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Mike Thorne's Secret Bonus FOLLOW UP
It turns out Mike Thorne's compensation package was even more generous than previously reported.
Willamette Week has learned that in addition to granting the former Port of Portland executive director a $49,000 raise--thereby bringing his salary to $244,000--former Port Commission President Bob Walsh also quietly awarded Thorne a $68,000 bonus for last year.
As he did with Thorne's salary increase, Walsh (who did not return WW's phone calls) okayed the bonus without seeking the input and approval of other commission officers, in apparent violation of port bylaws.
Those bylaws state in part, "The Officers shall approve the rate of remuneration of the Executive Director." There are four port officers.
WW's reporting of the violation of those bylaws as it related to the salary increase last week prompted Thorne to return the raise. The move came just one day before he left the port to run for governor.
But Thorne says he is unwilling to voluntarily return the $68,000 bonus, even though it was also granted in apparent violation of the same bylaws.
One of the officers, Commission Treasurer Keith Thomson, says he was never consulted about the $68,000 bonus given Thorne and was unaware of it until informed by WW on Tuesday.
Commission vice-president Cheryl Perrin told WW the same thing. "We never saw any of this," she says.
The last of the four commission officers, Secretary Michael Powell, was unavailable for comment.
According to public documents obtained by WW, Walsh approved the bonus in February at the same time he awarded Thorne his retroactive salary increase (see "Payoff for the Port Boss," WW, May 16, 2001).
Contacted Tuesday, Thorne acknowledged that the bonus may have been awarded to him by Walsh alone but was unwilling to voluntarily return it. "I'll leave that up that to the commission," he says. "I earned that amount, and at some point you need to draw a line in the sand."
In addition to the manner in which it was given, the size of the 2000 bonus is surprising because the port--and, by extension, Thorne--had a lousy year as air traffic dipped, Delta cancelled international service at the airport and environmentalists beat back plans to deepen the Columbia River Channel.
Thorne stated last week that because he had received the salary increase for only a few months, it wouldn't have had the dramatic effect on his pension that WW claimed. It now appears, however, that given the bonuses and other compensation increases that Walsh gave out, Thorne's retirement package will indeed grow considerably--unless, of course, he chooses to give them back as well.
--Nigel Jaquiss
ROAD RAGE ON BURNSIDE
Fill the radiator, check the oil, and stock up on the Xanax. Beginning in mid-July, West Burnside Street between I-405 and 19th Avenue will be closed to traffic for as long as three, count 'em, three months--shuffling roughly 30,000 vehicles a day onto a detour.
"There's no way to sugar-coat this," says Linc Mann, a spokesperson for the city's Bureau of Environmental Services. "It's going to be messy."
BES is shutting down Burnside to lay a 72-inch-diameter pipe angling from Southwest 16th to 17th avenues as part of its $13 million project to divert Tanner Creek's underground flow out of the city's sewer system.
Local businesspeople are already boiling, with westside drivers soon to follow.
"I can just see myself getting shut down," says Monte Shelton, owner of Shelton Motors, a Jaguar-Saab dealership with a 40-person payroll whose primary concern is getting customers to his dealership's service bays.
Shelton says he doesn't understand why the city can't use tunneling equipment as it has elsewhere on the west side. The trouble is that the so-called Burnside Connection requires too tight a turn for the tunneling equipment, according to Mark Hutchinson, manager of the project.
That means city engineers have no option but to resort to an open trench. As a result, Southwest Alder Street--converted into a two-way, no-parking thoroughfare--is supposed to handle hordes of angry drivers.
Rush-hour gridlock aside, traffic may get even dicier for events at PGE Park. City officials promise to have enough flaggers on hand to keep traffic flowing. "It's just going to be congested and slow," says Mann.
--Philip Dawdy Mental Health Meltdown
The gunshots that killed Mexican nursery worker Jose Mejia in the hallway of a local psychiatric hospital last month are still reverberating.
