Murmurs

* The most encouraging sign that a countywide bailout for schools is on the way? The recipients are already jostling for position. Portland Public Schools, home to the majority of Multnomah County's 90,000 students and even more of its political muscle, has by far the biggest per-capita deficit. PPS backers thus think the bailout should be distributed based on need. Not so fast, say officials in the David Douglas district in East County, which has been a model of fiscal restraint. David Douglas superintendent Barbara Rommel wrote to politicos last week arguing strenuously for a strict per-student distribution of aid, even though that will mean students in her district, more than half of whom qualify for free lunch, will be counted the same as the kids from upscale Riverdale.

* Commuter partyers may soon need to find a new pseudo-Cabo. The state liquor police announced on that they want to shut down Banana Joe's, the tropical-themed chain meat market in the historic Erickson's Saloon building on Northwest 2nd Avenue. B-Jay's has been in hot water with the Man from its early days. The Oregon Liquor Control Commission says the last straw came Jan. 18, when "a bartender free-poured alcohol into the mouths of patrons who put money into a bucket held by another bartender." Whoops. The Ohio-owned bar must request a hearing on the license cancellation by March 13.

* The post-Measure 28 meltdown continues. On Wednesday, Cascadia Behavioral Healthcare, the county's largest provider of mental-health services, will lay off between 150 and 175 full-time employees and close nine of its current facilities, including Delaunay Family of Services in North Portland. The state's fiscal woes have trickled down to Oregon Health Plan recipients, meaning 2,500, or one-third, of Cascadia's clients will be ineligible for mental-health services as of March 1. "It looks pretty bleak," says Cascadia spokesman Mark Schorr. "We're doing this so we can continue to serve the most severely mentally disabled."

* People talk about the long arm of the law, but few know it also has a soft hand. The man known as the toughest prosecutor in Portland, Norm Frink, is a flat-topped body-builder famous for his rhetorical chest-pounding, desk-thumping ways. Well, apparently "Maximum" Norm has a tender side: specifically, his hands. Frink was recently spotted at Dábia, a new Southwest Broadway salon, getting a manicure and, allegedly, a paraffin dip to soften his hands. The "Dead Sea salt and paraffin" treatments start at $24, according to the salon's must-see website, www.salon-dabia.com/nails.php.

* Just when you thought reality TV had hit its apex, along comes OPAN, a local cable-access network which promises to rival Fear Factor for thrills and chills. Premiering Wednesday at 6 pm on Channel 29, Oregon Public Access Network is modeled on C-SPAN and will bring state politics and government to your living room. In addition to watching legislative and administrative hearings (yee-HAW!), speeches, debates and other public forums, such as City Club meetings (whoopee!), viewers will be able to air their own views and communicate with others through the station's website, www.opan.org.

WWeek 2015