News...
2006.03.07 - Fritz, Saltzman to debate at City Club March 10 - At its weekly Friday Forum on March 10, 2006, City Club of Portland welcomes candidate Amanda Fritz and incumbent Dan Saltzman to “City Council Election Debate — Match One.”
2006.03.06 - Multi-Tiered Wal-Mart Becoming Reality - In the near future, Wal-Mart and other big-box retailers will be rolling out more multi-level stores as they move to infiltrate urban areas and communities with strict zoning regulations. [...] A proposed Supercenter in Portland, Oregon would locate two levels of parking below its ground level sales floor.
2006.03.06 - Portland, Hood River named 'America's Best Places to Live' - Housing prices gripes aside, Portlanders and Hood Riverites have long known their cities are among the best places in the country to live. Now a men’s magazine has confirmed it. [Yay! Validation from Men's Journal!]
2006.03.06 - Budget meeting for schools - Portland Schools Superintendent shares criteria for budget decisions.
2006.03.04 - Ore. GOP governor candidates debate their chances - The three leading GOP contenders for Oregon governor differed Friday night over which of them would have the best chance of knocking off Democratic Gov. Ted Kulongoski this fall.
2006.03.04 - Portland mayor raises standard on exclusion law - Mayor Tom Potter has proposed making it tougher for police to ban somebody from the city drug-free and prostitution-free zones.
2006.03.03 - Befuddled petitioners not throwing in the towel - The committee seeking to repeal Portland’s new public campaign financing program is researching its options following the city’s most recent rejection of its petitions to refer the plan to the May primary election ballot.
2006.03.03 - Sten rules out more city cash for tram - A majority of Portland's City Council has come out against spending more city money on the budget-crashing aerial tram between Pill Hill and the South Waterfront.
2006.02.28 - Field officially at four to replace Cruz Walsh - ...former Portland Public Schools spokesman Lew Frederick and Xander Patterson, director of one of the county's soil and water conservation districts, filed for the commission seat. Both candidates submitted signatures in lieu of a $50 filing fee.
2006.02.24 - Rivals take Sten’s idea, run with it - City Commissioner Erik Sten admits that he is in his toughest election fight in 10 years — and that much of it is due to a system he created.
2006.02.24 - Schools go under our microscope - Rethinking Portland Public Schools is a job for everyone who lives here or has a stake in our public school system. Most agree that a strong school system is key to a thriving city.
2006.02.22 - Portland police chief proposes money-making plan - Portland Police Chief Derrick Foxworth has a money-making plan that is getting kudos from the mayor. [...] Foxworth wants more drug and vice cops on the street impounding cars so the city collects more fees for its coffers.
2006.02.21 - Proposed police budget cuts anger citizens - Could the Portland Police Bureau's proposed budget cuts send the wrong message to crooks? Some people think it will. "As long as the emphasis is on chasing crooks, we're always going to have crooks to chase," said Richard Brown, a Portland resident.
2006.02.21 - It’s the mayor’s party, but Linn’s the co-host - An Education Summit involving 75 of the most powerful leaders in town, Portland media and a huge public audience? Let the campaigning begin! Multnomah County Chairwoman Diane Linn, facing a serious contender in Ted Wheeler, wrangled a last-minute co-sponsorship of last Thursday’s summit, joining Mayor Tom Potter in the high-profile effort to fund Portland Public Schools.
2006.02.21 - Minorities feel unwelcome at Ore. schools - Many minority parents are not getting involved in their children's schools because they don't know how or feel unwelcome, according to a new report.
2006.02.21 - Elections: Move beyond two-party system - Regarding "Independents demand to be heard at polls" (Feb. 19), hats off to Sen. Ben Westlund of Bend for his brave stand against our two-party system, which is failing more than just the one-fourth of Oregon's voters registered as independent.
2006.02.21 - Court upholds Measure 37 - Oregon's Supreme Court has resuscitated the controversial property rights law that could redefine rural Oregon. / Measure 37 did not violate state and federal constitutions as a lower court thought, justices said this morning in a sweeping, unanimous opinion.
2006.02.19 - Torpedoed by Measure 5: Tax Court disallows city levy for schools - So much for local control. The Oregon Tax Court has ruled that the city of Eugene's levy to support Eugene and Bethel school programs violates the constitutional provisions of Measure 5, the property tax limitation approved by voters in 1990. Voters apparently can't tax themselves for purposes of their own choosing. The ruling is frustrating and damaging, but also illuminating - once again, the perversity of Oregon's school finance system is revealed.
2006.02.19 - MultCo Dems rebuff Kulongoski, back challengers - The Multnomah County Democratic Party turned its' back on incumbent Oregon Gov.Ted Kulongoski over the weekend, instead issuing a dual-endorsement of his two challengers in the upcoming May 16 primary.
2006.02.19 - Mult Dems Endorsements Announced - The Central Committee of the Multnomah County Democratic Party met in three special meetings this weekend to consider endorsements in the May primary election.
2006.02.17 - Iranian student on a mission to undo stereotypes - Last September Babre Mazandaran left his country of Iran for the first time. Six months have passed since his arrival to Portland, and he has a message to spread: Iran is a different country than the one many westerners have in mind.
2006.02.16 - School numbers in; question now is what to do about them - Please chew on the numbers, then let us know your prescription -- the more specifics the better -- for Portland Public Schools' financial woes or the questions you'd like us to dig into. We'll do more reporting and run follow-up stories based on your responses.
2006.02.15 - Your safe haven from "Deadeye" Dick Cheney. - Willamette Week gossip, news in brief.
2006.02.15 - Portland considered for Republican convention - Portland is among 31 cities being asked to submit proposals to host the 2008 Republican National Convention.
2006.02.14 - Sen. Westlund launches independent campaign for governor - State Sen. Ben Westlund said Tuesday he's bolting the Republican Party and entering the 2006 race for governor as an independent because the two-party system prevents solutions to the state's serious problems.
2006.02.14 - Wyden: White House budget would cut $650 million from Oregon counties - The Bush Administration Monday released its fiscal year 2007 budget plan, which includes a 50 percent funding cut to the successful Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act. Under the White House proposal, Oregon counties would see a $650 million reduction, including $85 million that currently goes into Oregon classrooms.
2006.02.14 - Katz joins transit mall fray - For the first time since she left office more than a year ago, former Mayor Vera Katz has made a direct public call for her successor to take action.
2006.02.14 - Groups fight over proposed changes to downtown transit mall - Supporters say it is the next step forward for downtown Portland. The opposition claims businesses will close and commuters will be inconvenienced.
2006.02.14 - Agency puts its heart into the arts - Portland Tribune columnist Phil Stanford recently mentioned the Regional Arts & Culture Council and its public art program in two of his columns: “There’s an art to foolish spending,” Jan. 10, and a followup column Jan. 13 that responded to readers who reacted to the initial piece.
We believe Tribune readers and the community need to be given a more comprehensive view of RACC and its role and responsibility in the region.
2006.02.14 - Funding Schools Locally - With the apparent death of Mayor Tom Potter's city income tax and the cold reception given to a local-option property tax [...] there's a scramble underway to either find something that city voters will support, or, failing that, to return to scrounging through the Rose City's couch cushions.
2006.02.14 - Where are the People advocating for their Parks? - "Only 46 people pulled themselves away from the State of the Union address (or, more likely, "American Idol") to talk city dollars. Those who did show up were outnumbered by 52 city staff members..."
2006.02.13 - Portland gets a a 'D-plus' for disaster preparedness - The American Disaster Preparedness Foundation gave Portland a "D-plus" and ranked the city in a tie for 24th with Boston in a study of emergency preparedness among 30 major U.S. metropolitan areas.
2006.02.13 - Local business (that works with nonprofits) encourages Flexcar membership - The birthplace of car-sharing in the United States, Flexcar's Portland offers over 70 vehicles conveniently located along public transportation lines in the Portland/Vancouver area.
2006.02.13 - Salem council ignores warming - The year 2005 was the hottest year since records have been kept. [...] Does this mean we are experiencing global warming? And, since carbon dioxide, a potent greenhouse gas, is building in the atmosphere at accelerating rates with the concurrent increases in the burning of fossil fuels, does this mean global warming is being caused by human activities?

