the river. A pleasant way to spend part of a day is to rent kayaks and paddle along the river to the awe-inspiring bridge, perhaps stopping at a beach along the way for a picnic. Shortly after passing under the bridge you can come ashore, where the kayak rental company will meet you with transportation back to your car. Being on the water allows for an intimacy with the place that tourists who only watch from high on the cliff never experience.
Millennia ago, prehistoric people may have floated the river too, in hand-carved boats. You can see remnants of their lives on the plateau above the river, where standing stones remain, the dolmens and menhirs that had deep meaning in ancient times. In caves dotting the cliffs, arrowheads and knives are often found and, in some, paintings from Paleolithic times.
Along the cliff road are signs to the grottes (caves) or avens (deep holes). The most famous by far is Grotte Chauvet, near the Pont d’Arc. Discovered in 1994, its walls have more than 300 designs painted and engraved some 30,000 years ago. There are rhinoceroses, lions, bears, owls, mammoths and more, all beautifully rendered and in amazing perspective. The Chauvet works are the oldest found in the world so far.
The cave is closed to the public, but there’s an excellent exhibit in the nearby village of Vallon Pont d’Arc, open from mid-March to mid-November. It shows cave painting replicas and much more. There are artifacts from archeological finds, a reconstruction of a prehistoric dwelling, and full-size animal reproductions. At the end, there’s a movie that shows more about Chauvet Cave.
Quite different is Grottes de St-Marcel d’Ardèche, which is open to visitors. Walking down the long main passageway, you come to an array of beautiful rimstone pools, perhaps a hundred of them. Continuing through this enchanting place, you arrive at the last chamber, full of stalactites, stalagmites and other mineral formations. Classical music and lighting add to the effect.
L’Aven Grotte de la Forestiére, discovered in 1966, is open April to September. The cave has several levels, formed at different time periods. Near the surface are roots from trees that grew into the cave for its water. On a lower level, hundreds of animal bones were found, some from animals now extinct. In one 
chamber, the animals and fish that once lived here adapted to the dark environment and were eyeless and colorless.
The Grotte de la Madeleine contains beautiful and irregular formations set off by special lighting. This cave, set into the side of the cliff, can be reached from the river or from the plateau above. There’s a gift shop, snack shop, and a viewpoint overlooking the gorge.
Aven de Marzal was investigated in 1892 but left and forgotten until 1949, and now is open for guided tours daily between April and October. It has numerous stalactites, stalagmites, cauldrons and multi-colored crystals. A museum shows the equipment used for early explorations. There’s also a “”zoo” with life-sized models of prehistoric animals.
Finally, there is the splendid Aven d’Orgnac, an enormous cavern filled with strange and eery shapes, all carved by nature over eons. A staircase and pathway descend into the cavern, where lights show off the formations (you return to the top by elevator). It is open year-round.
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Written by Travel News on November 4th, 2009 with no comments.
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There’s so much going on here at National Geographic headquarters that it’s hard for us to keep track. Here’s a roundup of events happening in November.
Terra Cotta Warriors, National Geographic Museum
Our eagerly anticipated special exhibition opens November 19 at the National Geographic Museum in Washington, DC, and will run through March 31, 2010. The crated warriors arrived the other night and the museum staff is getting the statues in place right now. Timed tickets are required and they’re going fast. You can buy them here. Save your ticket stub to get 20% off in our newly redesigned and expanded National Geographic Store. For directions on how to get to the museum, click here.
Glimpse Correspondents Program
If you plan on working, studying, or volunteering abroad, apply for the Glimpse Correspondents Program. Each semester, the Glimpse Foundation picks a team of talented young writers and photographers between the ages of 18 and 34 and rewards them with a $600 stipend, career training in writing or photography, and publishes their work on Glimpse.org. All entries are due by November 8.
National Geographic Expeditions
Want to go on a warm-weather trip? National Geographic Expeditions is hosting a free online webinar on Monday, November 9 at 8 p.m. about its upcoming expeditions to Costa Rica and the Panama Canal. To register for the webinar click here, or learn more about the expedition here. Best of all, those who book a trip between January 1 and March 31, 2010 will get a $500 airfare credit.
National Geographic Image Collection
Stop by our DC headquarters and take a stroll around our courtyard to see LED lightboxes showcasing some of the best (and some never-before seen) National Geographic photography. The exhibit is free to the public, and is based on our new book, National Geographic Image Collection (hint: makes a great present!). A video preview of the book is here. The New York Times recently profiled Bill Bonner here, the keeper of our photo archives, which contains more than 11.5 million images.
