It's a summertime sequel for OSU biologists. For the sixth straight year the oxygen-depleted "Dead Zone" has returned off the Oregon coast.
The evidence, though not yet definitive, points to global warming as the cause:
In 2002, Chan says researchers thought Oregon's dead zone was an anomaly brought on by a perfect storm of changes in wind and water circulation patterns. However, he adds, "now we're seeing that the system is very sensitive, and that a little more mild [winds] might put us in this state year after year." If that occurs, it could turn a rich and productive ocean ecosystem into an underwater desert. (Link)
The slightly good news, as it were: the dead zone is a little bit smaller this year.
That is not as bad as last year, when scientists plotted a dead zone that stretched from southern Oregon to the tip of Olympic Peninsula in Washington, a distance of nearly 300 miles. (Link)
I'm baffled that anyone at Intel would green light this print ad:
OK, I get it. You're trying to show the power of your multi-core processors. But who's the advertising genius who said "You know what this spot needs? A bunch of black guys bowing down before the white geek in khakis!"
Place your bets now on how long it takes Intel to pull the ad and apologize for offending, well, everyone. How many other ways could Intel have made this ad without resorting to this particular imagery?
We're not sure why the press release just came across now, but the Washington County Sheriff's Office tells us that Matthew Roloff, the dad from TLC's "Little People, Big World" was arrested for driving under the influence last month.
Obligatory celebrity mug shot, soon to be featured on The Smoking Gun and TMZ, I'm sure:
Roloff got pulled over on West Union near Cornelius Pass just before midnight on June 19th. He reportedly refused a Breathalyzer, was cited for DUII and released.
We called the Roloff family for comment tonight, but couldn't get through to them.
UPDATE: Don't forget about the Roloffs' book, with the now-unfortunate title Little Family, Big Values.
Full press release from WCSO after the jump.
News Release from: Washington Co. Sheriff's Office
ON 6-19-07 MATTHEW ROLOFF WAS ARRESTED BY A WASHINGTON COUNTY DEPUTY FOR DUII (DRIVING UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF INTOXICANTS). HE WAS CITED AND RELEASED.
Posted: July 30th, 2007 8:28 PM
On 6-19-07 at about 11:52pm a Washington County Deputy saw a white 2005 Chevrolet van was failing to drive within its travel lane. The van was traveling westbound on NW West Union Road near NW Cornelius pass Road. These roads are in the unincorporated area of Washington County. The vehicle was stopped and the driver was identified as 45 year-old Matthew Roloff from the Helvetia area.
Mr. Roloff allegedly failed the field sobriety test and was arrested for DUII. Mr. Roloff was transported to the Washington County Jail where he was cited for DUII, refusing the breath test, and failure to drive within the lane. Mr. Roloff was released at this time.
Crowded shopping pisses people off. To the blonde mom and daughter blocking the way to the pillows: honey, don’t be snappy with strangers like that in front of your daughter. She’s going to grow up to be a bitch just like you. And yes, I really did smile back at you and say thanks. That’s how civilized people speak to each other. (My mother taught me that skill: thanks mom!) (Link)
I braved IKEA on Sunday. Parking wasn't all that bad, and the warehouse/checkout portion of the store downstairs was very fast and efficient.
The showroom upstairs, however, was overcrowded and filled with cranky people. My recommendation: if you need a bookcase, make it a surgical strike. Go online, decide ahead of time what you want, and don't even bother going upstairs until the crowds thin out.
I was surprised how many items were already out of stock after 5 days. You'd think they'd give a new store extra inventory so new shoppers wouldn't have to come back three weeks later. Or maybe that's the point.
Of course, while Portlanders were enjoying our new IKEA, shoppers in Norway got to sleep there. On purpose. They called it the "IKEA Hostel" -- complete with a bridal suite.
Shoppers from all over the world came to the warehouse during the week, slumping into one of 30 free beds and trying meatballs and salmon on offer at the bedroom section and canteen. (Link and link)
The overnight guests even got to keep their bed linens.
Metblogs brings word from ComicCon that suspense writer Greg Rucka is working on a hard-boiled detective comic called Stumptown.
