MEMORIAL RIDE

• Anyone at Sunday’s rally for Sen. Barack Obama in Waterfront Park knows the fire department’s crowd estimate—75,000—sure felt accurate. But try telling that to right-wing bloggers who are convinced the press doctored event pics to show more people. “That is a fake photo!” wrote a commenter on WashingtonPost.com. “Look closely at the picture, the crowds in the back are not real.” (This is bad news for Murmurs, who was there in the back.) Even one “native Portlander,” posting as “AmericanArchConservative” at FreeRepublic.com, wrote that “it is doubtful there were more than 12,000 to 15,000 there for Obama. Considering the number of socialist slime inhabiting Portland, I cannot say I am impressed.” Ready for November?

• At 7 pm on Wednesday, May 21, Portland’s third annual Ride of Silence will start in the downtown Park Blocks and end seven miles later on North Mississippi Avenue. Portland is one of more than 100 cities worldwide—including seven others in Oregon—holding Rides of Silence that day to honor cyclists who have been injured or killed. Organizers expect as many as 300 riders for the processional, which will pass the “ghost bike” memorials for Tracey Sparling and Brett Jarolimek, two cyclists who were killed last fall in Portland. For more info, visit rideofsilence.org.

• Here’s one piece of academic research that will rivet local lawyers: a report titled “Which States Have the Best (and worst) High Courts?” The report by three University of Chicago law profs evaluates the supreme courts in each state during the years 1998 to 2000 based on three criteria: productivity (number of opinions written), influence (how many out-of-state citations to an opinion) and independence (a judge’s willingness to vote with members of the opposite party). The good news: Oregon’s Supreme Court is the third most independent in the land among 52 courts (Texas and Oklahoma have both criminal and civil supreme courts). Unfortunately, Oregon’s high court is also among the least productive (47th) and least influential (48th). The full report can be found in this document. (PDF)

• Two former ink-stained wretches are on the move: Scott Moore, formerly of the Portland Mercury before becoming spokesman for Secretary of State Bill Bradbury in November, is moving to Our Oregon, a union-backed advocacy group. He’ll be replaced as Bradbury’s spokesman by Don Hamilton—formerly of The Oregonian, Portland Tribune and (Vancouver) Columbian (see “Casualties in the ’Couv,” WW, Jan. 2, 2008).

• If anybody was curious whether comments at wweek.com (nearing 500 at press time) about last week’s “Higher Ed” cover story on drugs at Reed College translated into much reaction at Monday’s Reed commencement ceremony, the answer is sorta. “My name—my official name, at least—is Colin Diver,” said Reed President Colin Diver from the podium—an apparent nod at the article’s description of his unofficial handle among students, “C-Divvy.” “I’m a Reedie,” he continued, “and I’m proud of it!” The reaction: loud applause and a few cries of “woo!” from students sitting on the lawn and drinking beer outside the tent set up for commencement. To listen to a discussion about “Higher Ed” on Oregon Public Broadcasting, go to opb.org/thinkoutloud.