News We know times are tough for government agencies. They’re cutting services—and sometimes trying to raise taxes—because of the recession. But a study by WW reveals there’s one sector of government that seems to be not only surviving, but thriving: public relations. Public agencies of all kinds have communication offices that employ squadrons of spokespeople who sometimes outnumber the reporters ...   More

News  Our post yesterday detailing WW's survey of PR staffs at public agencies in Portland lacked a complete list for one entity: Portland State University.PSU today sent the names and salaries for 16 communications staffers at the school (an official there had previously put the number at 14). Based on job descriptions the school provided, we determined six of those staffers fit our definition of ...   More

News  Today's Murmurs column notes that state Sen. Mark Hass (D-Raleigh Hills) believes his bill to make Oregon the first state to ban plastic grocery bags may not come up for a vote this legislative session.On Tuesday we caught up with the bill's other co-sponsor: Sen. Jason Atkinson (R-Central Point). Atkinson sits on the Senate Rules Committee, where the bag ban is currently parked and where Hass ...   More

Politics U.S. Rep. David Wu crashed his car into a Ford Focus parked on a residential street in Portland’s Forest Heights neighborhood last year   More

News The Atlantic has an interesting story online today about what latitude cops should have to search your cell phone if you're arrested.The story centers on a case currently being considered by the Oregon Supreme Court. In State vs. Nix, Albany cops in 2007 mined James Nix's cell phone for data without a warrant after arresting him on suspicion of dealing meth.Public defender Bronson James is arguing ...   More

News Two months ago we wrote about a bill in the Oregon Legislature that would require warning labels on all new cell phones sold in the state. For those worried their smart phone’s shining newness might one day be sullied by an ugly warning label, fear not. That measure, Senate Bill 679, is dead. The bill, which would have required labels on cell phones and their packaging warning consumers of the ...   More

News Under Attorney General John Kroger, there are few dull moments at Oregon's Department of Justice. Recently, a lawyer for the embattled former Oregon Department of Energy director Mark Long sued Kroger for withholding public records—a somewhat ironic claim given that Kroger has made greater transparency of government records a pillar of his administration. Given all the back-and-forth between Long's ...   More

News  Oregon's beleaguered economy is set to receive a massive infusion from Google, which is poised to invest $100 million in the world's largest wind farm, according to a news report by CNET.The 845-megawatt Shepherds Flat project in Arlington, Ore., is set to go online next year. Construction is expected to employ around 400 people near the banks of the Columbia River in Eastern Oregon.In other ...   More

News In a carefully worded email to supporters late Sunday night, state Labor Commissioner Brad Avakian obliquely announced he will challenge U.S. Rep. David Wu in the 2012 Democratic primary for Oregon's 1st Congressional District."Over the past several months, I've heard from many leaders and citizens asking me to consider running for Congress - to give Northwest Oregon the tough, effective leadership ...   More

News The battle between former Oregon Department of Energy interim Director Mark Long and Attorney General John Kroger's Oregon Department of Justice continues to escalate.Bill Gary, Long's attorney, filed a lawsuit last week in Marion County Court accusing Kroger of withholding records related to the racketeering theory that Justice Department criminal investigators pursued in last year's probe into the ...   More