March 1999 March 31 March24 March 17 March 10 March 3 back to Archives home Volume 25, issue 22, March 31, 1999 NEWS LEAD STORY Royal Flush: 4,000 bills are making their way through the bowels of Salem. Here are five that should be canned. Business Family Grief: Oregon's Family Leave Act didn't protect a Portland woman whose boss said she spent too much time at her daughter's hospital bedside. Now legislators want to weaken the law even further. Urban Pulse Hands Across the Interstate: Bridges are supposed to bring people together, but a North Portland freeway overpass is rekindling a neighborhood feud. 500 Words Media Crit: Dial "O" for out to lunch Letters "... health-care analysts are predicting an upward spiral in the cost of health care and a serious shortage of registered nurses with specialized training and experience. Not surprisingly, the basis for such predictions is the profit- and revenue-driven operating philosophy of the entities that have come to manage our health-care systems.. " NewsBuzz Radio Active | Pedal Pusher | Car 262, Where Are You? | The Y95 Bug NewsFuzz/Scareboard A Special April 1st Edition Scoreboard This week's winner and losers: Defense lawyers for pot growers score; Phillip Morris loses big. Rogue of the Week With "friends" like these, who needs enemies? That's what longstanding members of Friends of Smith and Bybee Lakes are asking since newcomers to the group recently staged a one-night hostile takeover. CULTURE FEATURE Three Dimensions of Opera: Despite persistent concern over its relevance, the all-inclusive art form continues to evolve. Monsters of Grace composer Philip Glass talks about opera's place in his work and his place in opera. Shine-Ola Consumer Culture Music Interview For Those About to Rock: We salute the Chicken Hawks and Electric Frankenstein, two bands out to rescue the planet from lame-ass rock 'n' roll. Preview The Son Also Rises: If you're looking for big-band dance music, ditch those swing duds--Jesús Alemañy's ¡Cubanismo! is re-energizing Latin dance with the classic sounds of son. Recorded Music Reviews of new releases from Godspeed You Black Emperor!, Curtis Salgado, and Blur. Screen Review The Model Squad: The film version of The Mod Squad attempts to recapture the cool of the TV series but ends up a boring Levi's commercial. Dish Dish Tara Thai Northwest crosses the Laotian border. Performance Classical Music Preview Four Times 35: The Guarneri String Quartet, classical music's longest-lived collaboration, turns hard work and openness into brilliance. Words BiblioFile Reviews of three new books about erotica, an Irish childhood, and a local musicologist. Volume 25, issue 21, March 24, 1999 NEWS LEAD STORY Whistle-blower: For 22 years, Arlene Mullin was a medical technician. Today she's blowing the whistle onPortland's biggest healthcare companies. Healthcare Unlocking Doors: Trying to figure out how to help severely mentally ill people who don't want treatment is enough to drive you crazy. Just ask the Oregon attorney general. Urban Pulse The Lost Tribe: A unique pilot project shows that counting Portland's homeless population is no easy task. Politics The Family Budget: Hey kids! Worried that the state and county will cut back on funding for schools and social services? Never fear, Aunt Vera is here. 500 Words Jogging the Jog: Quietly, Nike has been cleaning up its act. Letters "When Indianapolis contracted out its water operations, the costs of sewer service were reduced by 20 percent ($23 million in the first two years) and effluent violations fell by 50 percent. " NewsBuzz Cease-Fire in Boise | He Got Screen | Banking on Sympathy | Why, There Oughta Be A Law | Corrections Scoreboard This week's winner and losers: Major league baseball fans win; opponents of medical marijauna lose. Rogue of the Week The Oregon Department of Corrections may be keeping a close watch on its prisoners, but not on taxpayers' money. CULTURE FEATURE It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad March: In 1983 the author came down with a serious case of March Madness. Sixteen years and six cities later, he looks NCAA tournament insanity in the eyes--and likes what he sees. Shine-Ola Consumer Culture Music Rock Preview Gee, Your Hair Smells Terrific: It's 10 o'clock on a Friday night. Do you know where your daughter is? Chances are she took the MAX into the city to see Camaro Hair, the hardest-working pop band in town. Preview Piano Men: One travels the world and plays colossal arenas; the other is keeping it real in Portland. We asked the latter if