The unicorn got the shaft.

The end.

A rent-a-cop moves along some homeless people who were sitting on the sidewalk outside the city’s temporary day access center, the Julia West House, on SW 13th and Alder. It’s not legal, these days, you know. Sitting or lying on the sidewalk, I mean. But that doesn’t mean it’s not shitty when you see someone being moved on. In fact, it’s surprising how shitty it feels to look at this. It makes me feel complicit. It makes me feel sick.
RENT-A-COP:Hey, buddy, I just do this for a living…

Modest Mouse gets all Little Otik on us with their new video, which features a (literal) tree-hugging girl, a dooming pancake syrup skull and an angry dad with a hedge trimmer.

This past week Cary Clarke wrote an excellent column about the OLCC and the future of Portland all-age music. As he puts it, this issue “is arguably the single most important thing that we can do to ensure the continued vibrancy, diversity, and prosperity of our city’s music community.”

I agree. This will help not just musicians of all ages, but the local economy as well.

That being said, PDX Pop Now! has established a handy little page where you can contact the OLCC directly. If you are in a band, work for a bar or just care about this sort of thing, please do this. It takes less than a few minutes to write your own email, or even less time if you use their boilerpoint template.

Consider this your good deed for the weekend.

This just in from David Crowe, who’s hinting that his group will be suing the state over tossed out signatures in their domestic partnership referendum effort:

Victoria Larson, KPAM 860 Talk Show Host will interview Alliance Defense Fund Attorney Austin Nimocks at 7 PM this evening regarding the Oregon Elections Division refusal to recognize legitimate signatures on a petition to place the so called ‘domestic partnerships’ bill before Oregon Voters.

Nimocks, one of two Alliance Defense Fund attorneys who reviewed rejected Petition 303 signatures against the Oregon Voter File is expected to announce the legal steps necessary to ensure violated rights and valid signatures are restored and petition 303 recertified for the November 2008 ballot. It is expected that suits must be filed against both the Secretary of State and certain County Officials for their role in denying the rights of specific individuals who signed the petition.***

Portland area residents can hear the interview on KPAM 860 at 7PM tonight.

*The reversal of 7 rejected petition signatures would require the Elections Division to certify that HB 2007, passed by the Oregon Legislature creating marriage by another name, in opposition to the clearly expressed will of Oregon voters in 2004, is qualified to be placed on the November 8, 2008 General Election ballot on which Oregonians can vote. Officials in both the County and State Elections Division do not want that to happen, hence the political stone walling of fundamental citizen rights for purely political reasons!

Government is to honor and protect fundamental citizen rights, not deny them.

** 55,179 valid signatures on petition # 303 were required in order to place HB 2007 creating marriage by another name on the November, 2008 General Election Ballot for all Oregonians to vote on. Nearly 63,000 signatures were turned in on each bill.

In 2004 Oregonians voted 57% to 43% to restrict marriage to a man and a woman ONLY and placed that clear decision in the Oregon Constitution, not to be violated by word of art or legislative decree. The 2007 legislature ignored both the will of the people and the Constitution when they approved so called ‘domestic partnerships.’ Petition # 303 is merely an effort to provide Oregonians the opportunity to VOTE on the legislature’s decision to ignore the Constitution and our expressed will.

*** 282 Petition # 303 pages, with an average of 6 signatures per page, were arbitrarily pulled from the delivered petition stacks for alleged ‘errors’ PRIOR to the application of the formula used to determine that the signature count failed by 116 signatures. The vast majority of those signatures were valid and should be counted. They have not been counted under the current rules and procedures. If they were counted, Petition # 303 would have already been approved.

Hey, check it out! The Mercury’s most ass-shakin’ podcast show So Hot Right Now is back after a short hiatus. Host Mike Williams says:

What do you want me to do? I’m sorry! Y’all know I just can’t leave y’all like that. So Hot Right Now returns, and we’re better than ever with the fresh to death Swedish duo, Gordito & Lebowski. Gordito & Lebowski have a style so clean and so sexy there’s only one place on earth it could come from. Fuck it. Let’s go to Sweden!

Check out the clean mix, sexy interview, and the tracklist right here. And welcome back!

These days, it’s hard to be a kid, what with all the peer pressure, difficult video games, and plummeting resources for education. But the worst part, at least for some Oregon teens, is that they’ve been effectively shut out of the local music scene due to statewide restrictions on minors in event spaces that serve alcohol.

It’s not a new issue, but for the first time in recent history, the Oregon Liquor Control Commission is considering ways to modify those regulations. Can the rules be changed to allow minors in bars that host shows? Should they? What precautions should bars take to make sure minors aren’t being served? Do venues even want to go through the hassle?

Join the Oregon Bus Project and the Portland Mercury for October’s installment of Debate Club to talk about the issue—and kick around some solutions—with Cary Clarke of PDX Pop Now! and Tom Erwin,OLCC’s director of legislative affairs and community relations.

The OLCC is taking public input on the regulations until mid-November—now is your chance to have your voice heard and be part of the discussion.

The Oregon Bus Project and the Portland Mercury Present
Debate Club
Rontoms
600 E Burnside
Tuesday, October 30, 7 pm (or 8 pm)

Of course, we recognize the irony of holding this discussion in a place where minors aren’t allowed. Hell, we even got an email about it:

So just a small quandary here. You’ve published a small piece about the potentialities of the OLCC revamping their outdated regulations involving minors allowed into music venues, art spaces, and theaters; and in this small piece invite the public to participate in the hearing. Great, awesome, fuckin sweet. I’m all for it. I worked at an alcohol serving all ages venue in central california called the Mainzer Theater, and a a lot of bands from Portland frequented our place whenever they found themselves stuck in the shit hole of california. While working there I was only 18, and had a blast. It was great; but, at this point Im still only a wee lass of 20, to be plus the necessary one year in February. Lacking this year in age leaves me with a small question; why the hell would you have a post event debate related to the regulations currently prohibiting minors from being involved in Portland’s indie music scene at a place thats 21 and over. I mean REALLY though, what kind of comprehensive debate can you have about an issue without including the group of people directly affected by a possible change? -erIca

We know, Erica! But that’s the rules. We’d like to have had the event at an all-ages venue, but, because of our motto of “Dialog, Democracy, and Drinks,” and because of the current rules governing minors in event spaces, our hands are tied.

