A Star is Cast Call it an example of life imitating art or the type of rags-to-riches story People magazine loves to report, but for Robert Brown there is a happy Hollywood ending. The difference here is that for Brown, a 15-year-old ward of the state of New York, the happy ending is just the beginning. Cast opposite Sean Connery in Gus Van Sant's newest film, Finding Forrester, Brown is poised on the brink of stardom. Portland screenwriter Mike Rich was surprised when Columbia Pictures agreed to cast Brown, a complete unknown, until he saw the audition tape. The young African-American actor captured the role of Jamal Wallace, the protégé of a reclusive author (Connery), exactly as Rich had conceived the character. Directed by Van Sant, Finding Forrester is set to begin shooting in April. Columbia Pictures has tentatively scheduled a December release, which hints the studio feels the film is a strong contender for an Oscar. --David Walker 'Nuff Daddy It's time to close the door on the Viewpoint Inn. Last week, Geoff Thompson withdrew an appeal to challenge Multnomah County's decision to close the controversial inn he owned and operated in the Columbia Gorge. County officials shut down Thompson's restaurant last fall, citing rules of the Columbia Gorge Scenic Act, which prohibits commercial ventures in most areas of the gorge ("Buff Daddy," WW, Sept. 29, 1999). Thompson immediately appealed that decision to the Columbia River Gorge Commission. Until the county put him out of business, Thompson was leasing the Viewpoint with an option to buy. "He no longer has any ownership interest in the property," says his attorney, William Cox. "The county pretty well did him in." --Patty Wentz Giant Sucking Sounds Bill Sizemore has found yet another way to put the squeeze on the state's checking account. Last week the tax activist began circulating a ballot measure that would refund money from the national tobacco settlement directly to Oregon taxpayers. Meanwhile, the debate over how to spend the tobacco money is causing fits in Salem. This year the state received about $64 million from the national settlement and will continue to get a portion of tobacco revenues every year. Everyone, of course, wants a puff from the pack. The 1999 Legislature referred a measure to the ballot that would allocate it among various agencies. Another initiative, backed by the Oregon hospital lobby, would put all of the money into the Oregon Health Plan (that initiative hasn't started circulating petitions yet). Sizemore's measure, however, would resolve the debate by taking all the tobacco money away from the state and giving it taxpayers. The Oregon Department of Revenue estimates the refund would amount to about $46 per taxpayer if the measure were in effect today. The windfall could be even more, however. The measure would also refund any increases in state revenues that exceed the rate of inflation. At this point, Sizemore is vague about how much support the measure has. "If I can raise enough money to support it," he says, "I'll run it." The measure is sponsored by Brian Dirks of Dundee. Sizemore says Dundee is an Oregon Taxpayers United member but would not go into detail. Dirks did not return calls from WW. --Patty Wentz Beers & Barbs Longtime bicycle advocate Rex Burkholder, 43, is challenging part-time PSU community-relations officer Ed Washington for his seat on the Metro Council. At stake is the tri-county agency's fifth district, which covers most of the city of Portland. Washington, 63, has represented the area for eight years. Of the three slots up for re-election at the parks, trash and planning agency, this is the only race that features a serious fight. The two men debated for the first time last week at the Snake and Weasel pub in Southeast Portland before 65 members of the twentysomething voter-participation group X-PAC. The race is shaping up as a classic insider-outsider clash: Washington the incumbent is not one to rock the boat, whereas Burkholder makes a point of doing exactly that. That evening, Burkholder painted Washington's council as asleep at the wheel, dithering while the region sinks into a mire of strip-mall sprawl, lousy schools and growing inequality. Government, said Burkholder, "is not a reactive body. It is to set the agenda." On everything from bike lanes to planning to siting a new airport, Burkholder envisions a much more aggressive role for Metro. Washington, a former head of the local NAACP, dismissed Burkholder's bolder platform as unrealistic with the quip, "Just one comment for my opponent: He should run for city commissioner." Washington stressed his own ability to collaborate with other elected officials: "I've been there for eight years.... I know how to get people together, and I know how to get things done." --Nick Budnick Roll Your Own Medical-marijuana patients have been dumped like a baggie into the toilet. Portland Community College has canceled the spring session of educational classes designed to teach neophytes the intricacies of the law and give instructions on how to grow your own prescription pot. The non-credit classes have been offered through PCC's community-education division for the last two terms. Nan Poppe, dean of community education, says it was a strategic decision. "I think we had had some concerns about whether the college was the right venue to offer the class." The concerns came up, she says, after WW reported that PCC was offering the class ("Head of the Class," Jan. 26, 2000). People started calling to complain. "The most important thing is we really see ourselves