Heaven forbid what Imus would say about Virginia Tech.

[April 18th, 2007] Forget what you've heard about U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.). The 10-term congressman isn't going to enter a Democratic Senate primary, despite the pleadings of national party heavies and of local blogs like Loaded Orygun. DeFazio will announce that decision soon, leaving Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) as the next one up to decide on a run against Republican Sen. Gordon Smith. As for Ben Westlund , the newest Dem state senator who toyed with the governor's race last year? He has all but decided to run for state treasurer in 2008.

As for the one Dem who is getting in the race this week, activist Steve Novick ("If I Ran," WW, Jan. 31. 2007)—too bad he's not running for mayor of Portland. His supporters will include city Commissioners Randy Leonard and Erik Sten , as well as ex-Commish Gretchen Kafoury. BTW, here's one other scenario for Novick to get to Washington: If Blumenauer jumps in the Senate race, all of a sudden Novick's Senate campaign becomes one for Blumenauer's then-open House seat.

The wheels of justice may turn slowly, but turn they do. Rogue of the Week alum Merchant Processing Inc. of Beaverton (WW, Dec. 7, 2005) had its assets frozen last week by the U.S. District Court in Portland for allegedly ripping off businesses around the country. The Federal Trade Commission says MPI used deceptive tactics to sell its credit-card processing services. MPI allegedly promised customers hundreds of thousands of dollars in savings, but the fine print held hidden costs , which was what an Aloha chiropractor told the Rogue desk in 2005. MPI didn't return phone calls.

Jim Mast, the high-living con man who used his son's basketball skills to fleece investors of $4 million (see "Hoop Schemes," WW, Nov. 8, 2006), pleaded guilty last week to one count each of mail fraud and money laundering. Although Mast faces up to 30 years in prison, he's likely to get a small fraction of that under federal sentencing guidelines. But here's the most interesting part : Authorities sealed both the plea agreement and the transcript of the proceeding. A prosecutor declined to say why, but others involved in the case speculate that Mast may have agreed to cooperate in a federal drug prosecution in Idaho of his friend and investor, Kent Jones. Mast will be sentenced June 18.

Small beans and shallow pockets. That's Oregon to most presidential candidates. But not for Republican Mitt Romney, who vacuumed up $217,000 from Oregon in the 2008 race's first fundraising quarter, according to the Federal Election Commission. That's more than triple Democrat John Edwards' $60,000 from Oregon, and also dwarfs Barack Obama's $50,000 and Hillary Clinton's $30,000. Romney is Mormon, and Oregon has the fifth-largest Mormon population in the U.S., with about 4 percent of residents attaching themselves to that church. As for Romney's fellow Mormon, Sen. Gordon Smith (R-Ore.)? He's committed to fellow Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), who reported $45,000 from Oregon.

Longtime progressive activist Dave Mazza is moving on after seven years as editor of The Portland Alliance. Mazza, 54, suffered from cardiac edema last year and had surgery to remove a cancerous prostate in December. He says the battle has sapped his energy to the point that he must leave the monthly progressive nonprofit newspaper (which reports a circulation of about 8,000). "I just didn't think I'd be able to do right by the paper," he says. Mazza has already picked up freelance writing contracts from the Western States Center and Citizens for Accountable City Government, which opposes Mayor Tom Potter's proposed charter changes.

WEB-ONLY MURMUR:

An architecture firm will jump on Portland's Good Ship Sustainability by using recycled shipping containers to build two mixed-use buildings with terraced gardens on a 10,000-square-foot plot southeast of the St. Johns Bridge. Works Partnership Architecture Principal William Neburka says the four- and two-story buildings will use a total of 10 containers. "It's a real experiment," says Neburka. The project is currently in design review and should begin construction mid-summer.