Several other bloggers were in our newsroom, soaking up theatmosphere of election night and posting their impressions to their own blogs.
Personally, I found the coverage more interesting than previous elections because of this increased breadth in viewpoints, and afterwards Jack Bogdanski blogged about his experience in Jack Bog's Blog and LeLo from NoPo did the same.
We'd be interested in your feedback, too. Just click on "comments" below to weigh in. We're already planning for November's election.

Frank Mungeam
Internet Site Manager
KGW.com

8:55 Beaverton mayor's race has Doyle with a early big lead over Drake
Len bergstein

8:50 Multnomah County Commission will cpontinue to get stronger -- Deborah Kafourey brings political talent to add to Wheeler and Cogen...Carla P looks like a winner from East County, but the Shiprack Delman race may go to a runoff..
Len Bergstein

8:40 I'm surprised that Erickson has won his 5th CD -- his early TV must have painted Mannix in a corner he couldn't get out of, even withthe explosive charges that dominated the end of the campaign
Len Bergstein

8:35 I'd say they will be calling Kate Brown winning soon and the same with Nick Fish...tempting to say that Kroger has a commanding lead that will mean he'll be the next AG
Len bergstein

8:18 Merkley moves ahead -- I'm expecting that this means this will see-saw back and forth for most of the night
Len Bergstein

8:15 Statewide races; Kate Brown starts with a lead as expected...Novick and Kroger have early lead -- that would be an indication that "change voter" has moved down the ballot
Len Bergstein

8:10 First returns - In Portland Sam Adams at 52%; Nick Fish with a commanding lead; Amanda Fritz leading as expected and several others clustered at 12/13%;
Len Bergstein

7:45 Fifteen minutes before polls close -- Oregon Primaries have had a jolt of energy from the Presidential contest -- but it's unclear how new voters will perform down ballot and what "change" means for Oregon voters-- most analysts expect close races for Democrats in the US Senate, AG, Republicans in the 5th Congressional District and the nonpartisan raaces for Portland City Council and Multnomah County Commissioner

Len Bergstein

11:31 p.m.

Broadcast news is starting to wind down -- stay tuned for Leno -- but not everything's been decided by the voters, Portland City Commission No. 1 is still awfully close. The Eugene mayor's race is still tight. And although Measure 53, the civil forfeiture deal, is ahead, the lead is not commanding.

This place is definitely in the "strike the set" mode, and in a moment, my KGW blogging privileges will expire. Maybe there will be another time. I hope so.

11:15 p.m.

In the Multnomah County Commission races, it looks as though the runoffs will be Shiprack vs. Delman, and Piluso vs. McKeel. Debiorah Kafoury wins outright, as expected.

11:03 p.m.

Some fireworks down in Eugene.

11:00 p.m.

The editorial boards of the newspapers aren't too fond of David Wu, but the voters in his district have no problem with him.


10:26 p.m.

What's the future hold for Steve Novick? He came from out of nowhere and ran a brilliant race, and he revealed himself to be a mensch. As a Democrat (most of the time), I hope I get to vote for him again for something.

10:09 p.m.

It looks like they're going to be calling Merkley here momentarily.

10:06 p.m.

In Portland Commission Race No. 1, there are only 800 votes separating Charles Lewis, John Branam, and Jeff Bissonnette. The top vote-getter among those three goes head-to-head with Amanda Fritz in the runoff.

10:00 p.m.

Lelo of NoPo is here(!), with camera in hand. Apparently she's meta-blogging our blogging on her site.

9:41 p.m.

With result totals in local races slowing down a bit, this is a good time to reflect on some of the outcomes we know about so far. Oregon has a new attorney general -- a relatively young, outspoken, prosecutorial type. There will be two, not three, new faces on the Portland City Council. Kate Brown will be the new Oregon secretary of state. Erickson survived... for now.

9:22 p.m.

Novick would have carved Smitty up, but Mild Merkley will lose big.

I agree that Steve Novick would give Senator Smith a much more difficult summer than Jeff Merkley would. But up against all the incumbent's money, either would be a longshot.

9:20 p.m.

Jack, what's it like blogging at KGW? paint the scene for us would ya?

Everyone here is prettier than I. And almost as smart.

8c)

Actually, the hardest part is being introduced to the on-air personalities and remembering that although I may think I know them well because they're with me in my den every night, they don't know me from Adam.

9:12 p.m.

Over in my neck of the woods in Northeast Portland, the results so far show Michael Dembrow (Mr. Direct Mail) as the winner for the House seat, and Jackie Dingfelder as the new state senator.

9:07 p.m.

It looks like a changing of the guard in Beaverton.

9:00 p.m.

