Yikes.

From a yard on NW Hoyt between 22nd and 23rd. -b

DO NOT MOVE: todayinpdx@portlandmercury.com

This may have special relevance for those who work in the Mercury’s editorial office, who’ve had to listen to me blasting the Benny Hill theme song on more than one occasion. For everyone else, there’s a chance of anywhere between 20 and 35 percent you’ll be offended by this.

Offensive? Not nearly as offensive as Mel Gibson, Ted Haggard, Pat Robertson, John Hagee, Jerry Falwell, James Dobson, Tony Perkins, etc. etc.

Thanks, One Angry Anthropoid.

The one the pro-charter change campaign is using to show a need to change the form of government? Got it in my hands, courtesy of Ken Rust and the helpful folks at the Office of Management and Finance.

It’s filled to the brim with charts and graphs, and a bunch of language I don’t understand, but here are their recommendations, which should be adequate.

* Bringing more finance processes on-line and automating the journal entry process.

* Eliminate duplicate bureau-level systems in the HR area and enforce a “single source” of information approach for the HR function.

* Deploy greater self-service in the HR/payroll function for HR staff and customers.

* Examine processes in payroll and timekeeping to improve efficiency through automation and process improvement.

* City is implementing approaches such as strategic sourcing to rationalize the supplier database in a manner that is consistent with the city’s MWESB [Minority, Women, and Emerging Small Businesses] policies.

* Develop an organization strategy to reduce fragmentation across bureaus and centralized functions.

- *Realign staff mix, focus clericals on administrative tasks and focus professionals and managers on analysis and decision support activities.

Essentially—align payroll systems and automate human resource services, be smarter about how employees are used, and bridge the gaps between the bureaus. Using this to jump to changing the form of government? A little like using a bazooka to kill a fly.

Another interesting tidbit—the last line of the last page of the report: “The City of Portland has different business requirements, as all organizations in the [Hackett] database do, however, in Hackett experience, the City of Portland is actually less complex than many other organizations in the database.”

The Shaky Hands have just posted a fantastic new video for “Why & How Come.” Filmed at the Holocene, the video looks like a million bucks and features some jaded hipsters and funky white kid dancing. Speaking of all those things, the band’s much-anticipated CD release show is this Saturday night at (where else?) Holocene.

Also, I love how indie bands can now make great videos on the cheap. Thank you digital video technology!

At our Wednesday forum, proponents for the city charter changes quoted a report by the Hackett Group that allegedly shows massive redundancies and inefficiencies in the city—to the tune of $10 to $15 million.

The next day, Mayor Tom Potter used the report the following day in his speech to the Lloyd District Community Association to point out the need for a change in Portland’s form of government. It was picked up by KGW.

Curiously, Auditor Gary Blackmer hadn’t even heard of it until reporters started calling him for information—and given that he’s the city auditor, one might reasonably expect an audit on the city’s efficiency to have at least breezed past his desk.

A message from Potter, plus an explanation from the city’s chief administrative officer, after the jump.

A year ago an outside auditing firm, The Hackett Group, studied how the City works.

This firm provides benchmarking and performance measurement services to public and private sector organizations across the U.S. and around the world. They maintain a database of information that allows them to compare and organizations costs and effectiveness.

After studying 13 different City operations and bureaus the report found –

* There are over 300 different computer systems operating in city government. 300.

When you have 300 different computer systems it is difficult to share information between bureaus or to develop consistent and accurate reports or to easily respond to simple information requests. That costs time and money.

* Many Bureaus do not participate in existing citywide systems, creating unnecessary and costly duplication.

The Water Bureau for example, has its own account and payroll system, adding people and duplicating work.

* Four city bureaus aren’t even on the City’s payroll system – they’ve created their own payroll systems.

* Because of multiple systems, data has to be entered multiple times, creating duplication.

* And worst of all for taxpayers, these multiple systems make it very hard to audit whether they are operating properly.

The report concluded that by ending duplication, consolidating systems, and standardizing procedures across all city bureaus the City of Portland could save $ 10 - $ 15 million a year.

$10 - $ 15 million a year.

Let me tell you what we could do with another $ 10-$ 15 million every year.

We could put more police officers in neighborhoods where crime is a concern. We could focus more dollars on affordable housing, keeping our neighborhoods welcoming to everyone.

In a city where one in four roads is falling apart, we could get fill more potholes.

So, why can’t we do a better job coordinating city bureaus?

Why don’t we have consistent policies between city bureaus?

And, why are we wasting taxpayers’ dollars by duplicating services and personnel among city bureaus?

Thank you,

Tom Potter
Mayor

I just got off the phone with Ken Rust, the city's CAO, who dumbed the report down for me as much as possible. Yes, the report did show that, compared to high-performing and mid-line cities and organizations, Portland could save $10 to $15 million by consolidating and updating its computer systems. So, that's what Rust and the Office of Management and Finance are doing.

Rust wouldn't comment on whether the form of government would be an obstacle to achieving those efficiencies.

"Our goal is to be able to eliminate those inefficiencies no matter what form of government is in place," he said. "It's difficult to keep different bureaus all on one system for an extended period of time, so that'll be challenging, but that's our goal."

Finally realizing that the Drug- and Prostitution-Free Zones are set to expire next week, and that three meetings by a newly formed oversight committee probably isn’t adequate to analyze the zones, the mayor’s office is asking for a six-month extension of the policy.

A similar situation happened the last time the exclusion zones came up for renewal. They were set to expire in fall of 2005, but were extended to last March when no one could come to a consensus on how to reform the zones. Last March, they were renewed for another year, which went into effect in mid-April, leading to next week’s deadline.

Part of the compromise last year was that an oversight committee would be formed to look at the zones during that one-year period, and their findings would inform the conversation this year. That committee got off to a late start, however, meaning that there isn’t much analysis to go on—indeed, the committee is still asking the police bureau’s statistician for raw data to analyze.

The committee had another problem: Since it wasn’t fully commissioned by city council, but created by the mayor with the council’s blessing, there wasn’t a written set of instructions for what they should do. The mayor’s office has now issued a list of things the committee was supposed to look at:

1. Whether the exclusion zone boundaries and the criteria used to create them properly define and address neighborhood livability problems.

2. Whether the review and appeal processes of issued exclusions are effective in protecting against erroneous exclusions.

