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But Oregon Health Sciences University is throwing some surgical instruments into the works. OHSU wants to build a new women's health center in the North Macadam area, just south of the Marquam Bridge--and soon. That puts OHSU ahead of the pack in planning for the 130-acre parcel, which Katz hopes will house 3,000 residents and employ 7,000 workers--plus contain space for a Willamette River Greenway and other open spaces. That leads some to worry that North Macadam will replay some of the problems encountered in the River District, where critics felt private-property owners made all the planning decisions without adequate public input about affordable housing and open space. "Our big concern is that they are getting out way ahead of the North Macadam steering committee," says Shelley Lorenzen, chairwoman of the League of Women Voters North Macadam Action Committee. "If the property owners--the Schnitzer and Zidell families--go ahead and eat up at least one-third of the area with their plans for OHSU and office, hotel and condo space, then we have to cram all the housing and open space into the remaining space." The city, meanwhile, is trying to get a commitment that OHSU will build in Portland rather than the suburbs and is considering providing the North Macadam district with almost $50 million in transit and street improvements, including perhaps a tram or gondola up to the main OHSU campus. Last week city officials met with Schnitzer and Zidell representatives to discuss OHSU's proposal. The urgency to seal a deal with OHSU and the property owners concerns Lorenzen. "The League feels we shouldn't negotiate piecemeal," she says. "The city has the leverage to get some nice tradeoffs in the way of open space and housing in exchange for the kind of infrastructure the property desperately needs to become marketable." --BY
...On the Web
Last week's fatal shooting of Officer Colleen Waibel turned public attention to the conduct of both the media and police. In the days that followed the drug-bust-gone-bad, two questions were heard repeatedly around town. First, why were the cops smashing in a door without a search warrant? Second, did the news helicopters endanger police officers by disclosing their locations during the live drama? As usual, a glut of information on these topics--both good and bad--is as close as your laptop. Here's a short list of interesting Web sites dealing with these two issues. Police Tactics
www.pantless.com/~pdxnorml/index.html: A new feature on the Portland chapter of the National Organization for Reform of Marijuana Laws Web site compiles drug-related news stories from around the country (/news98.html). NORML's site includes several stories on the Waibel shooting as well as opinions and links related to the War on Drugs. www.powernet.net/~eich1/noknock.html: More info on "knock-and-talk" police tactics can be found at this site, which presents an overview of six incidents from around the nation. www.ndsn.org/MAYJUN97/NOKNOCK.html: This site outlines a 1997 Supreme Court ruling on warrantless police raids. Helicopters
www.Channel6000.com: All the local television stations have Web sites, and all, to some degree, cover the 'copter debate. KOIN-TV Channel 6's site offers the best discussion of the conflict between helicopter reporting and police activity (you'll need to search for the articles). Channel 6 also has an online forum, where you can weigh in on these and other topics in the news. --RR
In the Air...COPS & CHOPPERS
Although the four local news choppers have increasingly come to resemble a swarm of locusts, they may be getting a bad rap for their coverage of last week's police shootout with Steven Dons. In the aftermath of the incident, everyone from Police Chief Charles Moose to U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio blasted irresponsible aerial coverage for endangering the lives of officers. What none of the critics acknowledged is that the helicopters complied promptly with the four--count 'em, four--separate bureau requests and FAA directives issued during the siege. Local FAA records show that at about 12:50 pm Tuesday--about an hour after three officers were shot--the Police Bureau requested a Temporary Flight Restriction A-2 over Dons' house, establishing a no-fly zone with a radius of three nautical miles and a ceiling of 2,000 feet. The choppers immediately moved outside the restricted area, and retreated as directed twice more in the following two hours. At 2:54 pm--half an hour after Dons was taken into custody--the bureau asked that the ceiling be raised to 6,000 feet and the TFR upgraded to category A-1, the most stringent possible restriction. Again, the copters complied immediately. Local aviation officials are hesitant to point fingers, but some suggest that the cops erred in not requesting the tougher restriction from the start. Police spokesman Cliff Madison did not return WW's calls. City officials are meeting with station managers Wednesday to talk it over. --NJ |
