Global warming? Nah.

[July 26th, 2006] Thinking of trading up? For a cool $3.995 million , Nike will sell you the 8,400-square-foot Portland Heights mansion it bought from now-former CEO William Perez . Never shy about taking a profit, the sneaker giant paid only $3.16 million for the shack at 1975 SW Montgomery Drive in March. That's the same price Perez paid in April 2005 when he thought his relationship with Phil Knight might last longer than a pair of Air Jordans. If chez Perez seems pricey with its 26 percent markup, check out the crib of soon-to-be-former OHSU boss Dr. Peter Kohler a few doors north. A mere $1.95 million gets you that 5,892-square-foot home at 1863 SW Montgomery Drive.

Accused Earth Liberation Front arsonist Tre Arrow hopes at least 10 donors will contribute $100,000 apiece for his bail from a Canadian jail. Arrow says in a July 23 email to supporters that he plans to propose the $1 million bail idea to the British Columbia Court of Appeal in September or October. Arrow also says in the email he dictated over the phone that he "will agree to any condition" to convince the government he won't flee. Donors wouldn't have to hand over the money but must be willing to show they have the equity, in case it's needed. Arrested in Victoria in March 2004, Arrow is in the Vancouver Island Regional Correctional Centre while he fights extradition to Oregon to stand trial in connection with a pair of arsons five years ago.

In the past three months, a caller from an Oregon area code has been harassing more people around the country than any other caller, according to a website that tracks unsolicited phone calls. Nearly 200 people reported to whocalled.us that they got a call from "Dorothy with the mortgage company." The caller from (503) 426-3110 claims to offer 1 percent mortgage loans but hangs up if you ask questions, irate victims tell whocalled.us. Murmurs' call to that number was answered by an automated message instructing us to enter a phone number if we wanted to be on a "do not call" list.

Punk scenesters got a nasty shock Friday night when Portland Police Officer Garrett Dow tasered a female concertgoer in the chest . Responding to a noise complaint, Dow entered the warehouse at Northeast 19th Avenue and Couch Street about 11:30 pm. Bystanders say Dow got into a verbal altercation with the bass player of the band Polka Madre. Some in the crowd of about 40 people tried to restrain the officer. The police report says the woman, who left without being identified, had punched Dow from behind. Several witnesses say she'd tapped him on the shoulder.

Harry Potter, Pirates of the Caribbean and the pope were the most frequent tropes for the 30-plus entrants in WW's contest to caption this photo of Mayor Tom Potter (who was accepting a ceremonial robe from a delegation from Kazakhstan). The winner of the $50 gift certificate to Kells Irish Restaurant and Pub: Ed Rae of Southeast Portland for "Pirate of the Crabby Bein '."

^WEB-ONLY MURMURS!

The 22-year-old stepson of KINK program director Dennis Constantine took his own life July 19. The news that Constantine's stepson, Toby, had jumped off the Fremont Bridge reached the family in Baltimore, where they were visiting the grave of Constantine's father. The Multnomah County River Patrol recovered a body at 8 am Sunday, July 23, but authorities had not confirmed identification as of press time. A memorial service is scheduled for 2:30 pm Friday, July 28, at Riverview Abbey, 319 SW Taylors Ferry Road.

State Rep. Jeff Kropf (R-Sublimity), a conservative radio host, wants to take his free-market principles right into the belly of the beast, a.k.a. the Oregon Legislature. Commenting Sunday on his blog A Better Watch (a-better-watch.blogspot.com) about a commission considering ways to improve the statehouse, Kropf suggested lawmakers be paid "based on free-market, results-oriented principles." What's that mean? According to Kropf, "Some who serve in the Legislature should pay for the privilege based on their weak performance, rather than get paid." Although "it would be complicated to develop the metrics to measure performance" (ya think?), Kropf says he expects opposition to his plan only "from those who are lazy."

Powerhouse Salem lobbyist Larry Campbell's $8,000-a-month Victory Group contract with SAIF Corp. expires at the end of August and will be put out for bids. Some Salem insiders say Victory's work for the state-run workers' compensation insurance company is finished following a house-cleaning at SAIF. But it's worth noting that Victory recently won renewal of a $3,000-a-month contract to help shift responsibility for homeland security from the Oregon State Police to the Oregon Military Department.

After numerous changes and modifications (most recently $29,000 for three additional electonic doors, two with card readers), the cost of upgrading and repairing the Multnomah County Elections building at 1040 SE Morrison St. is nearly 40 percent over budget. County commissioners are slated to vote Thursday, July 27, whether to approve the new $735,000 price tag for the renovation (the original cost estimate was $535,000), as they are required to do for any contract that goes more than one-third over budget. County officials say the new doors will address security concerns by staff.

A suspicious name has turned up on the latest spending reports filed by groups behind two state ballot initiatives: Ricca Petitioning Services, whose registrant, Daniel Ricca, was accused of forging signatures and falsifying voter registrations in Oregon in 2002. The Orange County Register in California has reported that there was insufficient evidence to prove those accusations, but that Ricca was also under investigation for falsifying registrations in Orange County. The Committee to Restore Oregon's Term Limits and the Taxpayer Association of Oregon Spending Limit PAC—the groups behind the term-limit initiative for legislators and the TABOR initiative to limit state spending—both report paying over $15,000 to Ricca Petitioning Services or Ricca & Associates.