Even as the furor over the police shooting begins to ebb, Portland's mental-health system is melting down under the strain of the closure of Pacific Gateway Hospital, which has removed 66 psychiatric beds (out of a total of roughly 250) from a system that was already operating well beyond capacity.
"I believe we are 'an accident waiting to happen,'" wrote county mental health worker Shawin Khan in a May 17 email to her supervisor, Bill Toomey.
Like the mythical butterfly of chaos theory whose tiny atmospheric perturbations trigger hurricanes on the other side of the globe, the Mejia tragedy--which began with a dispute over bus fare--is sending shockwaves through the medical system. On April 20, three weeks after the shooting, state authorities closed Pacific Gateway. Now the eight-bed Crisis Triage Center, designed to be the system's "front door," is backing up because it has nowhere to send patients in need of care.
The CTC was "on divert"--i.e., full--for 286 hours, or 40 percent of the time, in April, compared to an average of 110 hours, or 15 percent of the time, in previous months.
With the CTC bursting to
capacity--patients have been sleeping on mattresses on the floor--psychiatric patients are instead diverted to hospital ERs, chaotic and confusing places where they receive minimal treatment and suffer long delays.
Others have been sent to facilities as far away as Medford or Pendleton at a cost of $1,800, which is charged to the patient.
"It's very troubling," says Laura Pierce, an ER manager for the Providence Health System.
Meanwhile, as local ERs fill with psychiatric patients, they can no longer accept medical emergencies--broken arms, appendicitis, or other trauma--further straining an existing shortage of ER space and widening the spiral of confusion.
--Chris Lydgate From the Department of Shameless Self-Promotion
Two months after being snubbed by the Pulitzer committee (we're not buying that old "mislaid your entry form" excuse), Willamette Week's intrepid team of reporters and editors was honored by the Greater Oregon Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists for stories published in 2000. Eight staffers and three freelancers racked up 19 awards in the non-daily competition, including a sweep of the coveted Investigative Reporting category and a one-two finish in Arts and Criticism. Still, we've got to tip our hats to the fine men and women of the McMinnville News-Register, who fared even better, taking home 27 awards. Just wait 'til next year! Here are our winning entries:
Investigative Reporting
1st. "S.O.B., Esq."
by Nick Budnick
2nd. "Car King,"
by Nigel Jaquiss
3rd. "Sisterhood Scam,"
by Patty Wentz
Arts and Criticism
1st. "Fuhgeddahbout It! Richie B's,"
By Caryn Brooks
2nd. "Sleater-Kinney Has a Secret,"
by Caryn Brooks and
Zach Dundas
Science and Health Reporting
1st. "How to Make a Monkey,"
by Philip Dawdy
General Feature
1st. "Going to the Dogs,"
by Chris Lydgate
3rd. "Diary of a Dot-Commer,"
by Elizabeth Dye
Business Feature
1st. "Powell's City Divided,"
by Nigel Jaquiss
Environmental Reporting
2nd. "This Land is Their Land,"
by Patty Wentz
Religion and Values
1st. "Prosperity's Preacher,"
by Rachel Graham
Reporting on Government
1st. "Cop vs. Cop,"
by Nick Budnick
3rd. "Green Acres,"
by Nick Budnick
Social Issues Reporting
1st. "Borderline,"
by Chris Lydgate
Editorials
2nd. Voters Guide Introduction,
by John Schrag
News Feature
2nd. "What Happened to Jon Beckel?"
by Philip Dawdy
Education Feature
1st. "Homework Rebellion,"
by Nigel Jaquiss
Personalities
1st. "Citizen Bob,"
by Nigel Jaquiss
Sports News Reporting
1st. "Taboo,"
by Bob Young
---ISURU SENAGAMA A Monumental Blunder
Some government buildings are graced by statues of U.S. presidents or mythological figures. Multnomah County's new eastside headquarters, on the other hand, will soon sprout a $150,000 sculpture consisting of a rotating tree, a windmill, and several piles of dirt.