3. Whether Portland’s police officers have used the exclusion tool effectively and fairly.

4. Whether zone enforcement supports, or can be modified to support, broader efforts to address root causes of drug and prostitution crime.

5. Whether the City should begin additional efforts to address drug and prostitution crime.

6. Whether Zone enforcement results in unlawful discrimination based upon race and/or ethnicity.

7. Whether zone enforcement has a positive effect on neighborhood livability.

8. Whether the Zone Code should be changed or renewed.

The mayor’s office is asking for an extension until September 30.

I just finished writing an article about Hand2Mouth Theater, in which I quote H2M director Jonathan Walters on his hope that Portland will one day become a year-round destination for touring theater companies (instead of drawing a shit-ton of awesome acts during TBA and then dying for the rest of the year). In my article, I mentioned that in addition to Hand2Mouth, Sojourn Theater does some pretty amazing experimental theater, and that I’m looking forward to Good, their summer show.

Then I checked my e-mail to find a press release from Sojourn, announcing that artistic director Michael Rohd has just accepted a two-year teaching position at Northwestern University in Chicago.

This is obviously huge news for Rohd, but what, exactly, does it mean for Portland? The fear, of course, is that in Rohd’s absence Sojourn’s artistic vision will lose focus—the way some people think Liminal tanked when artistic director Bryan Markovitz took off.

I called Rohd to confirm that he will in fact be remaining artistic director of Sojourn, and that Sojourn will continue to use Portland as its home base—the key difference, Rhod said, is that for the next few years Sojourn will place more emphasis on other projects happening in otherparts of the country.

So this could actually be good news for Portland, if it serves to strengthen ties in the theater community between Portland, Chicago, and other cities.

Press release after the jump!

ELEASE: April 6, 2007

Sojourn Theatre Artistic Director Michael Rohd Takes Visiting Appointment in Chicago

PORTLAND, OR -- Sojourn Theatre is proud to announce Artistic Director Michael Rohd has accepted a two-year visiting appointment at Chicago's Northwestern University as the Ethel M. Barber Assistant Professor in Theater, a newly created position on the faculty of the University's School of Communication in the area of Devising Performance. He begins in September 2007. Rohd has been a guest faculty member at Northwestern the past two academic years, regularly traveling back and forth between Portland and Chicago.

Sojourn Theatre's work will continue, through special projects at the company's home-base (which will remain Portland), and through Rohd's work in Chicago and around the nation. Sojourn continues to be a flexible, expansive means for the ensemble and its collaborators, under the leadership of Artistic Director Rohd, to develop a unique body of theatrically adventurous, often civically engaged work. The potential for collaboration with Northwestern University is clear, and the exploration of university-based projects that act as a Lab for the work Sojourn does around the US has already begun.

Since 1999, Rohd has written and directed (in collaboraton with the ensemble) 20 full-length works that have been seen in Oregon and around the country. In the last 12 months, Sojourn's work in Portland includes the award-winning production The War Project: 9 acts of determination, and the city-wide tour of One Day, a civic engagement collaboration with The Mayor of Portland's Office. The company also created a new piece, American Value, which opened the North American Cultural Laboratory's 2006 Summer Festival in New York, and was commissioned to create and perform Voices from the Edge as the closing event at the 2006 The Pacific Edge Festival in Mackay, Australia.

On June 10th, 2007, Sojourn will premiere it's newest full-length work, GOOD, a multi-media site-specific performance journey at the Wentworth Subaru parts and service facility/dealership in SE Portland, to be followed by this Summer's Sojourn Lab at Lewis & Clark College, Throwing Bones, a new work by New York–based visiting director and Princess Grace Award Recipient Maureen Towey . The 2007 (8th annual) Sojourn Institutes will take place as planned in Portland and in New York this July & August.

Upcoming Sojourn Theatre projects in early stages of development include:

- work with the US Department of Defense on an interview-based production about Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Warrior Returns, in collaboration with soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan as part of an effort to bring soldiers, families and communities together;

- work with Georgetown University on The Race, a piece about the 2008 Presidential Election to be produced in Washington, DC;

- and work at Northwestern and in Chicago on a multi-year civic theatre project examining the housing crisis in US urban areas as our projected population grows from 300 million to 400 million over the next forty years entitled Where will we live?.

As Sojourn moves to a streamlined format of project-based work, the organizational structure will shift in ways that allow for greater programmatic flexibility.

Sojourn Theatre:
a research and production institution whose primary activity consists of exploring and innovating the intersection of theatre and democracy through process and performance in professional, education, and community settings with a commitment to rigor and excellence in its aesthetic and engagement practices.

For further information regarding this announcement, please call 503.312.3493.

Straight from High Violets bassist Colin Sheridan:

The High Violets will be performing over-the-airwaves on KPSU later today at around 6:30. It’s pretty cool the technology they have these days.

http://kpsu.org

You can stream from there…

In my day we had to listen to all our music through strings and tin cans, until my neighbor showed me his iPod-aphone. Fascinating, really…..

Apparently it will also be available as an archived show after that, and also a podcast.

Speaking of podcasts, the High Violets will be appearing on my rock-n-roll interview podcast show The Rock Report later this month. Stay tuned.

This week in the Mercury, we presented yet another new column (how come our “new columns” never seem to last more than a week or two?) entitled “Why Won’t Anyone Read My Blog?—An Easter Message from Jesus Christ.” In this column, Jesus was complaining that… well, here’s an excerpt.

This letter is not intended to make you feel bad, or guilt you into reading my blog. Just consider this letter a little birdie twittering in your ear, offering a gentle reminder that if YOU had two huge spikes hammered through your wrists, I would happily read your blog. In fact, I read your blog all the time—even though I find your writing derivative, and lacking in substance.

Kind of a dick, huh? Well, I thought so, too—UNTIL I ACTUALLY READ JESUS CHRIST’S BLOG. And as it turns out? It’s not half bad! Here’s an excerpt from one post where he gets into an argument with a cashier named Terry at the grocery store.

I was just trying to buy some Lamb Chow for my lamb, Karen, and Terry was all like, “What? Is that for your widdle-bitty lambsy-wamsy?” And I was like, “What if it is?” And he was like, “Well, I eat lambs like yours for dinner.” And I was like, “Well, you’re not going to eat Karen, because I love her.” And he was like, “HA! Karen’s a stupid name for a lamb.” And I was like, “Terry is a stupid name for a guy.” (Which it is.) Then he got all flustered, and was all like, “Well… Jesus Christ is a stupid name for ANYBODY.” And I was like, “Well, I died for you sins.”

