Of reptiles and Philip Morris

[December 31st, 2002] WINNERS

1) Al the Alligator and Beaverton resident Dee Anne Gorman will have their day in court Jan. 22, when Gorman challenges the city's code prohibiting "dangerous animals." Al will be offered as--what else?--Exhibit A.

2) As if billboards warning of impotence weren't damning enough, anti-smoking advocates scored again when the Oregon Supreme Court upheld the $80 million verdict awarded to a deceased smoker's family in 1999. Philip Morris attorneys promise an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.

3) Pioneer Courthouse Square's gutter punks, chess hustlers, and hacky-sack wizards can breathe easy, as the plans to invade their domain with a seasonal ice-skating rink have been shelved for at least a year. City Commissioner Jim Francesconi put a freeze on the project to give citizens a shot at expressing their opinions.

LOSERS

1) Drawing the short straw yet again are Oregon's neediest college students . Thanks to $52 million in cuts and an 8.2 percent tuition hike, state officials estimate that 3,000 cash-strapped students weren't able to enroll in or continue attending Oregon public universities this fall.

2) Lovers of cash and convenience may want to suit up in Kevlar next time they go to Cash Connection, the Southeast Portland check-cashing business where two Portland police officers have been threatened with handguns (one was shot) in recent months. Officer Melissa Gray averted catastrophe Thursday with a stroke of the baton, but quick cash will never be the same.

3) Failing a Jan. 28 tax increase, Oregon's ethics commission faces a coup de grâce. Last month, the agency's staff hours were cut in half, and it could lose its investigators. Without gumshoes, the commission will have no one to look into complaints of wrongdoing by public officials.