Willamette Week - http://www.wweek.com/portland/articles.sec-1467-1-.html Fri, 24 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT+7 en hourly 1 Rent A Pup - Oregon’s richest veterinarian wants to lease you a pet—but complaints dog his business. http://www.wweek.com/portland/article-19896-rent_a_pup_oregon%E2%80%99s_richest_veterinarian_wants_to_lease_you_a_pet%E2%80%94but_complaints_dog.html

There’s a small storefront near the Nordstrom at Clackamas Town Center that’s hard to ignore.

In the window is a gray bunny that can bounce a ball. On a recent visit...]]> 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. http://www.wweek.com/portland/article-20317-the_woman_behind_the_bridge_the_force_behind_oregon%E2%80%99s_massive_freeway_project_works_for_the_.html 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.
]]> Throw Voters From the Train - A Clark County measure to fund light rail has become a referendum on the CRC. http://www.wweek.com/portland/article-19706-throw_voters_from_the_train_a_clark_county_measure_to_fund_light_rail_has_become_a_referendum_on_the.html The Columbia River Crossing is already in big trouble.  The proposed Interstate 5 spans between Oregon and Washington have a flawed design, the backers lack firm plans to...]]> Robes In the Ring - A candidate for Supreme Court says his opponent is inflating her credentials. http://www.wweek.com/portland/article-19730-robes_in_the_ring_a_candidate_for_supreme_court_says_his_opponent_is_inflating_her_credentials.html Quick: Name a sitting Oregon Supreme Court judge. OK, we admit it—maybe it’s not a fair question. Most Americans can’t name any of the nine U.S. Supreme Court justices. So while we know WW]]> The First 30 Seconds - The city hopes to shield the mentally ill from excessive force by putting the right cop on the scene. http://www.wweek.com/portland/article-20022-the_first_30_seconds_the_city_hopes_to_shield_the_mentally_ill_from_excessive_force_by_putting_the_r.html It’s an otherwise slow Monday night, but Officer Casey Hettman is tense. He and two other Portland police officers move through...]]> Hold the Phone - Dwindling calls lead the state to propose ending its HIV/AIDS hotline. http://www.wweek.com/portland/article-19991-hold_the_phone_dwindling_calls_lead_the_state_to_propose_ending_its_hiv_aids_hotline.html The dial tone on Oregon’s long-running HIV/AIDS hotline may soon go dead. Since 1987, the hotline has connected thousands of callers with testing and HIV/AIDS services—key to the early detec]]> 1 in 3 - Those are the odds a woman on this planet will face abuse in her lifetime. V-Day is your chance to do something about it. http://www.wweek.com/portland/article-20229-1_in_3_those_are_the_odds_a_woman_on_this_planet_will_face_abuse_in_her_lifetime_v_day_is_your_chanc.html One in three. One-third of all women worldwide—let’s call it an even 1 billion—will be victims of violence because they are women. You could get depressed or apathetic when you see that ov]]> Bridge End - Oregon backers of the CRC think they’ve won the day. They haven’t met Ann Rivers. http://www.wweek.com/portland/article-20340-bridge_end_oregon_backers_of_the_crc_think_they%E2%80%99ve_won_the_day_they_haven%E2%80%99t_met_ann_.html 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]]> A Bridge Too Low - The CRC isn’t eager to redesign a bridge that should be taller. http://www.wweek.com/portland/article-19904-a_bridge_too_low_the_crc_isn%E2%80%99t_eager_to_redesign_a_bridge_that_should_be_taller.html The proposed Columbia River Crossing has turned into a high-stakes limbo dance: How low can the bridge go?