Judging by the early artwork, Portland's bridges will be a centerpiece of the series.
Stumptown started life as a pitch for a TV series, along the lines of Magnum, P.I. and The Rockford Files:
"It's my love letter to 'The Rockford Files,'" he said. "It's taking those things that I love in 'Rockford' and retooling them for my own purposes for a book set in a world that's 30 years later. And, you know, I want it to be fun. I want it to have that sense of joy that I got from 'Rockford.'" (Link)
Rucker's work is published by Oni Press, which, along with Dark Horse, makes Portland a hotspot for independent comic book publishers.
Of course, all this follows on the heels of the you-can't-make-this-stuff-up escapade of the diaper-wearing, cross-country driving attempted murder by a scorned Astronaut of her rival in a lovers' triangle.
In the face of bad news, the two choices are often to laugh or to cry so it was no surprise that producers within our newsroom launched into a torrent of possible headlines for NASA's latest fiasco. Choose your fav, or post your own suggestion in comments.
Blasted for blast-off
Lit up at lift-off
Liquored up for launch
Shloshed in space
Blitzed for blast-off
Weightless and wasted
Wasted in space
Hung over in the hangar
Mission imbibable
Henricksen (Merc): "For a weird spell in the third act, Boyle decides to try out his skills as a horror director—briefly but effectively morphing Sunshine from a smart sci-fi thriller into a dumb teen slasher flick."
Bottom line: 3/4ths of a decent sci-fi flick, marred by an incongruous final act.
After complaining for two weeks that Matt Groening wasn't giving Oregon any hometown lovin', he finally came through with an interview in this morning's Oregonian.
So where IS the Simpsons' hometown really? "We
from Oregon will know the real answer. Secretly, I've
always believed that the Simpsons live in Springfield,
Oregon -- or possibly Beaverton." (Link)
OK, maybe I can go see the movie now. Or maybe I'll be a true Oregonian and wait until I can see it for $3 plus a slice of pizza and pitcher of beer.
The Willy Week isn't necessarily known for its clever humor, but you need to go read AP Kryza's guide to the Nine people you meet at Oregon Brewers Fest.
The Wrecking Ball
His mission, should he choose to accept it, is to make a beeline to all the beers with the highest ABV (alcohol by volume) concentration and drink until he’s stumbling into blind oblivion. This species of mad-bull drinkers is easily identifiable—he’s the dude who plows through the long lines, practically body-checking anyone in his path. He’s usually pretty apologetic about it, and will gladly help you towel spilled beer off your body with his Abercrombie T-shirt. (Link)
The festival runs at Waterfront Park through Sunday. $4 to get in, $1 a pour.
From our corporate cousins in Rhode Island comes the creepy story of Oscar, a cat that predicts death. He was raised by nursing home staff, and has been at the bed of more than 25 residents when they died.
[Oscar] goes into another room, where another woman, surrounded by family photos, rests. This time he stays on her bed. A nurse notices and gets out the woman's chart. She begins making phone calls.
The family comes and takes seats in the room. The priest arrives. One family member explains to her son that the cat is there "to help Grandma get to heaven."
Jack Bog follows up on the the story of the now-infamous man in the blue T-shirt who keeps asking people downtown for cab fare to get home to Welches. Jack's readers are filling in the details on his life. His name, apparently, is David:
David is a personable, intelligent man who had a legitimate life going for a while.
Then, according to our readers, he got into drugs and trashed everything. Nowadays he's homeless, at least in the summer, and he goes in and out of rehab when it gets too cold to sleep under a bridge. He'd rather con than work. Much of the cash he gets from rubes like me on Portland streets, they say, goes for drugs. (Link)
Judging by the calls we're getting here at KGW, David's been at this for a few years, and he's still out there now, despite having his face all over TV and the net.
It raises the question: does he need help, or punishment?
A couple years back, I flew into Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport on the way to visit the folks back in Tucson. The drive south took me past the new IKEA, which had been open for a little more than a month.
It was nuts, even by Phoenix traffic standards. The IKEA in Tempe is along I-10, and traffic was stopped for several miles in both directions. The volume of shoppers was overwhelming, even for a 4-lane freeway.
