Willamette Week

In one-party Multnomah County, much of what passes for political debate is really just parsing different shades of blue. But Monday night, political junkies will get a chance to see some real contrast, as OPB and Community Newspapers bring together Portland Mayor Sam Adams and Washington County Chairman Tom Brian for a discussion of how the [...] Related posts: Adams to Wheeler: I’ll Fund The ... Full Story »

As Portlanders prepare for our first flakes of snow tonight, it’s worth reminding anybody who’s new to town about our reputation for really stupid driving in snow and ice. So in the spirit of public service, we reprise this classic video of foul-weather driving in town from a couple of years ago (fast-forward to the 1:22 [...] Related posts: MLK on YouTube: Still anti-war, after 4 years or 40 ... Full Story »

Mayor Sam Adams’ latest tweets about Portland Public School’s high-school redesign are actually a pretty good summary of the info being shared in Portland this month. The mayor was at Marshall High School in Lents last night: Related posts:Mayor Adams All “Atwitter” About Lincoln High Mayor Sam Top 10 Reasons To Worry About PPS’s High School Redesign [...] Related posts: Mayor Adams All ... Full Story »

An attorney for the woman who says she was sexually harrassed by John Minnis plans to file a criminal complaint against Minnis in California. Dana Sullivan, the alleged victim’s attorney, told WW today it is unclear yet what specific crime her client will allege against Minnis, who resigned Nov. 24 as director of the Oregon Department [...] Related posts: Attorney For John Minnis Responds When ... Full Story »

I’ve long been an admirer of Oregon Ducks blog Addicted To Quack and its weekly pregame feature exchanging questions and answers with a fan blog for the opposing team. And since a WW staffer has a brother who’s a huge Ohio State fan, I’m going to take a run at doing something similar here in the [...] Related posts: Pryor Insanity Crazed Of Why Boise State Should Thank UO and OSU So while The ... Full Story »

Karin Hansen, who’s never been shy about weighing in on what’s roiling City Hall, is now upset with Commissioner Dan Saltzman in the wake of his reinstatement of Officer Christopher Humphreys to desk duty pending investigation into Humphreys’ use of a beanbag gun against a 12-year-old girl who was resisting arrest. Hansen, who’s married to former [...] Related posts: Police Union Plans No ... Full Story »

The Portland Police Bureau just put out a new video warning citizens about holiday-season car prowls. Trust the police on this one. Funny thing is, an unmarked cop car was stolen from an officer’s home in Damascus just last week. The car was left running in the driveway while the officer went inside for his child. The [...] Related posts: Portland Police Sending Honor Guard to Lakewood Officers ... Full Story »

On Dec. 2, Dr. Know answered this question from reader Alan M.: “Why is the fast-food restaurant at the corner of West Burnside and Broadway still empty? Shouldn’t the coming Burnside/Couch couplet make it a hot property? Turns out that as of yesterday, the spot is empty no more. Wanna try your luck at seeing such quick [...] Related posts: Merkley Catches Novick off Guard with Question on the ... Full Story »

“I really hope you prove us wrong,” Brian Wong of the Montavilla neighborhood told former Mayor Tom Potter in September 2008. Wong was referring to Potter’s then-controversial plan to curb prostitution along 82nd Avenue by steering sex workers toward treatment — instead of imposing a prostitution-free zone. “I know that Prostitution Free Zones (PFZs) are a popular [...] Related posts: Potter: No ... Full Story »

Although former Trail Blazer Chris Dudley has not yet formally announced he’ll seek Oregon’s GOP gubernatorial nomination, he is making campaign videos (his latest production is at the bottom of this post) and raising big money. And now Dudley has hired two experienced GOP campaign operatives. Dudley’s campaign manager is Chris Gulugian-Taylor, the former [...] Related posts: It’s Official: Ex ... Full Story »

Former Hillsboro Mayor Tom Hughes told WW today that he is entering the Metro Council President’s race. Hughes, a 66-year-old retired school teacher, served two terms as Hillsboro mayor. He finished his service in January 2009 and is currently employed as a lobbyist at the Tonkon Torp law firm. “I won’t do an official announcement until the [...] Related posts: Metro Council President Race: Bob ... Full Story »

When Attorney General John Kroger released the results yesterday of an investigation into former Department of Public Safety Standards and Training director John Minnis, Minnis attorney Michael Staropoli was unavailable for comment at press time. Staropoli has now provided the following statement on behalf of Minnis, who resigned his state post Nov. 24: Mr. Minnis cooperated fully with ... Full Story »

