My oh my, where to begin today.

Teamwork is the key to tracking down information on the Richard Curtis story. He's the State Representative from Southwest Washington that ended up in the middle of a sex scandal while attending a Republican Party meeting in Spokane.

KREM is our sister station in Spokane and since the story is really playing out on two fronts we are lucky to have them. KREM reporters are able to track down documents and talk with officials investigating the case. Our reporters of course are bringing in more personal details from the 18th District in Southwestern Washington.

Here's the basics if you are playing along. According to search warrant documents Curtis met a man at an erotic video store and had sex at a hotel with him. The man reportedly demanded a thousand dollars or he would tell Curtis' wife. Curtis called police to say he was being blackmailed. That is the tame stuff. I'll leave the explicit accusations for you to read on your own.

Curtis also says he did not solicit anyone for sex and is not gay. There seems to be a lot of that going around.

You remember those where's Waldo books? Well now we are looking for Bernie Giusto.The Department of Public Safety, Standards and Training is investigating whether the sheriff lied to the public about what he knew of Neil Goldschmidt's sexual abuse of a 14-year-old girl when Goldschmidt was Mayor of Portland.

Giusto has claimed he'd only heard rumors but a preliminary report says that's not true. We'd of course love to hear from him but the closest we got today is a sheriff's spokesman who said no comment on Bernie's behalf.

I did have a chance to talk with Former first lady Margie Goldschmidt on the phone. She says contrary to the preliminary report she did not tell investigators that Bernie Giusto knew details about the abuse while Neil Goldschmidt was still in office.

Stay tuned and as always,
Thanks for watching.

Tracy Barry

Posted by at 2:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Chances are, you are familiar with many of our stories today. That's not to say there isn't something new!

Thursday, Kyle Iboshi broke the story of a Portland police officer - who was set to plead guilty to official misconduct. That happened today. Four women have accused him of sexual misconduct -- in the line of duty. Kyle will have the latest on a once - up and coming officer -- who has now plead guilty and handed in his badge.

There was also a surprise at the city council meeting last night. Mayor Tom Potter got up and walked out of the meeting, during the discussion on Interstate Avenue. Should the street be renamed to honor Cesar Chavez? The mayor thought so, based on the work of a city committee. But coucil members wanted to wait, and consider a few 'other' streets for the honor -- instead of Interstate. The reaction to the outburst has been widespread. In fact, The Portland Mercury is now selling t-shirts with Potter's picture on it, along with a quote from the mayor: "I am irrelevant." Where does this leave the name change debate?

Also, you know about Snowball the deer. This week, a judge ordered the state to return the deer to the Molalla family that raised her. Finally -- the end to the story! Umm, no. State Attorney General Hardy Myers announced today -- the state WILL appeal that decision. Good to see we're getting tough on crime. :-)

And finally, the downtown Macy's store is now open! We'll have a report on the renovated gem -- in the heart of Pioneer Courthouse Square.

Don't forget Friday Night Flights tonight at 11. Plus, the Ducks play USC, and the Beavers host Stanford on Saturday. It looks like we're in for a beautiful weekend, too. Enjoy yours.

Joe Donlon

Posted by at 3:06 PM | Permalink

It's not over yet. We were all expecting the Snowball saga might wrap up today with the disabled deer returned to the family that rescued her in Molalla. We should have known better after all the twists and turns this story has taken. A judge did rule in favor of the family but the State is now asking the Court of Appeals to stop it.

Here's a sample of the kind of emails coming in today...

"Just let the deer go back to the family who saved her, raised her, and loved her. What is this about anyway??? Power, control, winning?? "

FIRES

Reporter Scott Burton is still on the fire lines in San Diego. He's with photographer
Scott Williams and they've been following folks back into neighborhoods today as they find out if their homes are still standing or burned to the ground. Can you imagine?

We are sharing a satellite truck down there with our sister station from Phoenix KTVK.
For a reporter it's an amazing story to cover, but the hours are long. In addition to our newscasts Scott has also been doing some live reports for one of the local San Diego stations. Since they've been on the air 24/7 they were thrilled to get some fresh material about Oregon firefighters helping out.

ONE MORE THING...

On a personal note, you know we help out at many charity fundraisers around town. Some are huge and others are just getting started, like the one I'll be at this Friday night.