But! If anyone under 21 has some questions they’d like us to ask, email us at news@portlandmercury.com.

A second pervo-cop has resigned from the Portland Police Bureau in less than a year today, pleading guilty to official misconduct after being accused of preying sexually on at least four transient women.
PERVO-COP: Objective four…classified…

33-year-old East Precinct officer Matthew Kohnke was accused by a 27-year-old woman of “unprofessionally searching” her in June. Things progressed from there after detectives began an investigation. The report into Kohnke’s behavior reads:

Officer Matthew Kohnke has been identified by four different women who have complained about their contact with him. Two of these women complain that their search of him was sexual in nature. Another complains that he made sexual comments to her during a police call and continued to return to see her. The fourth complainant reports that Officer Kohnke’s contact was also sexual in nature and offensive.

I stand by my assertion earlier this week that most cops are good people, and that they’re likely to be extremely embarrassed by the less than 1% of their colleagues who royally fuck up. But in this case I’d go beyond “extremely embarrassed,” and start with words like “speechlessly mortified” and “dripping with chagrin.” Before words failed me…

My personal homepage, Magnum Mania!, has updated with news that tonight’s episode of Las Vegas is a Magnum P.I. reunion show of sorts! HOLY SHIT!

Las Vegas “MPI Reunion” episode set to air October 26th! 10/3/2007 - Tom Selleck will be joined by former Magnum P.I. cast members Larry Manetti and Roger E. Mosley in the Las Vegas Halloween episode “When Life Gives You Lemon Bars”, which will air on NBC on 10/26. Rumor has it that both will be back for more episodes.

Tonight! 10 pm! NBC! Here is something to get you AMPED!

I caught episode two of Action/Adventure Theater’s Fall of the House last night, and was really impressed. The hour-long show takes place in the living room of a typical house of 20somethings who drink a lot, name their bongs, and fuck up their relationships and friendships in the familiar ways that we all fuck them up, but never see onstage. The narrative arc is mapped out but most of the dialogue is improvised, and pretty well at that. Last night’s show was honest-to-god hilarious, and a pretty realistic portrayal of the post-college (post-Reed College…) experience.

For the theaterphobes out there, the friend I dragged along (who was understandably trepidatious about setting foot in a theater for the first time in years) liked it even more than I did. I’ll be running a full review of the show next week, but since it is a serialized show, I’d recommend getting in this weekend before episode 2 closes.

Theater! Theatre!, 3430 SE Belmont, Thurs-Sat 10:30 pm, $10 for your first show, $2 off for every subsequent episode

Mayor Tom Potter ditched city hall shortly after he walked out of a city council meeting last night—so I didn’t have a chance to ask him what happened.

I ran down to city hall today, though, found Potter hiding in his office, and tried to get to the bottom of last night’s drama.

Watch Mayor Potter lose his shit, again…

And! Buy the “I am irrelevant” t-shirt! Only $9.99:

(Or, for you city hall types, check out the mugs and mousepads.) Any proceeds from sales of that shirt will go to our charity auction recipient, soon to be announced.

Hallelujah, let the bells ring and the confetti fall! Portland’s funnest citywide talent show, PIZZAZZ, is TONIGHT! Don’t miss the fun and hilarity as ten of our city’s most eccentric talents go head to head to win a wad of dope cash money! There will be hula-hoopers, accordianists, tap dancers, comedians, plus tons of stuff that’s just too weird to describe. If you haven’t gotten your tickets yet, either do so at Ticketmaster or the Wonder Ballroom box office, or show up extra early (doors at 7 pm) to guarantee a seat! It’s looking like another sell-out situation! Check out the deets…

PIZZAZZ
TONIGHT, Friday Oct 26, 7 pm doors, 8 pm show,
Wonder Ballroom, 128 NE Russell, (one block west of MLK),
21 +, general seating, $10

And who can forget those heady days of last year’s talent show when I so amply demonstrated the true meaning of “pizzazz” by screaming at my backup dancers… what? You don’t remember? Well, here it is! And see you tonight at PIZZAZZ!

In May 2004, Portland author Jonathan Raymond (who was living in Brooklyn at the time) published an incredible debut novel, The Half-Life. (Raymond also wrote Old Joy, which he helped turn into a great movie, and co-edits Plazm magazine.) Set in Portland, The Half-Life alternated between two stores of friendship: between two teen girls living on a Reagan-era commune off Highway 30, and two unforgettable (and hilarious) 19th-century trappers looking for Eden in the Oregon Territory. In my review when the book came out, I gushed that it was “breathtaking, dazzling, honest,” and a bunch of other superlatives that failed to make the book the hit it deserved to be. In fact, I’m hard-pressed to think of one friend who has read the book and they didn’t exactly fly off the shelfs at major book retailers.

But at last night’s (fucking incredible) Thurston Moore show at the Doug Fir, the Sonic One paused to dedicate a song to “a cat (he didn’t) even know, Jonathan Raymond.” He then proceeded to tell the audience how incredible The Half-Life was, and started going on and on about the different storylines until he caught himself and began to wrap it up. “I’m going to tell you every single subplot,” he laughed. “China even gets worked in somehow…” Then he told the audience, “That book inspired this song,” launching into the wonderful “Fri/End.”

When I told Raymond this morning what he missed at last night’s show, he was as excited as anyone would be if they just found out that Thurston Moore was writing songs inspired by their novel, saying “He’s one of the reasons that I wanted to make art in the first place.” Check out the book. If not on my recommendation, then on Thurston’s.

Thurston Moore “Fri/End” (mp3)

My obsession with the greatest (sports) video game ever continues…

This is exactly what I imagined brunch with Tyson would be like. I also like how it takes half the clip before Tyson suddenly appears with his face tattoo.

In a move to bring Georgia into the 21st century, a court ruled today that a teen convicted of the horrendous crime of consensual oral sex between minors be released from prison. The court decided that keeping him behind bars for 10 years was “cruel and unusual punishment.”

Drama! Drama! Major Potter walked out of a City Council meeting on renaming Interstate. “I am irrelevant,” he said before leaving.

A bizarre tragedy struck Central Oregon when an elderly couple killed themselves after losing their house.

In an effort to smooth things over with the Palestinians, Israel has decided to cut electricity to the Gaza Strip.

New DNA study shows that some cave men actually had red hair! Take a look at this handsome Irish lad.

