Putting the Pieces
Together
Is the mystery of Jon Beckel's death solved? According
to Larry Lewman, a deputy state medical examiner, it is.
Lewman told Beckel's family Tuesday that the 39-year-old
suffered a brain injury on July 1 as a result of falling
to the street in downtown Portland.
Lewman's conclusion counters the theory that Beckel's injury
may have stemmed from excessive use of force by corrections
deputies at the Justice Center, where Beckel was taken July
1 on outstanding drunk-driving warrants. Beckel, the co-founder
of Le Bistro Montage, died July 6 after being removed from
life support ("What Happened to Jon Beckel?" WW,
July 12, 2000).
"The most significant impact to his head was his fall,"
Lewman told WW Tuesday. Lewman estimated that at
the time of his fall, Beckel's blood alcohol level was .30
percent--almost four times the legal limit of .08 percent.
Lewman said records show that Beckel complained of a headache
while in custody the morning of July 1, but did not collapse
until that afternoon when he was being moved from an isolation
cell into the general jail population. WW's request
for records regarding Beckel's treatment and monitoring
while in jail have been denied by county corrections officials.
Despite Lewman's findings, The Multnomah County District
Attorney's Office still plans to refer the case to a grand
jury next month, WW has learned. It is common for
District Attorney Michael Schrunk to invoke grand juries
in fatal situations involving law-enforcement officers.
Beckel's family has consulted with attorney Chuck Paulson
but has not decided whether to bring any legal actions.
The East County Major Crimes Task Force expects to complete
its investigation of Beckel's death within one week.
--Philip Dawdy
Confusion Rains on Hemp Fest
There is probably still a bewildered but mellow straggle
of hippies waiting in a Harrisburg hayfield to get in to
World Hemp Fest 2000, even though the party ended three
days ago. At the main entrance, sunburned, dreadlocked,
multi-pierced hemp enthusiasts Saturday tried desperately
to score tickets--and those were the staffers manning the
gate as the cars lined up in front of them. No one knew
if enough tickets had been printed, if they were stolen
and sold on the black market, or if someone had lost them.
Inside, on the main stage, an impassioned pot activist
extolled the benefits of hemp as a medicine, a plant and
a lifestyle choice. "Overgrow the
government!" he exhorted in a raspy voice.
Right. The same people who can't figure out how to run
their own festival should be in charge of the biggest superpower
in the world.
In marked contrast to the Oregon Country Fair, held the
weekend before, Hemp Fest 2000 hardly lived up to its billing
as a warm, fuzzy family event. In fact, the vibe was just
plain depressing--a $15 flea market for hemp tinctures,
bong cozies and pro-drug bumper stickers. The majority of
the attendees seemed to be either burned-out hippies who
have embraced hemp as a religion or pungent teenagers spending
the summer on the road.
But what do I know? I'm an indifferent consumer and an
even less enthusiastic pot smoker. As far as I could tell,
the Hemp Fest was a way for ringmaster Bill Conde--who owns
a redwood lumber business and a concert venue called High-5--to
finance a grass hut in Belize, where he hopes to head after
this fifth and final festival.
Conde's selling out, but he told reporters it has nothing
to do with the fact that he's been charged with aiding and
abetting drug transactions--charges that stem from a prior
festival. I never got a chance to talk with him, even after
waiting outside his trailer for half an hour. Every time
I knocked on the door, one of his posse blocked the entrance,
saying he'd be out soon. Behind them, I could see Conde
sitting at the table, counting out wads of cash.
It was beautiful, man.
--Patty Wentz
Cambodian Collaborations
Ever since the publication of Chanrithy Him's When Broken
Glass Floats, Eugene journalist Kimber Williams has
insisted that she co-wrote the book, only to be denied credit
for her work. Now she's getting reinforcements from one
of the most respected writers in the business.
Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Sydney Schanberg, who
wrote a dust-cover blurb for the memoir, has asked publisher
W.W. Norton to remove his name from all promotional material
surrounding the work. In a letter to Norton, Schanberg said
he has found substantial proof that Williams collaborated
with Him on her book about growing up in Cambodia.
