December 1998 December 29 December 22 December 16 December 9 December 2 back to Archives home Volume 25, issue 9 December 29,1998 NEWS LEAD STORY Voices: A few interesting Portlanders speak for themselves. 500 Words The Session Ahead: Will reason and the common good have a chance when our elected representatives gather in Salem next month? Letters "Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr., Jesse Jackson and even Tony Blair were all driven to public service by their religious convictions." NewsBuzz Target Practice | Future Cops | Danger Signs | Cheers! | Here Come the Feds | Zoning In | Correction Scoreboard This week's winner and losers: Gretchen Kafoury wins; Portland Power loses Rogue of the Week Maybe it's because we're in the proverbial "season of good cheer." Maybe it's due to guilt. Or it could be because half the newsroom has the flu. For whatever reason, we just couldn't bring ourselves to publicly humiliate someone this week. But don't get complacent; Rogue of the Week will be back next week. CULTURE FEATURE Stand and Deliver: Food critic Roger J. Porter gets to the heart of what makes a good waiter. Shine-Ola Consumer culture Music Recorded Music Reviews of new releases from Fuckpriest Fantastic, Hefner, and Heltah Skeltah . 1998 Music RoundUp I Was Dreaming When I Wrote This: Our music writers resurrect 1998 in a collage of watercolored memories. Screen Screen The Good, the OK and the Godawful: We take a look at the highlights, dimlights and downright lowlights of 1998's films. Dish Mash Look Into My Crystal Ball: Reflections on the past, present and future of microbrews. Words Words Words Wrapped Up: It's been a year of strong fiction about strong women--and 1998 boasted other strengths as well. Visual Art Visual Art Artists Archive Experience: Some of the best exhibitions of 1998 addressed the preservation and categorization of memory, as artists retooled found objects into works of art. Volume 25, issue 8 December 22,1998 NEWS LEAD STORY Waiting For Ho Ho: Images of a time-honored Christmas tradition. 500 Words Native Son: Teacher, activist, author--Denzel Ferguson was one of Oregon's most precious commodities. Politics ---Wyden's Noble Stand: Oregon's Democratic Senator, whose dad ran a small publishing house, wants the feds to slow down Barnes & Noble's proposed acquisition. ---Planned Obsolescence? Critics of a proposed bureaucratic merger warn that Portland, the "City That Plans," may become the "City That Pushes Papers." Education Where's Canada? The new PR-savvy school chief has been noticeably absent from the negotiations between teachers and the school board. Letters "The City of Roses needs a governance structure which reflects the size, population, diversity and changing role of the city." NewsBuzz While You're Shopping, Bombs Are Dropping | Fire Fight | Chateau Walsh | Ways of Giving | Free Ride Scoreboard This week's winner and losers: Opponents of Measure 58 gather steam; Paul Allen's ampitheater plans defeated Rogue of the Week Kevin Mannix opposes same-sex partner benefits and marriage. CULTURE FEATURE Have a Santa and a Smile: The image of the red-suited Santa that saturates our culture every December comes from none other than Coca-Cola. Shine-Ola Consumer culture Nightlife Be a Model, or Just Look Like One: Make-up artist and fashion guru Jeffrey Kyle wants you to be too sexy for your shirt at his Show Off party. Music Recorded Music Here to Stay is the New Bird: Our crack team of musicologists deciphers the meaning of Christmas as dropped down the chimney on CD. Screen Screen Reviews ---Kick Off Your Sunday Shoes: Pat O'Connor's Dancing at Lughnasa feels more like a weak adaptation of footloose than a Tony-winning play. ---Merely Players : Though too cutesy at times, John Maden's Shakespeare in Love is wonderfully written, tightly directed and well-acted. Dish Dish Chic Eats: Southeast Portland's funk factor increases with fusion, a combination restaurant and vintage furniture store. Words Bibliofile Book Reviews Volume 25, Issue 7, December 16,1998 NEWS LEAD STORY: STILL GOING...BUT WHERE? A look at Mayor Vera Katz's two terms in office, and her plans for the future. 500 Words Follow the Money: How The Oregonian's millions help subsidize a cash-starved magazine empire. Politics ---Port in a Storm: The Port of Portland steams ahead with its shipyard sale, despite new criticism. ---The Power of Secrets: A bastard's legal sleuthing reveals that Oregon birth mothers never had the power to seal the original birth certificates of adoptees. Urban Pulse Flesh and Blood: Local health officials are investigating an unusual outbreak of a nasty bug hitting Portland heroin users. Letters "Most american bread eaters are utterly unable to distinguish between significant scientific fact and meaningless statistical babbling." NewsBuzz Bright Lights, Big City | No Home For the Holidays | Full Sale? | Net Scrape| Ways of Giving | Ask, But Don't Tell | Corrections Scoreboard This week's winner and losers: The King-56 Widows are vindicated; fans of major league baseball lose Rogue of the Week Gainer's Towing entangled in a dispute over a sold car. CULTURE FEATURE You Talkin' To Me? James West paints by day, drives a taxi by night and soaks up stories around the clock. Shine-Ola Consumer culture Music Recorded Music Reviews of new releases from 16 Volt, Ice Cube, and Jewel Rock Preview From Genesis to Revelation: Legendary eccentric Genesis P-Orridge discovers the Word with Thee Majesty. Profile Body and Soul: Portland's Creative Music Guild built an avant jazz series out of nothing. Musicians and audiences followed. Screen Screen Reviews ---Dad of FrAnkEnSTein: Gods and Monsters, Bill Condon's intoxicating take on horror film director James Whale, is an elegiac vision of a tortured existence. ---You've