National Geographic Channel
Admit it: you love IKEA and all of its fashionable, cheap goodness. On November 5 at 8 p.m., National Geographic Channel’s Ultimate Factories series takes viewers inside IKEA’s largest plant in Zbaszynek, Poland, and shows just how IKEA makes its wood furniture. Here’s a video preview of the show.
All Roads Film Project
On November 4, the Society will hold a special screening of Unconquered: Allan Houser and the Legacy of one Apache Family, a documentary about Native American art and traditions. There will be a discussion with the director, producer, and Allan Houser following the screening. Tickets are $8.
National Geographic Traveler Seminars
Our fall-winter schedule is available now, and lists one-day seminars in travel photography taught by National Geographic photographers. The next seminar is December 6 in Seattle, with our lively team of Jim Richardson and Catherine Karnow, who share with you their secrets on how to make photos “that tell a story.” Video preview here. For more info and online registration, click here.
Written by Travel News on November 4th, 2009 with no comments.
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Friend of IT (and author of delightful Cold Beer and Crocodiles: A Bicycle Journey into Australia) Roff Smith is just back from biking the Welsh national cycling route, and shares with us some tips on traveling in the area.
So how do you keep them down on the farm after they’ve seen Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch? You got me. It’s not easy. Since I’ve returned from cycling the Lôn Las Cymru–the Welsh national cycle route–I’ve thought of little else but going back and doing it all again. Stretching more than 250 picturesque miles from the ancient castle town of Chepstow in the south, to windswept Holyhead in the north, (home to the Holyhead Harpies Quiddich Team, if you happen to be a Harry Potter fan), this is said to be the most beautiful of Britain’s long-distance cycling trails and having cycled a good many of them myself, I’d be hard put to disagree.
Those five days I spent travelling its length were like a step out of time, a harkening back to a slower, gentler oil-painted world of leafy country lanes, old market towns, World Heritage castles and the romantic 11th-century ruins of Llanthony Priory–and yes, there’s plenty of utterly unpronounceable Welsh names along the way, not least of which is the aforementioned town on the isle of Anglesey, listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as having the U.K.’s longest place name. Locals shorthand it to Llanfair P.G.
The route itself is cobbled together of quiet lanes, cycle paths, even a stretch of ancient coaching road. It is superbly signposted and so easy to follow that you don’t really need any maps, although the excellent ones published by Sustrans are well worth having since they can help you plan your day, and offer up interesting alternatives–you can, for example, start off from Cardiff if you wish. There are plenty of B&Bs and pretty little inns along the route, so you needn’t rough it or carry a lot of gear–a point worth considering since the Lôn Las Cymru meanders through the Brecon Beacons, the Cambrian Mountains and Snowdonia National Park, making it one of Britain’s more challenging rides as well.
Of course, you don’t have to cycle the whole thing in one go. Good rail connections and bicycle-hire shops mean that the Lôn Las Cymru is very do-able in weekend-sized bites, say, between Chepstow and Hay-on-Wye, sixty miles of the very same countryside for which William Gilpin, the 18th century traveler and essayist coined the word “picturesque”. There are still the hills of course, but then, isn’t that what those hearty B&B breakfasts are for?
Photo: George Borrow Photography
Roff Smith’s October article for National Geographic magazine, about the shipwreck of a 16th c. Portuguese ship carrying more than 100 million carats of diamonds, can be found here.
Written by Travel News on November 4th, 2009 with no comments.
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There are a million reasons to book a flight to Thailand – the epic history, the unique food, customs and culture, and of course, the beaches. But now there’s an added perk for travelers who want to stay connected -…
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Air New Zealand has ordered 14 Airbus single-aisle A320 air-crafts recently to accommodate its passengers. The purchase cost up to $1.07 billion, and will replace the Boeing jets that is uses now. Air New Zealand also plans to purchase 11…
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After a decade of renovation, the Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport in Anchorage, Alaska is completely. The $200 million work done on concourses A and B was revealed on Sunday, after a two-year focus on re-designing the food and dining…
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Uphold your development strategy of global partnership from the desktop
Beijing, China (November 04, 2009) /ChinaNewswire.com/ — How have you been negotiating? They are playing the negotiation game on you right now. If you are not aware of negotiation principles, you are costing your company millions of dollars in lost opportunities.
As Chinese economy shines on [...]
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