News   Can trees fight crime in Portland? A new study from the Pacific Northwest Research Station in the US Forest Service shows some might. But before you get out your seeds and watering can, make sure you know what kind of trees to plant. The study, the first of its kind in Oregon, found that large trees on a front lawn were associated with an decrease in both property and violent crimes, while ...   More

News The FBI this morning released its national crime report for 2008. The good news: Oregon's drop in crime was even bigger than the national average. Now we can expect to hear plenty of talk from different sides, all eager to take credit for that drop. Here at WW, we've already had the FBI's stats breathlessly forwarded to us by two organizations who differ widely on fighting crime. First ...   More

News In 1999, Daniel Jenkins was convicted for soliciting the murder of Gerald Bidwell, who then owned a Portland stock-brokerage where Jenkins had an account. The case got plenty of ink as Bidwell and his wife Geri Pope Bidwell were high-profile locals and the bizarre plot was right out of Hollywood, although as the statement below indicates, all too real. (The Oregon Court of Appeals overturned ...   More