This past Wednesday morning, August 1, Jeff Merkley, Speaker of the Oregon House of Representatives, was widely expected to file the paperwork creating his campaign committee to unseat US Senator Gordon Smith. Merkley’s move came after months of speculation; rumors surfaced that he had been in talks with the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) two […]
Scott Moore
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Hall Monitor
Grievances, Redressed
What a difference a week makes! Just a few days after we published a news story about the ineffectiveness of the city’s current lobbying regulations, four of the five city council members signed on to an ordinance that is aimed to tighten up the rules. But—wait!—before you hit the snooze button, here’s why that’s important: […]
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Hall Monitor
Doomsday
Oh my god oh my god oh my god! We’re all going to DIIIIEEEEEEEEEE!!!! Okay, fine. Maybe not immediately. I mean, we’re all going to die eventually, but you can’t help but get a little paranoid from all of city council’s recent gloom and doom. It’s like the Grim Reaper—or Condi Rice in those patent […]
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The City Hall Limbo
Lobbyists Fly Under City Rules
A year and a half ago, Commissioner Sam Adams made good on a campaign pledge to make city hall more transparent by introducing a series of rules designed to force lobbyists to report their activities—but the latest reports show that Adams’ effort is largely a bust. Well after the rules’ six-month trial run, the second […]
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Church Fight!
Religious Leaders Battle over Gay Rights—Again
Opponents of a pair of gay rights bills aren’t mincing any words: “Marriage and morality are under attack again in Oregon!” read a recent letter from a group called “Concerned Oregonians” to church leaders around the state. The letter was an appeal to pastors and their congregations to support the referendum on State Bill 2 […]
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Pedaling into the Sunset
New Leader, New Course for BTA
Last Friday afternoon, July 20, without much warning, Evan Manvel announced that he was leaving his position as the executive director of the Bicycle Transportation Alliance (BTA) after two years at its helm. For any other advocacy group, the public and media response to his departure would have been a collective, “Oh.” But, this being […]
Posted inMovies & TV
I’m Staying Home
The Simpsons. Still.
A good seven years ago, some friends and I were discussing The Simpsons, and how the show had, of late, slipped into mediocrity—relying more and more on meta-humor, fleeting pop culture references, and a writing cast that seemed to be phoning it in. “That all may be true,” one of us said, “but what are […]
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Hall Monitor
Kids in the hall
Once again, for one evening only, the best venue to catch movers and shakers in the Portland indierock scene will be, yep, city hall. Last July, the PDX Pop Now! festival kicked off with a free concert outside city hall featuring a couple of little known bands called Quasi and the Minders. It brought a […]
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Butts Out?
Leonard Continues Anti-Smoking Crusade
City Commissioner Randy Leonard isn’t shy about his hatred of cigarettes. He’d ban them outright if he could, but his hands are tied by jurisdictional limits, so he’s only managed to chip away at smoking in areas that the city controls—including the outdoors. His office is currently working on a city ordinance that would ban […]
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Kiss and Tell
Anti-Kissing TriMet Driver Back on Duty
On Wednesday, July 4, the TriMet driver who kicked two teen girls off his bus for kissing, and allegedly called them “disgusting sickos,” returned to duty—after less than two weeks of disciplinary action. According to the mother of one of the girls, the punishment was inadequate, only amounted to a week of “retraining,” and didn’t […]