-Jennifer Furniss

Class up your Friday evening with some cello music done right. The Portland Cello Project balloons to 15 members tonight, as they collaborate with Norfolk & Western, Loch Lomond and tons more. All of this in a “rock” setting (The Aladdin) and for cheap ($10 adv/$12 door). Here is video of them backing Laura Gibson at Holocene.

The St. Johns Sentinel has a nice video blog entry about Potter’s walkout. Their reporter followed the mayor, and asked how the community was supposed to feel about the process if he’d given up on it. “To which he just sort of HRMMPH, grunted, and walked into his office,” the reporter says.

Watch it here.

Even better, watch the footage of the reporter chasing Potter, here!

And the walkout that started it all is here.

“Speechless” and “stunned” are how people at city hall have described their reactions to Potter’s great walk-out during a council session a half hour ago.

Randy Leonard says he’s “absolutely stunned.”

“In all my years in politics, I’ve never seen anyone walk out because they perceive themselves to be on the losing side,” says Leonard. That says a lot, given that he spent years in the state legislature—a den of hot heads.

“I just don’t know what to say,” he added. “I’m still really having trouble wrapping my arms around this. Why Tom has made this the defining moment of his career is beyond me.”

As soon as council president Sam Adams adjourned tonight’s meeting, I got in a few quick words with Randy Leonard—who’s “stunned” and was nearly speechless, but hopes they can still hammer out a process a council majority can agree with—and Erik Sten, also shocked, who also notes that he’s never seen someone just walk out of a council meeting before. Despite today’s events, it seems Sten is still up for working on a council-oriented process, but he does want to talk with all of his colleagues, Potter included. (Mayor’s got some explainin’ to do!)

In the hall, I ran into Promise King, who stopped me to chat. I told him I had to go find the mayor, but he told me I was out of luck—the Mayor had just walked out of the building. It seems like he popped into his office just long enough to grab his things, then split.

With Tom Potter walking out on this afternoon’s council session, now’s a good time to consider The Top 10 Walkouts In History! I’m your host, Matt Davis.

1.1968. The Chicano studies walkouts in East L.A—in protest at the lack of South American history being taught in this country’s schools.

2.1899. The Chicago Stockyard Strikes. 3,000 men and boys!

3.1980s. AZTEC CAMERA. “Walkout to winter.” ‘Nuff said.

4.2005. UK TV star Preston walks out on NEVER MIND THE BUZZCOCKS… watch how pissed off he gets, first. I don’t care if you’ve never heard of him.

5.2006. O’SULLIVAN! (Ronnie, the snooker player…) (Sorry…I’ll stop quoting English television shows in a minute…) concedes his UK snooker Championship quarter-final at 4-1 down to Stephen Hendry, telling his opponent he had “had enough”. Watch the BBC people absolutely dumbfounded, thinking, “what the fuck are we going to do now…” afterwards.

6.TONI BRAXTON. Un-break my heart…

Undo this hurt you caused When you walked out the door And walked out of my life Un-cry these tears…

7.2007. Paris Hilton walks out of jail! (Classier than Tom Potter, obviously.) “She still obviously, there…has the model walk…”

8.Unknown. Some bloke called Eddy walks out after his mates mess with him.

9.2007. Sharon Osbourne walks out of America’s got Talent.

And that’s nine. Sorry, I thought finding 10 would be easy. But it turns out that usually, WALKING OUT IS JUST LAME…speaking of which:

It’s going to be hard to take Tom Potter seriously on anything in future. He’s already a lame duck, but now, he’s wasting our tax dollars. Forgive me, but don’t we pay for him to at least keep his butt planted firmly on a seat, get red-faced and huff and puff a lot? Furthermore: how long until he releases a back-handed apology? In fact, who cares? How long until we can really, really, really start ripping the piss out of him for this?

I’ve been holding back, so far, for the sake of decorum. See you tomorrow.

Hey, we know that when you’ve announced your retirement, you can pretty much get away with anything. But, when you’re the mayor of a major city, you should probably try to not go totally three-year-old with your tantrums.

Like Tom Potter just did. In the midst of the council hearing on whether to continue the Interstate/Chavez renaming process for another several months, Potter up and split, leaving his colleagues at the dais completely stunned.

Here’s how it went down, according to Amy Ruiz, who was sitting in the session:

Potter: “I don’t feel really relevant to this conversation.”

“You’re the mayor of this city,” Leonard responded, pointing out that he’s incredibly relevant to this discussion.

“I don’t think this is appropriate,” Potter says, getting up and walking out. Sten stopped him: “I’m trying to find a way to work with you, and you’re walking out on this discussion?”

Potter said something in return, inaudible from the chamber, and left.

“I’m a little stunned of the mayor walking out when I was about to support his position, but it makes it difficult to support his position if he’s not here,” Sten says.

Now, the vote is completely up in the air. Sten supports more process on the name change, but not as much as proposed in Leonard and Adams’ resolution today. Obviously, Sten’s no longer in a position to do Potter any favors, so the three remaining commissioners agreed to pull the item off the table and return with a compromise idea on the morning of November 14th.

Interestingly, that’s one day before Potter had scheduled his vote on renaming Interstate. He no longer has the votes—that’s what you get when you take your ball and run home—so he’ll probably be pulling it any way.

That’s right! PIZZAZZ, Portland’s funnest citywide talent show is TOMORROW! Brush your teeth! Comb your hair! Buy new underpants! You’ll need ‘em because PIZZAZZ has the funniest, most entertaining acts in the city, all competing for the grand prize of $1000! You can still get tickets early at any Ticketmaster location, or the Wonder Ballroom box office. If not, be there early or possibly miss the entertainment extravaganza of this, or any other, century! The details, please!

PIZZAZZ!
Friday, October 26, 7 pm doors, 8 pm show
Wonder Ballroom, 128 NE Russell (one block west of MLK),
21+, general seating, only $10!

What should you expect? Well… you can expect ANYTHING. Except this guy, who you wouldn’t want to see anyway.

Yesterday, I heard from a member of the Fever Theater that the ensemble is looking for a new home as of the first of the year, as their landlords at the Goldsmith Building are looking for some “quieter” artistic types to occupy the building’s second floor.

