[July 2nd, 2008]

WINNERS

1. The Portland City Council last week agreed to a controversial plan directing $19 million from an urban renewal area covering the Pearl District toward a new school 15 miles away for the cash-strapped, overcrowded David Douglas School District. Upset folks have threatened to sue, because, you know, Pearlies need that money for much more important things, like…uh…actually, can we get back to you on that?

2. The city of Portland’s employee unions scored a new bargaining chip when a temp worker on loan from the Columbia River Correctional Institution stole a city truck and escaped for a few giddy hours last week. Union reps have knocked the prison work program as encroaching on their turf and deflating wages (See “Lowball Landscaping,” Nov. 28, 2007). Advice to future escapees: Consider a less conspicuous getaway car.

3. Amanda Fritz , who dominated the Portland City Council primary in May with 43 percent of the vote in a six-person field, is now even closer to victory. Why? Because Charles Lewis—her opponent in the November runoff—is home with a new baby after his wife, Sarah, delivered Coakley Anna Lewis, the couple’s first child. So while Fritz—whose youngest will soon be off to college—can catch up on her sleep, Lewis won’t be getting any for the next three years or so. (See this week's Murmurs for more on their race.)

LOSERS

1. The Score thought Blazer guard Jarrett Jack might be traded. But we didn’t think fans would let the door hit him so hard on the way out. The Columbian reported the draft-day Rose Garden crowd cheered at the news Jack was being dealt, drowning out the names of whom the Blazers would get in return. Ouch. Issues aside, we wish the hard-working JJ the best of luck in Indiana, where the out-of-bounds lines are clearly marked.

2. How’s U.S. Sen. and Republican presidential nominee John McCain doing in Oregon? Well, the state’s top Republican, U.S. Sen. Gordon Smith, last week released a TV ad for his re-election, bragging about his work with some Senate colleague and presidential candidate named...Obama.

3. Oregonian employees learned last week the paper’s “lifetime pledge” of employment remains intact, other than the parts about “lifetime” and “pledge.” In a letter to employees, O publisher Fred Stickel rehashed the problems that all newspapers face, then listed a litany of possible new exceptions to the pledge. (To see the letter, read this Wwire post.) On the upside, business is booming at the Columbia River Correctional Institution. Maybe they need help with the in-house newsletter?