No Spring Break Here.

[March 29th, 2006] Going once, going twice...a 28-pound slice of a meteorite found 104 years ago near West Linn will be auctioned April 11 in New York. The 15.5-ton Willamette Meteorite from which it comes, now in Manhattan's American Museum of Natural History, is known as "Tomanowos" to the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde , which holds the space rock sacred. But the privately owned Macovich Collection acquired the 28-pound piece of the rock from the museum in 1997 and stands to make at least $8,000 from the sale. Grand Ronde officials did not return Murmurs' calls to see if they'll challenge the sale, but the reservation's newspaper wrote in 2003, "People who think they own those pieces should beware or at the very least be careful."

Independent gubernatorial candidate Ben Westlund officially launched his campaign this week in Bend knowing he had the support of one of Oregon's wealthiest—and most independent—women. Columbia Sportswear chairwoman Gert Boyle , whose shares in her company are worth more than $250 million, says she's known Westlund a long time and really likes him. "He's not in anybody's pocket," Boyle tells Murmurs. "I really admire him for having the courage to stand up for what he believes." Boyle says her contributions to Westlund have been modest so far , but are likely to grow.

Newly minted media darling Dan Meek , an obscure utility watchdog until his recent profiles by Portland Monthly and The Oregonian, appears poised for another victory. Last Friday, a Multnomah County Circuit Court judge tentatively approved a $10 million refund Meek and his partner Linda Williams won for county ratepayers from PGE . Also last week, another judge appeared to greenlight a similar lawsuit Meek and Williams have brought against PacifiCorp . Judge Janice Wilson told the court she was "pretty shocked" at PacifiCorp's "stonewalling and sandbagging" plaintiffs' requests for information. Although Meek is still awaiting that info, he thinks PacifiCorp owes ratepayers about $4 million.

The Multnomah County Health Department estimates 6,500 patients must be revaccinated after a state inspection late last year found vaccines at some county clinics were improperly stored (see "The Cold Hard Facts," WW, Feb. 1, 2006). County health officials say the revaccination efforts (they're still tabulating costs) will get rolling at special Saturday clinics in April for the most vulnerable, children under age 2. Informational postcards will be mailed to all patients needing a new dose for diseases including hepatitis, whooping cough and measles.

City Commissioner Sam Adams will take the law into his own handlebars this Friday, participating in the monthly Critical Mass bike ride. Organizers of the semi-legal event in Portland have reached a semi-peaceful accord with police, who send traffic cops to nip in the bud any reckless shenanigans like "corking," the practice of stopping oncoming traffic to keep the "mass" in one uninterrupted stream. Look for Adams to ride a tricked-out chopper-style bike from the welding maniacs at Chunk 666.

One more from Bike-World: The Clown House is back. Late last fall, an anonymous complaint and a city inspector's visit prompted the clowns to tear down the rigging of their outdoor show on Northeast Alberta Street. But giving up just didn't stick for Dingo Dismal and Caffeine Jones, who run the cooperative performance space, bike shop, dog-snack factory and home-school co-op. This week's Last Thursday Alberta Art Walk will feature a low-key rebirth of the Field Show, with all the standbys: tall-bike jousting, mini-bike races and mud wrestling. "We couldn't hold it in any longer," Dingo says.

^WEB-ONLY MURMURS!

On the to-do list for Portland Timbers' new management before the May 5 home opener at PGE Park: empowering ushers to boot fans whose language is too foul for their neighbors. Asked what that means for the rowdy boosters of the Timbers Army, team spokesman Chris Metz says Timbers officials have been having "positive" meetings with some Army members in hopes of reducing "perceived problems around abusive language." Army members, responding to a Murmurs post on their fan forum, stress their open, self-policing ways: "I would invite anyone (including my parish priest) to a game," says one who calls himself "nborders." "I know they would be an Army member by the end of the game."

From this week's "Happy News" corner comes kudos to three Portland bike shops: Bike N' Hike, River City Bicycles and The Bike Gallery all made Bicycle Retailer and Industry News' 2006 list of the country's 100 best bicycle retailers (bicycleresearch.com/top100/index.html). The Top 100 ranking is based on voting by sales reps for bicycle and cycling-accessory brands, who look at market share, community outreach and store appearance. Portland is tied with San Diego for the city with the most Top 100 entries.