News Trail Blazers television commentator Mike Rice says the darndest things during game broadcasts. His son, Rutgers basketball coach Mike Rice, Jr., screamed anti-gay slurs at his players during practice. So, as of today, the younger Rice is no longer Rutgers' basketball coach.The New Jersey university fired Rice this morning after ESPN aired videos showing the coach hurling basketballs and expletive-laden ...   More

News I used to sneer at Chinatowns. I considered them tourist attractions that I wanted nothing to do with. I grew up in Taiwan with Chinese food and Chinese culture—what’s new to see in any ci   More

Music Floater is Portland's most polarizing band. Beloved and hated in equal measure—though, as this 2010 Willamette Week cover story backs up, I'd argue the group is loved enough outside the city that it fully eclipses the hate—the band's been around for damn near 20 years, and regardless of which side of that divide you fall on, you must admit that's mighty impressive. Longevity at that scale doesn't ...   More

Music Looking at Portland's Denver—yes, that's an odd construction, I know—you get an idea of what they might sound like: large mustaches, pearl snap-up shirts, cowboy boots, an ever-present bottle of Jim Beam. If you say, "alt-country," well, you'd be wrong. Denver, in fact, plays straight-up country—boot-scootin' honky-tonk that doesn't look back longingly at a dustier time in American history ...   More

News  TriMet General Manager Neil McFarlane stopped by our office last Thursday for an interview before giving his "State of TriMet" report this morning. That report was more like a war council, with McFarlane offering his opening tactic in a contract battle with TriMet's employee union: Accept smaller healthcare benefits, or the transit agency will have to cut 70 percent of bus service by the ...   More

News When TriMet General Manager Neil McFarlane stopped by WW's office last Thursday, we had to ask him about the stings.Last year, as the regional transit agency ended its Free Rail Zone and increased fares, it also escalated its fare enforcement. TriMet began setting up corrals outside Timbers and Trail Blazers games, forcing passengers disembarking trains to show their tickets before being allowed to ...   More

News Lawmakers in Washington and Oregon continue to escalate a standoff over whether the Project Formerly Known as the Columbia River Crossing should include light rail. You'll never guess whose side TriMet General Manager Neil McFarlane is on. He says U.S. Department of Transportation officials are more likely to back the CRC if it's differentiated from "very big auto bridges" they usually see.But in this ...   More

Music Red Fang rules. They rule so hard, in fact, that just one live video won't cut it. Thanks to the folks at Generator, we're gifting you two clips of the Portland stoner metal heroes. The first, from this past Sunday, shows the band destroying a packed and feverish Wonder Ballroom crowd with "Crows in Swine," a track from the group's latest seven inch. And the second is from a performance at that ...   More

Music We're a bit late posting this—hey, we've been busy—but earlier this month, New York chamber pop ensemble Ra Ra Riot delivered a heart-rending performance at the Wonder Ballroom. Generator was there, and captured this clip of the danceably poppy "Beta Love," the title track off the band's surprisingly synthesized new album. Enjoy! Ra Ra Riot at the Wonder Ballroom 2/9/13 from Generator ...   More