A couple of years ago, only a few of us had heard of John Kroger. But those of us who did knew he was exceedingly smart, a gifted orator, and capable of building an exceedingly strong case for any cause that he believed in. Many more Oregonians had heard of Greg Macpherson, with a long family history in Oregon politics, incredible smarts, and political courage. So how did Kroger get ahead of Macpherson to become the next state attorney general? Two words: killer instinct.

8:50 p.m.

The crime victims' ballot measures are passing handily; the civil forfeitures measure is winning, but just narrowly.

8:46 p.m.

The Sho is over. Was it worth it, for him and for Portland?

8:38 p.m.

Multnomah County Commission: Gresham Police Chief Carla Piluso is way ahead, but so far shy of the 50% she'll need to avoid a runoff. She'll be giving Sheriff Bernie Giusto a hard time, if he's still around.

In another county commission race, Judy Shiprack has a nice lead, but her runoff opponent is not yet identified.

8:35 pm.

"Change" winners so far: Kroger, Fish. "No change" winners: Adams, Brown.

8:33 p.m.

KGW is calling Kroger.

8:22 p.m.

The news overlords here at KGW are calling Adams the outright winner in the Portland mayor's race. No runoff, they tell me.

8:17 p.m.

John Kroger is way ahead of Greg Macpherson for Oregon attorney general -- but that's probably just Multnomah County talking. My earliest instincts in this one were that Kroger would win Portland, but that Macpherson would make up for it elsewhere in the state. That race could be a barnburner.

8:07 p.m.

Fish kill! Nick Fish with more than 60% in the Portland City Council race so far. Runoff opponent against Fritz is too close to call.

8:05 p.m.

With more than 100,000 votes posted, Adams has 52% in the Portland mayor's race.

8:02 p.m.

The election results main page is here.

7:59 p.m.

The polls are closing. How much "change" do Oregonians really want? We are about to find out.

7:55 p.m.

The calm before the storm has descended on us. The newsroom is still a hotbed of activity, but people are hunkering down with a quiet intensity.

7:36 p.m.

We have checked into KGW Election Night headquarters and are getting ready to blog through the evening. Man, this place is humming. It is going to be a very interesting night. Stay here and follow along with Len Bergstein and me as we comment on the outcomes and their implications. And join in the conversation!

These web-friendly shopping tips come from CNN's Gerri Willis, the personal finance editor for CNN Business News.

Her first tip is simple. Get online and set up online bill pay. You can even set up automatic payments for recurring bills, like utilities. Not only will that save you from any late payments, you'll also save yourself a 42-cent stamp on every bill you pay online instead of through the mail.

The internet also has plenty of places to find coupons and deals before you head out to the grocery store.

Coolsavings.com allows you to pick out specific grocery items on its site, then print out the coupon for use in the store.

Sign up for thegrocerygame.com and it'll email you weekly lists of the lowest-priced items at grocery stores, plus some coupons. This one will cost you $10 a month after a $1 trial period of 30 days.

But you can find deals on more than groceries. You'll also find an end to driving from mall to mall looking for clothes your size that are on sale.

Sound good? Then check out shopittome.com. You go to the site and set up a profile indicating the brands you like, your sizes, and how often you'd like to hear about sales. The site then scours the internet to find deals on clothing in your size of the brands you choose, helping you stretch your dollar without ever leaving home.

Do you have a stretching your dollar tip you'd like to share? Click below on "comment" and let your fellow readers in on your secret.

Stash a dollar in a jar every time you do something around the house. One reader suggested putting a dollar in a jar every time you do laundry, while others do it every time they curse!

You can also save some by taking any refund, rebate or reimbursement check and putting that in a savings account.

Also, try cashing in your spare change. Many banks and credit unions will do it for free, or you can spend 30 or so dollars on a coin sorter to wrap up all your change to take to the bank.

Here's another way to save - with help.

Some institutions, such as Bank of America, will round up any purchase you make and put the extra change in a savings account.

Say you buy something that cost $5.25. The program will put it down in your account as $6 dollars and put that 75 cents into savings - savings that can really add up over time.

Have a good idea of your own you'd like to share? Look below in our comment section, and share your tip. We may even share it on air with all our other viewers.

  If you're like many of us, you're pulling that beltstrap a bit tighter and looking for ways to save some money here and there.  We're trying to help with a new series we're calling "Stretching Your Dollar".

  Every morning on Newschannel-8 at Sunrise, we're offering some simple ways all of us can save a few dollars.  And for the next few nights at 11pm, we're taking that a bit further with experts offering their tips on "Stretching Your Dollar." 

  We hope you'll tune in to find out some new ideas on saving a few dollars.  And while you're on our website, we'd love you to share some of the ideas and strategies you already use to save money for you and your family.  The tip you share could really help out a fellow Newschannel-8 viewer.

  And who knows?  Maybe your idea will even end up on television!

   Thanks for taking the time -

   Rich Kurz / Newschannel-8 Special Projects Manager