Where Silence Isn't Golden.

[January 11th, 2006] Add a pinch more family intrigue to the Jan. 4 Portland police shooting in which Lt. Jeffrey Kaer fatally shot a belligerent man in a car outside Kaer's sister Brenda Kotsovos' home in Northeast. The untold news: Brenda's son, Kent Kotsovos, also was shot and seriously injured near 82nd Avenue last November during a fight with another driver, 24-year-old Tiler Evan Pribbernow. Police say that in the machismo and puffery of the road-rage-fueled altercation, Kotsovos had suggested he was armed. It turned out he wasn't, but Pribbernow was. Police say they have yet to discover a connection between the two incidents. But neighbors and others who know the family say Kent's history of threatening violence may have something to do with his family's current predicament.

The weekly Kitz watch : While we still don't know whether the ex-governor (right) will run, he's certainly having an effect on the race. After a long silence on health care, Gov. Ted Kulongoski will make what's billed as a "health policy speech on access, affordability and children's health issues" at the Oregon Health Forum's leadership dinner Jan. 17 at the Multnomah Athletic Club. In other news, Kulongoski has hired Cameron Johnson as his campaign manager. Johnson ran Democratic congressman David Wu's re-election in 2004 and is now a student at Stanford Business School.

School tax update : Late last year, the Portland Business Alliance , which loves to lecture government on responsible budgeting, suggested a one-time fix to fill the upcoming schools shortfall. The PBA recommended the city and Multnomah County spend this year's anticipated surplus and reserves , which could total up to $40 million—instead of floating a new multiyear tax. Then, at last week's local hush-hush K-12 summit, incoming PBA chairwoman Judy Peppler said her members wouldn't back extending a surcharge on the city Business Income Tax. Azumano Travel Agency owner Sho Dozono , a longtime schools supporter, responded that anybody not ready to support schools should leave the table. PBA CEO Sandra McDonough says several options remain on the table and that PBA will be part of a constructive solution.

Former Portland Trail Blazers center Arvydas Sabonis (left) is crying "Foul!"—this time in court. The 7-foot-3 Lithuanian who whined plenty about referee calls on the court during his NBA career filed a lawsuit Dec. 27 in Multnomah County Circuit Court against Chicago-based Interperformances Inc. Sabonis says in his suit against the financial-advising corporation that company agent Bruce O'Neil recommended in 1999 that he buy $100,000 worth of stock in Elite Sports Promotions, which operates the U.S. Basketball Academy and was founded by O'Neil. The lawsuit claims Interperformances did not fully advise Sabonis of the relationship between the two corporations, that he suffered losses and should recover $100,000 in damages. Messages left with Interperformances were unreturned.

Try/On Life Community Farm residents slapped down $1.6 million on Tuesday to buy their 7-acre parcel on Southwest Boones Ferry Road ("Buying the Farm,'' WW, Dec. 28, 2005). Capital-campaign coordinator Jenny Leis says about $150,000 came in from private donors in the last 10 days. Local governments and Friends of Tryon Creek State Park kicked in another $400,000.

The Northwest Constitutional Rights Center has seen the last of ponytails and tie-dyes with the departure of "hippie lawyer" Alan Graf. The Portland center's new executive director, Alejandro Queral (right), doesn't exactly look like a cast member on Law and Order. Queral, 33, was born in Mexico and didn't become a U.S. citizen until 2000. He has lived for the past eight years in Washington, D.C., where he attended law school and worked in the public-interest legal community.

^WEB-ONLY MURMURS!

After a three-month search and 84 applicants, the Cascade AIDS Project board has chosen Jean Ann Van Krevelen as executive director. She replaces Thomas Bruner, who unexpectedly left in August after seven years and now works for Multnomah County Chairwoman Diane Linn. Van Krevelen, who will direct CAP's $4 million annual budget and 50 employees, was CEO of Regional AIDS Intercommunity Network in Oklahoma City. There, she helped save the HIV/AIDS nonprofit from closing in her first six months.