It goes on like that for awhile. Anyway, this is just to say, “Jesus Christ? I’ve bookmarked your blog. Satisfied?” Read it for youself (and bookmark it) by clicking HERE!

A new episode of 3-Minute Limit has posted. This week we travel to a far-off galaxy for the exotic sounds of Zolar X. Listen here. For further hijinks check out this footage of the band doing their thing:

It’s been a great week for politics and booze, first with our forum on Wednesday (I’m still recovering from the “strong mayors” I drank) and now with April’s installment of Progressive Happy Hour.

Seriously, this is how all political discussions should happen—with enough pints to drown out those annoying politeness instincts.

And hey, guess where PHH is going to be this evening? Can you guess? Can you?

Yep, Acme. 1305 SE 8th.

From the PHH crew:

Is it spring? Is it finally spring? Has the rainy Portland winter finally left us behind?

We think so.

And to test that theory, tonight we’re headed to Acme. As PHH regulars know, they’ve got a fabulous back patio. (And if the weather does go wet on us, well, there’s plenty of room inside.)

The Acme. Southeast 8th & Main. 5:30. Tonight.

As usual, no agenda, no boring speeches, no nothing. Just drinks. And a little gossip. About Peter DeFazio and Gordon Smith. What, do you know something?

Since most of his recent stuff has been unwatchable shit—Miracle and Sky High and Dreamer and Poseidon, for example—it’s easy to forget how unbelievably awesome Kurt Russell is. Quentin Tarantino, who loves nothing more than reigniting the career of has-been movie stars, makes damn fine use of Russell in Grindhouse, which opens today, and which you should go see. Russell’s amazing in it. In fact, it’s his best work since his films with John Carpenter from the ’80s. So If you’re going to see Grindhouse this weekend—or even if you’re not—check out these clips from the Russell/Carpenter classics Big Trouble in Little China, Escape from New York, and The Thing. The Big Trouble clip is first, ‘cause it’s one of the best movie trailers ever.

Hit the jump for scenes from The Thing and Escape from New York.

The Thing

Escape from New York

Thanks to Uber. (They did 10 Russell videos, but I didn't like most of the ones they picked. So I stole their idea and took it as my own.) If you want more Russell, that's where to go.

One of the highlights of Wednesday’s “Sex, Beer, And Charter Reform” forum was a sparring match between Commissioner Randy Leonard and Harold Williams Sr. over the racial implications of political districting—dividing the city of Portland into multiple districts, all of which would be represented by a city council member.

Unlike past attempts to set up a strong mayor form of government in Portland, the charter change that’s going to the ballot on May 15 doesn’t include districting, leaving the city council elected from the city at large. That’s one of the main reasons why Leonard and others who’ve supported similar changes in the past aren’t supporting this one. Without switching to districts, the thinking goes, underrepresented communities—including, but not limited to, North and NE Portland’s African American communities—will continue to not have a voice on council.

So we posed that question to the pro-change side—why not include districts in this proposal, expand the number of city council members, and give every area in the city a voice? What we got back was one of the most unexpected arguments against districting I’ve ever heard.

I didn't write his comments down word for word, because I was busy moderating, but Williams--a small business owner who happens to be African American--said that districting would only force the African American community further into a box, and further isolate them from the city at large. Instead of being part of the larger city, the Black community would be politically marginalized in a specific district. In essence, he argued, African Americans need to act and be considered as Portlanders, not as residents of a NE district. (If anyone thinks I've butchered Williams' main idea, please feel free to correct me in the comments.)

Leonard was taken aback. It's no secret that city council is currently made up of five white guys, and there's currently no structural way to ensure that all of Portland is adequately represented. (Yes, all of the elected officials pledge to represent the entire city, and everyone in Portland can choose who will represent them best, but election turn-out figures show that many areas of town vote in lower numbers--and why wouldn't they? How often do people run who aren't from the central city?) Districting would mean that, no matter what, every corner of Portland would have a council member.

It's a heavily loaded issue, as evidenced by Williams' strong and emotional response. Does dividing communities into political districts further ghettoize them (and that's "ghettoize" in the academic sense)? Should we all, as the Republicans would like us to do, pretend that there are no socio-cultural differences between communities, and ignore centuries of disenfranchisement in order to promote a color-blind, "we are all one people" ideology? Should areas like North and NE Portland have ensured representation, or should they continue to trust that the white males who keep getting elected will adequately represent their interests?

And that's not even getting into the political mechanics of actually drawing the boundaries. Done poorly, districts can serve to further marginalize minority communities. If the lines were drawn so that each district in, say, NE Portland, were still dominated by Caucasians, minority communities could end up with fewer avenues to city hall than they do now.

At any rate, it's moot at this point. The May 15 ballot measures don't include districting, as decided by the charter review commission. Perhaps the next time this rolls around, we can have a larger community conversation about issues like access, representation, accountability, and efficiency before all the decisions are made.

From Cory:

The corner of 12th and Hawthorne. Yep, and espresso cart right next to Tiny’s coffee shop. Good thing cause I can finally get a non fat half caf skim raspberry steamer instead of a delicious Stumptown double Americano from Tiny’s.

Always full caf: todayinpdx@portlandmercury.com

Office fans everywhere have been biting their nails in anticipation of last night’s episode, wondering if Roy (Pam’s ex-fiance) was going to follow through with his cryptic words: “I’M GOING TO KILL JIM HALPERT.” (For those just joining us, Jim kissed Pam and Roy found out. Oooooooooh!)
THE RESULT? Roy DID try to kill Jim, which weirdly resulted in one of the funniest Office episodes in recent memory. If you missed it, download it off iTunes (online now, $1.99, it’s called “The Negotiation”) — it’s THAT FUNNY. And just to wet that whistle, here’s the soon-to-be-classic scene of Roy attempting to… KILL JIM HALPERT!

In honor of National Poetry Month:

I am the sonnet, never quickly thrilled;
Not prone to overstated gushing praise
Nor yet to seething rants and anger, filled
With overstretched opinions to rephrase;
But on the other hand, not fond of fools,
And thus, not fond of people, on the whole;
And holding to the sound and useful rules,
Not those that seek unjustified control.
I’m balanced, measured, sensible (at least,
I think I am, and usually I’m right);
And when more ostentatious types have ceased,
I’m still around, and doing, still, alright.
In short, I’m calm and rational and stable -
Or, well, I am, as much as I am able.

