Squeamish high-school biology students - WINNERS

Hundreds of would-be Multnomah County jail inmates can rest easy-for a few months, at least. The county budget passed last week punts the issue of paying for more jail beds until next winter, meaning offenders will continue to get released before sampling the jail kitchen's famous nutra-loaf.

Squeamish high-school biology students in Oregon may soon be off the hook. A bill in the state House would bar schools from requiring students to dissect anything from an earthworm to jumping frog. The bill passed the Senate in March, with nobody seeming to defend the old high-school slice-and-dice.

Oregon schools supporters won when the Chalkboard Project released a road map aimed at healing the state's schools divide. The group, spearheaded by five high-powered charitable groups, is uniting state leaders to solve problems like school funding and how to hire good teachers and principals while firing bad ones. Results are due next year.

LOSERS

The 10,000-plus medical marijuana users in Oregon might want to pass on puffing after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the feds can prosecute such smokers regardless of state law. Oregon and nine other states with "compassionate use" laws must now determine whether the ruling will send their programs up in smoke. Harsh, man.

A shadowy new scourge much more frightening than meth has descended upon rural Oregon: all-terrain vehicles. After three ATV fatalities in a week, including a 6-year-old rider, ATV retailers are idling in quiet hesitation.

Parking-meter users face a rate increase from $1 to $1.25 an hour on July 1, while hours of operation extend one hour to 7 pm. The added cash potential comes too late for employees at Alpha Building Maintenance who allegedly skimmed nearly $180,000 in coins from city meters.

Vice President Dick Cheney's brief skulk in and out of Portland deprived would-be Bush-administration protesters of the chance to show off just how "blue-state'' this city is. No advance notice meant little time for the usual suspects to assemble en masse.