Canadian artist Noel Harding has designed a "green roof sculpture," consisting of a 50-foot windmill, large mounds of earth covered with native grasses, and a tree, most likely an evergreen, mounted on a spinning platform.
County commissioners are fuming about the public art project. "When I saw this [preliminary rendition], I thought 'Oh my God,'" says County Commissioner Lisa Naito.
All new county facilities must set aside 1 percent for public art--$250,000 in the case of the Multnomah Building--which is selected by the Regional Arts and Culture Council. Former County Chair Beverly Stein chaired the RACC committee that picked Harding to create art suitable for a government building last September.
Neither Stein nor the artist returned WW's requests for comment.
Naito and fellow Commissioner Serena Cruz complain that the board of commissioners never had a chance to review the country-hick-meets-urban-chic design. Stein, who dabbles in painting, has meanwhile resigned her post as county chair in order to run for governor.
What it all adds up to for Peggy Kendellen, a RACC project manager, is post-modernism writ large.
"The tree is seemingly harnessed to the wind, or is the tree moving the windmill?" she says. "It becomes a visual pun, a symbol of sustainability."
Punning aside, both Cruz and Naito question the selection of a non-American artist for major work on a government building.
It's also unclear whether the windmill will actually function as a pump for storm water; if it doesn't, the structure might be considered a "rooftop sign," which are no longer permitted under city planning codes.
To see the design slated for construction in the fall, go to www.flux.com/multnomah.
--Philip Dawdy
SCOREBOARD
WINNERS LOSERS
1. Maybe he's brighter than we thought: As WW first predicted, Ben Canada got fired last week, meaning he gets to keep $250,000. But, thanks to a certain daily paper in town, he has two front-page stories that say he resigned.
2. Invisible ink: Sunday's Oregonian revealed questionable deals between embattled money manager Jeff Grayson and local
forest-products company Crown Pacific but never printed the name of
Peter Stott, Crown
Pacific's prominent
founder and CEO.
3. A trio of high-profile legal beagles howled with relief when the state bar said they had not conspired to blow the defense of Ballot Measure 7. Rejecting a rambling complaint filed earlier this month, bar investigators concluded there were insufficient grounds for a probe of former Assistant Attorney David Schuman, gubernatorial counsel Chip Lazenby and lawyer Thomas Christ.
1. Bottoms up! Portland water users may have dodged a drought, but victory has a bitter aftertaste. To avert dry spigots, the Water Bureau will have to tap brackish wells near the Columbia River--sure to infuriate Portlanders reared on Bull Run's elixir, not to mention those who fret about contamination in the aquifer.
2. A county investigator's report on the shooting death of psychiatric patient Jose Mejia at Pacific Gateway Hospital identified serious problems at the hospital--a black eye for Multnomah County mental-health officials who knew of those shortcomings but did little to address them.
3. After years of inattentive management at the downtown jail, the trial of Multnomah County corrections officer Jeff Ristvet on charges of slapping an inmate--and his conviction on two of three counts--sent a strong signal to sadistic corrections officers.
ROGUE OF THE WEEK
The Rogue desk is now accepting nominations
buzz@wweek.com
Let us state at the outset that we here at Rogue Central believe it is the duty of every God-fearing American to protect our nation's modesty from the outrages committed against it daily, especially by practitioners of that dreadful "rap music."
So when we heard last week that the Federal Communications Commission had levied a $7,000 fine against local community radio station KBOO-FM for "willfully broadcasting indecent language," we raised a heartfelt hallelujah to our Lord in Heaven--thank goodness the FCC has finally struck a blow against the hip-hop scourge.
Imagine our astonishment, then, when we learned that KBOO's crime lay not in airing the latest outrage by Eminem or Puff Daddy. No, the FCC is in high dudgeon because on the evening of Oct. 20, 1999, DJ Deana Barnwell had the nerve to broadcast "Your Revolution Will Not Take Place Between These Thighs," a collaboration between feminist poet Sarah Jones and hip-hop artist DJ Vadim.
