Murmurs: Have You Seen The McMuffin Man?

1. Opponents of Oregon’s constitutional ban on same-sex marriage are taking it to a judge. As first reported on wweek.com, Portland attorneys Lake Perriguey and Lea Ann Easton filed a lawsuit Oct. 15 in U.S. District Court in Eugene on behalf of two Portland gay couples. Perriguey says he knows Oregon United for Marriage is running a 2014 initiative campaign to overturn Measure 36 but believes a suit will be faster and less expensive. “It will not withstand constitutional scrutiny,” he says. Oregon United for Marriage spokeswoman Amy Ruiz says her group is aware of the suit. “We share the same goal, to make marriage legal for all loving and committed couples in Oregon,” she says.

1. The Portland Independent Police Review Division wants the power to question police officers directly in response to citizen complaints. IPR director Constantin Severe says the change is required as part of the city’s settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice over the Police Bureau’s use of excessive force. “I can’t see how you can have meaningful investigations without talking directly to officers,” says Severe, whose division is part of the City Auditor’s Office. Police spokesman Sgt. Pete Simpson says that Chief Mike Reese won’t comment on this proposal and other reform ideas until he testifies about them before the City Council. Portland Police Association president Daryl Turner didn’t respond to WW’s questions by press time. The City Council will hear the proposals Oct. 23.

1. Jack Bogdanski’s lawsuit against the Portland Arts Tax is getting an encore. Voters passed the $35-per-person tax in November 2012 to help fund arts teachers in schools and local arts organizations. Bogdanski—the Lewis & Clark Law School professor and erstwhile blogger known as Bojack—challenged the tax in state court, saying it violated the Oregon Constitution’s ban on a head tax. The city got the suit thrown out of Oregon Tax Court in June, but Bogdanski appealed. This week, the tax court will again consider whether to hear his suit.

1. Who wants to give free McMuffins to the homeless? Not Jessie Sponberg. For years, the activist collected Taco Bell chalupa coupons outside Trail Blazers games and distributed them to social-service agencies. The Blazers announced recently they’re replacing the chalupa promotion with McDonald’s McMuffins when the team scores 100 points in a game. “I McQuit,” Sponberg declared in a scathing We Out Here Magazine essay Oct. 8. “I wouldn’t give a McMuffin to my worst enemy.” Sponberg tells WW he’s been attacked online but has received no offers to collect vouchers in his stead. “I’ve been called a crybaby by a thousand people,” he says. “Not a single person has offered to stand on my corner. Not one. Not even in jest.”

WWeek 2015