MA BELL An obscure local commission is making national headlines. On Nov. 19, The Wall Street Journal called Portland's cable regulatory agency "the mouse that roared." That's because on Nov. 16 the tiny local agency--the Mount Hood Cable Regulatory Commission--recommended to Multnomah County and the Portland City Council that the $31.5 billion proposed AT&T/TCI merger announced last June be held up until the telecom titans agree to certain conditions. Most important, the commission said, AT&T/TCI--which is planning to offer a new high-speed broadband Internet-access network--must open the network to other Internet-service providers like Europa and Teleport. These ISPs currently use phone lines to put customers on the Internet and provide customized news pages and Web sites. AT&T/TCI's rival service, to be called @Home, would rely on a new technology that converts traditional cable lines into two-way lines, allowing super-high-speed Internet access. The ISPs say that they should be able to use AT&T/TCI's superior network to provide their own services. The commission agrees, arguing that otherwise the merged company would have a monopoly on Internet service. The mouse may have roared, but the lion is growling back. In a Nov. 19 letter sent to Mayor Vera Katz and Multnomah County Commissioner Beverly Stein, representatives from both AT&T and TCI said the commission lacked the jurisdiction to demand that the new network be open to competitors. AT&T's Oregon manager, Laura Imeson, says only the feds have the authority to require open access. That is true, but first the merger must be approved at the local level in 900 jurisdictions nationwide. The Mount Hood commission is the first local regulatory body to raise the open-access issue. Ultimately, the this issue is up to the FCC, but Mount Hood commission director David Olson says he's using the theory of "trickle-up government" to force the issue. The two companies are now rattling their legal sabers. In addition to the Nov. 19 letter to Katz and Stein, they sent a letter to the commission's legal counsel, Ben Walters, demanding an explanation of the commission's legal authority to set such a condition. Olson says that AT&T legal counsel Rick Thayer had some terse parting words after the public meeting where the commission made its open-access recommendation. "They are clearly threatening legal action," Olson says. "As Thayer was going out the door, he said, 'I hope you have a big budget.'" Thayer did not return WW's phone call. On Monday City Commissioner Erik Sten met with representatives from both sides. Sten says he believes the city has the legal right to set conditions on the merger. "It's the height of irony to say the city doesn't have the right to make sure some local companies can compete," he says. ----Josh Feit NO STOMACH FOR OBESITY Kajira De Maria wanders the malls of Portland, looking for obese women. When she finds them, she shows them photographs of herself from four years ago. "We have something in common," she says. "I weighed almost 425 pounds four years ago. I just want them to know there is another option available." The other option is a rare surgical procedure she underwent in New Jersey shortly before she came out to Portland. De Maria basically had her stomach closed off. Now, everything she ingests travels through a pouch attached to her esophagus that holds only three to five ounces of food at a time. It's extreme, but at the time she had the operation, De Maria says, her doctor had given her six months to live. As well as being severely depressed, she had arthritis and diabetes and was in danger of heart failure. With her new food storage unit De Maria doesn't really eat--she grazes. She nibbles nuts and cheese and sips juice all day long. It can take 24 hours to get through a can of V-8 juice, she says, and she can eat only a few tablespoons of yogurt at a time. She says she gets enough nutrition from vitamin shots and by drinking a can of Ensure daily. Since she had the surgery, De Maria has lost almost 300 pounds and now wears a size seven dress. The transformation was so stunning that she was invited to appear on an edition of The Maury Povich Show, titled "Blimps to Bombshells," which airs at 4 pm on Dec. 3 on KOIN-TV. She is also in discussions with Montel Williams. De Maria, 44, has a flair for promotion. In New Jersey, she owned a music-booking agency. Now, though, she's promoting herself and trying to get a book deal. --Patty Wentz WAYS OF GIVING This time of year, Willamette Week urges you to give special consideration to four of our favorite community organizations. In the Portland area alone, SMART--Start Making a Reader Today--has 2,000 volunteers reading with kindergartners and first- and second-graders lagging in language development. To volunteer in Multnomah County, call 916-2000, ext. 4563. In Washington County, call 833-4838. Send donations to SMART c/o the Oregon Children's Foundation, 200 SW Market St., suite 170, Portland 97201. Wallace Medical Concern provides services to homeless street youths and adults and to medically needy families