So after 60 days with no answer, am I correct that a local Portland areapsychic who has presented herself as "Voted 'Portland's Best' by Willamette Week" is using that statement incorrectly after several years of use? And am I correct that there really isn't any policy by Willamette Week to prevent such claims being made by those picked through some undefined public process?

 

Dear Mark,

some of this paper's critics have predicted on this blog that after homosexuals, Nigel will be revealing other dark conspiracies in Portland. Today, lo an behold: he has found a prince of darkness in the person of a "Brooklyn transplant" with the Jewish last name. Your paper also has dropped hints pointing out to a dark conspiracy that unites homosexuals in the city government and this "Brooklyn transplant." How is this line of mob-inciting "reporting" is not fascistic?

 

St. Paddy's Day Limerick Challenges, you citified Portland pussies, from my friend Connie:

Some like Mars, but i prefer Venus. In fact, were you peeking, you might have seen us. You could nave seen clits, or possibly tits; but nary a penis between us.

Top those, you no-curtain Irish spalpeen shiteabed informers for the Black-and-Tans. Although the WWeek is not noted for its love of this holy holiday, so you might never read this. Believe me, they censor as they see fit, as they should...

My girlfriend, Caryloyn Bee/ She really knhows how to please me,\ when we're lying in bed, tells me rhymes from her head/ What a cunning linguist she be.

 

Why don't the local media compare the rate of police-related deaths in Portland/Oregon to other localities?

The recent review of the Portland Police Bureau (The Oregonian: "Cops chided on Tasers, medical aid," Feb. 24) did not include comparisons of Portland and Oregon to other cities and states but an interactive federal web site lets the user do just that.*

During 2000-2005, the most recent available data, Oregon's age-adjusted death rate was 2.6 times higher than the US rate (2.9 per million population versus 1.1) and ranked third highest among the states. The Multnomah County rate (4.2) was 3.8 times higher and ranked fourth highest among US counties. (The ranking is based on counties with at least 10 deaths and, although the numbers are relatively small, the rates for Portland and Oregon are statistically significant.) As troubling as these facts are, the rates may be based on incomplete data; counts reported by the Oregon Center for Health Statistics are higher than the federal figures.**

What is it about the policy of the local constabulary that results in so many apparently unnecessary deaths that other jurisdictions are able to avoid? Perhaps the Oregon data are simply more accurate than those collected elsewhere, but they do give one pause. The changes in policy and procedure implemented by Police Chief Rosie Sizer will hopefully lead to a reduction in the disparity.

* Go to http:\\wonder.CDC.gov; at the bottom of the page select "Mortality - underlying cause of death." The cause of death is in the category "legal intervention," but executions should be excluded from the request.

** Oregon Vital Statistics Annual Report, Volume 2, pages 6-29, 6-34, and 6-35;

http://www.dhs.state.or.us/dhs/ph/chs/data/arpt/05v2/chapter6/chp6-nar.pdf

 

This isn't an editorial comment, but more of a design comment.

Why did the WW redesign its webpage in such a way to make it as difficult as possible to read? The entire site seems to have little regard for basic design principles with regards to whitespace.

I left WW as one of my "regular" sites, and actually visit a competitor's much more than this site, but I often find your reporting better. It's a shame, really.