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NBA Investigating Allegation Against Mark Cuban: A lot has happened since we reported last week on a 2011 sexual assault allegation against billionaire Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban ("Oh My F***ing Lord," WW, March 7, 2018). Most consequentially, The Oregonian found an employee of the Barrel Room, where the alleged assault occurred, whom police had never interviewed. That man reported Cuban was "gropey" and so drunk he was ejected from the club—but only after taking a photograph with a woman who "jumped away" from Cuban. The NBA announced it would open an investigation into the allegation against Cuban, who has adamantly denied any wrongdoing. Finally, Cuban's most visible employee, Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle, went to bat for the man who signs his paycheck, calling WW's report "fake news."
Oregonian Owners Eyeing Web Paywall: Online readers of The Oregonian could soon run into a paywall on OregonLive.com. A representative of the newspaper's owner, Advance Publications, discussed a possible paywall with Oregonian staffers at a meeting in Portland last month, according to three people familiar with the conversation. Last week, Ken Doctor of Neiman Labs reported that Advance is likely to test a paywall at one of its newspapers this year—but the New Jersey-based media giant won't say which one. "If we decide to test anything," said Advance Local CEO Randy Siegel, "it will be a dynamic meter in a single market, but a final decision won't be made until much later this year."
Housing Bureau Seeks to Close Tax Loophole: The Portland Housing Bureau is looking to reform a tax-exemption program for low-income homeowners. The program currently transfers its tax breaks when a home is sold—meaning buyers who don't qualify for the low-income subsidy still get it passed along ("How to Flip a Tax Break," WW, Oct. 11, 2017). Next month, the bureau will take a code change before the City Council to institute a way to verify incomes for any buyers beginning July 1, 2018. The Housing Bureau is still determining whether the change will affect existing home owners or just new applications. This week, the City Council will vote on routine enforcement and may cancel the tax exemption for 15 homeowners currently enjoying the break.
Portland Transgender Woman Sues Tinder: A Portland transgender woman is suing Tinder on March 13 for deleting her dating app profile after she added details about her legal sex work and transgender identity to her profile's bio. Ariel Hawkins says hours after she added the phrase "camgirl on the side. preop trans woman" to her profile, Tinder notified her via email that her account violated the app's terms of service and her account had been deleted. "I wanted to just find love like everybody else," Hawkins says. The company didn't respond to Hawkins' questions about why her account violated the app's rules. Other transgender women have alleged on social media that Tinder deleted their profiles without explanation. Hawkins' lawsuit, filed in Multnomah County Circuit Court, asks for a court order "prohibiting Tinder to continue discriminating against non-cisgender Oregon users."