Physicians' Hospital update: The chair of the Senate committee that authorizes federal hospital reimbursements made clear the Northeast Portland hospital remains in very hot water. Iowa Sen. Charles Grassley's letter last week to federal health officials says Physicians' is "a specialty hospital and that it opened in violation of the 18-month moratorium" in effect for such hospitals. The letter imperils Physicians' pending sale because the hospital is worth far less the feds pull its license, and it increases the chances that the feds will require Physicians' to repay all Medicare billings since it was licensed in December 2004. Physicians' CEO Bill Houston says Grassley is wrong and reports that in-patient surgeries will resume next week.

High-profile litigator David Markowitz has resigned his representation of NW Natural. Markowitz told Murmurs that his firm's previous representation of Georgia-Pacific, NW Natural's largest customer and now-adversary in an ongoing lawsuit, was "causing a contentious relationship between a supplier and a major customer." (See "Heating Up the Gas Wars," WW, March 29, 2006.) The resignation will free Markowitz up to spend more time on another client, OHSU, which has a small dispute with the City of Portland over some kind of tram thingy.

The man who would take down House Speaker Karen Minnis gets a little help Monday, April 10. That's when two of the country's leading lefty bloggers, Daily Kos' Markos Moulitsas Zúniga and MyDD's Jerome Armstrong, headline a 6:30 pm event at McMenamins Kennedy School in Northeast for Democrat Rob Brading. Two years ago, Brading ran well against the GOP speaker with little money in Minnis' East Multnomah County district. This time, Ds say they'll back Brading to the big-bucks hilt. Suggested donations are $20 for Monday's event with Moulitsas and Armstrong, who are out touting their new book, Crashing the Gate.

A doggie day-care business that has been a bone of contention is moving. Dog Day Afternoon has closed up at 2258 NW Raleigh St. and Portland and Multnomah County officials say it will move to Northeast Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. Dog Day owner Jennifer Day didn't return Murmurs' calls. But many neighbors felt her kennel got unfairly targeted for noise complaints repeatedly made by one resident. That complainant got the ear of City Commissioner Randy Leonard, who says the business wasn't allowed under a rarely applied city rule that says animal facilities must be at least 25 feet from homes. Meantime, other kennel owners worry that rule could be used to shut down any of their businesses. City and county officials say they're working on a reasonable solution.

A size-matters correction: Murmurs was wrong last week about the size of a chunk of the Willamette Meteorite going on the auction block. The piece of rock weighs slightly more than a quarter-pound. WW regrets the error.

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Heads up, Portland Streetcar riders: Portland Streetcar Inc. is ramping up efforts to "remind" riders that the Streetcar is not, in fact, free. This month, two-person teams will spend about 500 hours on the Streetcar "reminding" passengers who may have "forgotten" to pay $1.65 for a ticket. But Streetcar director Rick Gustafson insists that these are not fare inspections. "We don't issue tickets," says Gustafson. Instead, illicit riders will be offered the opportunity to buy a ticket on the spot. If they refuse, they'll be further "reminded" by being kicked off at the next stop.