in the Portland area. If you're a health-care professional or a Spanish interpreter, you can help. Contact Kathy Hammock, WMC's executive director, at 274-1277. Send contributions to WMC, P.O. Box 6972, Portland 97228. Sisters of the Road Cafe (133 NW 6th Ave., Portland, OR 97209) provides the homeless with food and a safe place to congregate in Old Town. Contact development manager Brenda Ray Scott or development director Deirdre Atkinson by phone (222-5694), fax (222-3028) or e-mail (Sisters133@aol.com). Located under the east side of the Morrison Bridge, the Cascade AIDS Project's Housing Warehouse makes donated furniture available to individuals and families in their own homes or in living units provided by CAP. Call Kate Mosca (223-5907, ext. 149) to arrange a pickup. For more detailed information about these organizations, see last week's 500 Words. CAUTION: DISCOVERY ZONE You've got to admire their chutzpah. Developers of the Capes, the Oceanside condominiums that are in danger of sliding into the Pacific, are trying to sell more of the hideaways. They recently mailed out a promotional brochure with the headline "The Capes. A discovery. Even for beach people." Discovery is a key concept at the Capes. It was less than a year ago that property owners there discovered that the front of the dune on which the condos sit had split away from the mainland under the pounding of winter storms. Four of the units were temporarily condemned and 32 others had to be evacuated. In August, owners filed a multimillion-dollar lawsuit against the developers. But that was then, and this is now. Over the summer, the developers built ten new condos. Gary White, marketing manager of the Capes, says the new units are about half the size and half the cost of their predecessors. Unlike the cliffside units, the new condos are set back several hundred feet from the water's edge, White says. They are on the same piece of land as the older condos but not adjacent to them. Despite the infamy of the Capes, neither White nor lawyer Steve Janik, a partner in the development company, says he thought seriously about marketing the newly built condos under a different name. "It has been suggested," White says. "It probably isn't a bad idea." The new units have been on the market for a couple of months. One unit has been sold, White says, and another sale is pending. "Some people who come to look at them don't even know about the problems," White says. "I guess people only read about what interests them."--Nigel Jaquiss CORRECTION In last week's cover story by Josh Feit ("The Most Powerful Woman in Oregon," WW, Nov. 24, 1998), we incorrectly reported that Lynn Snodgrass led the campaign to send Measure 65 to the voters. Snodgrass cosponsored HJR 65, an earlier legislative attempt to challenge administrative rules. We also incorrectly identified the Federation of State Leagues of Conservation Voters as the National Association of Conservation Voters. WW regrets the errors. HE'S BACK ALREADY At 12:04 am last Wednesday, Lars Larson announced his triumphant return to television. Given that his contract with KPTV had expired that same minute, it didn't give us much time to miss him. During a party at the Heathman Hotel immediately following his final broadcast as a Channel 12 news anchor, Larson showed his flair for the dramatic. In front of about 35 friends he said goodbye to KPTV, then turned to guest Kerry Oslund and asked for a job that would pay a whole lot of money. Oslund, the news director at KOIN-TV, said yes. Beginning Jan. 4, Larson will appear on the KOIN morning news between 6 and 7 am. The show is currently anchored by Elaine Murphy; she will stay on to read news, but Larson will be the heart of the show in what sounds like a video version of his talk-radio show on KXL. Larson thinks his television audience will be basically the same as his radio audience: people who want to be informed on local issues and hear a wide variety of opinions. Larson left Channel 12 after questions were raised about the opinionated nature of his radio show. Some wondered whether his radio persona was infecting KPTV viewers' perception of him as a fair-minded and objective journalist. Larson says that he is not interested in maintaining the illusion of objectivity for television any more than he is for radio. All journalists have opinions, he says, and with him the audience knows what it's getting. "We suffer from rules that were created for no real reason," he says. "If I tell you my opinion about abortion or gun control, you can watch me carefully to see how I handle it on the show." Oregonian media columnist Pete Schulberg has repeatedly slammed Larson, saying that he could not be both a radio talk-show host and a TV news anchor. At the Heathman party, Larson seemed to delight as much in pulling Schulberg's chain as he did in announcing his new gig. Larson's wife handed out buttons featuring Schulberg's face with a slash drawn through it as party favors. --Patty Wentz - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Willamette Week | originally published December 2, 1998