This is a bummer. The Goldsmith is hands down my favorite place to see theater in Portland (I wrote about it here)—it’s a rambling, spooky office building in Old Town that has been a perfect setting for the type of work Fever and Hand2Mouth (who share the space) are doing. Fever is currently looking for a new home—you’ll have a few more opportunities to see them in the Goldsmith, as they’re bringing back their performance art piece arose for two weekends (Dec 6, 8, 13, 15), a plus there’s a work-in-progress showing of The Believers, a new show about cults that sounds pretty intriguing, on Nov. 17. More info on both shows here.

I’ve been doing some “research” (don’t worry—I still prefer to base most writing on slander, innuendo, baseless personal opinion, ignorance of the facts, and of course, straight-up victimization where possible) on the price of homelessness.

Why? Because money is the only way to get anything done in this country. Whether you’re running for president, trying to get the law changed, beat a murder charge of simply avoid a traffic ticket, we all know you’re better off with cash on your side. I’ve actually been surprised at what I’ve found, even though homeless advocates have been spouting these numbers for years as justification for Portland’s 10-year plan to end homelessness.

It costs less to give someone a home than to leave them on the streets. When you factor in the cost of policing homelessness and health-care costs, it’s much better for society to have people tucked away in houses. Here’s a study based on 100 formerly homeless individuals in the other Portland, in Maine:

—Housing people who are homeless cuts the average costs of services they consume in half.

—Formerly homeless people received 35 percent more mental health services, but at 41 percent less cost, illustrating a shift from expensive emergency and psychiatric inpatient care to less expensive outpatient mental health services.

—Permanent supportive housing cut by more than half emergency room costs (62 percent reduction); health care costs (59 percent reduction); ambulance transportation costs (66 percent reduction); police contact costs (66 percent reduction); incarceration (62 percent reduction); and shelter visits (98 percent reduction).

—The average annual cost of care savings produced by the first year of living in permanent housing was $944 per person.

Because we’ll save money on our taxes! Idiot! It turns out Republicans can be nice to homeless people, too…
HOMELESS CONSERVATIVE: This image not taken in Portland, obviously.

Meanwhile here’s a study done in Portland and Multnomah County estimating cost savings of $15,000 per individual (on page 4). Why not knock out your inner, prejudiced conservative, by giving the document a read?

Scott Moore, before you are tempted, don't try to tell me you don't have an inner, prejudiced conservative. I've seen your Rush Limbaugh bumper sticker, and don't think I didn't notice the curiously short haircut this time around.

I’m at city hall, awaiting the debate over resolution 1291:

Declare the City’s intent to rename a major arterial street in honor of César E. Chávez and establish a process to complete the street selection by July 1, 2008

There’s a press gaggle here, including three (!) Oregonian reporters columnists and reporters—who might be here for various agenda items, but still, that’s a lot of reporter-power—and an O photographer. (S. Renee Mitchell apparently decided she needed to hear the debate for herself, lest she write an erroneous column again.) There are folks from Just Out, El Hispanic News, and the St. Johns Sentinel, too.

Dan Saltzman is conspicuously absent from the dais… not sure what’s up with that. But then again, I don’t see anyone I recognize from the Chávez committee. UPDATE @ 3:13 pm: The Chávez committee is here!

I think it’ll be awhile before we hit item 1291, but I’ll post occasional updates after the jump.

3:20: Here we go!

Adams is introducing the resolution, saying he cannot support renaming Interstate Avenue under the current circumstances. He's not faulting the committee, however. And his support "was based on the assumption of neighborhood support, which turned out to be incorrect."

The conversation has "too often turned into a screaming match," and "occasionally yielded racist epithets, which is unacceptable."

This rename, following Rosa Parks Way, is too much for one neighborhood, Adams says. The resolution "would look citywide for the street most appropriate to honor César Chávez."

3:23: Leonard's weighing in.

He's accepting "my own responsibility for the unfortunate place in which we find ourselves." He says he should have asked more questions. He says he was aware of the city code governing street renames, but "I admit to not having ever read it until this process started breaking down."

He wants to assure "all Portlanders that their voices matter."

He apologizes for not "doing what all Portlanders expect of me," and for putting the committee in the position they're in. "As a result, each of them has been subjected to at worst racist remarks... and at best a hostile atmosphere" from people offended by the process.

He's quoting Scott's Hall Monitor column!

At best, the city commissioners were fooled into thinking neighborhood support for the change was more widespread than it really was. At worst, city council hung the Chávez committee out to dry, to face the increasingly angry neighbors on their own.

That the vote—either the Leonard/Adams package or the mayor's—will end in a divided council shouldn't be a surprise. It's the logical resolution to a process that's been politically bungled from day one.

And he's quoting Amanda Fritz's criticism of not following the regular city code process, but adds that he feels it would be unfair to make the committee start all the way over.

Now Leonard's reading from the city code rename process steps. "None of those criteria have been met," he concluded.

But making the committee start over would be "unduly punitive." Plus, a unanimous city council and most citizens agree that Chávez should be honored.

"The organizer and labor leader that Chávez was resounded with me," Leonard says, outlining the man's great contributions.

"For all those reasons, the current debate... has caused me more personal unrest than any other single issue I've been involved with."

While the resolution doesn't follow the city code, it "does create a framework" for choosing a street to name for Chávez. He reiterates: The council has unanimously decided to rename a street, which is a point the new committee would not debate.

He and Adams are open to modifications to the process, too.

Fifteen people are signed up to comment.

First up are Marta Guembes, Jose Romero, and Serena Cruz Walsh.

3:33: Marta Guembes, co-chair of the Chávez committee is up.

"I wish to express my appreciation to the council to publically commemmorate César Chávez," and the time they've put into this effort.

"Our committee entered into the project in good faith," she says. "We have followed all the instructions that have come from city hall."

"Now, today, we have before you a proposal from two commissioners that will extend this process, moving to new neighborhoods, and to create a new city committee," she says. "To take this out of the hands of those who originally initiated it."

She's here to oppose this proposal and urge them to vote no.

She's arguing that "we have followed the process to the full extent, and we stand firm in our proposal that Interstate Avenue be renamed to César Chávez Boulevard," for their committee, the Latino community, and all those who are underrepresented.

3:36: Jose Romero's up.

He's invoking Chávez's legacy as a leader, and urging the council to show leadership. "Will you vote to delay and displace this effort, or will you chose to vote for inclusion and equality in this city?"

"Our committee sees this resolution as a futile attempt to restart this process. Any new process would be met with the same resistance... of naysayers who say 'not in my backyard.'"