It's a new non-profit called Be Anything. The brainchild of a 20-year-old Portlander named Shylah Statler. Shylah grew up watching her Aunt and Uncle care for foster children and she felt a calling to do more. So in addition to her regular job she dreams up ways to bring some creativity into the lives of foster children and simply to let them know someone cares.

Friday night is the first event...called the Be Anything Fall Fashion Show. She has connected about 22 children with design students and sewing experts to create one of a kind costumes. My inside information indicates there will be everything from a Blowfish to a pop star and a tissue box!

It starts at 7pm Friday night at the World Trade Center downtown. Head to the Sky bridge Terrace. It's 12 dollars at the door and all the money goes to pay for the cost of the evening. Stop by after work for a short hour. The kids will thank you.

As Always, Thanks for Watching,

Tracy Barry

Posted by at 2:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

Everyone is talking about the California wildfires.. and for good reason. More than a million people have now been evacuated. We have sent Scott Burton to San Diego to augment our coverage. He hit the ground this afternoon, and will join us live - in our 5 o'clock broadcast.

We will also update the story of Snowball the deer. Remember her? The state removed the animal from a Molalla family's property, and sent her to an Elk farm about 10 minutes away. The family rescued the deer shortly after birth, because it was alone - and had deformed legs. State law doesn't allow people to keep deer as pets. But the family is challenging the state's ruling - in court. That happened today, and we'll have the latest.

Another story we will update -- is the fatal shooting of a K-9 officer in Vancouver. The man accused of killing the dog after a police chase, was in court today.

As for the night team, we're going to pursue some of the many 'local' connections to the California wildfires. It has touched a lot of people in our area.

And on a programming note, you'll find the Portland Trail Blazers on Newschannel 8 tonight. As a result, we will not have a 6:30 newscast. The Blazers host the Seattle Sonics - in their final HOME preseason game. You know Greg Oden isn't playing.. but I hate to tell you -- Kevin Durant isn't either. He twisted an ankle last night.

Joe Donlon

Posted by at 3:20 PM | Permalink

Once again today the big story is the fires in Southern California. Everyone I ran into today seems to know someone affected by the fires there. It's the same here in the newsroom. Laural's brother and his family are still evacuated. Her sister is on standby to evacuate. Kyle Iboshi has a family member there that had to evacuate. Voluntary evacuations are in place where our 5pm producer Gina Zandy's folks live. And the list goes on. So there is certainly a personal as well as professional interest in this story.
The scope is hard to comprehend but this is the biggest evacuation since Katrina. So many people losing so much they have worked their whole lives for.

A tough moment for Amy Troy today covering the bicyclist who died after getting pinned under a garbage truck. Just as she was about to do her live shot at the scene of the accident about four dozen of Brett Jarolimek's friends showed up. They had come to leave flowers and share their grief. Brett worked at the Bike Gallery and was very active in the biking community. And clearly very well loved.

So what do you do as a reporter? Four dozen friends sharing such an emotional moment is a compelling story and says a great deal about what this man meant to the community.But it is also terribly Intrusive to turn the cameras on people who are hurting like that. So Amy of course, did the right thing. She gave them their privacy and let them know that if anyone wanted to talk about Brett afterwards she would be available. They did and we'll bring more about Brett Jarolimek tonight.

Enjoy this spectacular day, such a sweet bonus.
And as always, thanks for watching.

Tracy Barry

Posted by at 2:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

We wrap up the week, with an update on a story from 9 months ago. It's a story that has certainly divided a lot of people. It had just snowed in the area, and people were out enjoying the somewhat rare opportunity to use their sleds in town. Peter Gecho tied a sled to the back of his pick-up truck, and headed for a field at a Vancouver middle school. Gecho made a sharp turn, and the force of that turn - whipped the sled around and hurled the two children riding the sled into a brick bench. One of the children, was his 9 year old daughter - who died from her injuries. A tragedy? No question. A crime? According to prosecutors, yes. Today, they filed vehicular manslaughter charges against Gecho. Pat Dooris will have the latest.

