Murmurs: DIY Taxidermist Winged by Feds

1. DIY taxidermist Emily Humphries, whom we featured last fall (see “The Right Stuffing,” WW, Sept. 21, 2011), says the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is investigating her under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. Humphries, a hobbyist, says agents showed up at her house April 10 with a copy of WW, which showed her stuffing a crow. (The story noted it’s illegal to possess certain dead fowl without a permit.) Humphries says agents seized the crow and a taxidermied duckling and owl. Fish and Wildlife spokeswoman Joan Jewett says the agency is investigating Humphries but declined further comment.

1. City Council candidate Steve Novick keeps dredging donations from Portland Harbor players. Novick has publicly doubted the need for a wide-ranging cleanup of the Willamette River Superfund site—and big costs to harbor landowners (see “Novick’s Harbor Doubts,” WW, March 28, 2012). His latest harbor-related donor: Schnitzer Steel chairman John Carter. Earlier, the Greenbrier Cos., owner of railcar-builder Gunderson, gave Novick $4,001, edging out his biggest contribution at the time by $1. Carter’s donation: $4,002.

1. Bar owners, they’re listening: A group of 23 record labels, including BMI, Universal, Sony and Paul Simon Music, filed a lawsuit April 9 in U.S. District Court in Portland against the owners of Coyote’s Bar & Grill in Hillsboro. The labels allege 13 instances of “willful copyright infringement” when the bar allegedly played songs last November without paying licensing fees. Said songs include: “Brown Eyed Girl” by Van Morrison, “The Only Living Boy in New York” by Paul Simon and “Snow (Hey Oh)” by the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Statutory damages under U.S. copyright law range from $750 to $150,000 per infringement. Coyote’s co-owner Wanda Hemenway declined to comment. A BMI spokeswoman says it gave  Coyote’s many chances to pay fees before filing suit.

1. Portland Trail Blazers and a Star Trek actor campaigning! Charges of vote buying! Mayoral Madness, our phony yet increasingly realistic City Hall race, has surpassed our wildest dreams. In the elite eight, Columbia Sportswear titan Gert Boyle defeated the Paul Bunyan statue by a mere six votes. She now faces TV thief Timothy Hutton, the favorite after collecting a record 4,816 votes to game Blazers broadcaster Mike Rice. Rice’s ads with real Blazers were trumped by Hutton re-tweets from Trek star Wil Wheaton, who apparently has a galactic Internet following. Divorce lawyer Jody Stahancyk buried blogger Jack Bogdanski. Stahancyk—who might be paying 70 cents a vote on a job forum—faces University of Portland soccer quasar Micaela Capelle, who defeated disinterested China Forbes. Look for interviews with the Final Four on wweek.com.

WWeek 2015