In fact, "Your Revolution" is a searing tirade against the rampant misogyny and sexism of rap. As KBOO's attorneys attempted to explain to the FCC, the song is "a feminist attack on male attempts to equate political 'revolution' with promiscuous sex."
From its title, a reference to the Gil Scott-Heron classic "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised," to its lyrics (including the subversive line, "Your revolution will not find me in the back seat of a Jeep"), the song is a reproach to the bitch-slappin' pimpery flooding mainstream airwaves.
Unfortunately, you can't make an omelette without breaking eggs, and "Your Revolution" does include the words (forgive us, Lord) "blow job" and various other "unmistakable patently offensive sexual references," according to the FCC.
We don't know what planet the FCC is orbiting, but we do know that fining KBOO for broadcasting this song is roguery of the highest order. But don't take our word for it. Read the lyrics below. Then ask yourself if the real obscenities are the feminist rhymes or the FCC's efforts to suppress them.
Before the
Federal Communications Commission
Washington, D.C. 20554
In the Matter of )
) File No. EB-00-IHD-0079
The KBOO Foundation ) NAL/Acct. No. 200132080056
) Facility ID # 65755
Licensee of Noncommercial Educational )
Station KBOO-FM, Portland, OR )
NOTICE OF APPARENT LIABILITY FOR FORFEITURE
Adopted: May 14, 2001 Released: May 17, 2001
By the Chief, Enforcement Bureau:
I. INTRODUCTION
1. In this Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture ("NAL"), we find that The KBOO Foundation, licensee of noncommercial Station KBOO-FM, Portland, Oregon, apparently violated 18 U.S.C. ¤ 1464 and 47 C.F.R. ¤ 73.3999, by willfully broadcasting indecent language. Based on our review of the facts and circumstances in this case, we conclude that The KBOO Foundation is apparently liable for a forfeiture in the amount of seven thousand dollars ($7,000).
II. BACKGROUND
2. The Commission received a complaint alleging that KBOO-FM broadcast indecent material on October 20, 1999 between 7:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. during the "Soundbox." The complainant submitted a tape containing allegedly indecent material that aired on the "Soundbox" on this date. After reviewing the complainant's tape, we issued a letter of inquiry to the licensee.
3. In its response, The KBOO Foundation argues that the material is not indecent, and that no sanction is warranted. In this regard, The KBOO Foundation states that the "Soundbox" program features contemporary rap and hip hop music often structured around themes that provide a larger social or cultural context, to explore, for example, topics such as "violence, racial oppression or the judicial system." The KBOO Foundation asserts that it "broadcasts rap and hip hop music not to achieve commercial success, but to fulfill its mission of 'providing a forum for unpopular, controversial neglected perspective on important local, national, and international issues,'" and to "reflect the diverse cultures we serve." The KBOO Foundation also has supplemented its response by submitting declarations of the author of the lyrics of the allegedly indecent song cited in the complaint and of a professor at a local university. These declarations are offered in support of The KBOO Foundation's argument that, in context, the material allegedly broadcast on KBOO-FM is not indecent. In addition, The KBOO Foundation states that it provides training to its local programmers, most of whom are unpaid volunteers, concerning the Commission's rules and the station's policies, including its prohibitions against the broadcast of indecent material. The KBOO Foundation supplement also includes a petition signed by listeners who support the "Soundbox."
4. The KBOO Foundation asserts, in the alternative, that the complaint should be dismissed based on the amount of time that has elapsed since the allegedly indecent material was broadcast. The KBOO Foundation states that it cannot determine with certainty whether it aired the allegedly indecent material cited in our letter of inquiry. However, The KBOO Foundation has determined that its music library contains the song "Your Revolution" that was excerpted in our letter of inquiry.