We will also follow up a story we broke Thursday night. The bleachers at Lincoln High School have been condemned. A recent engineering report produced some pretty scary results about the stability of that structure, and as a result - the bleachers were closed at Lincoln, and Madison High. The timing couldn't be worse, right in the middle of football season. Games will have to be moved, and fans will have to watch from the track. But it brings to mind a quote I remember - from Ed Koch, the former mayor of New York City. When talking about the hassle of rebuilding bridges there, he said, "It's better to be inconvenienced - and alive.. than convenienced - and dead." Indeed. What happens now? Randy Neves will update that situation for us.

As for the Night Team, we're chasing down some weather issues. Did a tornado touch down in Hubbard? And what's ahead for the weekend? That, plus an interesting story our 11pm producer found - about Van Halen. And, of course - Friday Night Flights! We hope you can join us.

Joe Donlon

Posted by at 3:31 PM | Permalink

Just finished getting briefed by our 5 o'clock producer Gina Zandy about the stories we are working on. It's another wild afternoon and I'm NOT talking about the weather.

For starters the Governor finally answered our question about the ethics complaint filed against him by radio talk show host Lars Larson. This all has to do with what he knew or didn't know about the Goldschmidt sex abuse case.

It wasn't much of an answer really but certainly better than having him storm off the stage again. Oh hang on; Pat Dooris just called in saying a second complaint has now been filed against the Governor with the Oregon Bar. He's all over this story and will fill us all in at 5pm.

Another story has been all over the place this afternoon. Here's the kind of thing our reporters have to sort out. A couple of hours ago police were doing a sweep of the area near the Doubletree Hotel at Lloyd Center as part of the Top Off terrorism drill underway. But guess what? The dogs sniffing for explosives actually picked something up. At first everyone thought it was still part of the drill, but it wasn't! More police were called in, the Max trains were shut down and the dogs went to work.
Right now it looks like it might be a gun left in one of the officials car. But stayed tuned the day is young.

As for the weather, well, I'll leave that to Dave to explain.
See you at five and as always,
Thanks for Watching.

Tracy Barry

Posted by at 2:35 PM | Permalink

I fell in love with Falls City.
It's a small timber town about 90 minutes from Portland, west of Dallas.
It's on a dead end road... but it dead ends in some of Oregon's most beautiful country in the coast range.

It's not just the towering Doug Fir trees of Black Rock Mountain that cast their spell, but the people of this one street town.

Nels E.G. Olsson runs the "A and E Hometown Grocery Store".
He bought it from his Dad, also Nels, who was widowed a few years ago.

Nels and Nels told photojournalist, Kurt Austin, and I all about their hometown.
Once a busy timber town, the lumber days have lost a bit of luster.
Sure, there is still logging, but a new activity is adding some fresh polish to Falls City.

Mountain bikers by the hundreds are discovering Falls City,its fine people, and Nels' grocery store.
They're coming from all over the country, and Canada to ride the trails of Black Rock Mountain.
And these aren't your ordinary mountain bikers, they're freeriders, hard core, extreme mountain bikers.
And some of the nicest people I've ever met.

Nels, Junior took us up the mountain and showed us around Black Rock Mountain's biking trails.
We were also accompanied by volunteers from the "Black Rock Mountain Biking Association".
In partnership with the Oregon Department of Forestry, BRMBA designed, built, and maintains the trails.
They have a real sense of pride about the outrageously creative, and challenging mountain biking features they've built.
With names like "The Stimulator", "The Wall", and wild log rides in Granny's Kitchen; the ramps, jumps and "skinnies" offer
bikers thrills and adrenalin rushes at every turn.

The bikers are courteous,friendly, and respectful of the environment.
You won't find any trash in this thousand acre woods, and the bikers keep it that way.

I discovered Falls City, and Black Rock Mountain recently when Kurt and I drove down to do a story on the Freeriding mountain biking craze.

We left with new friends, a fondness for a beautiful corner of Oregon,and a deep appreciation for the freeriding mountain biking community.

If you get a chance, take a day trip to Falls City, and stop in at Nels' Hometown Grocery Store.
He'll whip you up one of his famous mochas, and give you a map directing you to Black Rock Mountain. (With bike trails for all biking abilities.)

You can also watch our story on the Falls City Freeriders on Monday, October 15th at 6pm. Or check it out later on KGW.com.

Here's a link to the Black Rock Mountain Biking Association website.

http://BRMBA.org

I think you'll fall in love,too.

Laural

Posted by at 3:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)