NO FLIMFLAM Hooray for Nigel Jaquiss' article which finally exposed the car-title loan scammers of Oregon ["Shark Attack," WW, Sept. 2, 1998]. As someone fairly new to the Northwest, I can see that Oregonians have many things to be proud of, but consumer protection is not one of them. In my home state of Pennsylvania, we at least have a law against usury, and we have an attorney general who occasionally prosecutes flimflam artists who gouge 300-percent interest rates from desperate people. I get the feeling that here no one wants to be reminded of how bad customers have it. Southerners must have felt the same way in the '50s and '60s when they got reminded of bad their states' civil-rights record was. Geri Daniels Southeast Tacoma Street CONSIDER THE SOURCE As one of the bellmen so maligned in the Sept. 2 article "Tipping the Balance," I feel I must respond on several counts. First of all, to quote Greg Bowman, the failed town-car driver, as a credible source is misleading at best. Having dealt with Mr. Bowman on numerous occasions, I would submit there are other reasons for his bitterness than simply being prostituted by Portland's doormen "pimps." As a town-car driver, Mr. Bowman routinely loitered in our lobby, solicited unassuming guests and blocked our loading zone--to the point where he became a nuisance and was told to leave. Other times, when Mr. Bowman's services were called on, commissions he promised never materialized. Instead, he randomly brought us "gifts," such as doughnuts, which we did not want. Moreover, he aggressively tried to steer customers from taxis and the Raz, both to the airport and on shorter routes. No other town-car driver's behavior even remotely resembled Mr. Bowman's. His lack of professionalism was his own undoing. We were all relieved when he returned to his cab. On the issue of "kickbacks," there is little to be said. Business is business, and most bellmen make minimum wage, which doesn't garner much civic pride or go very far toward paying rent. Supplementing their income is understandable and hardly, I think, a crime. A tip is a tip. Town cars provide an important service to all involved--guests, drivers and doormen. Lastly, for people like Hank Owen, whose 12-car fleet is in danger of being undercut by smaller operations, I have little sympathy. If his company is too top-heavy to compete with leaner, smarter ones, then let the market reign. Perhaps he should take a cue from Mr. Bowman. Frank Bures Southeast Holgate Boulevard DOUBLE STANDARDS? It is interesting to me how the Willamette Week can appear so indignant when someone appears to be misrepresenting one of its tax-and-regulate liberal candidates for political office...and then maligns the offender with misrepresentations of its own [Rogue of the Week, WW, Sept. 9, 1998]! Had you taken the time to actually speak with both candidates, as I have, you would know that Kathy Lowe (House District 26) is endorsed by OAGV, an organization that has testified in Salem that its objective is to buy back or confiscate all weapons in this state. One could reasonably conclude that Ms. Lowe probably does support a ban on hunting rifles (as well as handguns), having received the endorsement of this group. I see no inaccuracy in what Mr. Mayfield had to say. Your ire over Ms. Lowe's support for keeping potential tax-refund "kicker" money is even less clear. There is little difference in my mind between saying that one wants to keep the kicker to pay for education and saying that you want to keep it for "programs." Either you want to return it to the taxpayers or you want to keep it to spend on something. What's the problem? Mr. Mayfield supports Second Amendment rights and would vote to return kicker money to the taxpayers. Ms. Lowe would keep the kicker money and favors further restrictions on gun ownership. How has highlighting these differences damaged Project Vote Smart in any way? Frank Saxton Northwest Murray Boulevard   originally published September 16, 1998