- CAKE SHAKE: Sweet Cakes by Melissa, the Gresham bakery forced from business after it refused to make a cake for a lesbian couple in 2013, is trying to raise money to pay its fines using the Christian Kickstarter. Owners Aaron and Melissa Klein are facing a $135,000 fine for their actions, which violated Oregonâs discrimination laws. The Kleins originally used GoFundMe, but that site says it wonât approve campaigns for crimes connected to hateful acts. âSatanâs really at work but I know our God has a plan and wins in the end!â the Kleins wrote before switching to Samaritanâs Purse, where donors had to scroll past a campaign to help victims of the Nepal earthquake before giving money to the Kleins.
- PAY TO PLAY: Several midsize Portland theaters may change their pay structure for actors, creating a ripple effect on staffing and on the plays theyâre able to produce. The change was suggested by employment lawyer Dan Grinfas, who earlier this month co-hosted a panel with the Portland Area Theater Alliance on whether actors should be considered volunteers, independent contractors or employees. If they become employees, theaters must pay minimum wage, possibly making shows with large casts or extra staff too expensive. Then again, avoiding an IRS audit may be worth the trouble. Triangle Productions says it will lay off its marketing director and box-office staff when it starts paying actors as employees Aug. 1. Post5 Theatre is considering the change, and CoHo Productions said in a statement it will continue to treat actors, management and administrators as employees, and directors, designers and costumers as independent contractors. No changes are needed at big theater companies such as Portland Center Stage, where actors are unionized and have their pay regulated.
- HOTEL TRANSIENTS: Magpie vintage clothing, Johnny Sole shoe store, and arts nonprofit Oregon Humanities will move this year to make room for a new West End boutique hotel from Provenance Hotels, the company that operates Hotel Lucia and the Sentinel. Johnny Sole and Oregon Humanities expect to move a block away; Oregon Humanties will move into the Pittock Block building, upstairs from Literary Arts and the City Club of Portland, in mid-May. But Magpie, which has sold clothes on Southwest 9th Avenue for 20 years, is having a tough time finding a new location. âThey wonât give me a timeline,â says owner Todd Wooley. âWeâd love to stay downtown. Weâve always been downtown. I looked at a place on 4th and Washington. Itâs so seedy down there; I had no idea.â
- NOT BITTER: The Bitter End soccer bar on West Burnside Street is calling it quitsâ¦again. The preferred Timbers pregame pub reopened in 2013 under new owners but announced its closure April 23, promising to reincarnate soon as the St. Helens, with âa new team and a new focus.â
WWeek 2015