A few weeks ago, Mayor Vera Katz announced she will retire her position at city hall in 2004. The long-anticipated news made quick headlines, but was soon eclipsed by stories about the lack of candidates jumping into the mayoral ring. Currently, only councilmember Jim Francesconi has announced his candidacy. U.S. Congressman and bow-tie wearer Earl […]
Phil Busse
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Get Off the Bus, Gus!
Citizens Try To Remove Savage From Tri-Met Ads
On a daily basis, Michael Savage spews venom at liberals, immigrants and, in his words, “sodomites.” It is a public flogging listened to by millions–locally on KXL 750, “the home of the Oregon Ducks.” Earlier this year, Savage attempted to leverage this radio fame into a national TV show on MSNBC, but after he lambasted […]
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Kicking a Dead Horse
DreamWorks Drowns Seabiscuit
Seabiscuit dir. Ross Opens Fri July 25 Various Theaters The story of Seabiscuit–the unlikely champion of racehorses–is a remarkable tale about underdogs. In terms of heart-tugging sport stories, it ranks up there with Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier and Lance Armstrong’s battle over cancer. Before being discovered by an oddball trainer in the 1930s, […]
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Walking Punch Lines
Garage Days Finds Hughes-style Humor
Garage Days dir. Proyas Opens Fri, July 18 Pioneer Place From Sixteen Candles to The Breakfast Club, director John Hughes probably offered more hope, empathy, and understanding than a combined army of high school guidance counselors. But sometime around 1987 Hughes abandoned the generation he had led through their bumpy adolescence and, with Uncle Buck […]
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40 Ounces of Prevention
Neighborhood Tries to Ban Forties!
Prevalent in Snoop videos and marketed relentlessly to African American males, brands of 40-ounce bottles of malt liquor–like Olde English and 211 Steel Reserve–became icons in the ’90s. For a buck-fifty, one 40-ouncer packs about the same wallop as five whiskey shots. But if the St. Johns Neighborhood Association has anything to do with it, […]
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Jet Lag’s Weary Romance
Only John Candy Could Save This Film!
Jet Lag dir. Thompson Opens Fri, July 11 Fox Tower With his tired, hound dog eyes and withdrawn countenance, Jean Reno (The Professional) is an apt choice for the title character in Jet Leg. Felix is a world-class chef traveling from New York to Munich to attend his ex-girlfriend Nadia’s dad’s funeral–a man he’s only […]
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I Blew Up My Girlfriend
To fully understand how the explosion on July 4, 1991 unfolded, you first need some background details: That summer I was leading a group of college students on a research project in Costa Rica. We were there studying the nesting habits of Olive Ridley sea turtles. About every other week, during the night, the turtles […]
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Colorful Tragedy
When I was 18 years old, I inadvertently saw the most incredible fireworks display I can remember. It was a still and humid Midwest evening. Earlier that night, my friends and I had walked into a liquor store and bought a case of beer. The drinking age was 19 in Wisconsin at the time and, […]
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A Critical Tragedy
Bikers’ Fatalities Bring Attention to Lax DUII Laws
Late on Tuesday night of last week, a drunk driver killed two bicyclists in Southeast Portland and critically injured a third. It was the second fatal accident this summer involving a drunk driver hitting bicyclists. The driver in Tuesday’s tragedy, Lindsey Llaneza, is a repeat offender. Three months ago, Llaneza plead guilty to drunk driving […]
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Your Rights: Up In Smoke
Ashcroft Reignites the Drug Wars. This Time, the Federal Government is Winning
Even the codename for the drug bust–“Operation Pipe Dream”–seemed like a moniker lifted directly from the stoner flicks of Cheech and Chong. But, in reality, the well-coordinated, multi-state DEA operation netted 55 distributors of bongs and pipes; each now faces felony charges and five-plus years in federal prison. In late February, DEA agents swarmed several […]
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Recalling the Bad Times
Two Groups Hope to Yank Katz from Office
In 1977, Ford was forced to recall its compact Pinto. A design flaw created a four-wheel bomb; when rear-ended, the Pinto’s gas tank would allegedly ignite. It was the first time the term “recall” was burned into the public consciousness. Since then, it has come to stand for a product that’s too dangerous and needs […]
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Censoring Censorship
Can Court Decide on Who Stays and Goes?
At one time or another, Edward Gathright has offended just about everyone. The perennial street preacher patrols Pioneer Square, shouting down women for their promiscuity and condemning gays to hell. But, as it turns out, Gathright may also be the city’s foremost crusader for free speech rights. Over the past few years, Gathright and his […]