Dropping
the Balm
To fans of
Anodyne, last week's news was hardly
soothing. For more than two years, the free monthly publication
(whose name means "anything that relieves pain") had built
a small but loyal readership within Portland's cultural
underground. Now it has joined a host of predecessors in
closing shop.
"Basically, we weren't making enough money to stay in
business," says Editor-in-Chief Valerie Cashman, 43.
The demise of Anodyne, close on the heels of PDXS's
collapse earlier this year, leaves a scant selection of
local, culture-heavy publications. Seen, a monthly
glossy, and Ourtown, a slight weekly, are both
fashion-driven and seemingly unconcerned with comprehensive
or critical coverage of the arts. Though it publishes
a Portland edition, The Rocket is based in Seattle
and is geared mainly toward indie-music fans.
It's a sharp contrast to the mid-'90s, when Portlanders
had their pick of subculture coverage: PDXS, Paperback
Jukebox and Tonic all pitted themselves as
alternatives to Willamette Week and The Oregonian.
Cashman worked as the books editor for Paperback Jukebox
(and Blotter, its short-lived successor) and as
a freelance writer before founding Anodyne in the
summer of 1996.
"We just knew so many editors and writers who were looking
around for something to do," says Cashman, who started
the publication with four like-minded colleagues: Scott
D. Lewis, Larry Lewis, Jenn Manley Lee and Kip Manley.
Funded largely out of Cashman's pocket, they published
Anodyne's first issue in October of 1996.
Cashman, a computer programmer, doesn't have particular
plans for the future other than getting back to freelance
writing. Buoyed by positive feedback over the course of
Anodyne's run, Cashman says she expects to pursue
another publishing project in the future.
--Mac Montandon
The
Mighty and the Damned
A surge of controversy recently
jolted the Bonneville Power Administration with the revelation
that a group of employees is rolling out the red carpet
for right-wing apostle Lon Mabon.
The Oregon Citizens Alliance founder is scheduled to
give a lunchtime presentation at the invitation of the
BPA's Christian Values Resource Group on April 20. Mabon,
whose crusades against abortion and homosexuality once
dominated statewide elections, will discuss "God's Sovereignty
and the Implications for Us."
Mabon's appearance has sparked considerable debate at
the agency--WW and Just Out ("the IN publication
for the OUT population") both received anonymous tips
about the speech. But BPA officials stress that the event
does not imply any endorsement of Mabon's platform. "Speaking
for myself, and not for the BPA, my views couldn't be
more different from Lon Mabon's," says BPA spokeswoman
Dulcy Mahar. "But either you support free speech or you
don't. You can't retract it when it's something you don't
like."
The Christian Values Resource Group is one of several
officially sanctioned employee organizations at the BPA.
Other groups are geared toward African Americans, Native
Americans, parents, and gays and lesbians. The groups
receive no public funding, although they do make use of
notice boards, copy machines and meeting rooms.
It's not clear what prompted Mabon's invitation. Larry
Everson, chairman of the Christian values group, declined
to speak to WW.
Officials say that as a branch of the federal government,
the BPA can neither endorse nor prohibit religious expression
in the workplace. But there are limits. According to Mahar,
"The agency will not tolerate language that is offensive
to any group of people."
Karen DeLano, chair of Bonneville Gay-Lesbian-Bisexual
Employees, says the BPA is generally a queer-friendly
environment. While she remains uncomfortable with Mabon's
visit, she is not opposed to it. "I'm a true believer
in free speech," she says. "I am assuming that the resource
group is going to maintain this non-threatening, non-harassing
environment." Indeed, DeLano's group has benefited from
the BPA's open policy; two years ago, its guest was female
impersonator Darcelle. --Chris Lydgate
Untimely
Absenteeism
As the Portland School Board heads into the contentious
budget season, its most veteran member has virtually dropped
out of sight.
Lucious Hicks, elected to the board in 1993, has missed
seven out of the last 11 meetings and has attended only
one meeting this year.
There's been no public acknowledgment of his whereabouts,
and an awkward silence has surrounded his absences. After
several meetings at which Hicks' chair sat empty behind
his nameplate, the plate was turned over. According to
one board member, Hicks' participation during the past
four months has amounted to occasional e-mails and phone
calls.
