May 1998 May 27 May 20 May 13 May 6 back to Archives home Volume 24, Issue 30, May 27, 1998 LEAD STORY The Boys Next Door How did two Grant High Students get from choir practice and the track team to allegations of armed robbery? Letters to the Editor Are the oversized classrooms and teacher apathy of the public schools OK for the homeless kids but not OK for home-school kids? News Buzz The $64 Million Question Soft on Microsoft? Scoreboard This weekís winners and losers Rogue of the Week Oregonís eligible voters Murmurs Goats and heroes. Last weekâs election had plenty of both. Education Compromising Principals Kathie Yarnell figured out a way to stay at the helm of her North Portland school for less money. Instead, district officials are forcing a new principal on parents. Timbre: Music column by Richard Martin Calobo recently learned a lesson in humility. Recorded Music Reviews of recent releases from Davíd Garza, Massive Attack, Zoviet France, Rapoon Rock Reviews -Creeper Lagoon offers an antidote to bland mainstream rock, but will the public buy it? -On leave from Skid Row, Sebastian Bach hangs in his hot tub, listens to Jeff Buckley and plays with a colorful cast of rockers. Screen Reviews -Though director Terry Gilliam's visual skills are breathtaking, his rendition of Hunter S. Thompson'sFear and Loathing in Las Vegas is a bore. -Roland Emmerich'sGodzilla is a boring spectacle of wasted money Beervana Portlandís best beer and the best places to sip it.. Classical Review Lara St. John, famous for Bach interpretations and risqué album covers, releases a new record of Gypsy music. Photography Review Rich Rollins sees the extraordinary in the familiar, while fellow photographer Robert Lyons travels and locates the unusual.   Volume 24, Issue 29, May 20, 1998 LEAD STORY Raw Nerve:OHSU researcher Bruce Gold took what might be the first step in reversing paralysis. So why is someone else walking away with the glory and the money? 500 Words Advice to a Superintendent The past few years have not been kind to our schools. Here are six suggestions for regaining the district's reputation for running the best urban schools in America. Murmurs Web sites enlighten voters, email frightens constituents, Cronkite wants Kitz on TV. Business Best Foot Forward Nike says the reforms announced in Washington, D.C., last week were in the works for months. Activists say Nike took the necessary steps only after a kick in the pants. Urban Pulse Share-It Square Hippie haven or neighborhood oasis? Mark Lakeman's effort to build community around a Sellwood intersection is dividing the neighborhood. Rock Reviews ­Punk-rock icon and legendary firebrand Jello Biafra hasn't softened with age. ­Chicago's Jim O'Rourke, working feverishly on both sides of the Atlantic, brings a blue-collar attitude to a decidedly artsy field of music. ­Too punk for Olympia, Trail of Dead cuts and pastes its musical mayhem into Texas. Screen Reviews ­Like the fictional teen in her film about growing up, Sarah Jacobson learned to take responsibility for her sexuality--and then for her movie, Mary Janeís Not a Virgin Anymore. ­America has lost a legend, but Frank Sinatra's music and movies will live on. The Mash Beer column by Jeff Alworth Bombay on the Willamette Restaurant review Alligator Pear puts the focus on meat and potatoes, but it's the restaurant's more creative dishes that stand out. Stage Review John Kelly's talents are so numerous that, like Cocteau, he can only be described as "a poet." Books of the Month: WOMEN A web exclusive interview with Dorothy Allison and reviews of new fiction by Jane Smiley and Kathryn Trueblood, a memoir by Leslie Cockburn and a collection of essays on motherhood.   Volume 24, Issue 28, May 13, 1998 Cover Story: OVER ONE MILLION SERVED Is the McMenamins Empire stretching itself too thin? 500 Words: Now that the primary is almost behind us, here is an organizing principle for the general election. NewsBuzz: Taco Del Mar kicks out Reading Frenzy. Volunteer signature gathers just donít cut it Crime and Justice: Former fire offical Tom Steinman was convicted of stealing $120,000 from the city. Now heís collecting more than that in annual disability payments. Education: Why canít the Portland School Board find a new superintendent? In part, because it canít keep a secret. Rogue of the Week: The U.S. Postal Service makes a federal case out of a harmless mistake. Scoreboard- The week's winners and losers From under Weiden and Kennedyís nose, senior citizens and fledgling inner-city businesses get the federal housing loans and grants that they deserve. Murmurs- A Weekly Election Watch: People in Politics. Dog bites candidate. Suburbanite takes on Hunter Thompson. Willer and Naito still going at it. Letters to the Editor ìCommercial broadcasting nationwide broadcasts what essentially is Muzak, under various misnomers such as ëClassic Rockí and ëAlternative.íî Timbre a music column by Richard Martin Experimental compositions from Bill Horist prove that guitars can be as avant-garde as electronic music. Rock: Gary Numan, electronic musicís prototypical star, is back and shining bright. Hip-Hop: Atantaís Goodie Mob fuses live instrumentaion and spiritual MC-ing to reach hip-hopís higher ground. Stage: The Other Side Theater ends its season with a problematic play by Irvine Welsh ShineOla- A round up of things we like. MovieReviews: Photographer Cindy Sherman has her way with office supplies and corporate culture in her diractorial debut, the horror parody Office Killer. Despite Bulworthís flaws, Warren Beattyís newest outing further demonstrates the actorís outstanding talent. Robert Redfordís The Horse Whisperer is a beautifually crafted film that falls prey to the inherent corn of its source novel.   Volume 24, Issue 27, May 6, 1998 Our Political Picks: Endorsements for the 1998 election. Some brought plungers. Some came with their kids. One admitted heís in it for the money and chicks. In all, we interviewed nearly 100 candidates to separate the beauties from the beasts. NewsBuzz Law suits, signature gatherers, wacky magnates... just biz as usual.  A Grant High choir boy is suspected of armed robbery.  Enron needs power... the power to decide. Rogue of the Week When Tom Steinman, former coordinator of the Fire Bureau's Emergency Medical Services, was sentenced to seven months in jail last week for stealing $120,000 from the city, he was all excuses. Scoreboard The week's winners and losers After 40 years in the OLCC's doghouse, the liquor industry got the green light to resume radio and television advertising. Murmurs A Weekly Election Watch: People in Politics. The best, worst and weirdest of the May 1998 primary. Letters to the Editor î"Thanks for the good laugh I had reading Richard Martin as he mustered enough mock outrage to "expose" UFO for playing a song over the airwaves for cash.î Rock Review: Other indie bands have made it cool to sell out, but Red Monkey would rather buck the system than pull down the bucks. Timbre a music column by Richard Martin Retro shtick that undermines the advance of popular culture? What does it mean if it's got that swing? Stage:  Willey Russell's Blood Brothers survives without Venus Flytraps or fireworks. Movie Reviews: Director Neil Jordan's The Butcher Boy is a potent blend of comedy, horror, pathos and rejuvenation. Spike Lee's 12th feature film, He Got Game, is a tiresome look at basketball. The Mash: Beer column by Jeff AlworthNor'Wester: the next chapter in one of the most interesting tales in the brewing industry.