Real World, political world and all the sweet stuff in between.

[April 13th, 2005] * Gov. Ted Kulongoski , at just 58 percent approval in a recent poll among fellow Democrats, may face a 2006 primary challenge from Democratic activist Jefferson Smith . Founder of the Oregon Bus Project, Smith has been meeting with business and labor leaders in a stealth exploratory campaign. In Smith's favor: the guv's flaccid enviro record, frosty relations with unions and what threatens to be a major budget imbroglio with school supporters. The reality check: Smith has no record of holding office-but plenty of critics who view him as a self-important glad-hander. Hey, in politics, isn't that a bonus?

* MTV representatives are mum whether its hit show The Real World might plant its 17th season in Portland. But casting directors for the program are scouting the local gene pool of 18- to 24-year-olds for "the true story of seven strangers, picked to live in a house and have their lives taped." An open casting call takes place at City Sports Bar and Restaurant (424 SW 4th Ave.) from 10 am to 5 pm Tuesday, April 19. Applicants are asked to bring a recent photo and photo ID.

* As her successor marks his first hundred days in City Hall (see Q&A, page 13), ex-mayor Vera Katz intends to tsk tsk city, county and school officials today as she picks up an "urban pioneer'' award from Portland State University. Her beef: If leaders aren't going to push for extending the Multnomah County income tax, they better come up with something else to replace all that cash going to city schools.

* Note to self: Skip the crème brûlée. Local media accounts left out the sweetest part in reporting the resignation of Portland product Drew Kirkland as chief of police in Glendale, Ariz. The former PDX assistant chief's Waterloo? Unexplained hotel expense receipts from six city-funded trips out of town with a curvy blonde subordinate . In one trip, according to the Arizona Republic, receipts showed "early-morning and late-night room-service charges for two people, including $47.69 for a 6:47 am breakfast and $27.72 for crème brûlée and strawberry ice cream at 11:11 pm. The female officer's name is on the receipts, but they bear Kirkland's signature."

* Two strong wills clashed recently over the Joint Terrorism Task Force. Commissioner Randy Leonard warned The Oregonian's editorial board about previous mistaken national-security sweeps, citing the internship of Japanese-Americans during World War II. Oregonian Publisher Fred Stickel, who fought the Japanese as a young Marine, disagreed. "He turned red and leaned over the table," says Leonard. "He said that was the right thing to do." Stickel remembers the exchange differently. "What I was saying to him is that to make a judgment 60 years later not knowing the circumstance would be unfair,'' Stickel says. "I don't think you can make a judgment today about whether [internment] was right or wrong." June Schumann, director of Oregon Nikkei Legacy Center, says history shows that fear and hysteria drove internment. "If you look at historical facts, Mr. Stickel's position isn't supported," Schumann says.

* Read all about it: The Portland Mercury gets blasted by the Portland Independent Media Center (portland.indymedia.org) for including America Online compact discs inside a recent issue of the Chicago- and Seattle-owned alt-weekly. The discs' environmental impact and connection to the Time-Warner media behemoth prompted the so-called "Angry Octopus Collective" to return several hundred discs to the Mercury along with a "WHORES!" sign.