Murmurs

Top-shelf tidbits

* Two former subjects of WW cover stories took opposite paths through the criminal-justice-system turnstiles last week. On Monday, Treva Throneberry, 34, was released from the Washington Corrections Center for Women in Gig Harbor after being convicted in November 2001 for perjury and theft after she was caught
impersonating a 19-year-old named Brianna Rebecca Stewart. (See "Portrait of a Serial Teenager," WW, June 27, 2001). Two days later, Tom Calkins, former owner of the Burlingame Grocery, was convicted of setting fire to his store in September 2001. Calkins, who faces a seven-and-a-half-year sentence, became a prime suspect after firefighters discovered a security videotape from the night of the fire. The videotape, first reported by WW's Nick Budnick, showed a man resembling the store owner inside the building shortly before the fire (see "Burning Questions," WW, June 5, 2002).

* After three decades on the road, John Hiatt has had his share of diner food. So it was a grand tribute that the singer-songwriter, in town for two shows at the Aladdin, dedicated "How Bad's the Coffee" to "Kathy at the Bijou" cafe, where Hiatt was spotted twice last weekend. The song likens a lost era of truck-driverly banter with waitresses to the preparation of a cup of joe. "A whole lot of sugar/ A little pinch of salt/ You cut my bitter/ With your sweet talk," runs the chorus.

* Portlanders don't just love riding bikes; they love riding bikes while tracking down 20 brain-squeezing clues on overcast Sunday mornings. Last weekend, 110 people showed up to compete in WW's first-ever all-city bike scavenger hunt. Participants forked over $10 each for charity (the Bicycle Transportation Alliance and the Community Cycling Center will split about $1,000) and the opportunity to submit themselves to madcap bike hunting and gathering. The alpha of the pack--one Dan Cheever--took home a sweet cruising bike for first prize with a shin-splitting time of three hours and 25 minutes. Check out the pictures at wweek.com and prepare for next year.

WWeek 2015

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