The signature summary of scuttlebutt.

[August 10th, 2005] Remember the mystery-shrouded petition campaign by the Multnomah County Libertarian Party to derail Portland's efforts to buy Portland General Electric? Well, organizers officially halted signature-gathering last week and declined to file any signatures with the city (which means they don't have to file any campaign-finance disclosures, either). When the campaign began last month, no one could quite figure out where the estimated $100,000 would come from to put the proposed purchase on the ballot. There was even speculation-who are these cynics?-that the petitions were designed only to create the appearance of gathering grass-roots opposition to public power. The petitioners now note that "the petition's growing momentum was repeatedly cited by company officials as playing a role'' in Enron's decision to kill PGE negotiations with the city. Mission accomplished!

Putting the "will-he-or-won't he" speculation more or less to rest, Gov. Ted Kulongoski over the weekend essentially told the Salem Statesman Journal that he plans to run for re-election next year. On schools: "I intend to build the next budget.... I've been out there the past six weeks pushing very, very hard...and I intend to continue to do that." On civil unions: "I have always known that we had to stay in this for the full duration ... I will be back ."

Last November, the state Department of Environmental Quality went after Smurfit-Stone , the paper recycling giant with a plant on Southeast Foster Road, for allegedly sending an estimated 855 tons of recyclables to the dump-rather than recycling the plastic and metal containers as seemingly required by state law (see Rogue of the Week, WW, Nov. 17, 2004). On Monday, DEQ announced a settlement in which Smurfit agreed to clean up its practices and pay $24,000. For all you math geeks, that's $28 per alleged ton -hardly enough to discourage illegal behavior by other recyclers. DEQ's Les Carlough defended the deal, saying legal complexities would have made this case a tough one to win in court. In other words, state recycling law has a loophole big enough to drive 855 tons through ; we'll see if lawmakers act to fix it next time around.

After a man was killed making the "beast with two backs" with a horse on a Washington farm (check out the Seattle Times account at http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2002382718_horse15m.html?syndication=rss), WW wondered about Oregon bestiality laws governing this most intimate form of animal "husbandry." Turns out that Oregon, unlike Washington, has laws against zoophiles touching "the mouth, anus or sex organs of an animal or animal carcass" in a more-than-platonic manner. The 2001 law excludes commercially grown poultry, rodeo animals and cattle transported by truck. But Oregon Humane Society special agent Lt. Randy Covey says this isn't the loophole it seems-the exceptions are part of broader exemptions meant to protect farmers and businesses from animal-abuse charges in their normal commerce. "If you think you can load your cow in a truck and have sex with it, you can't ," Covey says. Moo.

Newbies to the Beaver State rubbed shoulders with fourth-generation Oregonians at the third annual "How Oregon Are You?" party last Saturday night in North Portland. While raising money for the "tool library'' in the Kenton Firehouse basement (where people can borrow tools for free), the 200 or so partygoers took a quiz to gauge their Oregon bona fides. Among the questions: Can you name the state mushroom? (Pacific golden chanterelle); oldest Oregon craft brewery? (BridgePort); and the 2005 Pulitzer Prize winner for investigative reporting? (WW's own Nigel Jaquiss).

CORRECTION: Ooops! The art for last week's Rogue of the Week is the official logo for Microcosm Publishing, a cool local purveyor of books, zines, stickers and videos (see Best of Portland, page 40). WW apologizes for not giving credit where credit is due.

Congress may be in its annual August recess, but Oregon progressives are making the rounds to press Sens. Ron Wyden and Gordon Smith to vote against a bill establishing an asbestos trust fund when they return to DC. Community organizers, trial lawyers and environmentalists opposing the bill to set up a $140 billion trust fund for asbestos claims nationwide say it's nowhere near enough money for past, present and future victims of a fiber found in construction and common household items. Wyden and Smith have not yet said how they will vote on Senate Bill 852, which Senate leaders promise will come to a vote this fall.

Perhaps the most interesting story of the 2005 Legislature's horse-trading is Senate Bill 31, a Christmas Tree bill adorned with tax breaks. Negotiated by Sen. Ryan Deckert (D-Beaverton) and Rep. Tom Butler (R-Ontario), the measure gave an earned-income tax credit to low-income Oregonians but also huge tax breaks to large, profitable corporations. Chuck Sheketoff of the Oregon Center for Public Policy, a liberal group, says the bill makes Intel a $10-a-year taxpayer-and that does not include the effect of the Legislature's failure to block a corporate kicker tax cut worth $62.6 million a year. Who needs New Jersey? Park your megacorporation here!