"Our position is clear and our commitment is strong. Thank you for your time. Sí, se puede."

3:39: Former Multnomah County Commissioner Serena Cruz Walsh is up, speaking for herself. She says she's here today on behalf of her new daughter (who is ADORABLE, sleeping in a stroller in the back of city council chambers), who she wants to grow up in a city that honors someone like Chávez.

Cruz Walsh is choking up, recalling how her recently deceased father had a longtime wish to see Portland honor Chávez.

"As a former elected official I understand that it's not much fun" to make unpopular decisions.

She's gone overtime, which the mayor politely pointed out. "I know! I need to shut up. I'm used to having more time," she joked. Sten asked her a question: "Do you have any more thoughts?" which lets her finish...

Sten has questions for the committee.

"I want to thank you for your hard work... and I recognize how difficult this is been," he says.

"I think what's needed now is a council process," and he wants to hear from the committee why that's not acceptable to them.

if they vote on November 15, "it would be the first time we didn't slow something down when it was a train wreck."

"I want to understand publicly why you would object," he says. Sten's not sure he wants to take it out to July, or pushing it out to a committee. He sounds open to more process that happens at the council level.

Romero doesn't think it will be helpful. Guembes says "we don't believe that by voting on the 15th, it will change, unless we have the votes of Leonard and Adams, which we would not have until January."

"We understand it hasn't been the process the way it's written," she says, but they're "focusing on the resolution on the 15th." She believes they'll have 2500 signatures by the 15th. She also sounds exhausted of the awful comments they've heard, and doesn't want to continue to undergo that.

Sten points out that since the council gave their support of it too early, "it was a meaningless process" and they need to adjust. "Let's get the council to own this and quit pushing it back."

"So what I'm proposing is to try and pull that burden off of you. In some ways too much has been put on you... it's unreasonable. You've been subjected to what are clearly unreasonable racist situations, and we also have opposition that is not of that nature. We need to sort that out."

He wants to get something "that the whole council can stand in front of."

"I'm looking for a third way," Sten says.

3:53: Leonard says that, as he wrote in his remarks, he's not suggesting a certain way has to be followed "to get to a place where we're voting on a street."

"A process like Commissioner Sten is proposing makes sense. It just needs to be... I think frankly that none of us are bought into a street."

His personal favorite would be "Southwest Broadway from Union Station to Portland State," which symbolizes so much of Chávez and is well traveled and diverse.

"I understand why you're reacting the way you are, but I honestly think, I agree with Commissioner Sten, we should have put you in that place."

He appreciates Sten's thoughtfulness of finding a third way.

3:55: Potter's up... responding to a question that Sten had asked, but I didn't catch.

Potter says no one's disagreeing

"We're being told that the process is flawed, and we need to have another process." That's what he struggled with this weekend. Why Interstate?

He says his staff has researched, and found that street renames often generate controversy like this. "Particularly when it's after César Chávez," he says, pointing toward... Lubbock, Texas.

He points out that the council outlines a process, and the committee did what they asked them to do. He sees this call for a new process because the first one didn't follow city code, but "this one doesn't either."

Potter pointed out the bigoted comments he's heard, and how tough this has been.

"This man paid his dues, I think it's time we pay homage to him."

As he thought about it this weekend, he thought about one simple thing—"what is the right thing to do?"

The right thing to do is to "honor this committee's work, honor Mr. Chávez, and rename Interstate," Potter says. He says he "doesn't have a political axe to grind, and isn't running for office." (huh?)

"It's time that we make a decision on it. I for one know that my decision will be to rename Interstate Avenue, it's as simple as that... I must follow my conscience."

"I guess that I don't see the perceived harm in giving this some more time," Sten says, adding that since he's the swing vote—and even those he's inclined to support the rename—he's going to asking a lot of questions.

"The majority of this council has said they erred in setting up this process... It would seem to me it does more harm to our credibility" to not slow down this process, Sten says.

Potter thinks "there's several harms to it." The committee has done everything they could reasonably do... it harms the community... many other groups have "been told to wait, we'll come up with a better plan."

He's concerned what will happen "if we look at other streets." This will "become a stepchild that no one will want. If it wasn't good enough for Interstate," it won't be good enough for Hawthorne, 39th, etc.

4:06: Eric Gale, the chair of the Overlook Neighborhood Association. He was elected the same night the association voted to not rename Interstate, but to honor César Chávez in some way. "Something that will have this much impact," should have more process. A better process that's "less devisive." If Interstate is renamed, he doesn't want it to be "under this dark cloud."

A woman who lives in Overlook—whose name I didn't catch—says that she and her neighbors "have made their desires clear."

She, too, has been disappointed in the process, which has felt "more like a lecture series," than a dialogue. "We want to find a way to honor César Chávez," but save Interstate Avenue.

4:09: A man who lives in the SE Portland Brooklyn neighborhood, wants the city council to rename SW 4th Avenue, which would make city hall's address 1221 SW César Chávez Boulevard.

4:10: Molly Paris, resident of North Portland, is speaking about the importance of "realizing you've made a mistake" and changing it.

4:14: Lili Mandel's in the house! She wants the council to approve this resolution. "This has nothing to do with racism, but of finding the right spot... let's follow the Portland process... unite, and with this resolution" correct the process and resolve the issue. She thanked Leonard and Adams, "and I hope, Erik, you will join them."

4:17: Another resident—who's wearing a magnifying visor that makes her look a bit like a jeweler—is frustrated with the process, and with being called racist. She's also frustrated that the committee hasn't been open to compromise.

4:18: Julianne (sp?) Rogers of North Portland says "if the citizens of our city feel cheated because of the flawed process used so far, we have accomplished little to honor the greatness of César Chávez' legacy, and we all lose."

Establishing a method for "positive public involvement," is good for all citizens, and is an inclusive move.

Kathleen Chellis of NorthStar Coffeehouse on Interstate is for the resolution. "This has been a negative experience for all. Our children need to see us come together and work on a resolution that has respect for all."

"As a business owner I have an emotional, fiscal and community" involvement with Interstate, and didn't get 6 to 8 months of time to process the change. Her business partner, Pam, concurs.

