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- Attorney General John Kroger’s investigation into the sexual relationship between Mayor Sam Adams and former legislative intern Beau Breedlove appears to be winding down. Four investigators have interviewed about 30 people. Among those they’ve talked with: Breedlove’s circle of acquaintances in 2005, when his relationship with Adams began; political strategist Mark Wiener; former Adams aide Roland Chlapowski; and City Commissioner Randy Leonard. Even former Mayor Vera Katz is on the list. Based on questions law enforcement is asking, the investigation seems to involve two basic questions: What was the nature of the physical relationship before Breedlove turned 18 and did Adams, who has admitted lying to win the 2008 mayoral election, break any laws in the cover-up? AG spokesman Tony Green declined to comment on the probe.
- One element in Mayor Adams’ push for Major League Soccer is his need to show he can get things done. Look for another such effort soon when Adams reveals his hand-picked task force’s work to revive a faltering plan to build a headquarters hotel next to the Oregon Convention Center. Adams’ committee met three times in private, finishing earlier this month. A Portland Development Commission staffer—involved because the project will probably require tens of millions of dollars in public subsidy—gave this written advice to developer Mark Edlen, the panel chair: “You may be contacted by members of the media...please know that you are not obligated to discuss the project with non-Task Force members.” (For more on the effort, see WWire.)
- Steve Novick, who lost his 2008 race to be the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate, has a new $5,000 consulting contract with Portland Public Schools to help the school district figure out “how you position yourself to be stimulated.” Sounds dirty, but it’s not. Novick’s talking about federal stimulus dollars. At least $4 billion in federal stimulus money for schools is subject to competitive bidding. And Novick, who’s also making noise about running for governor in 2010, will work with PPS and the Oregon Department of Education to help both get a piece of that money.
- Remember the promise by Michele Darr that she would fast to the death on the Capitol steps in Salem (see “Soldiering On,” WW, Feb. 11, 2009) to protest the Iraq War? Well, the attention-grabbing mother of six has abandoned her fast after 40 days. “I didn’t give up the fast, I decided to suspend the fast for the time being,” Darr says. “It’s still in the back of my mind.”
- The Oregonian told staff last week it would share bad news with employees on Monday, March 23. Staff expects the cost-cutting news to include some combination of measures such as pay cuts, furloughs, layoffs or reductions in hours. The O isn’t alone with its suffering in the newspaper industry. The daily’s announcement came as WW announced last week it would cut its employees’ salaries by 8 percent (co-owners Mark Zusman and Richard Meeker cut their own salaries by 25 percent). To read about those cuts as well as turmoil over pay at Just Out, go to WWire.
WWeek 2015