Uh, Houston, we have a problem.

[February 14th, 2007] Unless you've been in outer space, you know why astronaut William Oefelein is laying low. But the ramifications of Oefelein's unwitting trek into infamy will hit close to home next week. Oefelein won't be attending events Feb. 23-24 at his alma mater, Oregon State University. NASA has canceled all astronaut speaking engagements due to "obvious recent events," says Gregg Kleiner, spokesman for OSU's college of engineering. Oefelein got launched into the news when fellow astronaut Lisa Marie Nowak, one of his starry-eyed admirers, strapped on an adult diaper and drove 1,000 miles to Florida allegedly to murder his girlfriend.

WW cover alum "Carlos ," the Franklin High senior whose family immigrated to Oregon illegally from Mexico, is one step closer to attending college. "Carlos," whose name was changed in the original story ("Illegal Scholar," WW, Nov. 15, 2006) to protect his identity, was admitted to Portland State University this month. The admission comes despite the fact that Carlos doesn't have a Social Security number, which some public universities require. But PSU says it accepts students based on academic credentials, not citizenship. (Carlos' lack of a Social Security number does mean he can't get federal student loans.) Carlos, now 18, is still waiting to hear if Reed College will admit him.

A union organizing drive is heating up at the Portland Development Commission. Organizers from AFSCME Council 75, which already represents city office workers, have found a receptive ear among the 176 employees at the turmoil- and turnover-plagued PDC. After some rumblings that PDC management was hostile to the union—rumblings which prompted a cautionary letter to PDC director Bruce Warner from City Commissioner Randy Leonard—Warner held an all-staff meeting last Friday to assure employees that the agency is neutral on unionization.

Meanwhile, AFSCME is poised to weigh in on something else important to PDC. AFSCME's exec board met Tuesday after our press time to decide its formal position on a May 15 ballot measure that would change the city's charter, including increased City Council oversight over PDC's $248 million budget. AFSCME Local 489's boss James Hester said earlier Tuesday that his union wants Council to have more say over the PDC budget. Hester adds that the union doesn't want another proposed charter change of the city's current form of government (see page 7) and is also wary of proposed civil-service changes.

Some allegations in the lawsuit filed by the family of James Chasse Jr. should capture a attention if the suit ever goes to a jury. The still-to-be-proven allegations included in the Feb. 8 suit say Portland police falsely told bystanders that Chasse had 14 drug convictions and announced at the scene they'd found cocaine on Chasse when they knew the substance was bread crumbs. The suit also alleges a firefighter/paramedic at the scene mocked Chasse's cries of pain. The suit seeks unspecified damages from the city, Multnomah County, TriMet, the American Medical Response ambulance service and others. The city attorney's office declined comment on the suit filed by the family of Chasse, a schizophrenic man killed in police custody last year.

By the time you read this, OHSU's tram will be sanctified by holy matrimony. Thanks to a Z100 radio promo, Dustin Hettman and Amber Gosnel were slated for wedlock Valentine's Day morn during a five-minute ride. The tram a wedding industry? Cool.