Calling them as we see them.

[May 1st, 2002] WINNERS
1. The West's second-most polluted waterway may be on the rebound. Bacteria levels in the Willamette River have been cut in half in the past decade, according to a new report from the Portland Bureau of Environmental Services. Officials say a $1 billion wastewater project has reduced sewage overflow into the river.

2. Portland-area straphangers didn't exactly dance in the bus aisles, but they were counting their blessings--or at least their nickels--when Tri-Met announced it wouldn't implement this year what has become an annual 5-cent fare hike.

LOSERS
1. Long-suffering Blazers fans swallowed their pride for the second year in a row after Portland bungled Game 3 on Sunday. Reeling from what should have been a Portland win, the shattered Rose Garden crowd packed up their Pippen posters, shook their fists at 'Sheed and went home eager for football season.

2. Portland's sizzling live sex shows took a bucketful of cold water following a ruling by the Oregon Court of Appeals. The court ruled that shows involving masturbation, oral sex and other esoterotica were not protected by the Oregon Constitution as a form of--ahem!--free speech.

3. Property-rights groups including Oregonians In Action suffered a setback when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against Lake Tahoe landowners, saying a temporary building moratorium is not a "taking." The decision could end the honeymoon the "this land is my land" crowd has enjoyed since the 1994 victory of a Tigard man over City Hall.