Prison is for lovers...

[December 13th, 2006] A Multnomah County corrections deputy working at the Inverness jail resigned late last month, telling a supervisor he'd developed feelings for a female inmate . The deputy's resignation (first reported on WWire at wweek.com) comes on the heels of two other well-publicized sex-related departures at the sheriff's office. Sheriff's spokesman Lt. Jason Gates says the deputy's name hasn't been released because of an ongoing investigation, and that it's unclear whether the short-time employee's feelings ever translated into actions with the inmate.

Parents at Metropolitan Learning Center , a public K-12 alternative school in Northwest Portland, were alarmed Monday morning to see a female student wearing a sign that read, "I abused my 4-month-old sister." Apparently as a punishment for shaking her little sister, the student (who appeared to be middle-school age, according to the parents) was asked by her parents to wear the sign to school. Principal Frank Scotto tells Murmurs he has "nothing to share about that one way or the other."

The number of former Oregonian correspondents pursuing claims against the daily for back benefits has risen to nine from the original two who filed suit in federal court in October (see "Correspondents Course," WW, Oct. 25, 2006), and an additional 10 are comtemplating claims. The new claimants make the same allegations as the initial pair, claiming that they performed all the duties of staff reporters but were treated as independent contractors with significantly fewer benefits .

In the speculative world of buying and selling Oregon timber land, Tim Blixseth made himself a name and a fortune by co-founding Portland's once-high-flying Crown Pacific Partners before moving on to bigger pursuits. Now the owner of Montana's Yellowstone Club (a private ski resort which costs $3 million to join), Blixseth is currently embroiled in a lawsuit with bike-racing legend Greg Lemond , the first American to win the Tour de France. For a whole lot more on the suit and Blixseth's headaches, go to Bloomberg.com.

A nonreligious, secularly festooned, fun-tastic holiday tree—selected and decorated by kids on probation in Multnomah County—was resurrected last week at the Donald E. Long juvenile justice center. The tree had been moved from the lobby of the Northeast Portland center after visitors complained. But the tree returned to public view two days later once county officials ruled it kosher. The tree began as a "teaching tool" for the youth, eliciting discussions about Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and other seasonal traditions of giving.

Make your voice heard. Last week, WW broke the news that Multnomah County Commissioner Lisa Naito has been living outside her Southeast Portland district for nearly a year and a half. It's not against the county charter, but it seems to fly in the face of Civics 101 that reps actually live among the people they represent. So, dear readers, do you care that Naito no longer lives in the district she was elected to represent? If so, should she resign? Surf over to wweek.com/wwire, click on our Reader Poll and leave a comment.

Nice going, readers. The tote board for Give!Guide donations this holiday season has climbed to more than $76,000 as of Tuesday. But as careful readers of this space know, we're gunning to collect at least $100,000 for the 37 worthy nonprofits in WW's annual holiday give fest. So please go to giveguide.wweek.com and help us get there.