WINNERS 1. Chalk one up for the big legal guns from New York--specifically lawyer Maria Vullo, who did a masterful job representing a number of abortion providers in a closely watched federal trial. The jury, which returned its verdict on Tuesday, had no problem believing Vullo's detailed case against anti-abortion activists accused of threatening providers, including local docs Elizabeth and James Newhall. Every defendant was found guilty on at least one count. 2. It's up to the State of Oregon to defend the adoptee-rights initiative from the lawsuit that's been filed against it. Last week, though, Marion County Circuit Court Judge Albin Norblad allowed in chief petitioner Helen Hill, adoptee Curtis Endicott, birth mother Susan Updike and the Oregon Adoptive Rights Association as parties to the suit. That means they will have equal standing with the state. More importantly, they will have the right to appeal--something that adoption-rights groups did not have in a similar suit filed against a Tennessee law. 3. During a panel discussion on youth violence at Lake Oswego High School Monday night, the best analysis came not from state lawmakers but an articulate Lincoln High student who called state Rep. Mike Lehman to task. In response to his comments that the Legislature can't fix "community problems," Erin Grant said she's got community coming out of her ears but no paper in her classroom.

LOSERS 1. Fans of Fireballs of Freedom got shut out last week when Everclear made an unscheduled but heavily hyped appearance at Satyricon. The Fireballs, who had been booked to play that night, were told they could stick around and follow Art and Co., but they chose to split rather than let Everclear buy them a new world. 2. After weeks of whining about not being offered an NFL head coaching job, this Sunday Atlanta Falcons defensive coordinator and former University of Oregon coach Rich Brooks showed why his phone isn't ringing: The defensive strategies he employed against the Denver Broncos had more holes than Dennis Rodman. 3. Opponents of deregulating public education were left scrambling as the Republican-dominated Senate Education Committee zipped its version of a charter schools bill through last week. The proposed legislation gives charter schools much greater freedom than many educators believe they should have.

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Willamette Week | originally published February 3, 1999