There's a publication in Missoula, Mont., of all places, that seems to get it right: New West, "it" being a bigger and gloomier picture than the rosy one painted by our shriveling dailies. There's a print version they practically give away; the real journalism is happening online. Good example today by New West's founder Jonathan Weber, who excoriates Credit Suisse for financing three luxury resort projects (in Montana, Idaho and Utah). "Irresponsible and incompetent," writes Weber. The three resorts alone are in the hole for close to three quarters of a billion dollars. You're not going to hear any right-wing talk-show hosts whining that these were loans to underqualified buyers, but they're just as toxic as the defaults on predatory home loans.
And Weber doesn't even include Washington's most spectacular flop in his survey, the bankrupt Vineyards Resort golf club outside of Yakima. When Cornichon wrote about this in late September, the $500 million project was on shaky ground; now it's in complete collapse. And Suncadia in Cle Elum isn't much healthier.
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