Oregon: What is it good for?

Many have asked the question, but now we have an answer, thanks to a comprehensive list in The Oregonian last Sunday. The accompanying article put it best in these excerpts:

You could argue that everything in Oregon is world-class. You also could argue that nothing here is world-class. But what fun would that be? That's where we come in. Two dozen of us set out to add a little truth-squading and to spur debates with what we think makes the grade. And the results are not necessarily what you'd expect. (Goodbye Multnomah Falls and Tillamook cheese.)

Local boosters call this state Paradise Found. A utopia of outdoor wonders. A misty isle where the natives celebrate food and drink and creativity. A retreat from the freeways and fast lanes. Of course, they would be right. To naysayers, Oregon is a mediocre place, underpopulated and overprincipled. A place that settles too easily for the OK, where few things stack up to their counterparts in bigger cities. They have a case, too.