Ex-Trail Blazer/potential Oregon GOP gubernatorial candidate Chris Dudley is starting to put some of that campaign cash he’s raised to some use. Dudley has just released the first of what he promises will be three videos this week. This initial offering, titled “Change” (there’s a concept) takes us through what Dudley believes is Oregon’s threatened “quality of [...] Related posts: The Campaign ... Full Story »

Attorney General John Kroger today released the results of the investigation that led to the abrupt Nov. 24 resignation of John Minnis as director of the state Department of Public Safety Standards and Training. As first reported in last week’s WW, the issue that prompted Minnis to resign is the alleged sexual harassment and possible sexual [...] Related posts: Attorney For John Minnis Responds ... Full Story »

There will be a candlelight vigil this Friday, Dec. 11, from 6 – 7 pm at the Hawthorne Bridge for people to express their solidarity and concern about climate change. It’s part of a “Weekend of Action” worldwide that will feature numerous such vigils urging global leaders to reach a treaty during the United Nations climate talks now [...] Related posts: Portland One of 50 Cities Worldwide To ... Full Story »

In the wake of a uneven stretch of news for backers of marriage rights for same-sex couples, there’s one piece of favorable news out of New Jersey: a state Senate committee has narrowly approved a gay marriage bill that will now go to the full New Jersey Senate for consideration. Related posts:What Washington And Maine Election [...] Related posts: What Washington And Maine Election Results Mean ... Full Story »

DoveLewis, the animal hospital specializing in emergency and critical care, announced today it will close its Southeast Portland after-hours clinic Dec. 11. Hospital officials say the clinic, located at 10564 SW Washington Street, has experienced years of budget shortfalls – including a projected loss of $250,000 this fiscal year alone. Before the recession, the main DoveLewis [...] Related ... Full Story »

The Northwest scored well on lists released today by the Peace Corps that detail the top states and cities for volunteers in 2009. Corvallis was #2 per capita in top volunteer-producing metropolitan areas. Oregon was in the top 5 per capita. And Washington state was among the top five volunteer producing states overall. The Peace Corps notes that its overall number of [...] Related posts: Who in ... Full Story »

Oregonian Editor Sandy Rowe just told staff at the paper in an afternoon meeting that she is retiring. A staffer who attended the meeting says Executive Editor Peter Bhatia will become the paper’s editor and that Rowe characterized her move as one that would save money for the daily. “She looked at the numbers and said that [...] Related posts: Oregonian Editor Tells Staff It Appears Layoffs Are ... Full Story »

Ndamukong Suh, who was a standout at Portland’s Grant High School, has been selected as a finalist for the Heisman Trophy —awarded annually to the best player in college football. Suh is a senior defensive tackle at the University of Nebraska, where he anchored one of the top defenses in the nation. Suh is considered a long [...] Related posts: Alley-Oops: Man Arrested in Alleged Fund-raising ... Full Story »

Given all the issues swirling around Portland police, here’s a meeting worth noting. City Commissioner Dan Saltzman, who oversees the Portland Police Bureau, Commissioner Amanda Fritz, a former psychiatric nurse, and Police Chief Rosie Sizer are scheduled to meet this afternoon with Richard Harris, according to Fritz’s calendar. Harris is the Oregon Department of Human Services’ assistant ... Full Story »

Portland police officers were disappointed when Police Chief Rosie Sizer paid to send just two of them to a memorial service for four Oakland officers slain earlier this year. But tomorrow, Portland will be better represented in the memorial service for four Lakewood police gunned down in a Washington coffee shop Nov. 29. The Portland Police Bureau [...] Related posts: Police Union Prez: Adams ... Full Story »

As much of America knows, ex-Portland Wrestling star Jesse “The Body” Ventura went on to take a surprising turn into politics as governor a decade ago of Minnesota (this of course in the days before Sarah Palin and Arnold Schwarznegger set the bar at new levels for improbable stints in a governor’s office). Now, Ventura’s career [...] Related posts: Reports That Portland Pro Wrestling Legend ... Full Story »

As first reported by the (Albany) Democrat-Herald, an unlucky mallard was found before the Oregon State-Oregon game last week with its legs duct-taped and its feathers spray-painted orange. Even the kings of sports snark at Deadspin didn’t think this vandalism in the name of rivalry was funny, pointing out to Oregon State fans that the mallard [...] Related posts: Civil War: It’s A Wrap I was ... Full Story »

Downtown Portland was host to one of the many global protests over the weekend to protest against the World Trade Organization’s potential expansion. Saturday’s protest was timed to this week’s meeting of the WTO in Geneva to negotiate and discuss global trade regulations. The WTOis meeting fell on the ten-year anniversary of the so-called “Battle in Seattle,” a protest-turned-legend ... Full Story »