What Type of Poem Are You?
via the always-good Powells Blog

TGIF, dudes! I say skip out of work early, grab a drank somewhere with a patio, and hit up the inner east side for some parties and some clothes! Firstly, Denwave is celebrating its 2nd Anniversary, with 25-75% off the whole store, plus bubbly and nibbles and DJs M.Quiet and Philip Sherburne, 6-9 pm. You can read all about that here. And your visual:

And if you stop by Denwave, do not make the mistake of missing the preview party (also 6-9 pm) up the street at Lille Boutique, the very exciting, soon-to-open lingerie boutique that you can read about right here. Although they are officially not open until Saturday the 14th, they will be offering private appointments in the interim, so if you want first dibs, show up this evening and book ‘em.

Lastly, if you can tear yourself away from E Burnside’s earthly delights, consider paying a visit to The Egg (534 SE Oak), where Piper Ewan is having an open studio and taking orders for custom summer dresses. All that plus an art sale and a dance party, 6 pm-12 am. Cute points: Piper Ewan is made by Kirsten A Moore, who named her line after her cat:

APPALLING! Those British soldiers/former Iranian hostages are speaking out about about the “rough interrogation” and “psychological games” they experienced while in captivity. Some were even denied “tea time” until 6 pm!

APPALLING! United Nations Global Warming panel issues starkest warning yet: “Okay, let’s put it this way: You’re GOING TO DIE.”

APPALLING! Pentagon releases report that admits Saddam Hussein was NOT working with al-Qaida. Let’s see… where have I heard that before… OH, YEAH. From everybody EXCEPT the government.

APPALLING! Walt Disney Company have finally allowed gay couples to get married at their resorts and on their cruise lines… unfortunately it’s in the really inappropriately named “Fairy Tale Wedding” program.

APPALLING! An illegal alien/drunk driver kills a teen. Geraldo and Bill O’Reilly REALLY LOSE THEIR SHIT OVER IT. If these guys can’t get along, who can? Watch this and say, “WOW.”

Sorry for the delay in posting this, we have a rat in our house and I took a “personal day” to bang on some walls and try and kill the ‘lil fucker. Yes, you’re right, that is very un-vegan of me.

Anyway, in this week’s issue Sean Moeller chats with the fantastic Jesse Sykes about true love and true ‘tats.

I needed a hug after writing about the sad waltz of local band, A Weather.

Matt Driscoll explains how Sean Nelson can wear many hats, but only one pair of glasses.

It was 71 degrees yesterday, perfect sunshine weather for the perky music of those local kids in Shaky Hands.

In our music columns this week, Cary uncovers what the holyhell is going on with the venue formerly known as Sabala’s Mt Tabor, while I channel my inner fat kid and talk to the author of the musical cookbook, I Like Food, Food Tastes Good.

Missed Adam Arnold’s Show? Well, don’t fret, because we have a li’l Vodcast of it for you…

• 8 pm NBC THE OFFICE — As CLEARLY stated in this week’s TV column, I’m pissed at the way NBC “super-sizes” their episodes. For example, tonight’s Office is 42 minutes long, which throws off the rest of the evening, and makes me confused and worried I may have developed a brain tumor. REGARDLESS! New episode tonight in which Michael demands a raise, and we find out if Roy makes good on his cryptic words: “I’M GOING TO KILL JIM HALPERT.”

• 8:42 pm NBC 30 ROCK — “8:42??” Puh-LEEZE! Anyway, Arrested Development fans rejoice, because WILL “GOB” ARNETT guest-stars tonight as a network exec gunning for Jack’s (Alec Baldwin) job! (Maybe Buster and his hook will drop by as the body guard?)

• 10:30 pm MTV HUMAN GIANT — Comedians Aziz Ansari, Rob Huebel, and Paul Scheer team up to bring us this new sketch comedy show that… might actually be funny?!? Here’s a clip.

At the WaMu next to Pioneer Square, where there were people selling tulips.

todayinpdx@portlandmercury.com

I’d never heard of these guys. And I probably would’ve happily gone through life avoiding them if it hadn’t have been for our own Christine S. Blystone’s excellent interview with MUSEE MECANIQUE now playing on the Mercury podcast, THE ROCK REPORT. I love their sad, but uplifting (in a quirky old-timey way) musicianship, and their intelligently heartfelt lyrics. Lucky you, they are playing tonight at Holocene (1001 SE Morrison)… and what’s that? IT’S FREE?!
Check out this week’s edition of THE ROCK REPORT on the Mercury podcast page, and be happy you didn’t go through life without ever hearing the wonderful MUSEE MECANIQUE.

If you’re hopping through the Pearl District this evening for the free cheese and wine, make sure to stop by Le Train Bleu (748 NW 11th) from 6-9 pm for wine, cupcakes, and DJ’d vintage 78s, as well as a secret password sale that will get you 25% off. Check some of the new arrivals:

Oh, and about that secret password? Well, here’s a hint:

Chas Bowie says first Thursday is “all about people with slicked-back hair.”

I think it’s “reasonably harmless—possibly even a bit good.”

Your turn.

More anonymous submissions about the anti-contractor signs down on the South Waterfront. This time, anonymous pics:THIS MAN HAS NO EYES…

Three cheers for Gorilla vs. Bear, who alerts us to the wonders on the new soundtrack for QUENTIN TARANTINO’S DEATH PROOF (the second half of Rodriguez/Tarantino’s Grindhouse, hitting theaters tomorrow). Say what you will about Tarantino’s directorial skills (as our own Erik Henrikson does HERE in this week’s Mercury), but the SOB really knows how to put together a soundtrack. Check out this 1995 number from APRIL MARCH which is heavily spotlighted in Death Proof, and then head HERE to learn more about the soundtrack! I’ll be snapping this one up.

Listen to APRIL MARCH’S “CHICK HABIT” here. (And try to tell me it doesn’t perfectly fit the grindhouse steez!)

P.S. See Grindhouse this weekend, and we’ll have a Blogtown discussion on Monday! There’s A LOT to talk about!

Naked chick reading the Mercury. Courtesy of the Etchasketchist.