Got Treacle!: Adorable moppets Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan team up in a film about love against the odds. Sound familiar? Dish Dish Ride the Gold Pony: A new restaurant in Chinatown goes a long way toward filling Portland's Chinese food gap. Words Interview Talk of the Town: David Remnick, The New Yorker's new editor, comes to Portland to discuss the magazine's past and present. Visual Art Art Reviews Away in a Gallery: Tidbit celebrates Christmas with a cohesive assemblage of high-caliber art. Comics and Characters : Bwana Spoons and Martin Ontiveros findinspiration for their art in toys,comics and childhood memories. Play Play Nuts About Nordic: As feisty La Niña brings more snow to the mountains than we've seen in years, cross-country skiing is becoming the latest retro craze. Volume 25, Issue 6, December 9, 1998 NEWS LEAD STORY: A PLAGUE OUT OF VOGUE Three years ago AIDS was a cause célèbre. Now it's just another disease. Lead Story Sidebar IN XES: A Look Inside Portland's Newest Sex Club 500 Words An Incomplete: Despite campaign pledges, K-12 education funding is coming up short. Politics Their Ship Came In: The Port of Portland says it's selling its massive shipyard to protect jobs and taxpayers' money. Critics say the sale does neither. Healthcare To Your Corners: Doctors get set to throw the first punch at hospital administrators in the fight for Oregon Health Plan funds. Urban Pulse Yanking Their Chains: Who's the real turkey in the post-Thanksgiving showdown between police and bike activists? Letters "The mainstream media has made a regular practice of reporting innuendo, hearsay, hype, commentary and speculation..." NewsBuzz Feds Steal $$$ From Aliens! | Call Waiting | Ways of Giving | Welcome to the Fishbowl Scoreboard This week's winner and losers: Columbia Gorge wins; The Oregon Department of Corrections loses. Rogue of the Week Select Leasing rips off another debtor, under Oregon's toothless consumer laws. CULTURE Music Timbre Richard Martin says goodbye to the Portland music scene. Recorded Music Reviews of new releases from Beck, Total, and Rare on Air. Preview Aural Tradition: Portland's experimental music series celebrates two years of freaking your mind. Record Review/ Interview D.C. Berman has spent too much of his life in the shadows of friends. With American Water, he finally makes a name for himself. Hip-Hop Reviews Method Man storms the charts with his new album while the RZA introduces his alter ego, Bobby Digital. Rock Preview Crumb weathers career turbulence to maintain its power-pop vision. Screen Screen Reviews ---Psycho Killer, Qu'est-ce que c'est? Though not as brilliant as the original,Gus Van Sant's Psycho is an ode to Alfred Hitchcock and the art of experimentalfilmmaking. ---Finders Keepers, Losers Weepers: Sam Raimi's A Simple Plan attempts to massage your morals. Dish Dish A pad Thai addict searches in vain for a fix. Performance Dance Review Conduit's Teresa Mathern transforms a small space into an open range with her two latest dance pieces. Stage Review Black marks for a play on blacklists and blackouts. Culture Buzz: Shine-Ola Consumer culture Special Section Gift Guide #2 The second section of our two-part holiday gift guide, listing unique gifts for under $35. Volume 25, Issue 5, December 2, 1998 NEWS LEAD STORY: Y2K HIPPIES Just because they're paranoid doesn't mean they're wrong. 500 Words Tax Torpor in Salem: Reform is not where it should be on Oregon's Agenda. Politics Where There's Smoke, There's Firearms: Will Portland follow other U.S. cities in hitting gunmakers with lawsuits modelled after anti-tobacco litigation? Business Good Pay Toward Men: As charitable organizations become more competitive, so do their CEOs' salaries, raising questions about the financial nature of not-for-profit work. Crime & Justice Blind Injustice: The county jails have become holding pens for the mentally ill - with dire consequences. Letters "Porn is art. Rape is violence against women. Porn loses the right to be art when it begins hurting people." NewsBuzz Ma Bell | No Stomach for Obesity | Ways of Giving | Caution: Discovery Zone | Correction | He's Back Already Scoreboard This week's winner and losers: Wind Power wins; The Wall Street Journal loses. Rogue of the Week Late last summer Latoya Hopkins, 10, was diagnosed with lead poisoning severe enough to be considered a medical emergency. The Housing Authority of Portland had inspected her home two months earlier, and given the house a clean bill of health. CULTURE Music Timbre music column by Richard Martin Electronic Evolution: A new film by Iara Lee traces the history of electronica. Recorded Music Reviews of new releases from Depeche Mode, Flipmode Squad, and Marvin Gaye. Rock Preview Woody's Work: Billy Bragg's unusual project not only alters the Guthrie legacy; it's this year's sleeper hit. Rock Preview Doin' His Own Twang: Ex-Nashville hack Robbie Fulks brings rock to the honky-tonks with Let's Kill Saturday Night. Screen Reviews Green Eggs and SLAM - Sure, the great Poetry Slam of 1996 may look like fun on film, but you don't want to be the guy who had to run the damn thing. Jerry's Kids - Rather than an intriguing explication of trash culture, Jerry Springer's film debut is a flaccid attempt to flesh out the freaks who frequent his show.. Dish Mash The Benefits of Age: The beers of Alaskan Brewing company will make you revel in the passage of time. Performance Multimedia Review Eye Witness: Portland performance artist Miranda July masters the art of surveillance. Visual Art Visual Arts Review SILK scene: Brian Shannon imprints massive sheets of silk with found objects for his latest installation. Special Section Gift Guide #1 The first section of our two-part holiday gift guide, listing inspired gifts for $35 and up.