Willamette Week - City Hall http://www.wweek.com/portland/articles.sec-131-1-city_hall.html Sat, 26 May 2012 00:00:00 GMT+7 en hourly 1 Chief Looks Like A Lady - Commissioner Leonard takes a fire ax to the glass ceiling in choosing a chief for a troubled fire bureau. http://www.wweek.com/portland/article-18814-chief_looks_like_a_lady_commissioner_leonard_takes_a_fire_ax_to_the_glass_ceiling_in_choosing_a_chie.html Twenty years ago, Portland Fire & Rescue employed only four female firefighters.  Last week, City Commissioner Randy Leonard stunned...]]> A Clean and Safe Battle - A move to replace private patrols with park rangers tests the clout of the Portland Business Alliance. http://www.wweek.com/portland/article-18515-a_clean_and_safe_battle_a_move_to_replace_private_patrols_with_park_rangers_tests_the_clout_of_the_p.html The City of Portland is moving to break the longtime hold a business group has on providing security patrols in downtown parks, setting up a potential struggle over public safety and big-money m]]> Running Out the Meter - Who among the city hall hopefuls has best avoided the parking patrol? http://www.wweek.com/portland/article-18110-running_out_the_meter_who_among_the_city_hall_hopefuls_has_best_avoided_the_parking_patrol.html Public records offer clues about what politicians are really like. Do they pay their bills, vote or license their dogs? And what about parking tickets? All the major City Hall candidates have them an]]> Hotseat: Jefferson Smith - The state rep. and Bus Project founder tells why he wants to be mayor. http://www.wweek.com/portland/article-18042-hotseat_jefferson_smith_the_state_rep_and_bus_project_founder_tells_why_he_wants_to_be_mayor.html Jefferson Smith wants to loom large in the mayor’s race, and not just because he’s the tallest candidate so far (6 feet 4 inches), but because he sees himself as an alternative to former City C]]> Hotseat: Eileen Brady - She’s running for mayor based on her business experience. http://www.wweek.com/portland/article-17864-hotseat_eileen_brady_she%E2%80%99s_running_for_mayor_based_on_her_business_experience.html Four years ago, Eileen Brady considered at launching her political career by challenging a two-term U.S. senator, Gordon Smith. At the time, some—including this newspaper—suggested she run for m]]> Why Sam Adams Drifted Away - By dropping his re-election bid, the mayor admits his political weakness and reveals some realities of power in Portland. http://www.wweek.com/portland/article-17809-why_sam_adams_drifted_away_by_dropping_his_re_election_bid_the_mayor_admits_his_political_weakness_a.html Many tough things have been said about Sam Adams over the years]]> Randy’s To-Do List - Five tasks for Portland’s toughest commissioner before he retires from City Hall. http://www.wweek.com/portland/article-17702-randy%E2%80%99s_to_do_list_five_tasks_for_portland%E2%80%99s_toughest_commissioner_before_he_retires.html Love him or hate him, Portland will be a more boring place without City Commissioner Randy Leonard. Leonard’s face would turn scarlet at the comparison, but in his nine-plus years on the City Cou]]> Hotseat: Charlie Hales - After 10 years, the former commissioner eyes a return to City Hall. http://www.wweek.com/portland/article-17669-hotseat_charlie_hales_after_10_years_the_former_commissioner_eyes_a_return_to_city_hall.html Too early for 2012 election coverage, you say? Well, the people campaigning to unseat Portland Mayor Sam Adams are already busy raising money and sending out junk mail. It’s widely assumed Adams]]> Lights! Camera! Coliseum! - A local team wants to turn Memorial Coliseum into movieland. Featuring Sam Adams vs. Rob Cornilles http://www.wweek.com/portland/article-17504-lights__camera__coliseum__a_local_team_wants_to_turn_memorial_coliseum_into_movieland_featuring_sam_.html Just as City Hall prepares to kick the giant glass box that is Veterans Memorial Coliseum down the road]]> Ten For Your Money - What earmarks might Portland’s 2011-12 budget include? http://www.wweek.com/portland/article-17414-ten_for_your_money_what_earmarks_might_portland%E2%80%99s_2011_12_budget_include.html Mayor Sam Adams is supposed to introduce his proposed city budget this week for the fiscal year that starts July 1.  