Winners
 

1. Recycling purists who fought a city plan to "commingle" or mix all kinds of recyclables won the first round last week. A committee created in the wake of the battle recommended that clear and colored glass (and some other materials) continue to be separated before they reach the curb. Sue Keil, the city's solid waste queen, and trash haulers favored commingling.

2. He could have stayed in bed. He could have showed up but played it safe. Instead, Gov. John Kitzhaber dragged his flu-ridden body down to Springfield and made a very impolitic but poignant observation: Oregon's focus on locking up kids like Kip Kinkel after the shooting stops does nothing to reach them before they pull the trigger.

3. In his 22 years coaching Jefferson High's boys basketball team, Bobby Harris earned a reputation as a strict disciplinarian both on and off the court. Like every other teacher at Jeff, though, Harris was fired recently and told to re-apply. Instead Harris successfully applied for the open coaching job at Grant High and will give that program some much-needed direction.

Losers

1. City Commissioner Jim Francesconi wants to ask voters for $64.85 million to upgrade city parks. He didn't help his case among Southwest Portland residents last week when state environmental regulators hit the Parks Bureau with a $4,500 fine for illegal storm water discharge at the construction site of the Southwest Community Center.

2. Bill Clinton's plans to deliver the Portland State University commencement speech is great for PSU students, as long as they don't come from large families. In past years, graduating students have been allowed to invite unlimited guests and family members. This year, however, PSU announced that because of White House security concerns and throngs of pols, students may be limited to as few as four guests.

3. Dance, art and music programs can keep kids from getting into trouble. It's a little scarier out there now that the staff of the Jefferson High School dance program, described as most visible high-school arts program in the Northwest, has been cut by about two-thirds.