The News: Pulverized!

[March 2nd, 2005] WINNERS

Win some, lose some. Local cartoon lovers raised their Elastigirl action figures in jubiliation after watching Corvallis native Brad Bird snag an Oscar for The Incredibles, which he wrote and directed. Later in the evening, however, two-time nominee and PSU grad Bill Plympton missed out on the animated-short award, while former Stumptown resident and Hotel Rwanda scribe Keir Pearson watched the honors for Best Original Screenplay go home with the Eternal Sunshine crew.

Cash-starved legislators reveled in good news Friday. First, the Oregon Supreme Court ruled that the 2001 Legislature's decision to reduce "kicker" refunds by $113 million was legal. Later, word came that the projected revenues for the next state budget had jumped by more than $200 million. The combined effect should help offset cuts and provide breathing room in a tight budget year.

Oregon's largest private employer, Intel, is preparing to bank some more tax breaks. The chip giant asked Washington County officials to extend its get-out-of-property-tax-free card until 2025, a request likely to sail through, savinf Intel hundreds of millions of dollars.

LOSERS

Meier & Frank diehards, look to the future! Maybe you enjoy hunting down a shoe's mate in a protracted game of retail hide 'n' seek. But Federated Department Stores' buyout of the downtown May Co. landmark just may turn it into a classy joint. Historic loyalty aside, wouldn't it be nice if the clothes were folded?

Rough week for the Portland School Board. Julia Brim-Edwards, one of the board's smartest members, decided not to seek another term. Meanwhile, its biggest dud, Derry Jackson modeled handcuffs for the second time in a month for allegedly violating a restraining order.

Gov. Ted Kulongoski is still in search of a crowd-pleasing solution for funding the Oregon State Police. Last week, he suggested replacing his politically wounded "slots for cops" plan with a fee tacked onto drivers' auto-insurance bills—and got walloped by the Republican-controlled House. Kulongoski maintains his plan is "a perfect fit."

Jeremiah Adler, a recent Portland high-school grad, made the news for learning an important lesson: Don't join the military if you don't want to learn to kill! The former anti-war protester joined the Army with the idealistic goal of reforming it from the inside out. He deserted nine days into basic training and currently awaits his less-than-honorable discharge.