The majority of Portland’s $391 million discretionary general-fund budget,]]> Kicked To The Curb - Why green Portland doesn’t recycle food waste citywide yet. http://www.wweek.com/portland/article-17349-kicked_to_the_curb_why_green_portland_doesn%E2%80%99t_recycle_food_waste_citywide_yet.html A pilot program in Portland to collect food waste separately from residential garbage won’t expand to include the entire city this spring as expected. Two new Portland garbage transfer facilities]]> Hose Festival - The City Auditor says spending on unrelated programs may be soaking water and sewer ratepayers. http://www.wweek.com/portland/article-17289-hose_festival_the_city_auditor_says_spending_on_unrelated_programs_may_be_soaking_water_and_sewer_ra.html A new audit questions recent decisions by the Portland City Council to spend funds collected from water and sewer users on city programs ]]> Launch Pad - The Mayor plays “Will it float?” with a proposal to take control of Multnomah County’s River Patrol Unit. http://www.wweek.com/portland/article-17252-launch_pad_the_mayor_plays_%E2%80%9Cwill_it_float%E2%80%9D_with_a_proposal_to_take_control_of_multno.html Late in Mayor Sam Adams’ third annual State of the City address last month, he proposed a change to give Multnomah County extra cash it badly ]]> Second Life - Can public campaign finance be revived in Portland? http://www.wweek.com/portland/article-17225-second_life_can_public_campaign_finance_be_revived_in_portland.html Four months after Portland voters killed public financing of political campaigns for city office, a small cadre of supporters is organizing to bring the issue back. They got the OK last month from]]> Don’t Do It - Why Portland shouldn’t rejoin the Joint Terrorism Task Force. http://www.wweek.com/portland/article-16962-don%E2%80%99t_do_it_why_portland_shouldn%E2%80%99t_rejoin_the_joint_terrorism_task_force.html In 2005, led by then-Mayor Tom Potter, Portland became the only U.S. city to pull out of the Joint Terrorism Task Force over civil-liberties concerns. The City Council should not reverse that deci]]> Down On The Corner - Buskers and the city revisit a 15-year-old deal. http://www.wweek.com/portland/article-16964-down_on_the_corner_buskers_and_the_city_revisit_a_15_year_old_deal.html Fifteen years ago, then-Mayor Vera Katz, police, business associations and musicians signed an agreement that dictates when, where and how bucket drummers, fiddlers and human statues ]]> Wishing Upon A Surplus - City finds money for shoulder-fired tasers, schools and other projects. http://www.wweek.com/portland/article-16924-wishing_upon_a_surplus_city_finds_money_for_shoulder_fired_tasers_schools_and_other_projects.html If you haven’t heard Mayor Sam Adams say it already, gird yourself for his boast that Portland will have a budget surplus. And that surplus of about $3.5 million in the fiscal year that starts Jul]]> Six And The City - The bold and the bizarre among the concepts to redevelop a key site. http://www.wweek.com/portland/article-16847-six_and_the_city_the_bold_and_the_bizarre_among_the_concepts_to_redevelop_a_key_site.html

 The 10-acre site Portland Public Schools now occupies just north of the Rose Quarter could become a Costco, as The Oregonian reported earlier this month.

]]> Leaf Us Alone - How many Portlanders have paid the new leaf removal fee. http://www.wweek.com/portland/article-16849-leaf_us_alone_how_many_portlanders_have_paid_the_new_leaf_removal_fee.html

 More than a month after street sweepers passed through Portland’s “leaf districts” to clear fallen foliage, only 37 percent of assessed property owners have paid the new removal fee.

]]> Lobster Fest - Who and what would feed off this oddly designed urban renewal district proposed by the mayor? http://www.wweek.com/portland/article-12606-lobster_fest_who_and_what_would_feed_off_this_oddly_designed_urban_renewal_district_proposed_by_the_.html