Will we see a similar scene in Portland tomorrow? For the rest of the week? For several months? Combine regular airport traffic with all those shoppers using the same exit off I-205, and you're looking at a huge mess.
My suggestion: Take 82nd Ave. north from Columbia and hang a right on Alderwood Rd -- it takes you into the overflow parking lot, skipping the Cascade Station off-ramp that's bound to be a mess.
Are you planning to brave the traffic this week? What's your IKEA crowd strategy?
Nigel Jaquiss cites "highly-placed" sources who tell him Oregon House Speaker Jeff Merkley will join the U.S. Senate race, aiming to unseat Gordon Smith in November 2008.
That sets up a primary battle between Merkley and Steve Novick, who's already in the race. Merkley told Jacquiss he won't announce a decision until August 1st. (Link)
And perhaps the most enticing aspect of this issue is that nobody's life will be irreparably damaged, whatever the Council adopts in the new policy. So many City issues involve millions of dollars, and huge ongoing impacts on real people. It will be fun to help fix something that isn't so important in the grand scheme of things. (Link)
Any bets on whether the committee will end with a "definite outcome," as Amanda hopes it will? Or will the Mercury's duct tape squad be back next June?
From today's NY Times, we learn that Springfield, Vermont is not the true home of the Simpsons.
In what state is the Simpsons’s fictional Springfield located? Certainly not Vermont. You’ll find out in the movie. We actually reveal the states that Springfield borders on.
Can you tell me now? Maine, Kentucky and — I can’t remember what the others are. The point is that Springfield is in your heart. (Link)
In your heart? What kind of cop-out is that? C'mon, Matt, I know you left town and all, but how about just a little hometown love?
The poll we mentioned yesterday is now up, where you can vote for America's most annoying liberal arts college.
Added to the list since yesterday: Olympia's Evergreen State College, which is currently a smidge more annoying than Reed, but the voting is close. Those are your only two west coast options.
Clarke (WW): "...as a remake, it's a dirty shame. But as a musical, it's a surprisingly good time."
Skinner (Merc): "...the new version is all about the energy and good times -- even the segregation issues at the story's heart are treated as little more than a pesky buzz kill."
Bottom line: John Waters purists should stay away. Everyone else will love it.
Caraeff (Merc): "...another in a long line of mainstream comedies that specialize in gay jokes for people who, most likely, hate gay people."
Mesh (WW): "...a movie that spends its last hour desperately faltering for an apology for all the offense it caused before, like a frat boy trying to talk his way out of a date-rape charge."
Nike, Vick's biggest sponsor, quickly announced suspension of production on Vick's namesame shoe, but that response was not strong enough for some.
An animal rights group organized a Friday protest at Nike's Beaverton campus, calling on the Swoosh to cut all ties to Vick.
Meanwhile, protesters gathered in New York to pressure the NFL to sack Vick.
America is still the land of innocent until proven guilty, but the NFL already suspended "Pacman" Jones for a season without a criminal conviction.
Vick may soon find that in pro sports, where image = dollars, the verdict in the court of public opinion may matter more to the corporate giants who depend on public favor to sell their products.
What do you think Nike should do about its tainted star? Vote in our online poll or post your comments below.
Portland's own Reed College is the only west coast representative on the list so far. Go join the fray if you have any more candidates before the actual poll goes up.
(Full disclosure: my alma mater is also on the list.)
The Columbian brings word that Clark County wants to hire private undercover contractors to bust bars that violate Washington's smoking ban.
Why can't the health department do it themselves?
The undercover contractors are needed because the county's public
health team -- two women and a man -- doesn't feel safe visiting bars
late at night to enforce the law, Cross said. (Link)
The county wants to increase penalties as well -- after a warning letter, the tavern would lose its food license, first for three days, then for two week.
Today's Murmurs column in Willamette Week says oregon is "making a splash" in the presidential fundraising race.
A splash? More like a sprinkle.
Heading back to Open Secrets, we see Oregonians have donated just over $1 million to the candidates so far this election cycle. New York and California each account for more than $37 million. Washingtonians have contributed $2.6 million.