Happening tonight, 7pm, at Liberty Hall (311 N Ivy Street, near Fremont and N Vancouver, the building Microcosm just moved out of) is a film called They Can Cut All the Flowers, But They Can Never Stop the Spring, about Portland engineer Ben Linder, who was killed in Nicaragua 20 years ago by Reagan-backed thugs.

From the Portland Central American Solidarity Committee:

PCASC’s Bolivarian Media Exchange presents the film, “They Can All All the Flowers, But They Can Never Stop the Spring”. The film is the remarkable record of a historic event of human solidarity: the work, death and funeral of Ben Linder in Nicaragua. The story is of shared grief and love between Nicaraguans and North Americans that will one day be the basis of a new relationship between our countries based on mutual respect.

Linder, a 27-year-old mechanical engineer, was ambushed and killed by a group of “contras,” a guerrilla force that was armed and directed by the U.S. government in its effort to overturn Nicaragua’s Sandinista revolution. The death of a U.S. citizen, coming in the midst of a scandal involving the Reagan Administration’s illegal financing of the contras, made headline news and deepened opposition to the war.

Linder had lived in Nicaragua for nearly four years. In the town of El Cuá he completed a small hydroelectric plant, providing electricity to the town for the first time. Ben was doing preparatory work for a second plant when he and two Nicaraguan coworkers were killed in a contra ambush.

With the help of Ben’s family and coworkers, the project he helped launch now provides electricity and drinking water to thousands of people in the mountains of northern Nicaragua. In many communities former contras and Sandinistas are working together on the project.

Sponsors of the event include: The Linder family, Portland Central America Solidarity Committee and Green Empowerment.

The film is the first of three events commemorating Linder’s death. On April 21, there’ll be a work party to build a bridge in his honor in Forest Park, and on April 27 at First United Methodist Church (SW 18th and Jefferson) will be “An Evening to Remember Ben Linder And Learn How His Work Continues,” featuring his family, speakers, and music.

Hit up PCASC for more info.

This morning’s Oregonian carries an editorial slamming the police chief for her suggestion to lower the educational requirements for new recruits—Sizer wants to do away with the “2 years of college” requirement to become an officer.

The editorial concedes “that Portland needs to redouble recruitment, especially of women, African Americans and Latinos.” Then, it continues, “But college is also good for an officer in another sense; it helps to enlarge his or her perspective, counteracting the depression and isolation that tends to darken and shrink an officer’s world into us versus them.” “Instead of lowering the bureau’s educational standards, the chief should do everything in her power to raise them.”

I disagree.

The problem? The cost of college itself divides our community into “us” and “them,” by which I mean, those who can afford it, and those who can’t. While it’s a sad indictment of any society to admit it, a college education is simply too expensive for all but the most tenacious of those born without privilege—many of whom happen to be African Americans or Latinos.

Read more after the jump.

Even a student studying for a 2 year associates degree at PCC needs to pay $6,570 to get the 90 credits he or she needs to pass. (Doing the math, that's 90x [$67+$4.50+$1.50 per credit=$73 per credit]). Add the pressure of supporting a family, and you rule out college for many people—especially for the kinds of officers Sizer is looking to recruit to add diversity to the Bureau's ranks. Of course, there are programs to help people get through college, but many people just do not know about them and just assume college is beyond their means.

Sizer is taking a pragmatic, managerial approach to a real world problem—that the bureau needs to attract more officers, particularly those denied college by factors beyond their control. If the Oregonian thinks the college barrier is appropriate to becoming a police officer, then so be it, but I'd prefer a thorough background check and some good character references to someone who can simply say, "daddy paid for me to be a cop."

And the O says Sizer should raise the barriers. What does that really mean?

If you’re looking for something tonight to get an early jumpstart on the weekend, you might want to think about heading down to Step Into My Office, an experimental, multi-disciplinary art show that’s being thrown in an empty office space in Chinatown. Check the above link for my whole feature about it, but here’s the nutshell: The local curatorial duo of Kitchen Sink (pictured above) found a vacant office space at 520 NW Davis. They sent out a call to artists who’d want to use the space to create a new piece of art, then they lumped these artists into teams of strangers, in which they’d have to work together to create new, office-specific installations. There are a lot of big plans for tonight, including dance pieces, sound performances, an ungodly amount of fresh gingerbread, a soft-rock DJ (and lecture), and food courtesy of Half and Half. The show runs all weekend, but tonight’s the night it’s all going to pop off. Check it out.

Step into My Office is at the second floor of 520 NW Davis. The opening party is Thursday, April 5, 7-11 pm, and the show will be open Friday, April 6, 6-9 pm and Saturday, April 7, noon-6 pm, with an artist discussion Sunday, April 8 at noon. There’s a suggested $2-5 donation, with food and drink at the opening party offered by Half & Half.

Missed yesterday’s thrilling night of democracy in action at Acme? Want to see pictures? Now you can…courtesy of Bus project volunteer, Andrew Hall. Thanks, Andrew!More after the jump…

BAD FORM! Democratic wannabe JOHN EDWARDS has been collecting the emails of support sent to his cancer stricken wife, and using them for fund-raising. EWW.

BAD FORM! 15 British sailors were returned home safely after being taken hostage in Iran — but not before being forced to thank their kidnappers.

BAD FORM! A shit-ton of the coolest Michael Jackson and the Jackson family memoribilia (including the white fedora from Michael’s “Bad” album) is going on the auction block. But guess who’s trying to stop it?

BAD FORM! A 14-year-old Seattle girl who was sexually abused by a 30-year-old woman posing as a teenage boy said she didn’t know that the boy was actually a woman — but eventually became suspicious when confronted by a big old vagina.

BAD FORM! Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown’s divorce is now final… and the judge is giving crack-head Whitney the kids?!? Aw, HELL TO THE NO!

Thanks Nancy!

As I noted in the comments to Amy’s previous post, the hour is way too late (read: glug, glug, glug) for a real wrap up of tonight’s charter forum, but I have to send gargantuan thank yous to everyone involved: Bob Ball, Harold Williams Sr., Kyle Chisek, Chris Smith, Commissioner Randy Leonard, Chris Woo, Amanda Fritz, Jefferson Smith and Alex Aronson from the Bus Project (plus the Bus Project as a whole, including all of their awesome volunteers), Acme, Sarah Wetherson and MIPRAP, b!X for getting drunk and yelling, Sten staffer Rich Rodgers for the best pro wrestling theatrics I’ve ever seen (and for maybe agreeing to be my own “My Giant” for a week), that one reeeeeally drunk guy, the Mercury’s own Zach Hull and Amy Rosko, our sexysexy question collectors, and everybody who showed up.