4:23: Chris Duffy, chair of the Arbor Lodge Neighborhood Association. The ALNA "voted overwhelmingly" against the rename, but are for honoring César Chávez. The neighborhood has undergone a lot—rezoning, light rail, the renaming of Portland Boulevard—and this change is too much. The neighbors are also frustrated with the process. They'd like one that "concludes with a celebration of unity. Instead we have a community that is divided... this is not the way we do things in North Portland, or the way we do things in Portland itself."

"People need a process, one that clearly defines the steps that have to be followed for naming a street and for gaining support for that proposal in the immediate areas surrounding the street." A new process "would allow all voices to be heard and respected."

"The people in North Portland have clearly said no to the choice of Interstate Avenue and their voices need to be respected." The process "has been flawed... and goes against the spirit of democracy. Let's slow it down and have the conversations we should have had at the beginning of this issue."

Sten has a question for her. Would she reflect on the difference between the Rosa Parks Way rename and this one?

There have been two big differences, Duffy says. For starters, Portland Boulevard is only 2.2 miles long, and only had five businesses on it. "We heard very little opposition to a name change in that instance."

And, looking back, "there was not so much awareness" that the Rosa Parks rename was in play. "If there had been, People might have protested more. They might not have. The media coverage has fueled the fire on it."

She also hears "a backlash" over the Rosa Parks rename, from people who "claim they didn't no until they saw the signs on the street. And now they see another name change proposal in the same area. It's one too many. If there had been more awareness, the vote may have been different last year, honestly. Also, people did not know there was a code, last year, when we went through that."

Bill Mildenberger Jr. of the Night Hawk Cafe & Lounge on Interstate and Rosa Parks Way is outlining the lack of business support for changing the name of Interstate, but the strong support for honoring Chávez. WIth all of the changes the Interstate area has experiences—like light rail—the timing is inappropriate, at best, he says.

"We think there's a creative way forward," and have called on the committee and the mayor's office to "create a process that galvanizes people."

"To lose Interstate Avenue has a fiscal impact on small businesses," and "we lose, in a sense, our brand name, which is emerging as we speak."

"Erik, we're looking for your support on this, please."

4:30: Promise King—the new executive director of the Oregon League of Minority Voters—says he's not going to question Leonard and Adams' intention. But "today is a sad day of me," as he didn't think he'd ever sit across from Randy Leonard's views.

"I was part of the Rosa Parks [Way]. I know what happened. Like one of the panelists said, we went through eight months of process. This is not about process." (King wrote the resolution that renamed Portland Blvd for Rosa Parks, while he worked in Saltzman's office.)

The community came to the council and said "we want Interstate."

"How dare you," King says, tell the community they can have something else.

"Please, please honor the request of our Latino brothers... who have come before you and said 'we want Interstate.'" Voting no on this resolution is "the right thing to do," he says.

4:34: Melanie Davis, citizen, business owner, is up.

"This community has empowered," and she's disappointed in this resolution because "it's retroactive on what the committee wants to do."

As for "the harm in waiting," she says "if we look at the demographics, the current trends... the education system's Latino population grew 188%, while the non-hispanic population decreased."

"This community has gone out and done outreach with not only the members of Overlook and Arbor Lodge," but Native American, LGBT, Pacific Islander and African American communities, to name a few. Those groups "feel disenfranchised" by neighborhood associations, and have sent their letters of support.

"Save Interstate Avenue—save it for what?" Renaming it for Chávez would uplift it, she says.

4:38: Potter went to call for a vote. Sten interrupted him to ask for more council discussion.

Sten thinks the length of the new process is too long, and doesn't think they'd come up with another street that doesn't result in the same argument.

He thinks the current resolution's process would go on too long, and he's not really inclined to go for five streets, he thinks three is good, and one—Interstate—has already been picked.

So he says he'll vote against this resolution, but is open other ideas.

On one hand, without the mayor and the committee's buy in, he doesn't really see the point of no process. But on the other hand, in his eleven years in the building, he's never seen two commissioners ask for more time on an issue and not get that. In the interest of "how the building works" he's open to more time—a couple of months.

He doesn't see the harm in waiting a few more months.

"I'm really going back and forth on whether it's better to have a tough vote, as the mayor's calling for," or give it more time.

4:41: Leonard doesn't think it's accurate to presume that there will be controversy over any other proposal. He's not just hearing bigoted or NIMBY opposition. "The opposition that has concerned me has been from the thoughtful Portlanders who don't just live along Interstate, but all over Portland, who have said this has been a flawed process all along," a "done deal."

Sten says he can't think of any way to form another committee, and Leonard agrees. Leonard also says he's open to changing the timeline. He's also like to hear from historians, "who can help us think of what would be most appropriate... could help us decide what would make more sense."

If the council could say there were three or five streets the council could say they consider as "really good streets" and have a public hearings on those, then vote, "that would be appealing on me," Sten says.

"I would throw out possibly throwing out, let's hold this resolution over for another week and think about it as opposed to hashing it out on the fly," Leonard says.

Adams is worried that they're about to repeat the same mistake we made before. He wants a meaningful process, and notes that the council is busy. "I'm also mindful that we're three white guys..."

"Aren't I white too?" Potter asks. "FOUR white guys," Adams corrected himself. "FIVE white guys..." counting Saltzman.

He's like to see diverse input. "The process up to this point has been 'we're rename a street if there's not significant organized opposition to it,'" Adams says.

"I welcome the best idea, I want to vote for the best idea," and he'd support delaying a week to hammer it out. (Um... why didn't Sten work with Leonard and Adams to come up with a workable process over the last few weeks? They were certainly all discussing it.)

Adams' answer has Sten "wanting to wait less." Leonard wants to hammer out the new process now, then.

Potter: I don't feel really relevant to this conversation."

"You're the mayor of this city," Leonard responded, pointing out that he's incredibly relevant to this discussion.

"I don't think this is appropriate," Potter says, getting up and walking out. Sten stopped him: "I'm trying to find a way to work with you, and you're walking out on this discussion?" I couldn't catch what Potter said in return—he wasn't in front of his mic any more—but he left. KATU's camera guy chased after him.

"I"m a little stunned of the mayor walking out when I was about to support his position, but it makes it difficult to support his position if he's not here," Sten says, looking pretty damn flabbergasted.

"I don't, given what's happened," that they should crank out a new process right now, but he likes the direction this is going.

Leonard agrees. "I'm a little taken aback."

