Winners

1. PGE's new "automated outage system" worked with only a couple of glitches in its first big test. The system, implemented in November, allowed customers not only to report power outages by touch-tone phone but also to learn when the power was knocked out in their neighborhood, how many people were affected, when a crew was dispatched, what caused the outage and when the power was expected to be back on. The one problem: Because of the large volume of calls, the automatic call-back feature (to tell folks their power should be back on) was overloaded.

2. Tri-Met's new Web page (www.tri-met.org) also passed its first storm test. The page, which listed the snow routes of 20 bus lines, received 4,000 hits Monday.

3. If it seems like KGW weather stud Matt Zaffino has been on your TV non-stop since Saturday, it's because he practically has. Zaffino gave viewers enthusiastic explanations of what was going on and largely on-target predictions of what was to come.

Losers

1. Many Portlanders woke up with no electricity on Tuesday, grabbed their portable radios and tuned to KXL, only to hear coverage that was unusually light on substance and heavy on happy talk. Rather than telling listeners about power outages and when they could expect to have heat, the morning talk jocks came up with this contest: "How many Portlanders are without electricity? The seventh correct caller will get a prize!"

2. Not only did they have to brave long delays in service, but veteran Tri-Met users also had to put up with foul-weather bus riders who were unfamiliar with standard fares, routes and bus etiquette.

3. KGW's Shannon Brinias did a good job monitoring traffic flow, but flunked physics. During a Sunday report, the veteran reporter said bridges are more dangerous than other roadways during freezing temperatures because of their altitude.