Schanberg first revealed the horrors of Pol Pot's Khmer
Rouge in a series of articles for the New York Times.
His courageous work in Cambodia, in collaboration with photojournalist
Dith Pran, inspired the film The Killing Fields.
Reached at his home office in New York, Schanberg told
WW, "I really didn't want my name on the book. I
felt very uncomfortable that no acknowledgement of the collaboration
[between Him and Williams] was made, and that in fact it
was denied. This is something that professionally I have
a strong feeling about."
Schanberg said he didn't mean to disparage When Broken
Glass Floats or to diminish its story. "Nobody can take
that story away from her," he said of Chanrithy Him. "I
don't think she realizes that... There's no shame in calling
upon others to help you. The only embarrassment is not to
acknowledge it when people do help you."
W.W. Norton has agreed to remove Schanberg's name from
the jacket of any subsequent printings of the book and from
its online promotions.
--Ben Jacklet
Billboard
Bail-out
This week, the City Council will fork over $500,000 to
one of the least liked companies in Portland: Emerald Outdoor
Advertising, which infuriated Portlanders by the truckload
when it slapped up six electronic billboards--including
one on the approach to the Morrison Bridge--in December
1998.
The legal settlement brings to an end one chapter of the
billboard wars--that latter-day Iliad in which the
city struggles to control its civic viewscape against the
broad backdrop of Oregon's billboard-friendly constitution
(see "When Billboards Attack," WW, June 21, 2000).
Ironically, the city is getting out of the legal thicket
pretty cheap.
Back when Emerald flipped on the first of its new-tech
"StoreyBoards," Portlanders flipped out--and demanded that
city commissioners tear them down. But the city's sign code
was mute on such "moving image" signs. On Dec. 23, 1998,
two weeks after the signs were installed, the City Council
declared them traffic hazards.
Emerald, of course, fired up its legal briefs, saying there
was no evidence the giant Lite-Brites were dangerous, and
in November, U.S. District Judge Donald Ashmanskas ruled
that the city had violated Emerald's constitutional rights.
"The judge said we needed to have a body count, " says
City Commissioner Charlie Hales. "That was a ludicrous ruling."
To avoid a possible multimillion-dollar jury award, the
city had no choice but to settle.
Emerald's president, Bruce Storey, wouldn't explain why
he settled for only $500,000. But Mike Murphy, his Seattle-based
attorney, says they didn't want to risk a jury awarding
them nothing. City Attorney Jeff Rogers declined to comment
on the settlement.
The City of Portland--which rewrote its sign code to make
all new "moving image signs" illegal in February 1999--can
almost boast that Emerald's signs are "the last of the breed,"
as Hales puts it. The only remaining problem is that old-tech
billboard monopoly AK Media has two electronic billboards
on Southeast Holgate Street, which it can turn on any time
it wants.
--Philip Dawdy
Removing the
Tags
It is impossible to determine how many of our Rogues of
the Week ever come to see the error of their ways. But in
a refreshing development, last week's Rogue, Globogear.com,
has decided to repent its sins and make amends.
Last week, following a lengthy investigation, Willamette
Week outed the San Diego-based dot-com clothier as the
perpetrator of a citywide attack of glue-backed posters
reading "Globogear.com: Accept the Challenge." In our report,
WW challenged the company to clean up its mess. Mayor
Vera Katz's office went further, telephoning Globogear.com
headquarters and demanding an explanation.
According to the mayor's ombudsman, Celia Nunez-Brewster,
the company's general manager, Kevin Davis, was very apologetic
and has promised to hire private cleaning contractors to
efface Globo logos from every city surface. After reading
WW's account of his organization's roguery, Mr. Davis
told the mayor's office that he was "accepting the challenge."