III. DISCUSSION
5. Section 503(b)(1) of the Communications Act (the "Act"), 47 U.S.C. ¤ 503(b)(1), provides in pertinent part:
Any person who is determined by the Commission, in accordance with paragraph (3) or (4) of this subsection to have ---
...
(D) violated any provision of section 1304, 1343, or 1464 of title 18, United States Code;
shall be liable to the United States for a forfeiture penalty.
18 U.S.C. ¤ 1464 provides criminal penalties for anyone who "utters any obscene, indecent or profane language by means of radio communication." As explained below, we believe that "Your Revolution" contains indecent material and that the licensee's broadcast thereof was willful.
6. The Commission has defined indecent speech as language that, in context, depicts or describes, in terms patently offensive as measured by contemporary community standards for the broadcast medium, sexual or excretory activities or organs. Infinity Broadcasting Corporation of Pennsylvania, 2 FCC Rcd 2705 (1987) (subsequent history omitted) (citing Pacifica Foundation, 56 FCC 2d 94, 98 (1975), aff'd sub nom. FCC v. Pacifica Foundation, 438 U.S. 726 (1978). The Commission's authority to restrict the broadcast of indecent material extends to times when there is a reasonable risk that children may be in the audience. Action for Children's Television v. FCC, 852 F.2d 1332 (D.C. Cir. 1988). Current law holds that such times begin at 6 a.m. and conclude at 10 p.m. Action for Children's Television v. FCC, 58 F.3d 654 (D.C. Cir. 1995), cert. denied, 116 S.Ct. 701 (1996). Thus, to be actionably indecent, the material in question must not only meet the standard referenced above but also air after 6 a.m. and before 10 p.m. See 47 C.F.R. ¤ 73.3999.
7. After carefully considering the record before us, it appears that KBOO-FM has willfully violated our indecency rule with respect to the broadcast of "Your Revolution." The KBOO Foundation points to the length of time that has elapsed since the broadcast that is the subject of the complaint, and argues that it cannot determine whether the song aired on the date and time alleged, or whether it might have aired an edited version of the song. In this regard, the station does not possess tapes or transcripts of the "Soundbox" for the date in question. However, the KBOO Foundation does not claim that tapes or transcripts are generated and retained, or that this material would have been available earlier. The KBOO Foundation acknowledges that the station's music library contains the song, and has provided a transcript of the lyrics of "Your Revolution." Although the KBOO Foundation asserts that an edited version of the song may have been broadcast, it does not indicate that the station possesses such an edited version of "Your Revolution." Moreover, the tape of the October 20, 1999 "Soundbox" submitted by the complainant contains the unedited version of "Your Revolution," which corresponds to the transcription included in The KBOO Foundation's response.
8. The rap song "Your Revolution" contains unmistakable patently offensive sexual references. We have considered The KBOO Foundation's arguments concerning the context of this material. Specifically, the KBOO Foundation asserts that the rap song "Your Revolution" cannot be separated from its contemporary cultural context. In the alternative, The KBOO Foundation argues that even if context is limited to the song's lyrics, "Your Revolution" is "a feminist attack on male attempts to equate political 'revolution' with promiscuous sex" and as such, is not indecent. However, considering the entire song, the sexual references appear to be designed to pander and shock and are patently offensive. In this regard, we reject The KBOO Foundation's argument that it is erroneous, as a matter of law, to find that the song is indecent without considering the artistic merit of the rap music genre. Merit is one of the variables that are part of the material's context, and the Commission has rejected an approach to indecency that would hold that material is not per se indecent if the material has merit.1 The contemporary social commentary in "Your Revolution" is a relevant contextual consideration, but is not in itself dispositive.2 The Commission previously has found similar material to be indecent, and we see no basis for finding otherwise in this case.3 In addition, although The KBOO Foundation has submitted a petition signed by listeners who support the "Soundbox," we have previously ruled that neither the statute nor our case law permits a broadcaster to air indecent material merely because it is popular.4
9. Section 503(b) of the Act and 47 C.F.R. ¤ 1.80 both state that any person who willfully or repeatedly fails to comply with the Act or the Commission's rules shall be liable for a forfeiture penalty. For purposes of 47 U.S.C. ¤ 503(b), the term "willful" means that the violator knew that it was taking the action in question, irrespective of any intent to violate the Commission's rules.5 In assessing a forfeiture, we take into account the nature, circumstances, extent and gravity of the violation, and, with respect to the violator, the degree of culpability, any history of prior offenses, ability to pay, and such other matters as justice may require.6
10. The Commission's Forfeiture Guidelines set a base forfeiture amount of $7,000 for transmission of indecent material.7 After considering all the facts and circumstances, we believe the base forfeiture amount is the appropriate sanction for the violation described above and that neither an upward nor downward adjustment should be made.