Sure, it got real hectic and mad chaotic there at the end, but that’s what you get when you hold something called “Sex, Beer, and Charter Reform,” and it’s at a bar, and you’re actively encouraging people to get intoxicated. That said, even toward the end, when things had turned to near anarchy, there were still dozens of people tuned into the messages, or at least doing a good job of pretending, which is dozens more than would have heard those arguments otherwise. So, extra special thanks to Amanda Fritz, Bob Ball, and Randy Leonard for sticking it out till the end.

BTW, this might go without saying, but the work the Bus Project does is wildly important—turning people into voters, and turning voters into volunteers. If you can swing it, take a little peepsy into tossing some support their way.

Weren’t able to make it to tonight’s Charter Review forum at Acme? The Oregonian’s Anna Griffin offers a lovely write-up, on their City Hall blog.

It’s a long way to travel for an open bar, but my cousin is getting married soon and to celebrate the occasion I’ll be heading to Davenport, Iowa (home of Wacky Waters, the Grossest Water Park in the World). I used to love traveling by plane, even to places like Davenport, but as we all know recent airline security measures have pretty much sucked the joy and romance out of air travel.

I was a little heartened though to find this NY Times article about the development of new cosmetic and hygniene products designed to comply with carry-on regulations. Anything that minimizes the duration and frequency of my interactions with officious airport security folks is alright by me, even products like the awkwardly named dental mitt (tooth wipes, basically). I’m not sure I’ll be shelling out for dental mitts, but the article also offers other suggestions for getting yourself and your personal cleaning supplies through security—somehow it never occured to me to just bring baking soda instead of toothpaste. Or, you could drop $20 for (again, horribly named!) Travel Wipes for Her, a handy collection of “pouches” filled with all your hygiene needs.

Sometimes I forget to tell artists Thank You for busting their asses to enrich my life by materializing the shit that goes on in their heads. Because when a work of art speaks to you—it’s like the the difference between a steady diet of hospital food and a night at your favorite restaurant with a long lost friend.

Sometimes I go for a dry spell where nothing’s particularly turning me on, but when something lands in my lap that really speaks to me—it’s almost like falling in love. My two affairs of the week:

1. Jonathan Lethem’s The Ecstasy of Influence, a completely energizing and thought-provoking essay about plagarism, copyright, influence, generosity in art, collage, Mickey Mouse, and Creative Commons. The essay has been out for several months, and I’ve been meaning to read it forever, but I didn’t get around to it until today. I’ve only read it once so far, but it has catapulted itself to the high end of my mental list of all-time favorite essays. (Once you start, stick with it until the end, where it really pays off. Even if it means skimming some of the middle.)

2. It’s only April, but we have a very strong contender for Rap Album of the Year: Devin the Dude’s Waiting to Inhale. This Houston rapper is always a solid bet, but every second of this new album is smooth, hilarious, melodic, funny, and frank. Good rap albums (as opposed to good rap songs) are rarer than midget unicorns, but Devin fucked around and got a triple double on the new album. Maybe my favorite track: She Useta Be.

So muchas gracias, Jon and Devin. You guys totally made my world a better place this week.

Police Chief Rosie Sizer has agreed to allow North Precinct to keep its commander, after all. NORTH PRECINCT: Horse will keep its rider.

Sizer ignited tensions in North Portland earlier this year when she suggested moving some command staff from the precinct over to East Portland, where she argued they might be more needed. Sizer met with North Portland business leaders and the mayor last Thursday, and has agreed to make this concession.

Sizer will now work out the operational details—how many lieutenants and sergeants might move elsewhere—and get back to the North Portland neighbors by April 20th.

“It is highly symbolic,” Sizer tells the Mercury. “I think if we can avoid that sense of North Portland being marginalized somehow, that’s important.”

Is there a word that means both “preposterous” and “amazing”? “Amazterous”? “Prepozing”? Somebody tell me, quick, ‘cause I desperately need something to describe the newest trailer for Live Free or Die Hard. YAY FOR AMERICA! And for KILLING HELICOPTERS WITH CARS!

2008 is already shaping up to be a potentially busy year for statewide ballot measures, just in time to try out some much needed reforms (which should go before a House vote sometime next week). Proof? There are already 84 initiative petitions filed.

One that was just filed last Friday, though, suffers from an inordinate amount of ambiguity, so filled with gray areas, muddy language, and esoteric legalese that it’s difficult to figure out just what its chief petitioner, Kelly LeClaire of Portland, is getting at.

It’s initiative petition 83, called “The Human Life Amendment.” This is the entire text of the measure, which is a constitutional amendment:

The Human Life Amendment Amends Constitution of Oregon. Article 1, section 46 is titled: The Human Life Amendment. Section 46 will state; all human life is protected from conception to natural death. A. This amendment prohibits abortion. B. This amendment prohibits euthanasia. C. This amendment establishes life as beginning at conception.

See what I mean? What are you getting at, Kelly LeClaire? Why can’t you just come out and say it?

Anywho! Here’s what’s interesting. Out of the 84 initiatives currently filed, this is the only one that states that it will NOT pay signature gatherers, meaning it’ll rely solely on volunteers. (That’s assuming it isn’t challenged away into nonexistence before it hits the streets.) It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that the signatures will be gathered in churches, much like 2004’s Measure 36 and and last year’s Measure 43, the failed parental notification measure. In both cases, churches proved to be fertile grounds (heh, fertile) for signatures, with M36 pulling in more than twice what they needed in a few short weeks.

But will churchgoers be able to understand the confusing language of the measure? Will they have to hire a lawyer to explain what it means? And will “conception” be early enough? Can we push it back to “life begins at foreplay”? Or “life begins with dinner and a movie, and if you play your cards right we can head back to my place”?

The fine folks over at the Money in Politics Research Action Project (a mouthful, yes, which is why we call them MIPRAP), watchdogs for transparency and reform in campaign finance, have just launched a new blog. First up for analysis—campaign disclosures by the campaigns on either side of Portland’s charter debate.

