Senate Says Publicly Run Restaurants Need Inspections

WW Story on Norovirus at Oregon Zoo Restaurant Prompts Legislation

News The Oregon Senate voted today to require restaurants run by public entities to undergo routine health inspections.The 29-0 vote eliminates the inspection exception for publicly-run restaurants. The legislation comes on the heels of reporting by WW in December that revealed the Oregon Zoo had ...   More

 

Tuesday, March 12, 2013 by ANDREA DAMEWOOD

Patricia McCaig, Gov. Kitzhaber's CRC Adviser, Faces Ethics Complaint

News Patricia McCaig, Gov. John Kitzhaber's top adivser on the Columbia River Crossing is facing an ethics complaint for her work to push the project through the Oregon Legislature.However, just who filed the complaint and what it says will remain confidential until the Oregon Government Ethics Commission completes a preliminary review, the agency's director says.
McCaig was the subject of WW's Feb....   More

 

Friday, March 8, 2013 by ANDREA DAMEWOOD

CRC Critic Says the Woman Behind the Bridge May Also Be Behind on Taxes

News A forensic accountant and critic of the Columbia River Crossing says that Gov. John Kitzhaber’s top adviser on the project, Patricia McCaig, may not be paying required Washington state taxes.
Tiffany Couch says several CRC contractors aren't registered to do business in the state of Washington or  the city of Vancouver, where the CRC’s offices are located. The state and city require ...   More

 

Thursday, March 7, 2013 by ANDREA DAMEWOOD

Clackamas Chairman John Ludlow Asks Oregon Bar to Return Complaint Filed Against Former City Attorney

News Clackamas County Commission Chairman John Ludlow is trying to make a bar complaint filed against a former county attorney go away.

WW broke the story yesterday that Clackamas County Counsel Stephen Madkour filed an Oregon State Bar complaint ...   More

 

Wednesday, March 6, 2013 by ANDREA DAMEWOOD

Bridge End

Oregon backers of the CRC think they’ve won the day. They haven’t met Ann Rivers.

News Ann Rivers sips her skinny vanilla latte in a Ridgefield, Wash., coffee shop on a bright Sunday morning, smiling at the new role she has found herself playing in Northwest politics: the bridge kil   More

 

Wednesday, March 6, 2013 ANDREA DAMEWOOD

Firm Behind the CRC's Rosy New Tolling Numbers Was Dead Wrong in the Past

New CRC numbers, released on eve of Senate vote, have had no public scrutiny or independent review

News Columbia River Crossing officials last Friday trumpeted projections by a private consulting firm that claims tolls could pull in up to $450 million more in revenue than previously thought.
The CRC leaked the findings to The Oregonian, which says CRC managers were "heartene...   More

 

Monday, March 4, 2013 by ANDREA DAMEWOOD

Ex-KPAM Talk Show Host Victoria Taft Says Pamplin Didn't Give a Reason for Firing Her

News Conservative KPAM (860 AM) talk show host Victoria Taft says she wasn't told by the company's owner and CEO why her eight-year run on the Portland station was ending.

"I have no idea!" she tells WW in an email.

Taft hosted her last show Thursday. She had a small, ...   More

 

Friday, March 1, 2013 by ANDREA DAMEWOOD

Saved by the Cell

In airing a police-shooting video, Portland cops are learning the art of media self-defense.

News When he ran for mayor, Charlie Hales promised he would change the culture of a Portland Police Bureau known for controversial shootings and violent treatment of the mentally ill. But when polic   More

 

Wednesday, February 27, 2013 ANDREA DAMEWOOD, AARON MESH

The Woman Behind the Bridge

The force behind Oregon’s massive freeway project works for the governor—and a private company that wants it built.

Cover Story On Feb. 11, Gov. John Kitzhaber strode into a legislative hearing and made his strongest pitch yet for the massive highway project called the Columbia River Crossing.
   More

 

Wednesday, February 27, 2013 ANDREA DAMEWOOD

After Adventist Shooting Leak, Portland Cops Told to Not Talk to Media

News The day after officers leaked the news to The Oregonian that the man killed by police outside Portland Adventist Medical Center wasn't armed, Portland police command instituted a media lockdown.Officers were told at Wednesday roll call that they cannot talk to reporters without ap...   More

 

Thursday, February 21, 2013 by ANDREA DAMEWOOD