IV. ORDERING CLAUSES
11. Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED THAT, pursuant to 47 U.S.C. ¤ 503(b), and 47 C.F.R. ¤¤ 0.111, 0.311 and 1.80, The KBOO Foundation is hereby NOTIFIED of its APPARENT LIABILITY FOR A FORFEITURE in the amount of seven thousand dollars ($7,000) for willfully violating 18 U.S.C. ¤ 1464 and 47 C.F.R. ¤ 73.3999.
12. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED THAT, pursuant to 47 C.F.R. ¤ 1.80, within thirty days of this NOTICE OF APPARENT LIABILITY, The KBOO Foundation SHALL PAY the full amount of the proposed forfeiture or SHALL FILE a written statement seeking reduction or cancellation of the proposed forfeiture.
13. Payment of the forfeiture may be made by mailing a check or similar instrument, payable to the order of the Federal Communications Commission, to the Forfeiture Collection Section, Finance Branch, Federal Communications Commission, P.O. Box 73482, Chicago, Illinois 60673-7482. The payment should note the NAL/Acct. No. referenced above.
14. The response, if any, must be mailed to Charles W. Kelley, Chief, Investigations and Hearings Division, Enforcement Bureau, Federal Communications Commission, 445 12th Street, S.W., Room 3-B443, Washington, D.C. 20554 and MUST INCLUDE THE NAL/Acct. No. referenced above.
15. The Commission will not consider reducing or canceling a forfeiture in response to a claim of inability to pay unless the respondent submits: (1) federal tax returns for the most recent three-year period; (2) financial statements prepared according to generally accepted accounting practices ("GAAP"); or (3) some other reliable and objective documentation that accurately reflects the respondent's current financial status. Any claim of inability to pay must specifically identify the basis for the claim by reference to the financial documentation submitted.
16. Requests for payment of the full amount of this Notice of Apparent Liability under an installment plan should be sent to: Chief, Revenue and Receivables Operations Group, 445 12th Street, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20554.8
17. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED THAT a copy of this NOTICE OF APPARENT LIABILITY shall be sent by Certified Mail Return Receipt Requested to: The KBOO Foundation,
20 S.E. 8th Ave., Portland, Oregon 97214; with a copy to its counsel, John Crigler, Esq., Garvey, Schubert & Barer, 1000 Potomac Street, N.W., Washington, DC 20007.
FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
David H. Solomon
Chief, Enforcement Bureau
ATTACHMENT Radio Station: KBOO-FM, Portland, Oregon
Date/Time Broadcast: October 20, 1999, on the "Soundbox," between 7:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m.
