The proletariat - WINNERS

The proletariat found rare reason to celebrate last week, as number crunchers announced a
0.4-percent drop in Oregon's festering unemployment rate. Manufacturing and temp jobs took credit for the upswing.

While other Oregon universities watch enrollment grind to near stasis, figures released last week show Portland State University on a roll. Students are flocking to the state's only big-city public university--PSU enrollment surged 5.8 percent this fall, easily outstripping statewide gains of less than 2 percent. So what if the Vikes can't beat Montana State?

A plucky, resilient team chases glory in the wake of heartbreak? Obviously, we're not talking about the Trail Blazers. The University of Portland Pilots are in hot pursuit of a second straight NCAA women's soccer championship, just months after losing longtime coach Clive Charles to cancer. The Pilots put a 4-1 hurt on Nebraska last weekend, advancing to a Sweet 16 collision with archrival
Santa Clara, slated for Sunday at Merlo Field.

LOSERS

Aerial-tram advocates came plummeting back to earth when new figures revealed the project is short on cash by, oh, about $10 million. The backers of the lofty endeavor, which would connect the Oregon Health & Science University campus with the forthcoming South Waterfront Sim City by 2006, will need to find new funding or cut costs by nearly 50 percent.

Rough week in the news for the Portland Police Bureau. The brass wants to fire Capt. C.W. Jensen (see story, page 11) claiming already paid-for meals on his expense accounts--but, meanwhile, only demoted or suspended the three cops who, as newly released reports show, attempted to cover up an assault perpetrated by off-duty officers. Add in the news that yet another enterprising officer drew up a list of 35 people for special police attention and jail time, and the PPB had a rough week indeed.

Cats everywhere mewled plaintively and hid under the nearest bush at the news coming out of Southeast Portland. A bird-lover named Mike McCabe has been trapping his neighbors' cats in his backyard, then exiling them to the county animal shelter--with sometimes fatal results.