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Bombs Are Dropping. Last week's airstrikes against Iraq brought out hundreds of protesters, who briefly took over the downtown sidewalks from Christmas shoppers. Activists say that after eight years of economic sanctions, Iraqis are barely able to scrape out a living, let alone withstand bombing attacks. Meanwhile, some people are taking more direct action--and paying a price. Last year Portland activist Dan Handelman challenged the sanctions by taking an unapproved load of medical supplies and toys to Iraqi hospitals and orphanages. Now he and three other members of Voices in the Wilderness, a national peace group, face nearly $45,000 in fines from the Department of the Treasury. Fire Fight That $2 million budget gap prompted City Commissioner Gretchen Kafoury to revive an idea that's been kicking around City Hall for five years. Kafoury wants to eliminate the Fire Bureau's mechanics and shift fire-engine maintenance to the shop operated by the Bureau of General Services, which takes care of 2,500 other city vehicles. The switch could save as much as $300,000 a year. But the deal, which was supposed to take place last week, has hit a roadblock because of questions raised by Fire Chief Bob Wall. Wall says the switch may not save much money. Even worse, he says, it may hamper public safety if the BGS wrench wielders don't work as diligently on fire trucks as the mechanics in the Fire Bureau. "I do not understand why this decision was made without discussion with me or the staff of the Bureau of Fire, Rescue and Emergency Services," Wall wrote in a memo to Kafoury earlier this month. "...I do not see that a detailed cost reduction has been conducted." The firefighters' union is also concerned that the shift will mean more work for them because they will have to attend to equipment on fire trucks, such as pumps, nozzles and rescue tools, that the bureau's mechanics currently maintain. Because of concerns raised by Wall and the union, the plan has been delayed until auditors and city financial experts verify the purported savings. A resolution that goes to the City Council this week calls for that review to be completed by March. Kafoury had hoped to implement the plan before she retires in January. "As soon as the bond measure passed I said, 'Let's get rolling,'" she says. "We didn't process it to death because allegedly the fire chief and [BGS director] David Kish have been looking at it for five years." She says she understands the chief's nervousness and doesn't object to further study of fire-engine maintenance. Taxpayers might not agree. Two city audits--one in 1993, one this year--have given BGS mechanics good reviews. Meanwhile, as the city continues its review, $100,000 in savings might be lost between now and March. --Bob Young Chateau WalshIt didn't take Tom Walsh long to get back to his roots. Just one month after leaving the top post at Tri-Met, Walsh was dusting off his construction credentials--in a big way. Earlier this month Walsh teamed up with Homer Williams to submit a proposal to buy and develop a 2.37-acre parcel of land at RiverPlace from the Portland Development Commission for $3.6 million. Prior to heading the transportation agency, Walsh ran a construction management company with his brother, Bob. He compares jumping back into the business after eight years to skiing after years away from the slopes. "This used to be a lot easier," he says. Indeed, the project Walsh and Williams have bid for is no glide down the bunny slope. PDC, hoping to breathe some life into the RiverPlace neighborhood, dangled a tantalizing carrot: prime riverfront land for residential development. But the city agency added a risky condition: In addition to 150 condo units, the developers must also build a hotel. "The most I know about hotels is that I've occasionally stayed in them," Walsh says. Actually, Walsh knows enough about the hospitality business to be worried. Downtown is already littered with hotels under construction. Additionally, the failure of last month's bond measure to expand the Convention Center further dampens the demand for additional rooms. In an effort to create a niche, Williams brought in André Balazs, owner of Hollywood's Chateau Marmont--best known as the place where the comedian John Belushi died of an overdose. Rather than trying to attract substance-abusing Hollywood stars, however, Williams says the hotel will target trendy yuppie visitors. A second major complication for the developers is that PDC says the land, the site of the old Lincoln Steam Plant, is contaminated and consists partially of unstable fill and debris. "We debated pretty hard ourselves about whether to bid," Williams says. Developers often poor-mouth their chances of success, but the fact is, nobody else submitted a proposal. Mayor Vera Katz says she's disappointed with the lack of interest. Although Walsh and Williams are the only bidders, there's no guarantee PDC will give them the green light in February, when the commission is slated to consider their bid.--Nigel Jaquiss Ways of Giving 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 Brenda Ray Scott or Deirdre Atkinson by phone (222-5694), fax (222-3028) or e-mail (Sisters133@aol.com). SMART (Start Making a Reader Today) has 2,000 volunteers reading with Portland-area kindergartners and first- and second-graders lagging in language development. Send donations c/o the Oregon Children's Foundation, 200 SW Market St., suite 170, Portland 97201. Wallace Medical Concern provides services to homeless youths and adults and to medically needy families in the Portland area. Send contributions to: WMC, P.O. Box 6972, Portland 97228. Health-care professionals and Spanish interpreters are also needed. Contact Kathy Hammock, WMC's executive director, at 274-1277. Cascade AIDS Project's Housing Warehouse needs donated furniture for its clients. Call Kate Mosca (223-5907, ext. 149) to arrange a pickup. For more detailed information about these organizations, see our November 24th article. Free RideCritical Mass bicycle riders got an early Christmas present last week from the district attorney, although it wasn't so much an act of good will as a product of lousy camera work. On Dec. 17, Deputy District Attorney Laurie Abraham decided not to charge the first of 18 people arrested during a mass bicycle ride the day after Thanksgiving ("Yanking Their Chains," WW, Dec. 9, 1998). Drew Torrente had been arrested for disorderly conduct after police accused the group of intentionally snarling downtown traffic. But it was up to the DA's office to take the next step and press charges. Abraham declined. That bodes well for the remaining defendants, according to lawyer Stuart Sugarman, who organized the pro bono legal defense for the group. "I have no reason to believe they singled him out in deciding not to prosecute," Sugarman says. All but one of the remaining defendants are scheduled to face the DA this week. Abraham wouldn't tell WW her plans, but she conceded that all of the Critical Mass cases would be difficult to prosecute. Although police videotaped the defendants on their evening ride through downtown, the lack of light made the tape useless for the prosecution. "You can see people on videotape committing traffic infractions, but you couldn't tell who they were," Abraham says. The police reports, she says, were similarly unhelpful in identifying particular riders with specific infractions. In order to convict someone of disorderly conduct, the DA needs evidence that the person committed a crime. Evidence that the person was part of a larger group, some of whose members committed a crime, is not sufficient. While all indications are that the DA won't charge the remaining defendants, Torrente's lawyer, Steven Rayne, says "we're not out of the woods yet. My understanding is that some of the people talked to the police. They might hang them just on their own statements." --Maureen O'Hagan
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