Material Broadcast: "Your Revolution"
(Various female voices)
Your revolution will not happen between these thighs
Your revolution will not happen between these thighs
Your revolution will not happen between these thighs
Will not happen between these thighs
Will not happen between these thighs
The real revolution ain't about bootie size
The Versaces you buys
Or the Lexus you drives
And though we've lost Biggie Smalls
Maybe your notorious revolution
Will never allow you to lace no lyrical douche in my bush
Your revolution will not be you killing me softly with fujees
Your revolution ain't gonna knock me up without no ring
And produce little future M.C.'s
Because that revolution will not happen between these thighs
Your revolution will not find me in the back seat of a jeep
With L.L. hard as hell, you know
Doing it and doing and doing it well, you know
Doing it and doing it and doing it well
Your revolution will not be you smacking it up, flipping it or rubbing it down
Nor will it take you downtown, or humping around
Because that revolution will not happen between these thighs
Your revolution will not have me singing
Ain't no nigger like the one I got
Your revolution will not be you sending me for no drip drip V.D. shot
Your revolution will not involve me or feeling your nature rise
Or having you fantasize
Because that revolution will not happen between these thighs
No no not between these thighs
Uh-uh
My Jamaican brother
Your revolution will not make you feel bombastic, and really fantastic
And have you groping in the dark for that rubber wrapped in plastic
Uh-uh
You will not be touching your lips to my triple dip of
French vanilla, butter pecan, chocolate deluxe
Or having Akinyele's dream, um hum
A six foot blow job machine, um hum
You wanna subjugate your Queen, uh-huh
Think I'm gonna put it in my mouth just because you
Made a few bucks,
Please brother please
Your revolution will not be me tossing my weave
And making me believe I'm some caviar eating ghetto
Mafia clown
Or me giving up my behind
Just so I can get signed
And maybe have somebody else write my rhymes
I'm Sarah Jones
Not Foxy Brown
You know I'm Sarah Jones
Not Foxy Brown
Your revolution makes me wonder
Where could we go
If we could drop the empty pursuit of props and the ego
We'd revolt back to our roots
Use a little common sense on a quest to make love
De la soul, no pretense, but
Your revolution will not be you flexing your little sex and status
To express what you feel
Your revolution will not happen between these thighs
Will not happen between these thighs
Will not be you shaking
And me, [sigh] faking between these thighs
Because the real revolution
That's right, I said the real revolution
You know, I'm talking about the revolution
When it comes,
It's gonna be real
It's gonna be real
It's gonna be real
When it finally comes
It's gonna be real
Murmurs
HEY, WE WON! PAGE 14
* After numerous name changes, multiple controversies and more obituaries than Huck Finn, The Pine Street Theater (a.k.a. Paradigm, Womb, LaLuna and, well, Pine Street Theater) finally ends its run as one of Portland's premier music venues this week. The building has been sold, and though the crew from Thrasher Presents plans to use the small upstairs room for a few shows this summer, Wednesday's Alkaline Trio concert will be the last in the cavernous main room. Word is that the building will be converted into "creative office space," with high-speed Internet access and funky interiors for artists and the New Economy set.
* Prominent Dems say Supreme Court Justice Ted Kulongoski is itching to get into the governor's race but doesn't want to give up the bench until U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio makes up his mind. Meanwhile, announced candidates Bev Stein and Jim Hill are lining up some serious out-of-state help. Word is, Stein has snagged Mark Penn, the former pollster to Bill Clinton, for her campaign. Hill has secured the Global Strategy Group.
On the Republican side, Jack Roberts has teamed up again with local strategist Dan Lavey, who helped with his '98 re-election as labor commissioner. That's bad news for Ron Saxton, who'd worked with Lavey at the Portland Public School District. Saxton kicks off his campaign next month at the home of Diana Snowden and Neil Goldschmidt.
* Employees in the new Multnomah County Building are taking the energy crisis seriously. On Tuesday building managers cut off power to alternating floors to make sure computers can survive if someone pulls the plug. Says county facilities director Dan Brown, "The local utilities have all warned us that they may have to go to rolling blackouts." Maybe the windmill on the roof (see page 9) will help.
* Activist Larry Tuttle claims Scottish Power did not follow city paperwork requirements when merging with Pacificorp in 1999. So on May 21 he declared the utility's grid legally abandoned and sent the city $1 for it. "I haven't figured out how to get PGE's yet," he quipped, "but I'm working on it."
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