WINNERS 1. Local consumer lawyer Michael Baxter won a $600,000 jury award in U.S. District Court last week when he showed that TRW, a national credit reporting agency, failed to remove inaccurate credit information from his client's record for seven years despite repeated requests. The vindicated client, Barbara Jorgensen, 43, was repeatedly denied credit due to TRW's false reports, which included an erroneous claim that she had filed for bankruptcy. 2. GOP longshot Bill Sizemore did win one aspect of the first gubernatorial debate this week in Welches--his four kids were better behaved than 8-month-old Logan Kitzhaber, who crawled around emitting a series of laughs, squeals and gurgles during the 90-minute showdown at the Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association Convention. 3. In what must be the most overlooked sports and media story of the year, Willamette Week's softball team struck a blow for independendent journalism last week, fending off hostile-takeover bids from corporate media rivals seeking to wrest away our Media League Championship trophy. Capping off an undefeated season, the Willamette Weekenders on Saturday defended their title, defeating teams from KOIN-TV, Jacor radio stations and citysearch before edging out KATU-TV in the 1998 championship game by a score of 13-12.

LOSERS 1. The heat wave that hit the rest of the nation arrived in the Pacific Northwest last week, taking its toll on sweltering city residents. The county medical examiner's office is investigating the death of a 49-year-old man found Sunday afternoon in downtown Portland. If his death is proven to be heat-related, medical examiners say it would be the first such fatality in Portland in more than a dozen years. 2. FBI agents failed to get their man--at least for now. Former Grant High student body president Tom Curtis was still at large Tuesday, eluding federal agents who had staked out an apartment building in Phoenix on Saturday. The feds were acting on a tip from a viewer of America's Most Wanted, which featured a segment on the 18-year-old robbery suspect. 3. Tri-Met officials are being praised for tapping Fred Hansen as the new transit boss. Hansen, the state's former top environmental official, won praise last week for his administrative skills and political savvy, but his selection will cost taxpayers a bit more. Tri-Met is offering Hansen a $135,000 salary. That's a fair wage for the post, but current Tri-Met chief Tom Walsh voluntarily froze his salary at $78,500 during his seven years at the helm.

 

originally published July 29, 1998