Their first post yesterday looked at the strategic ways the campaigns are using the state’s new online contributions and expenditures system. The opponents of the charter changes have been quick to post their contributions, possibly as a way of showing financial strength. The proponents, though (as pointed out repeatedly here and elsewhere), appeared to be holding off until the last possible moment.

They’ve updated today, with new finance information from the pro-campaign, Citizens to Reform City Hall, which came flooding in yesterday afternoon. There’s even a handy chart!

MIPRAP is staying neutral on the charter ballot measures, but will be providing analysis through the election. The organization’s Sarah Wetherson will be at our forum tonight (7pm, Acme, 1305 SE 8th) handing out reports on the campaign funding. Don’t miss it!

You know everyone’s always arguing over what the best cut of denim is? Skinny, cigarette, high waisted, lowrider, boot cut, etc, etc? Well I’m tired of playing that game. In fact, I’m sticking with the two pairs of jeans I already own, and I’m not going to buy any more. I don’t wear jeans that often anyhow, and I’m just going to play out this denim-free experiment for the rest of my life. Mark my words. However! For all the many, many people who wear jeans, love jeans, collect jeans, hear this:

This weekend, Friday 2 am-9 pm and Satrurday 10 am-4 pm, there is a crazy huge jeans sale at the Convention Center (777 NE MLK). Check out page 9 of the Mercury that’s hitting the streets today for an ad that will get you in for free (otherwise there’s a $3 admission fee) and look for the following brands at up to 80% off:

2 B Free, 575 Denim, 7 For All Mankind, Antik Denim, Blue Cult, Chip and Pepper, Citizens of Humanity, Diesel, Frankie B, Genetic Denim, Grail, Hudson, Joe’s Jeans, Junk Food, Monarchy, Papaer Denim & Cloth, People’s Liberation, Rock & Republic, Sacred Blue, Taverniti So, True Religion, Trunk Ltd, Yanük, and more. Plus! Stuff to go with them: tops, hoodies, as well as pants and sweats…

Thrown by The Warehouse Sale, this isn’t the schlock left over from last season, it’s a sample sale of new styles, so don’t miss out on the chance to decide if wide legs are really coming back, and so on and so forth…

Sean Cruz, legislative aide to Senator Avel Gordly, and fighter of good fights, wants your predatory towing stories. And so, frankly, do we. Predatory towing is about to be the subject of hearings in Salem, before the Senate Commerce Committee, and Cruz is looking to hear from people adversely affected by towing firms in Portland. Cruz already has a few prize examples:

A young woman who was forced to stand alone under the I-405 freeway at 2:00 in the morning, waiting 30 minutes for the Retriever Towing employee to show up and release her vehicle, which had been wrongfully towed.

Another witness will be the young woman, a domestic violence caseworker making a home visit to a client at Hacienda CDCs Villa de Clara Vista apartments, who parked in a visitor space and was nevertheless towed within minutes clear across town.

The caseworker—yes, the DOMESTIC VIOLENCE CASEWORKER—was towed from the “visitor” spot, because she was “working, not visiting,” and charged $230. Cruz speculates there are plenty more stories like this in Portland, and I’d like to hear from anybody who’s been screwed over by a towing firm—so we can write a story about it. Leave a comment, or email:mdavis@portlandmercury.com.

And before anyone asks, yes, this is how I plan to do all my research in future.

Seattle’s Bumbershoot just announced a partial lineup for this year’s festival, which runs September 1st-3rd. Some notable performers included The Shins, Wu-Tang Clan, Panic! At The Disco, Crowded House, Lupe Fiasco, Steve Earle, Devendra Banhart, Roky Erickson & more.

You can get more info here.

From Crystal:

This was taken at the KFC in NE

I can’t take credit my friend Brendon took it…

Finger Lickin’ Good: todayinpdx@portlandmercury.com

Over at Best Week Ever today, Alex Bragg posts the best explanation of why voting for Sanjaya could actually SAVE pop culture… and simultaneously DESTROY American Idol!

We don’t sincerely LOVE Sanjaya (with the exception of sobbing tween girls), we sincerely HATE Idol, and thus want to see it fail. Sanjaya winning the competition - an unlikely scenario that inches closer and closer towards probability by the minute - would be the arrow through Idol’s Achilles Heel, destroying the legitimacy and relevance of the competition - the lynchpins on which the whole show is held together - by exploiting its democratic nature to expose it’s inherent fraudulence.

AGREE OR DISAGREE? Regardless, read the rest of this excellent article here!

And here’s this week’s SANJAYA performance (?) on Idol. Trust me, HE AIN’T GOING ANYWHERE.

The Mercury received an anonymous tip last night, suggesting we get down to the corner of SW Moody and Gaines on the South Waterfront at 4.00am. News Editor Amy Jenniges, who doesn’t mind getting out of bed that early, scooted down to check it out:

Shortly before 4:30 am, two vans pulled up. A handful of people piled out, toting piles of signs and hammers. They quickly fanned out, and pounded dozens of signs into the perimeter of the property, in the shadow of the John Ross condo tower. The South Waterfront “is unionville,” one guy explained. The subcontractors listed on their signs—Ron Rust Drywall and Southborder Drywall—don’t pay decent wages, the sign-planters allege. Stressing that this sign action is “just the beginning,” they hope to convince the project’s main contractor to use companies that pay fair wages.

The photos, shot around 6.30am, show some of about 40 signs around the perimeter of the property.

Tonight the Trail Blazers take on the Utah Jazz at home. The regular season is almost over, and the Blazers have little to worry about, other than what lottery pick they’ll end up with. Since tonight’s game barely matters (technically, the more they lose, the better draft they’ll have), let’s take a listen to some better times in Blazers history.

No One’s Ready to Deal with Us

I’m pretty sure this song came out in the 2002-2003 season, and it features the mic skills of both Damon Stoudamire and Rasheed Wallace. Always a sucker for a good (or bad) jock jam, the work of The Beatnuts helps this song age pretty well, considering it just might be the only rap song ever to name drop Arvydas Sabonis.

$$$$! Democratic nominee wannabe BARACK OBAMA has raised 25 million from a whopping 100,000 donors to help fund his run for president. Better break open the piggy bank, Hillary!

ZZZZ! Meanwhile, Republican wannabe RUDY GIULIANI tries magic tricks to make his audiences look bigger (now if he can only find a way to keep them from falling asleep).