as offering educational classes," she says, "and not getting involved in anything having to do with politics." Of course, PCC is involved in politics. With a $144 million bond measure on the May ballot, it's probably not a good time for controversy. --Patty Wentz Eggers 4 Prez Attention Alpha Al and George W: Dave Eggers has some advice for you. Yes, presidential candidates, there is a way to escape from the déjà vu predictability of shaking babies' hands, kissing voter's heads and getting stumped. Eggers visited Powell's City of Books last week to promote A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, a memoir about a certain harrowing period in his life from which he rose, like a Phoenix, out of the ashes. The 400 or so people crammed into the Pearl Room at Powell's had surely played victim to an author event before, the kind where a writer jaws on and on, reading passages in a nasal monotone--just like (say it together, kids) a politician giving a speech. Eggers, with the ever-present boom mic of the C-SPAN cable TV network hovering above, showed in four easy steps how to smash the status quo in both career fields: Illness Everyone has at least a little sympathy for the sick. Eggers came out and complained about a tingling sensation in his legs and asked for advice from the audience. Presidential candidates should consider this (just don't barf on anyone's feet, like George's dad did). Exercise Nothing causes pent-up aggression like a slow-moving bloodstream. Eggers planted a fitness trainer in the crowd to respond to his leg ailment and led the group in some quick calisthenics. Make it burn! Interactivity Yes, Bill Clinton played "I feel your pain" to death but never correctly. Imagine, mid-speech at the local Rotary Club, a presidential candidate invites a member of the audience to come up and finish reading from the Teleprompter. Eggers had audience members (including this one) read from sections of his book for him in voices that ranged from flat to florid. Now that's entertainment! Giggles Eggers brought a clown. I repeat, Eggers brought a clown. --Caryn B. Brooks Murmurs SCUTTLEBUTT WITH AN EDGE Relax: Portland's favorite filmmaker isn't going anywhere. People saw the for-sale sign and started to get nervous that Gus Van Sant was fleeing Portland. Real-estate sources confirm that the director's old house on Southwest Vista Street has sold but assure us he's not pulling out of Puddletown. Word is, he's looking for another property in Portland. He should have plenty of cash: The asking price for the Vista abode was $975,000. Gov. John Kitzhaber is facing a shootout with the OCA. No, not Lon Mabon's posse but the Oregon Cattlemen's Associ-ation. The cowboy's have purt' near had it. Charging that the guv cares more about those damn fish than cows or people, the cattlemen are floating the idea of a recall. No word on whether they've found anyone else who wants to string him up. Seems the news boss over at KATU, responding to former reporter Mark Hass' legislative bid, has redrawn the line between journalism and politics. Murmurs hears that news director Gary Walker made it very clear to his newsroom staffers that, while he couldn't prohibit them from going to a Hass fund-raiser (hosted by ex-KATU anchor Jeff Gianola) two weeks ago, he'd sure prefer that they didn't. Don't be surprised if there is a surge in student applications at Reed College next fall. After the way the writers for HBO's mega-hyped, hot-rod series The Sopranos dropped the liberal school's name in Sunday's episode, every cool kid worth his fuckin' ziti should be clamoring for admission. The Reed staff didn't know before the episode aired that they were going to be the undergrad destination for Meadow Soprano's friend Hunter. Members of the college's PR department made an effort Monday to find out "Why Reed?" but lips on the New York-based film crew were sealed. Portland invades France! Well, in a musical sense, at least. The local disco-kitsch lad known as T-1-11 was chosen FranceMP3.com's artiste du jour Thursday, March 2, due largely to the site's love of the funky, sample-adelic dance song "Washing Windows." Une seule question, the barometers of Franco-cool pondered: "Why isn't it already No. 1 on the dance floors?" You can ask yourself the same thing while listening to the tune for free at www.francemp3.com/ music/artistes.asp?N=2394. Overheard: "You know if you OD on heroin while sitting on the toilet your guts will literally drop out of your asshole." --On an eastbound MAX train, 5:15 pm March 3. Quote of the Week: "Where do I get my money from? I get my money from whoever will give it to me." --Metro Councilor Ed Washington, when questioned about campaign finance reform and fund-raising Corrections A story last month about Geoff Thompson's departure from the Viewpoint Inn reported that vandalism and theft charges had been filed against him ("Huff Daddy," WW, Feb. 2, 2000). Actually, although Thompson's former landlord filed a police report complaining of theft, prosecutors did not file any charges. Police say Thompson told them that he had permission to remodel and the equipment he took was that which he'd bought. In the story "Fire in the Belly" (WW, Feb. 23, 2000), we wrote that illegal residents had been removed from the food stamp rolls with the 1996 Welfare Reform Act. In fact, it was resident aliens who were removed from food-stamp eligibility; illegal aliens had never been eligible. WW regrets the errors. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Willamette Week | originally published March 8, 2000