Sleeves of destruction

A new Northeast Portland boutique, Destroy Clothing , has caught shoppers’ attention with a “tribute” to artist Robert Williams. A T-shirt selling for $28 at Destroy, which opened last week at 1712 E Burnside St., features a woman with her panties down, who appears to have been raped . The words “Destroy Was Here” are emblazoned above the woman, whose image is taken from Williams’ original cover for Guns N’ Roses’ 1987 album Appetite for Destruction . Deemed offensive then, the picture was removed from the cover and hidden inside the album packaging. “It’s definitely not for everybody,” store owner Adam Brush says of the T-shirt. “I could see how somebody would be offended, but it’s really just a tribute to the artist.”

Score one against Allan Knappenberger , a Portland divorce lawyer accused by an Oregon State Bar disciplinary board of having a “broken” ethical compass . Ex-Knappenberger client Bob Johannsen beat Knappenberger’s suit seeking $2,359 in unpaid bills, in a bench trial last week. Johannsen—a Microsoft program manager who acted as his own attorney—didn’t prevail in his $72,000 counter-suit against Knappenberger at the same time. Since the bar ordered Knappenberger disbarred on March 7 after a long history of suspensions for ethical lapses, Knappenberger has filed suit against dozens of former clients for alleged unpaid bills (“S.O.B. Lawyer Sues Clients,” July 18, 2007). Knappenberger declined Tuesday to comment.

Multnomah County Chairman Ted Wheeler has scrapped a plan to buy the $44 million Lincoln Building in downtown Portland (“Downtown Shuffle,” WW , Nov. 7, 2007). As first reported on WWire, Wheeler wrote his fellow commissioners on Monday that there wasn’t enough support from them to move ahead. “The timing just isn’t good given our financial situation,” Wheeler tells Murmurs. The aborted deal would have let the county consolidate services from two dilapidated downtown buildings. But it would have required raising the county’s debt limit from 5 to 7 percent of its general fund when it’s struggling to repair the Sellwood Bridge, open Wapato Jail and build a new courthouse.

Who’s the most likely pol to win in the fallout from the César Chávez flap ? Two-term Multnomah County Commissioner Maria Rojo de Steffey , if runs for City Council (she was a council candidate for a month in 2003 before deciding she wanted to spend more time with her family). Rojo says she’s leaning strongly toward running. But don’t look for the Latina commish to declare until Jan. 1, 2008: The county charter says incumbents can’t file to run for another office until the last year they’re in county office. “I was ready to retire,” Rojo says. “But after trying unsuccessfully for months to try to get others to run for this seat, I’ve decided I can do this.”

In the “we-nag-because-we-love” spirit, here’s our weekly reminder to visit wweek.com/giveguide . Those who donate at least $25 to any of the 49 nonprofits will find there’s more than just a feel-good reward for your largesse. In fact, we needed the website to list all the prizes . Aren’t we a tease? Log on and check ’em out.

Post-Thanksgiving pie carving: Contractors seeking deals with the city already score extra points for hiring minority- or women-owned subcontractors. But some have gamed the system by quietly backing out on pledges to hire minority firms as subcontractors—first winning props for good intentions, then keeping all the city money . A proposed loophole-closer coming before City Council this week would require professional and technical contractors to spell out exactly how much business their minority subs will get, and to seek city approval before making any changes. City purchasing director Jeff Baer says the proposal will “solidify” contractors’ minority-hiring commitments.

Portland already has a Children’s Bill of Rights. And now the City Council will consider a 10-point Small Business Bill of Rights on Thursday, Nov. 29. An accompanying report, prepared by the city’s Small Business Advisory Council, favorably—and anonymously—quotes “a former president” saying, “The best social program is a job.” Perhaps the ex-prez remained anonymous because he’s none other than He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named , known outside Portland as Ronald Reagan.