\\\\\\\\n CRC officials say \\\\\\\\nthey are trying to fix one of the most embarrassing problems with the \\\\\\\\ntroubled $3.5 billion Interstate 5 project: The... \\\\\\\\n ]]> Hotseat: Greg Palast - The progressive—and often controversial—journalist says he’s fighting to protect your vote. http://www.wweek.com/portland/article-19676-hotseat_greg_palast_the_progressive%E2%80%94and_often_controversial%E2%80%94journalist_says_he%E2%80.html Greg Palast guarantees one thing to people who read his book or hear him talk: “If I don’t make you laugh, then I’ll give you your money back.” A progressive journalist famous for taki]]> Tanked - From Portland’s drunk tank to Old Town to Salem, how booze is hurting (and helping) Oregon. http://www.wweek.com/portland/article-20467-tanked_from_portland%E2%80%99s_drunk_tank_to_old_town_to_salem_how_booze_is_hurting_%28and_helping%2.html Devon is hauled into the Central City Concern Sobering Station, a Portland cop on each arm. He has a dazed, faraway look that, as he puts it, “a whole lot of Hennessy” provides. He’s quickly]]> Overtime Busts - Budget-breaking practices allow some sheriff’s deputies to double their pay. http://www.wweek.com/portland/article-20125-overtime_busts_budget_breaking_practices_allow_some_sheriff%E2%80%99s_deputies_to_double_their_pay.html Sgt. Diana Olsen has occasionally been the face of the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office. She heads up the sheriff’s search and rescue team, and when a 7-year-old Skyline Elementary School stu]]> Mohamed and “<i>The Terror Factory</i>” - This week’s trial will determine if the FBI entrapped the Christmas Tree Bomber. http://www.wweek.com/portland/article-20114-mohamed_and_%E2%80%9Cthe_terror_factory%E2%80%9D_this_week%E2%80%99s_trial_will_determine_if_the_fbi.html This week, the man federal officials say tried to bomb the Pioneer Courthouse Square Christmas tree lighting ceremony more than two years ago]]> Committed to Junction City - The state’s new mental hospital is drawing fire—and it hasn’t even been built yet. http://www.wweek.com/portland/article-20146-committed_to_junction_city_the_state%E2%80%99s_new_mental_hospital_is_drawing_fire%E2%80%94and_it_ha.html The road for the Oregon State Hospital in Junction City stretches across an open field, waiting to lead people to the state’s newest mental health facility. State officials have spent $61.8 ]]> Hogan’s Hero - A Eugene law firm plans a spendy party for a retiring federal judge. http://www.wweek.com/portland/article-19935-hogan%E2%80%99s_hero_a_eugene_law_firm_plans_a_spendy_party_for_a_retiring_federal_judge.html A party has got to be really swank to raise the eyebrows of the state’s lawyers. Yet a proposed retirement bash for U.S. District Court Judge Michael Hogan has many Oregon lawyers’ brows firmly ]]> Gimme Shelter - The YWCA is closing its emergency domestic-violence shelter, but officials hope a new strategy will help cushion the loss. http://www.wweek.com/portland/article-20236-gimme_shelter_the_ywca_is_closing_its_emergency_domestic_violence_shelter_but_officials_hope_a_new_s.html Every day at 9 am, the Portland Women’s Crisis Line website updates the availability at the city’s four emergency shelters. Most mornings, it’s the same answer: no vacancy. Despite that se]]> One Question: Should the City End the 48-Hour Waiting Period for Police Involved in Shootings? - http://www.wweek.com/portland/article-19701-one_question_should_the_city_end_the_48_hour_waiting_period_for_police_involved_in_shootings_.html The city’s labor contract with police allows officers involved in a shooting or in-custody death to decline to talk to bureau investigators for 48 hours while they confer with union lawyers. O]]> Punch Drunk - A video of a cop punching a suspect surfaces as lawyers in the case seek to rewrite state law on excessive force. http://www.wweek.com/portland/article-20493-punch_drunk_a_video_of_a_cop_punching_a_suspect_surfaces_as_lawyers_in_the_case_seek_to_rewrite_stat.html Jason Cox says he was beaten by cops. But he has what a lot of people who allege police brutality don’t: a video. On June 18, 2011, Portland cops arrested Cox, then 37, in the parking lot of an ]]> Hotseat: Baruti Artharee - The city’s new cops czar talks about making the police safer for his grandkids. http://www.wweek.com/portland/article-20173-hotseat_baruti_artharee_the_city%E2%80%99s_new_cops_czar_talks_about_making_the_police_safer_for_his.html A lot of people in City Hall have interacted with police, but Baruti Artharee may be the only one who can say he’s had the business end of a cop’s gun pressed against his head. That was a lo]]> Policing the Police - The mayoral candidates talk about community policing—but not how the city can pay for