--Steffen Silvis
Night Cabbie
BY
Willie Milkis
willie_milkis@hotmail.com
OHSU, on the hill. My fare says he's in seventh grade,
in all advanced classes. I ask the nurse waiting with him
if he has money. "Oh yeah," she says. From her tone I gather
that he has a lot of money. He's a pretty nice kid. "I'm
taking high-school classes in math and literature," he tells
me. "I'm in Algebra II. I'm really good at math, but the
literature is kinda boring." I was good at math, too. I
remember what it was like being the smart kid in junior
high. It wasn't easy. I went far in math, much faster than
the rest. As an adult, that just enables me to operate a
cash register, or a cab meter. But I can do it really fast.
The kid's fare is eight bucks, and he gives me a 10 and
says keep the change. He's getting street smarts too. Most
kids don't know to tip.
Murmurs
STARK RAVING REPORTAGE
The big dogs of the mental health system held a
closed-door pow-wow Tuesday at the Kennedy School to end
a tug-of-war over $1.5 million allocated by lawmakers to
prop up Multnomah County's tottering mental health system.
County officials, including Community and Family Services
Director Lolenzo Poe, want the cash, and want it
now. But state officials, including Mental Health Commissioner
Barry Kast, want to make sure the one-time-only dollop
of dough doesn't disappear into the yawning void of the
county system.
* One of Portland's hardest-working writers has packed
up his canoe and headed back East. Robert Sullivan
and his family left the Rose City for New York a couple
of weeks ago. His book on the Makah tribe, A Whale Hunt,
is due out in October (Scribner).
* Stark Raving Theater is one of those small, experimental
theaters that manages to hang on by the barest of bucks.
But twice now, the theater has fallen victim to a thief
who has burgled them after a sold-out performance. After
Friday's performance of Raymond J. Barry's A Piece of
Cake, the secured box-office till of $8,000 was plundered.
The police continue to hunt for the perpetrator, but the
theft is a blow to the company.
* Two of television's beautiful people strolled the streets
of Portland last weekend. Keri Russell, a.k.a. Felicity
Porter, and Scott Speedman, a.k.a. Ben Covington,
left the set of WB's fav teen show, Felicity, for
a quick vacation. Stops included Italian restaurants Fratelli
and Caffe Mingo.
* Jake Spotting: After almost forcing Vera Katz
into a runoff election, college student Jake Oken-Berg
has no plans to fade from the scene. At a public meeting
on police oversight last week, he sat with Robert Ball,
a developer/landlord and reserve cop who came this close
to running for mayor. Turns out Oken-Berg is now employed
by Ball and the two are collaborating on a civic project
or two--"very exciting stuff," says the Okester--to be unveiled
later this summer.
* Oh, if only the rest of the country was as cool as we
are. This Thursday Portland will get a chance to evangelize
when National Public Radio's Talk of the Nation broadcasts
live from the World Trade Center. The topics: urban environmentalism
and legislating community. On deck to tout Oregon's vision
are Gov. John Kitzhaber, Mike Houck, Mayor
Vera Katz and Robert Liberty. The voice of dissent
(required by an Act of Congress) will come from libertarian
John Charles of Cascade Policy Institute.
* QUOTE OF THE WEEK:
"Britney Spears shows more ass than we did."
--KOIN-TV news director Kerry Oslund defending the broadcast
of edge-sitter Tre Arrow relieving himself into a bucket.
Let's Get Tanked!
Earlier this summer some safety-conscious city officials
declared that the leaning water tank of Old Town must come
down. Luckily, owner Sam Naito offered to rebuild a new
one, but can't decide whether to repaint "Old Town" on the
new tower, emblazon it with a new phrase or (heaven forbid!)
leave it blank.
To help out, WW is offering Sam some suggestions.
This week's proposal comes from Ben Munson, of West
Portland. As a reward for his civic-mindedness we're treating
him to a large pizza from (where else?) Old Town Pizza.
If you want to join the fun, send us your best ideas. Hint:
If you want your clever prose to be readable, keep it short.
Send your entries to:
Tanks for the Memories:
Mail: 822 SW 10th Ave., Portland, OR 97205
Fax: 243-1115
E-mail: tanked@wweek.com
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