it's all about the songs or the bread in the jar. Recorded Music Reviews of new releases from Prince Paul, Patrick Street, and Abbey Lincoln. Screen Review True Player: In his latest flick Clint Eastwood looks to the Dirty Harry era for inspiration, but True Crime doesn't make anyone's day. Review Lust for Life: In Ravenous, Antonia Bird blends historical drama, monster movie and black comedy to create a unique vision of outlaw homosexuality. Dish Mash Beer Column: Prohibition Sneaks Back? Performance Review A Common Ground: Two of Portland's best fringe companies share the stage with back-to-back performances. Play Play Point Guards: Oregon's surfers are a dedicated bunch, battling sharks, storms, icy waters and, now, outsiders. Volume 25, issue 20, March 17, 1999 NEWS LEAD STORY The Battle of Boise: Poverty and gentrification collide in North Portland Business Pulling the Plug on Blazervision: Pay-per-view broadcasts of Rose Garden games may soon be obsolete as Paul Allen tries to win back fans. Politics Dope Meddlers: After Oregon's medical-marijuana law passed, even proponents conceded that it needed some fine-tuning. But now they're worried that the Legislature's proposed overhaul goes too far. Politics The Ted Offensive: The North Portland activist who put the brakes on Tri-Met's expansion plan is hoping to derail some City Hall careers. 500 Words Operator, Please! This is an emergency. Won't someone--anyone--take US West off our hands? Letters "Given the enormous spotlight that has been placed upon him, largely as a result of Jaquiss' earlier article, Brandon should be given credit for his academic accomplishments. " NewsBuzz Passing the Sniff Test | A Note of Solidarity | Mastering Ticket Fees | Why, There Oughta Be A Law | Operation "Asian Screw"? | Video Riot Scoreboard This week's winner and losers Rogue of the Week Oregon Republicans prove that their support of family values is restricted to families created in their own image. CULTURE Shine-Ola Consumer Culture Music Rock Preview Is Bobby Conn: a) an instinctive pop genius, b) a debauched devotee of '70s culture, c) a threat to conservative religiousvalues, or d) the Antichrist? The answer may be all of the above. Interview Not the Same Old, Same Old: Joshua Redman reinvigorated jazz with original songs that put traditional sounds first. Ironically, it took an album of cover tunes to break the sax Wunderkind out of a musical rut. Recorded Music Reviews of new releases from Rushmore, Mocean Worker, and Foxy Brown Screen Review Blood Sisters: It's hard to beat Carrie. The original symbol of grrl power led many oppressed outcasts to fantasize about payback. Now the horror heroine lends her anger to a sequel, but the results are hardly terrifying. Dish Blue Plate Willamette Week's guide to great cheap eats. Performance Dance Preview Polar Explorations: PPS Danse/Montreal uses technology to find the interface between dance and dreamscapes. Essay Theater on the Bottom Line: The latest upheaval at Tygres Heart should concern us all. Classical Music Preview Awesome Foursome: A reborn quartet finds unity. Words BiblioFile Reviews of three new books about crime, cultural appropriation and the Guarneri Quartet. Visual Art Review Unfamiliar Territory: Joseph Biel and Richard Kraft use disparate objects and fragments of images to question authority and accepted modes of living. Volume 25, issue 19, March 10, 1999 NEWS LEAD STORY Knock, Knock, You're Busted: How Portland cops push the limits of the law to crack down on pot growers. LEAD STORY SIDEBAR Read the transcript of a taped conversation, in which a member of the Marijauna Task Force unknowingly revealed their techniques. Technology Surfing in Salem: Wondering what happened to the bill that would require dogs in truck beds to be tethered? The answer is as close as your keyboard. Environment No Right to Know: Bipartisan support and increased pressure to clean up the Willamette River can't move a pesticide bill through the Senate. Business Window Dressing: How did Bill Gates make his billions? A local pension-fund consultant says it has as much to do with tricky accounting as selling Windows. 