Situation normal, all Hucked up.

[January 16th, 2008]

Winners

1 In a departure from standard tornado practice, last week’s unusual Northwest twister spared Vancouver’s trailer parks and tore instead through the city’s rowing club. No injuries, though. All praise to the weather gods.

2 Thanks to two devout young Portlanders, Republican presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee’s campaign now resembles a cross between a grassroots movement and a medieval crusade. A profile in Sunday’s New York Times of Huckabee supporters led with Alex and Brett Harris ’ unsolicited actions for Huckabee, particularly their creation of HucksArmy.com. The brothers encourage people to wave Huckabee signs during the morning commute. Who could resist an 8-year-old with a Huckabee sign?

3 Famous local dwarf Matt Roloff won acquittal of a DUII charge from a Washington County judge after jurors disobeyed orders not to read about the case online. The judge did find the Helvetia pumpkin farmer and star of reality TV’s Little People, Big World guilty of refusing a breath test and driving outside his lane. The fine: $742—small change for a big star.

Losers

1 While college-football obsessives while away their off-season Internet hours on rumor-filled recruiting websites, Oregon Ducks fans got an actual piece of bad news last week. Junior running back Jonathan Stewart will pass up a potential Heisman year next season for the real big bucks of the NFL. Who says players don’t learn anything in school?

2 The Portland Art Center must feel like a blank canvas after losing the entire right-brained part of its thinking last week. If only donations came in as heavily as board members’ resignation letters did. (For more details, go to WWire at wweek.com or page 14 LINK.)

CORRECTION: The Score last week incorrectly reported auto-theft numbers for Portland. The figures covered only the first half of 2007. WW regrets the error.