WW contacted Hicks by phone on April 1. He promised
a return call, but it never came. According to fellow
board members, Hicks' wife is gravely ill.
Bruce Samson, the district's general counsel, says board
members can be removed if they are absent for two consecutive
months without compelling reason. A family illness is
sufficient cause for absence.
Hicks' colleagues are sympathetic but wish he could be
more engaged. In the past, he has been a consensus builder
on the board. Hicks, the only African-American board member,
has, along with Joseph Tam, been the most responsive to
minority issues. Both of Hicks' strengths will be needed
as divisive issues with racial undertones come to the
budget table (see "Mixing It
Up,").
--Nigel Jaquiss
Spambuster
FOLLOW-UP
If you've ever received an e-mail from a stranger promising
to cure cancer, make you rich or get you laid, you've
been spammed.
With electronic junk mail an ever-increasing problem
on the Internet, three states--California, Nevada and
Washington--have instituted laws to hinder spamming. Democratic
state Rep. Jeff Merkley of Portland wants to add Oregon
to that list.
Given that Oregon is home to Jason Heckel, Merkley's
proposal is no surprise.
Last November Heckel was charged with breaking Washington's
anti-spam law after sending between 100,000 to a million
unwanted e-mails across state lines ("The
War on Spam," WW, Nov. 11, 1998). The case
is still pending, but Heckel could end up owing tens of
thousands of dollars.
Merkley's proposal, House Bill 2013, is similar to Washington's
law. It would not ban electronic junk mail, but it would
regulate it by requiring that it be labeled "Commercial
E-Mail" and include the real address of the sender. (Spammers
often mask their identities.) The bill also establishes
a registry system for Oregon residents so that spammers
can't claim they didn't know their messages were crossing
into regulated territory.
The Oregon attorney general's office has been tracking
spam complaints since February and has received four.
In Washington, the complaints jumped into the thousands
after the anti-spam legislation passed.
The bill has yet to be scheduled for a hearing, but Merkley
expects that it soon will be, given that there is no opposition.
Merkley says he receives a couple of dozen junk e-mails
a day on his personal America Online account, and he's
sick of it. "It's an intrusion into the privacy of my
home computer to have all this junk related to gambling
and porn and various schemes to raise money overnight
[enter] into my personal life every day," he says.
--Patty Wentz
Why,
There Oughta Be A Law...
HOUSE BILL 4011 * RELATING TO SNOBBY
CLERKS--ALSO CALLED THE "YOU'RE JUST A CLERK" BILL
SPONSORED BY POWELL'S EMPLOYEE STEPHEN MILLETT
BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OREGON:SECTION
1: Whereas customers have the right to a pleasant
shopping experience:
(a) No clerk at Everyday Music, Music Millennium
or any other record store may treat a customer buying
any CD, record or tape poorly. The law applies even when
the customer's tastes do not happen to coincide with the
clerk's in any of said establishments. No smirks, frowns,
rolling eyes or curt answers to questions will be tolerated.
The minimum-wage clerk must smile to at least five customers
hourly--six if the wage exceeds $7 per hour.
(b) No employees of any bookstore, regardless
of education, may make it known that they feel it beneath
them to read anything other than Western philosophy, Eastern
religion or literary authors that no one has ever heard
of.
(c) No clerks in the Northwest or Hawthorne districts
of Portland (especially in second-hand clothing stores)
may act as if everyone else is trampling on their sacred
ground.
SECTION 2: Violators of the "You're Just a Clerk"
Bill must spend an entire day wearing Western clothing
(complete with cowboy hat), listening to Michael Bolton
and reading Monica's Story.
This week's amateur legislator, Stephen Millett of Southeast
Portland, wins dinner for two
at Sweetwater's Jam House.
Send your proposals to WW Law Contest via fax
([503] 243-1115), e-mail (jschrag@wweek.com)
or snail mail (822 SW 10th Ave., Portland OR 97205).
correction
Last week's Rogue of the Week stated that Concerned
Citizens of North Portland originally formed to fight the
St. Johns parole office. The group was actually formed to
fight the proposed jail in North Portland.
WW regrets
the error.