500 Words The Governor's New Math: John Kitzhaber warms to the idea of raising revenues for schools. Letters "There seems to be a monetary motivation for diagnosing ADD. The psychiatrist labels this a "disease." He gets paid, and the school gets federal funding for counseling. Doctors make diagnoses. This is not a disease; it is a nutritional deficiency." NewsBuzz Last Writes | Price War Brewing? | Battle of the Teenage Overacheivers | Why, There Oughta Be A Law | Creeping Astroturf | Corrections Scoreboard This week's winner and losers: Intel agrees to settle anti-trust charges before trial; OSPIRG takes a heavy loss in funding Rogue of the Week This week our fickle finger of shame points to a pair of fellow newspapermen, George Vaughan and Bill Swindells, for failing to come clean with their readers. CULTURE FEATURE Mistressing For Dummies: Mistresses seem to be making the news a lot these days, but it's not because there are more of them--they're simply unschooled in the gentle ways of being the other woman. This easy guide gives you helpful tips on heel management and sets you on your way to getting what you want from that special married man in your life. Shine-Ola Consumer Culture: Dressing to Kill | You're It: How to Win at Phone Tag | Smokin' the Herb Music Interview Against The Wind: Songwriter and guitarist Richard Buckner is the kind of performer who likes to do it his way--even if that means driving his own pick-up truck across the country on tour. Jazz Preview Heeding the Music's Call: The synchronicity between the lives of two jazz giants comes to light as Wynton Marsalis prepares a Duke Ellington centennial celebration. Experimental/Electronic Preview Cloudbursting: The atmospheric musical brainstorms of ambient sound sculptor Jeff Greinke move with the fluidity of intense weather patterns and the lucidity of dark, heavy dreams. Surround yourself in the dense sound. Recorded Music Reviews of new releases from Yoyo A Go Go, The Olivia Tremor Control, and Giovanni Screen Review Gangster Rap: Director John Boorman paints an unapologetically heroic portrait of the famed Irish gangster Martin Cahill in The General. Dish Mash Bock is Back: usher in the sun with a seasonal brew. Performance Stage Preview End of a Century: Stark Raving Theatre premieres a new piece by one of Portland's finest playwrights. Dance Review Coco Nut: James Canfield wants to make a name for himself as a contemporary choreographer with vision, but some of his ideas about women and sex aren't so cutting-edge. Play Play Run Like the Devil: Aerobic snowshoeing feels like hell.   Volume 25, issue 18, March 3, 1999 NEWS LEAD STORY Wet Dreams: One man's plan could help protect the environment and save the city $100 million, but will anyone listen? Crime and Justice The Snitch Switch: In an effort to avoid being being trashed as an opportunist informant, a Portland thug turns to creative writing. Healthcare Drinking and Voting: Mental-health advocates and drug counselors have long wanted insurance companies to cover more treatments. Now they've got a chance, thanks to a legislator's battle with the bottle. Education Points of Controversy: After transferring back to Jefferson, Portland high-school basketball star Brandon Brooks is again posting big numbers on the court. Critics wonder how the notorious academic underachiever managed to raise his GPA so quickly. 500 Words VOTE: If education is as important as everybody says it is, you should study the candidates in the March 9 election. Letters "Ethan Thrower may be a first-time offender in the eyes of the law, but he is not in the eyes of his victims." NewsBuzz Habeas | Corpushefe-Weight Challenger | Consumer Frauds | Why, There Oughta Be A Law | The Eagle Is Stranded Scoreboard This week's winner and losers: Abortion doctors win an injunction; the OHP fails to cover transsexuals Rogue of the Week KGW-TV traffic reporter Bill Diez has been very, very bad. CULTURE FEATURE The Hard Knock Life: Clothing designer Jerry Manns grew up in the projects and on the streets. With his Northeast Portland store, he's created a testament to survival and a place where folks can feel at home. Shine-Ola Consumer Culture Music Club Review New Club On the Block: Is the buzz of newcomer nightclub Ohm a powerful chant, an electrical current or simply hype? Recorded Music Reviews of new releases from The Roots, Poster Children, and The Other Ones. Screen Review St. Elmo's Snuff: With Eight Millimeter, Joel Schumacher makes a Calvin Klein ad out of murder. Dish Dish Dreams of Empire: The reincarnated Empire Room unites jazz, small plates and an eclectic wine list in a unique and intimate nightspot. Performance Stage Review Out of India: Tears of Joy looks to an old country for inspiration. Words Bibliofile Reviews of two new books. Visual Art Review Colescott Challenges the Limits: Amid 19 canvases by Robert Colescott, Carrie Mae Weems' photographic portrait of the artist makes the strongest statement.