Sure, but Oregon's population is smaller. So how much is each state giving per capita? Let's do the math:
Oregonians have donated 27 cents per person to the presidential race. That's well behind the rest of the west coast.
It's not surprising that that New Yorkers are giving so much more, since two top-tier candidates reside there now. But if Oregon is going to "make a splash" in the race, given our late primary election and small convention delegation, fundraisers are going to have to round up more cash than we've seen so far.
This week's rogue over at Willamette Week is a winner of a divorce lawyer, Allan Knappenberger.
The Bar has suspended Knappenberger's license for a year, now he's suing 25 former clients. At least one of Knappenberger's targets is fighting back:
James Barri of Birmingham, Ala., filed countersuit June 29 after Knappenberger sued him April 16 for $74,758.72 plus interest. His countersuit claims fraud and malpractice by Knappenberger, including billing for unnecessary services and for services not rendered in s 2006 spousal support case. (Link)
Knappenberger's suspension is up this month, but he hasn't applied to get his license back. Instead, he's working as a paralegal for other lawyers.
The first thing to keep in mind when looking at the Times map: the circles showing where a candidate's donations come from only include donations larger than $200. That affects Obama's numbers more than anyone else: 28% of his money came from under-$200 donors, so that cash doesn't show up on the map.
Clinton, on the other hand, raised more than half her money in $2,300 checks, meaning those donors are maxed out. A large number of them are maxed out through the general election as well -- 20% of her $63 million can't be spent until after the primary. Only 7% of Clinton's money came from under-$200 donors.
On the Republican side, it's a similar, though less extreme, story between Romney and Giuliani. 58% of Giuliani's money came from maxed-out donors. Only 33% of Romney's money came in maxed-out, the lowest percentage among the top 4 fundraisers.
What does this mean? Obama and Romney can both tap their existing donor base for lots more money. Giuliani and Clinton have to find new donors.
Coming up: Oregon vs. Washington in the donation race.
Salvador at the Portland Real Estate Blog says housing inventory has reached 5 months. Looking at the overall trend, that's good news for buyers, bad for sellers:
For comparison purposes, inventory at this time in 2006 was only 2.6 months. And in 2005, during Portland’s record breaking year, inventory was at an all time low of 1.5 months. In other words, the number of homes for sale in Portland and the suburbs has doubled and tripled in the last couple of years. (Link)
Salvador's bottom line: "Sellers need to be realistic."
Open Secrets just posted the complete 2nd quarter fundraising numbers for the 2008 Presidential race.
In Oregon, Mitt Romney continues to lead the pack, with $323,190 raised so far. John Edwards is running second with $207,792, followed by Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, each over the $100,000 mark. (Link)
In all, Oregonians have donated just over $1 million to the presidential candidates so far.
The biggest Zip codes for donations: 97219 (SW Portland), 97201 (Downtown), 97034 (Lake Oswego), 97221 (West Hills), and 97210 (NW Portland). Romney has raised the most in all of those areas except Lake Oswego, where Clinton leads.
Consider this a quick early post on the fundraising numbers -- I'm sure you'll find more interesting tidbits in all that data.
Loaded Orygun takes a moment to explain to Michelle Malkin and Lars Larson why the student art at PDX reflects an anti-war/anti-oil sentiment:
We've spent the last seven years with an administration that has made a mockery of Christianity while shooting thousands of innocent civilians overseas in their
ridiculous, trumped-up war while wrapping themselves in the flag. And Malkin scratches her brain cells wondering why public art is reflecting this? (Link)
Malkin picked up on it and her readers complained to PDX officials. The Port told her (politely) to shove it:
Although we retain the right to decline art that is chosen under this program, we do not plan to remove art from this display until its normal rotation ends in November of this year. (Link)
I've always appreciated the rotating student art at the airport -- it's one of those little touches that makes PDX feel accessible and human. What do you think: does including political student art make it even better, or should the airport play it safe?