"I don't know how I can jam through a process, the champion of which isn't even here," Sten says, asking of Leonard will withdraw the resolution until next week.

"The citizens elect five people to the city council, and each of us in our own ways are leaders and bring something here... I apologize that this has transpired into what this is at this point. I do want to respect my colleagues here."

Adams: "There are not three votes to do anything today, that's the bottom line." They've continued the discussion to November 14 until at 10:30, the next time the entire council is around. "We stand adjourned."

This Friday, Oct 26, the ever-charming Reading Frenzy is hosting a shindig for local artist Chris Johanson to celebrate his new book, Please Listen I Have Something to Tell You About What Is. (Rolls right off the tongue, doesn’t it?) Johanson moved to Portland from San Francisco several years ago, just as his reputation and career was exploding with shows in major museums around the globe, including heavyweight group exhibitions like the 2002 Whitney Biennial, Beautiful Losers, and Baja to Vancouver. His work draws from and refers to numerous sources, including folk art, the New Age movement, street art, skate culture, and the verbose New Sincerity craze. His show earlier this year at the Portland Art Museum infused a sort of carny carnality into a museum not exactly known for edgy sexiness. In addition to “snacks and treats,” Johanson will by DJing the whole event, which starts at 7 pm tomorrow.

I often wonder how bands map out the concepts for their music videos:

Dude, for the video, how about we play live, but like in an old industrial warehouse? Or what about in front of a brick wall? Railroad tracks! Dude!!

But what do you make of a video that features two very deadpan “roadkill technicians” who gather up deceased critters, burn them in a trash can and then witness their ghosts rise from the flames? Check it out…

If you witnessed the confetti explosion and dancing Santas of last month’s Flaming Lips show, you heard Wayne Coyne energetically rant about how amazing openers Black Moth Super Rainbow are. I agree with Wayne.

Black Moth Super Rainbow perform at the Wonder Ballroom tonight.

I know… I know… I know. All I did during the last season of Fox TV’s 24 was bitch and moan about how great it used to be and how awful it is now. And yet? When I watched this trailer for the upcoming Season 7… I couldn’t help but feel that familiar tingling in my nethers! Why? Because A) CTU is gone-zo! B) My heartthrobby hero Tony Almeida appears to be the major villain! (Ker-ZOING!) Oh… and C) I love Keifer Sutherland’s mea culpa introductory speech where the subtext is clearly “I know I fucked up, honey… but will you please take me back? I WON’T HIT YOU NO MORE!”

So? What do you think?

So this just creeps me out. Product placement has been a staple in movies since I was a kid, so I’m used to it there, I guess, but in the past few years it’s been popping up in Marvel comics, which is just kind of… I don’t know. Creepy and weird. I think of reading comics the same way that I think of reading books, and just as I’d be pissed if Herman Melville had slipped in a reference as to where Ahab goes on his shore leave or whatever, it seems pretty fucking crass to be subjected to an awkwardly placed Pepsi logo or whatever in the middle of a good read.

But hey, Pepsi’s fine, comparatively. Comic blog Lying in the Gutters points out that, at least in the latest issue of X-Factor, Marvel’s got a new sponsor.

As Gutters’ columnist, Rich Johnston, asks:

It’s not exactly something new—Marvel has used Nike logos before now as product placement, and of course during World War II, it was a propaganda partner. But now, with so much criticism aimed at the ongoing war in Afghanistan and Iraq (with a possible extended crossover into Iran) is it really the best time for a series that features violent, fantastical escapades to seek to ally themselves with army recruitment?

Then tune in to Lars Larson’s show at 1 pm today, when anti-gay activists—the folks who tried to put a referendum vote over the state’s new domestic partnership law on next fall’s ballot—complain that county elections officials are refusing the bend the law to review signatures they’d tossed out.

From David Crowe at Restore America:

Lars Larson will interview Alliance Defense Fund Attorney Austin Nimocks at 1 PM today regarding the Oregon Elections Division refusal to reconsider legitimate signatures on petition 303, the domestic partnerships petition.

Nimocks, one of two attorneys from ADF’s headquarters in Scottsdale Arizona who reviewed every rejected signature against the Oregon Voter File while in Oregon, will argue in support of the right of wrongly and erroneouly rejected petition signers to have their signatrures counted.

The Fact is: Those behind the scenes in Oregon civil government DO NOT WANT OREGONIANS TO VOTE ON THIS ISSUE! RECLAIM YOUR RIGHTS! DEMAND THE ELECTIONS OFFICIALS RESTORE THAT RIGHT TO THE FEW, THAT THE MANY MAY VOTE!

Tune in in the Portland area to KXL 750 at 1PM , listen to then interview and then call in to 866-HEY LARS to state your support.

I wrote a bit on this issue in today’s paper, but I only had space for a tiny quote from Marion County Clerk Bill Burgess, who’s written a few emails detailing their office’s position on Restore America’s efforts. (An earlier hysterical email from Crowe took aim at Marion County.) Here’s the rest of what he had to say. The first email was to media and citizens who’ve inquired, the second to other county elections’ offices and the Secretary of State:

We have not erred. Our office meticulously checks signatures on state petitions as directed by the Secretary of State and statute. We check petition signatures to voter registration card signatures. If a signature is rejected, it is rechecked by a second, and if needed, a third person. Enfranchisement and upholding the law is paramount. There is no delineated procedure to reassess signatures after returning a petition to the Secretary of State. In keeping with uniform handling of petitions, we will not review any signatures on petition 303, since we have returned that petition. We have been advised by both our legal counsel and the Secretary of State (Election Division) that attestations have no place in determining a signature match on petitions.

Please call with any questions.

Thanks,
Bill Burgess

Folks,

Marion County will not, without court order, legislation, or Secretary of State directive, reconsider petition signature verification. All initially rejected signatures are reviewed before we finalize our report. Later reconsideration would set quite a precedent, wrecking havoc with time lines, putting into question finality of decisions.

Bill

I have a feeling Lars isn’t going to invite Burgess on the air. What he has to say just makes too much sense.

First, here’s a big thanks to everyone who’s commented so far on my request for the city’s worst intersections for bicyclists.

Commissioner Sam Adams and the Portland Department of Transportation are reportedly going to be compiling a list of bad intersections and possible solutions using input from cyclists. But the beauty of the private sector—versus the government sector—is that we can act immediately, instead of waiting for the bureaucracy to catch up.

