Murmurs: Sincerely Yours, the Breakfast Club.

1. The Bureau of Development Services has suspended four commercial electrical inspectors and fired one after an investigation found they were loafing at a Northwest Industrial District diner. Sources familiar with the investigation tell WW the commercial project inspectors allegedly met on city time, as often as three days a week, for brunch at the Guild’s Lake Inn, at Northwest 29th and Yeon avenues. A BDS official said this week the bureau plans to place GPS tracking devices in all city-owned vehicles—in part to make sure they are in the places they’ve been assigned to inspect.

1. While lawmakers dither about guns, one man, Kevin Mannix, has a plan. Mannix, a former Salem lawmaker and GOP candidate for governor, is sponsoring a ballot initiative for 2014 that would eliminate liability for homeowners or business owners who use force to defend their property and themselves against trespassers. The measure, called the Oregon Castle Doctrine Act, would justify force against an intruder, including in cases that result in the trespasser’s injury or death. “It’s meant to provide people with peace of mind in their homes or business,” says Mannix, whose similar measures in 2010 and 2012 didn’t make the ballot.

1. Anjean Bryant, who left a Vancouver teaching position in November to become executive assistant to All Hands Raised CEO Dan Ryan, filed suit in Multnomah County Circuit Court on April 9 against the education nonprofit and Ryan for discrimination and breach of contract. Bryant claims Ryan fired her seven days after she began her $55,000 job, a termination she says was “emotionally devastating.” Bryant is seeking $37,000 in lost wages and $300,000 in damages. Scott Oborne, attorney for All Hands Raised and Ryan, said the organization had not seen the lawsuit and had no comment.

1. The City of Portland is looking at canceling its contract with Multnomah County for a 16-bed mental-health crisis center where Portland police can take people in mental distress—but rarely do. City Commissioners Steve Novick and Nick Fish have recommended to Mayor Charlie Hales that the city end its $634,000-a-year contract with the county for the Crisis Assessment and Treatment Center at 55 NE Grand Ave. The facility opened in June above the Central City Concern Sobering Center. Police say they don’t like using the center because its admission policies are burdensome. “This is not a matter of sticking it to the county,” Novick says. “Something that we thought we were going to be using but are not using has to be on the table.” County spokesman David Austin says the police “have every opportunity to use this system. It’s working.” 

WWeek 2015