Amanda Fritz sees a little irony in the Mayor's plan to open up City Hall bathrooms in the overnight hours:
But the six month trial period, at a cost of $46,000 for additional security staff, comes at a time when the neighborhood Citywide Parks Team volunteers have been told we may no longer meet in City Hall at 7 p.m. on third Thursdays, unless we are willing to pay for a security guard ourselves. People wanting to volunteer their time to promote a better Portland, and to use City Hall for its intended purpose as a gathering place for citizens seeking the long term public good, are being told to pay - or go elsewhere. (Link)
I guess this raises the question: if the volunteers wanted to meet at 11 pm (or 6 am), would they be allowed to do so, since the extra security is already paid for?
Tonight's All Things Considered has a fabulous piece on the month in 1941 that Woody Guthrie spent writing songs along the Columbia River.
In what must be one of the cheapest government PR contracts ever, the Bonneville Power Administration paid him all of $266 to promote the Bonneville, Grand Coulee, and other dams. (That would be about $3,800 today.)
The government faced powerful opposition from private utilities and hoped that folk songs would prompt more public support. Out of this month of work came some of Guthrie's best-known songs. (Link)
Among the 26 songs Guthrie wrote that month was "Roll On Columbia," which he wrote after seeing Bonneville Dam. It's now the official folk song of the state of Washington. NPR somehow tracked down Guthrie's driver for that month, 96 year old Elmer Buehler. I got a little dreamy thinking about what it would have been like to see Guthrie in a setting like this:
Buehler says Guthrie was willing to play for less-fortunate folks. He remembers a hotel lobby in the small, blue-collar port town of Arlington, Ore. Buehler says much of the town turned out for an impromptu concert; Guthrie played for them until nearly midnight.
For more on Guthrie's month in the northwest, check out this documentary the U of O produced a few years ago.
As for being accused of trying to influence public opinion: Our story during last night's 11 pm newscast presented two interpretations of the video. One was the opinion of the lawyers who sent the pre-lawsuit claim to Multnomah County. The county won't comment on pending litigation, so the other viewpoint came from former police officer (and former KGW reporter) C.W. Jensen. I certainly won't claim that C.W. speaks for everyone in law enforcement, but his perspective as a former officer is relevant to the story.
As Matt notes in today's follow-up, the comments on what the tape shows are far from a consensus. In our newsroom, some people thought the punches were egregious, some people thought it was not that big a deal.
At the risk of taking Matt's bait, the Mercury's original post is the one trying to influence public opinion. It's what you get when you tell a story from only one viewpoint, then tell your readers what to think. I'm not going to pass judgment on this case based on a single camera angle and a letter from a lawyer.
When our story ran last night, we encouraged viewers to make up their own minds, and I'll encourage it again here.
In a great piece of news for late-night bar hoppers, Mayor Tom Potter's office announced the 1st floor restrooms at City Hall will soon be open overnight.
It's one of the final steps toward enforcing the "Sit-Lie ordinance" that aims to keep the homeless off city sidewalks during the day. Also coming: 26 new benches. The Mercury has pics of those locations.
As for the overnight restrooms, starting August 2nd, you'll be able to relieve yourself inside City Hall from 11 pm until 7 am.
Full press release after the jump.
MAYOR POTTER OPENS CITY HALL RESTROOMS
AS PART OF SAFE INITIATIVE
Restrooms located on the first floor of City Hall will be open overnight as part of the Mayor's Street Access for Everyone (SAFE) Initiative to increase downtown livability.
The new hours, from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m., are expected to be in place by August 2nd. Currently, City Hall restrooms are open to the public from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. The additional hours will increase the City's public restroom capacity during hours when no other public restrooms are available.
The SAFE Initiative was launched on May 24, 2006 to develop comprehensive and community-driven strategies to make Portland's streets open and accessible for all members of the community.
The initiative includes providing day shelters for the homeless during hours when most shelters providing services are closed; increasing the number of benches; opening public restrooms and enacting a sidewalk obstruction ordinance that prohibits sitting or lying on sidewalks in the downtown and Lloyd District during business hours.
The City Council voted last month to require 24-hour access to restrooms before the sidewalk obstruction ordinance could take effect.
The SAFE Oversight Committee - authorized by City Council to oversee implementation of the SAFE Initiative - voted unanimously on June 21st to make City Hall's restrooms the site of the 24-hour operation.
The cost of additional hours and security is more than $46,000 for a six-month trial period.