!!!!! Bush’s political guru KARL ROVE was pelted with rocks and garbage at an American Univeristy protest. (That’ll teach you to rap!)

????! Rolling Stone KEITH RICHARDS snorts ashes of dead father during drug binge. You know… that’s really not all that surprising.

?%*&#! Nevermind. KEITH RICHARDS was “joking.” For some reason that’s really disappointing.

Apparently Ashlee Simpson is going to do a duet with Robert Motherfuckin’ Smith! That’s bizarre… I mean really.
This…

meets this…

What on earth would that sound like?

Okay, so I saw Grindhouse a few hours ago and… um… awesome. I just finished writing my review, which’ll be online later today (I think), so I won’t go too into it, but I will say that I had a blast, and that the film delivers pretty much exactly what I hoped it would—a pulpy, cool, fun experience. Robert Rodriguez’s half, the zombie action flick Planet Terror, is stronger and better overall, but Quentin Tarantino’s Death Proof—once it gets past its ill-advised first half—has one of the most amazing car chases I’ve ever seen, so it all balances out in the end. Also, this is in it:

And you can’t argue with that. (No, really, you can’t. HE’LL KILL YOU.) So that’s that, and full review coming at you sometime later today, if you’re interested. Me, I’m already stoked to see it again this weekend. Who else is planning on checking it out?

Things sure do change quickly in this newfangled world of technology. Why, just this morning, I was pointing out that Citizens to Reform City Hall—the pro-strong mayor campaign—still hadn’t revealed its contributions. Sometime between then and an hour ago (almost as if it was timed to get us after we’d gone to press), a whole host of contributions, totaling around $48,500, got posted.

The list should come as a surprise to no one who’s been paying attention. The money has largely come from businesses and business leaders associated with the Portland Business Alliance. Wayne Kingsley gave $5,000, and his American Waterworks, which runs the Portland Spirit, gave another $1,000. Powell’s Books’ Michael Powell dropped $2,000, Emerson Hardwood gave $1,500, Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. (???) gave $5,000, and Bay City, LLC gave $5,000.

Real estate developer Bob Ball, a member of the campaign and the head of a similar 2002 campaign, gave $5,000 of his own money.

Even more interestingly, the Melvin Mark Company (indirectly) gave $10,000—$5,000 from Melvin Mark Jr. and $5,000 from Mark Group Partnership #5. (My favorite Mark Group Partnership was #3.) The Mark Company, you might remember, owns a building downtown that pays its janitors poverty wages and offers no health benefits. Unions, including the SEIU, have stepped up to support the janitors, and they’ve received backing from commissioners Randy Leonard, Erik Sten, and Sam Adams. Mark Co. President Scott Andrews recently crowed that under a strong mayor form of government, the unions would have just about zero influence at city hall.

What’s maybe most curious, though, is that the contributions have so far been relatively small, especially compared to the failed effort to get a repeal on the ballot last year of public campaign funding, which brought in a third of a million dollars.

Attached is a photo of a Bunny selling buttons from a briefcase on 6th Ave [in front of Macy’s]. It is most sweet. You may have it. Perhaps the bunny is Jesus. —Art

todayinpdx@portlandmercury.com

A lot of people I know (OK, 95% of my coworkers) snark on Anne Lamott, a liberal Christian writer with old lady dreadlocks. Wow, when I put it like that, I hate her myself. But I really don’t—Lamott is a refutation to every stereotype of Christians as uptight, conservative bigots, and it’s a very refreshing voice in small doses. I thought her first book on the topic, Traveling Mercies, was really good, but that she’s kind of scraping the old idea barrel ever since. But still—she’s grouchy, she hates the president, she’s upfront about her shortcomings, she goes to a working class church, and she once told me that she believes in the same god that Martin Luther King Jr and Gandhi believed in. I don’t know—I can’t find a lot to hate about that.
Lamott will be at the Bagdad Theater, 3702 SE Hawthorne, tonight at 7 pm. It’s free.

Blogtown just returned from media cop school, for newly promoted sergeants.

First thing learned: Don’t offer donuts. …or doughnuts, however you spell them, to cops, if you’re looking to win them over. Luckily Police Chief Rosie Sizer spotted Blogtown’s dozen-box of Voodoo Doughnuts before we went in to meet the Bureau’s new sergeants this afternoon, and warned they might be seen as a little cheeky.

The donuts/doughnuts were quickly checked outside the training room, and ended up being eaten by Central Precinct’s roll-call officers—who apparently were willing to suspend their moral outrage over this whopping professional discourtesy in exchange for, well, a donut, actually. But thanks, Chief, for a faux-pas avoided…

Second thing learned: Understanding. Cops don’t really mind what stories you write, as long as you do your best to understand their perspective and the challenges they face on the job—and give them a chance to defend themselves against any allegations made in print. To do that, you need to go on ride-alongs and meet as many officers, personally, as possible. It’s a tall order, and looks to be a lot of work. The temptation, as always, is just to half-ass it.

Third thing learned: Don’t half-ass it. The conversation was “off the record,” so I can’t give details. But it seems that for most reporters, it’s a lot harder to get both sides of the story than go for a quick “hit-job” on the cops. Understandably, that can cause the cops to resent media coverage, and ultimately, for the quality of that coverage to deteriorate as a result, because less officers want to talk. Breaking that cycle of perceived laziness, leading to mistrust, is the challenge.

Incidentally, I know it’s stereotypical and all, but anyone wishing to win over a Mercury reporter with a bottle of scotch, well, it wouldn’t exactly offend…donuts are also welcome, any time. Just so that’s out there, you understand.

Hey Blogtown readers!

Now that this week’s news section is out the door, Scott Moore and I are hunkered down with the ballot measures, pro and con statements, and the Charter Review Commission’s January 18 report, entitled “A City Government for Portland’s Future.” (Jealous?)

We’re polishing off questions for tomorrow’s beer-sloshed and sexy debate at Acme (see Scott’s post, below, to check out the flyer). We’ll have panels on the proposals to move from a commissioner form of government to one headed by a strong mayor-chief administrative officer, to “increase oversight of Portland Development Commission,” and to require periodic review of the city charter.

Want to help us out? Leave questions for our panelists in the comments, and we’ll add them to our pile. Or, come to the forum tomorrow night, where you’ll have a chance to ask more questions, and hear the answers.

(Need info? The Multnomah County Elections site has a