DEAD ALERT: Don’t expect a repeat of this anytime soon.

WINNERS

1. They may not realize it yet, but Portland’s professional listening-circle facilitators have the opportunity of a lifetime: Cyclists and drivers need closure and healing after a week of front-page bizarro road rage. First, The Oregonian’s coverage of a bike-bound city employee allegedly drunk and blowing a stop sign, then attacking a Subaru driver (and fellow cyclist). Then, on July 14, some alleged substance-abuser in a Ford Escort plows into a cyclist and carries him for blocks as he clutches the hood for dear life. Close your eyes. Breathe deep. You’re at the beach....

2. Rubber-stamp redux: Mayor-elect Sam Adams talked tough about conditions he attached to City Council’s 5-0 approval of the $4.2 billion replacement for the I-5 bridges. But Columbia River Crossing boosters know the reality—Portland surrendered much of its leverage to shape the controversial project.

3. Ah, to live the life of Riley, as in Chuck Riley. The Democratic state rep from Hillsboro rates poorly in our regular “The Good, The Bad and The Awful” survey, but he picked up a re-election gift from Secretary of State Bill Bradbury (“Rogue of the Week,” WW, July 9, 2008). Bradbury bounced Riley’s GOP opponent, Jeff Duyck, after belatedly learning Duyck’s home lies just outside the district line.

4. Trial lawyers danced last week when two initiatives targeting them failed to make the November ballot. One initiative would have limited attorney fees, the other would have punished lawyers for filing frivolous lawsuits. Facing a shortage of valid signatures, petitioners dropped their efforts, saving themselves years of court challenges (and billable hours).

LOSERS

1. Local End-Timers faced the biggest disappointment since Y2K and TOPOFF-IV after scientists lowered the volcano alert level at Mount St. Helens to normal. Oh well. There’s always the possibility of an asteroid strike, mutant virus or nuclear exchange.

2. As first reported on WWire, Esco on Friday pulled its controversial application to increase the height of an industrial waste dump it operates on Sauvie Island. That’s good news for neighbors. And a note to End-Timers: Add “industrial waste” to the apocalypse stew.

3. U.S. Sen. Gordon Smith (R-Ore.) dealt a black eye to Democratic challenger Jeff Merkley. But the real wounds were self-inflicted. After Merkley—the state House speaker—appeared in two state party ads, at no expense to his campaign, Smith’s complaint saying the ads broke federal campaign finance rules got wide media play, including The Bend Bulletin calling Merkley “the master of muddle.”