Murmurs

* Sometimes the wheels of justice move pretty damn quick. Just a day after noting that tough-talking prosecutor Norm Frink recently was spotted getting a manicure at a trendy Southwest Broadway salon, Murmurs received a gift certificate for the same procedure. It came "soft hand delivered" from Frink himself, who noted that "from what I have read in your paper over the years, I suspect a few of you over there have some dirt under your nails." Touché.

* Last November, accused child molester Henry Bundy made headlines with an ill-fated attempt to serve as his own attorney, interrogating his victims. Convicted but not yet sentenced, Bundy has already begun to take his lumps. On Jan. 15, he had to be taken to the emergency room after fighting with another inmate, Brian A. Rodgers, at the downtown jail. Bundy told investigating deputies that Rodgers jumped him, yelling, "Fucking Rapo!" Bundy covered his face, but Rodgers reportedly pummeled him hard enough to cause two orbital fractures (both eyesockets). Bundy declined to file a police report.

* It takes a lot to live up to hair, metal and pyrotechnics. Even so, Vancouver, Wash., band Trip hoped that touring as the opener for Great White would be their big break. Their supporting role in the disaster at Rhode Island's Station nightclub has instead brought them immense regret and slight media coverage. Amid 2,500 articles on Google News related to Great White's show, Trip was mentioned in just five.

* When Norah Jones swept the Grammy Awards on Sunday night, Michelle DeCourcy decided it was time for a change of a dress--or at least its name. Seems noteworthy Norah picked out a simple, black stretch-lace gown from the 31-year-old Lake Oswego fashion designer (who until last year was a health-care accountant) at another awards show and decided to wear it for the music industry's biggest night. On Monday, DeCourcy said she would re-christen the $200 frock, which she's been calling the "Stella," as the "Norah."

* City Commissioner Randy Leonard, who oversees the bureau that administers the city's Business License Fee and the county's Business Income Tax, isn't thrilled with the Portland Business Alliance's proposed changes to the city payroll tax. The Alliance, which backed Leonard for City Council, wants to cap the tax at $100,000 per business, which would be a windfall to large employers. "The whole point of this exercise is to try to reform a system that focuses unfairly on a few people," Leonard says. "As far as I'm concerned, we're going to enact an ordinance with no caps."

* Memo of the Week: "Just a reminder that, in general, the paper should remain an outpost of civility when it comes to offensive language and its use. As has been said here before, there are few times when obscenities and otherwise offensive language can't be written around, despite its commonplace use in contemporary culture. Twice in recent days "pissed off" has gotten into the paper. Such terms and the obvious escalations of them shouldn't be offered for the newspaper, unless context overwhelmingly demands it."

--Peter Bhatia, Executive Editor, The Oregonian (from a weekly staff memo sent Feb. 17, 2003)

WWeek 2015