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WINNERS
1. Sure, the tough-on-crime crowd is grumbling,
but Oregonians--particularly Springfield residents--won
in the wake of Kip Kinkel's Sept. 24 guilty plea. Residents
of the beleaguered city won't have to relive the trauma
of the Thurston High shooting, and the rest of us will be
spared the media circus that a trial would bring.
2. Are they UFOs? Or space junk? Either way, stargazers
and UFO buffs have gotten a treat of streaking lights
over the Rogue River wilderness lately, and there's more
to come. Researchers say solar winds are increasing, and
when that happens, satellites fall down. Syndicated radio
talk-show host Art Bell and others say it's aliens, while
the government (of course) denies all knowledge.
3. State Democrats can finally exhale. Gov.
John Kitzhaber has stepped up to help the home team, pledging
to raise $250,000 for legislative candidates. Not only that,
but he's recruiting and coaching candidates. It's a start.
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LOSERS
1. By announcing his plans to run for reelection,
two-term City Commissioner Charlie Hales acknowledged
that he will have to swallow his pride and his mayoral ambitions
rather than take on Vera Katz's healthy poll numbers. Perhaps
it was frustration, then, that caused Hales to commit the
political faux pas of outing her plans to run for reelection,
too.
2. With the news this week that the New Carissa
will be wintering on the once-pristine Oregon coast, the
ship joined Keiko in the lineup of tourist-attracting, oily
hulks that overstayed their welcomes.
3. Portland's poorest citizens are having an even
tougher time finding cheap digs: A new study says there
are only 3,700 units of affordable downtown housing, a drop
of 19 percent since 1994.
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