[June 11th, 2008]

WINNERS

1. Olé, olé, olé, olé, Olé. Olé. (And so on.) Get ready, Trail Blazers fans, to hear that global sports anthem a lot next season, now that Spanish superstar Rudy Fernández has agreed to join the team (and his compatriota, Blazer Sergio Rodriguez). To see the many reasons why this is muy bueno, check out the Fernandez videos at wweek.com/wwire/?p=12135.

2. The ’Couv commuters, construction firms, unions and politicians backing the $4.2 billion Columbia River Crossing project won a battle last week, when the big new bridge withstood an assassination attempt by Metro councilors. In the first vote taken since the May release of a bridge analysis, Metro voted 5-2 to endorse replacing the current bridges. But the council also wants a re-vetting of the project’s underlying assumptions and greater local control (see “Bridge Over the River Why?” WW, May 21, 2008).

3. Score one for trans visibility : Multnomah County Democratic Party officer Laura Calvo, a 51-year-old transgender woman (see “Trans-formational Politics,” WW, Jan. 23, 2008), was elected as a Hillary Clinton delegate. That makes her the first trans person to represent Oregon at a Democratic national convention. Just in time for Pride Week, too.

4. Moving from trannies to grannies ...“Seriously Pissed Off Grannies” Bonnie Tinker and Sara Graham (see “Surge Protection Brigade,” WW, Feb. 21, 2007) beat a B.S. rap that included disorderly conduct at the 2007 Grand Floral Parade. What pissed them off about last year’s parade? A tank among the floats. Pissed us off, too (for coverage of their June 9 court appearance, go to wweek.com).

LOSERS

1. Intel, one of Oregon’s largest private employers, announced it’s under a federal antitrust investigation over its pricing practices. The Federal Trade Commission inquiry follows a similar investigation in Europe and a $25 million fine against Intel by South Korean regulators. Hey, Microsoft beat the rap, and there’s still a Republican in the White House. Intel should be just fine.

2. University of Oregon prez David Frohnmayer and Nike honcho Phil Knight got tripped up by a hearings officer who decided UO needed a conditional-use permit before building its new $245 million arena. The permit will delay construction on the hoops palace, driving up already spiraling costs and severely irritating Goliath—er, Knight, who pledged $100 million to the project.

3. U.S. Rep. Greg Walden (R-Ore.) lost points with podunk constituents if he ends up running for governor in 2010. A bill restoring federal timber payments for strapped rural counties failed in Congress when Walden objected to Rep. Peter DeFazio’s (D-Ore.) inserting a provision that would have taxed Big Oil to fund the payments.