Next: Oregon bans drinking in bars.

[June 20th, 2007]

WINNERS

Portland street people may be the new duct tape—or at least they could be at Rose Festival 2008. They can still loiter on downtown sidewalks since City Council last week delayed enforcement of Portland's "Sit-Lie" ordinance. Maybe if they're still sitting and lying on downtown sidewalks next year, they can be used to reserve space along parade routes—for a nominal fee, payable in cash, cans or malt beverage.

We're the least bad! Hooray? According to the latest Census Bureau data, Portland has more bike commuters than any other U.S. city—but that's still just 3.5 percent of Portland traffic. So the battle continues—uphill and against the wind.

As if hosting last week's boozy Association of Alternative Newsweeklies convention wasn't heady enough, WW also toasted ex-staffer Angela Valdez 's first-place for media reporting/criticism in 2006. Valdez—now at D.C.'s Washington City Paper—beat the nation's largest alt-weeklies with "Meth Madness" (March 22, 2006), a critical look at The Oregonian's meth coverage. Also, WW freelancer Zach Dundas took second for food writing/criticism, and Special Sections Editor Byron Beck took third for Restaurant Guide (Oct. 18, 2006.)

LOSERS

Nicotine-stained barflies have till Dec. 31, 2008, to light their last cig, after the Oregon Legislature passed a statewide public-smoking ban. Pols just don't understand: Lungs are a small price to pay for that sublime combo of Parlie Lights and well whiskey.

After spending at least $174,000 on Jefferson High School principal Leon Dudley, Portland Public Schools cut its losses when Dudley resigned on Friday. The search to land the failed principal cost PPS $33,000; his workers' comp claim added $21,000; and he was PPS' highest-paid principal at $120,000 a year. But Dudley will pay the highest price of all: moving back to Texas.

Another blow for Corvallis animals with traditional values. Two years after an OSU football player kidnapped a 200-pound ram who was part of a study on gay sheep, a 17-year-old Corvallis boy mounted his favorite horse last week. And we're not talking taxidermy.