In addition to the City Hall public restrooms, there are eight Portland Parks & Recreation public restrooms that are currently open from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily.
It's a good thing thieves are greedy. Some of them can't just settle for their neighborhood fence who pays pennies on the dollar and passes the goods on to unscrupulous second-hand stores. Instead, they try selling it themselves on eBay or Craigslist -- where their victims are eagerly awaiting.
The latest case comes from BikePortland, where Mike Kloeppel found his stolen high-end bike parts listed on eBay. Portland Police arranged a stakeout and got their suspect.
Is $1 million really "lagging," as Chisolm claims? The closest comparison to Smith's race is in Minnesota, another Democratic-leaning state with a Republican incumbent.
There, Norm Coleman raised $1.5 million in the 2nd quarter -- 50% more than Smith. But Coleman is going to face either Mike Ciresi or Al Franken next year. Ciresi's already raised $735,000 since May, and Franken added on nearly $2 million on top of the $1.3 he raised in the 1st quarter.
Let's review: in Oregon, Smith outraised his opponent by a 5-1 margin, and has roughly 20 times the cash on hand. In Minnesota, the Democratic candidates outraised Coleman by nearly 2-1, and Coleman has a little less than twice the cash on hand.
At least for now, Gordon Smith doesn't have anything to worry about in the fundraising game. There's a lot of rumbling out there that the DSCC is looking for someone besides Novick (second item), and it's looking like former NEA Chariman John Frohnmayer is going to hop in as an independent. 481 days is a long way off.
So I'm kicking my feet back a couple of weeks ago, watching the NBA draft when a catchy jingle catches my ear. Turns out it was Portland hip-hoppers Lifesavas. MediaPost reports GMC is trying to get its trucks to appeal to more of an urban audience and picked Lifesavas to provide the soundtrack. Watch the commercials here and here. If you like what you hear, you'll have to wait a while to to catch the band. They just played the Doug Fir, and are playing Quebec City Friday night with Kanye West.
As much as we depend on the internet for raw data, the web has nothing on the immediacy of our audience when an earthquake hits. Some of you must have our newsroom number on speed dial.
Several minutes before tonight's quake showed up on the USGS site, we got dozens of calls from viewers telling us they felt it. We always appreciate that, since I can't recall anyone in the newsroom ever feeling an earthquake. Joe Arndt, our Managing Editor, texted us to tell us he felt it in the Buckman neighborhood.
Most of the early calls came in from the Lake Oswego area. I took one from as far away as Newberg. About 5 minutes later, the USGS had the quake with a preliminary magnitude of 2.9, and we got on the air with it. The calls kept coming in from all over.
By 11:00 pm, more than 130 people had already commented online, telling us where they felt (or didn't feel) the quake.
The first oddity we noticed: even though tonight's quake was just 2 miles from the center of Canby, we didn't get calls from anyone who felt it there.
There's something about earthquakes that makes us want to share the experience. Maybe it's just the knowledge that you're not imagining things -- the earth really did shake. Maybe it's the curiosity of knowing how and where an earthquake travels. Maybe it's the knowledge that we're due for a Big One, and what feels like a little rumble to you could spell disaster a few hundred miles away.
Today's Willamette Week has piece by Paige Richmond on the updated dress code at Multnomah Bible College, which is now tattoo-agnostic.
Seminary student Matt Farlow has a full-sleeve tattoo of the Holy Trinity, and thinks Jesus will be inked when he returns.
"I think that Jesus is gonna have a tattoo when he comes back," says Farlow, referring to the book of Revelation. "[The Bible] says he's gonna have written on his thigh, 'Lord of Lords and King of Kings.'" (Link)
From our corporate cousins in Rhode Island comes the creepy story of Oscar, a cat that predicts death. He was raised by nursing home staff, and has been at the bed of more than 25 residents when they died.
Jack Bog follows up on the the story of the now-infamous 
A couple years back, I flew into Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport on the way to visit the folks back in Tucson. The drive south took me past the new IKEA, which had been open for a little more than a month.
Nigel Jaquiss cites "highly-placed" sources who tell him Oregon House Speaker 