If you answer yes [... you are in agreement with an overwhelming majority of the worldwide scientific community. If you answer no, then you are in agreement with Exxon Mobil, President Bush and the majority of the Salem City Council.
2006.02.13 - Enhancing Pedestrian Safety - One pedestrian was mowed-down, and another seriously injured, less than one block from where the city recently held a "Crosswalk Enforcement Action" on NW 23rd Avenue. The Northwest District Association (NWDA) board has unanimously asked PDOT to take a number of steps to enhance pedestrian safety in the neighborhood.
2006.02.12 - PERS suit could pit retirees against current workers - A lawsuit over the state Public Employees Retirement System eventually could pit retirees against current employees.
2006.02.10 - Stung by critics, legislators hit back - In announcing his tax proposal to fill Portland's school funding gaps, Mayor Tom Potter scolded Oregon's state legislators for failing to adequately fund state schools. Other school advocates have echoed Potter's sentiments, sometimes in harsh terms.
2006.02.10 - Portland schools chief says tax support lacking - The Portland School Board abruptly cancelled a public hearing on school funding scheduled for Thursday evening as district leaders backed away from Mayor Tom Potter's proposed city-wide income tax to pay for schools.
2006.02.08 - Oregon economy appears strong at start of year - Oregon's economy headed into the new year on solid footing, according to the University of Oregon Index of Economic Indicators.
2006.02.08 - Congressman calls for investigation of BLM funding cut-off - GRANTS PASS, Ore. - Questioning whether the Bush administration is manipulating science for political ends, Rep. Jay Inslee, D-Wash., called Tuesday for an inspector general's investigation into why federal funding was suspended for a study that goes against White House-supported legislation to speed up logging after wildfires on national forests.


Recommendations...
2006.01.14 - Book: Moral Politics by George Lakoff - For a cognitive linguist, Lakoff writes a surprisingly comprehensible and fascinating book which addresses how liberals and conservatives think.
2006.01.14 - Film: Good Night, and Good Luck - Edward R. Murrow's black and white battle against McCarthyism. Timely, just replace the word "communist" with "terrorist" for a imaginary trip which the Bush administration doesn't want you to make.


Just too funny to pass up...
2006.02.15 - Portland considered for Republican convention - Portland is among 31 cities being asked to submit proposals to host the 2008 Republican National Convention.
2006.02.02 - Apple sued over potential hearing loss from iPods - The iPod players are "inherently defective in design and are not sufficiently adorned with adequate warnings regarding the likelihood of hearing loss," according to the complaint, filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in San Jose, Calif., on behalf of John Kiel Patterson of Louisiana.
2006.01.14 - Naked News - Claim: news is no longer designed to inform so much as entertain. Support: I can't remember a thing these newscasters just said. Vist Naked News, Male Edition for some balanced reporting.