it. http://www.wweek.com/portland/article-19814-policing_the_police_the_mayoral_candidates_talk_about_community_policing%E2%80%94but_not_how_the_cit.html Charlie Hales says he’s crossed paths with the Portland police during his campaign for mayor—and he hasn’t always liked what he’s seen. He talks of a recent weapons stop he witnessed a]]> Limbo Dance - CRC officials have spent millions to overcome a bridge design that’s too low. They still don’t have it right. http://www.wweek.com/portland/article-20374-limbo_dance_crc_officials_have_spent_millions_to_overcome_a_bridge_design_that%E2%80%99s_too_low_the.html When Oregon lawmakers recently agreed to hand over $450 million for the Columbia River Crossing, they put a condition on the money: Settle questions about how high the bridge needs to be. CRC ]]> The Mighty Bowl - http://www.wweek.com/portland/article-19976-the_mighty_bowl_.html Portland food carts are herd animals, staying put through long winters in cozy pods with space heaters and covered eating areas. In Vancouver, the city’s only food truck must cut a solitary, mea]]> Pork and Ride - The CRC includes a $17 million museum. http://www.wweek.com/portland/article-20529-pork_and_ride_the_crc_includes_a_%2417_million_museum.html The $3.4 billion Columbia River Crossing keeps getting more expensive for taxpayers, even before it gets built—in part because the price of a pet project of the National Park Service is going up]]> Freezing Out ICE - The Multnomah County Sheriff will stop honoring immigration holds on low-level offenders. http://www.wweek.com/portland/article-20439-freezing_out_ice_the_multnomah_county_sheriff_will_stop_honoring_immigration_holds_on_low_level_offe.html Multnomah County Sheriff Dan Staton plans to start releasing undocumented immigrants brought to his jails for low-level crimes before immigration officials can get their hands on them. The mov]]> Hotseat: Daryl Turner - The Portland Police union boss talks about the new order in City Hall. http://www.wweek.com/portland/article-20203-hotseat_daryl_turner_the_portland_police_union_boss_talks_about_the_new_order_in_city_hall.html Portland Police Association president Daryl Turner has a framed cartoon drawing in his office of him pulling the pants off a surprised Sam Adams.
]]> Saved by the Cell - In airing a police-shooting video, Portland cops are learning the art of media self-defense. http://www.wweek.com/portland/article-20314-saved_by_the_cell_in_airing_a_police_shooting_video_portland_cops_are_learning_the_art_of_media_self.html 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]]> Via Chicago - http://www.wweek.com/portland/article-20601-via_chicago_.html It’s been seven years since I lived in Chicago, where I attended college, drinking too much Midwestern beer and cramming as much of the city’s famous stuffed pizza into my maw as my student bu]]> Take With Homework - A DEA investigation of a local teacher highlights abuse of the attention-deficit drug adderall. http://www.wweek.com/portland/article-20559-take_with_homework_a_dea_investigation_of_a_local_teacher_highlights_abuse_of_the_attention_deficit_.html Before dawn on Jan. 29, federal drug enforcement agents swept into a wooded West Linn neighborhood and raided the gray, two-story house of a substitute teacher named John J. Loomis. Agents carri]]> Horse Trading - Killing the mounted patrol has a hidden benefit for the city: saving the PDC millions. http://www.wweek.com/portland/article-20613-horse_trading_killing_the_mounted_patrol_has_a_hidden_benefit_for_the_city_saving_the_pdc_millions.html Monty the police horse strains against the fence of his paddock, sticking his neck out to munch on a bush that is just out of his reach. A runner jogging along Northwest Naito Parkway stops to tak]]> Counting Cards - A state audit says the Department of Human Services isn’t tracking food-stamp fraud. http://www.wweek.com/portland/article-20645-counting_cards_a_state_audit_says_the_department_of_human_services_isn%E2%80%99t_tracking_food_stamp.html In the wrong hands, food stamps can buy a lot more than milk and bread.  State officials say they know there’s a black market for Oregon Trail cards, the electronic debit-style cards used]]>