So, thanks to the beauty of technology (and the organizational skills of Amy Ruiz), we’ve set up a Google spreadsheet that can be accessed and edited by anyone with a Google account. We’ve already imported the responses from yesterday’s post, but if you haven’t yet responded and you want your voice heard, add it to the spreadsheet. That’ll allow us to sort it in different ways to see what intersections need the most work—and fast.

Special thanks goes to Jonathan Maus and BikePortland.org for partnering with us on this. I think this is a perfect way to show city hall that the cycling community is serious about rolling up its sleeves and helping to fix the problems.

Another near-daily dose of PDX love from the Paper of Record: in “Less Than a Spa But More Than A Barbershop,” and article by Natasha Singer in today’s style section, our own Bishops gets a shout out. The article is basically old news to those of us who’ve been living among Bishops locations for years: the phenomenon of the place to get your hair cut that somewhere between a neighborhood barbershop and a stylized salon. And here is the big Bishops quote:

Bishop’s, www.bishopsbs.com, with five outlets in Portland, Ore., styles itself as a rock ‘n’ roll barbershop offering a free can of Miller beer to customers over 21.

By the way, I just deviated from my normal barbershop (aka my boyfriend, a towel, and the front porch) to get a snip at the new Bishops, The Salon last week. As opposed to the rowdier spots with their magazine collaged walls and loud music, the cool white mod-ness of the new, cocktail-serving joint is still hip and casual, but just a little more mature, and just a little more moneyed. I was into it. Anyone else been there?

(The Mercury has a style section too, and it’s here.)

Another Mercury music section to read while you sharpen your monkey fighting skills. “Form an ‘O’ with your mouth…” yeah, that’ll do it.

The Portland Cello Project liberate the cello and bring it back to the common folk. Kind of like those High Life commercials where the distro driver self-righteously shoplifts beer, but, you know, with cellos.
MP3: The Portland Cello Project - Hands In Pockets (live with Laura Gibson)

Me’shell Ndegéocello returns with an album titled The World Has Made Me the Man of My Dreams, keeps her fans guessing and covers a Joy Division song that isn’t “Love Will Tear Us Apart.” Imagine that.
MP3: Me’shell Ndegéocello - The Sloganeer - Paradise

My apologies to Bill Ocean, but I used to think the lyrics were, “Caribou queen/Now we’re sharing the same dream/And our hearts they beat as one/No more love on the run.” Caribbean, Caribou, it’s all the same thing, right?
MP3: Caribou - She’s The One

Please start paying attention to David Kilgour. He was in The Clean, people! Come on!!
MP3: David Kilgour - Nail In My Foot

The Parson Red Heads—not to be confused with The Partridge Redhead.
MP3: The Parson Red Heads - Punctual As Usual

ZZZZZZZ… Veep Dick Cheney falls asleep during a briefing on wildfires. Death? Billions of dollars worth of damage? So… ZZZZZZZZZZ…

Barack Obama wants to include everyone in his campaign… even those who hate homosexuals!

Flying out for the holidays? According to the FAA there’s nothing to worry about (unless you count that little thing about flying not being as safe as everyone thought).

HIV and STD prevention is a very serious subject—especially in poverty stricken India. That’s why it’s more important than ever that PSAs get the message out… with hilarious dancing and men dressed up in colorful condom costumes!

One of our commenters had this idea for Interstate and Greeley:

I was wondering if the bike community thinks a mural on the cement wall (at Interstate and Greeley) would be an appropriate memorial to these two young artists? The art community could submit ideas and a committee of bike, PNCA and other affiliated groups would make the selection. ?The specifics could easily worked out if people think it would be fitting.

Thoughts?

I am working myself up into a virtual frenzy for this Friday… the day PIZZAZZ squirts Portland right in the face! What’s PIZZAZZ? Only the most awesome citywide talent show ever seen, featuring local eccentric amateurs trotting out their weirdest and wildest stuff! But get your tickets now, because we’re looking at another sell-out. The particulars!

PIZZAZZ!
Friday, Oct 26, 7 pm doors, 8 pm show,
Wonder Ballroom, 128 NE Russell, 21+, general seating, $10

So exactly how weird can PIZZAZZ get? Well, just slightly more weird than this Bollywood clip of two dancers joined by a very freaky flock of animals! (If you’re currently on any kind of hallucinogenics, DON’T WATCH THIS!)

Obviously, there’s been a lot of talk recently about the need for street intersections to be better designed for bicyclists. Sadly, it took two deaths for everyone to realize that something needs to be done immediately.

So, fellow bicyclists, let’s help our city leaders out—what is the scariest/most dangerous intersection in the city for bikes? And what would you do to fix it? Specifically, I’m wondering about central city/downtown, since that’s where the highest bike traffic is.

My goal is to compile a list of five to 10 of the worst, along with some ideas for solutions. Sound off!

Usually I leave blog posts of this nature to my esteemed colleague, Film Editor Erik Henriksen. However, he’s busy writing Kristen Bell fan fiction at the moment (it’s pretty good), so blogging about this particular bit of nerdery falls to me.

The website for the upcoming film The Golden Compass, based on the first book in Philip Pullman’s excellent His Dark Materials trilogy, has a test that you can take to find out what your daemon is! (If you haven’t read the books, I am NOT explaining this. And, you should read them.)

The test asks you to decide if you agree or disagree with statements like “You are not easily distracted,” and “You don’t leave the house without making sure you look good,” then it performs a complicated scientific analysis of your personality and reveals your daemon. Mine is a chimpanzee named Aesop!

I’m trying not to stay mad at Philip Pullman for plugging the movie even though the studio is taking all the religious themes out, and probably all the sex, too. (I recently saw The Dark is Rising: The Seeker, which totally blew—Susan Cooper gets props for publically stating that she didn’t OK the screen adaptation of her excellent YA series.)
This Guardian article has director Chris Weitz sounding like a big ol’ tool on the subject:

‘In the books the Magisterium is a version of the Catholic church gone wildly astray from its roots. If that’s what you want in the film, you’ll be disappointed,’ he admitted, but added: ‘We have expanded the range of meanings of what the Magisterium represents. Philip Pullman is against any kind of organised dogma whether it is church hierarchy or, say, a Soviet hierarchy.’

Oh, well, ok then. No deicide. Gay angels?

I’m counting down the hours until tomorrow afternoon’s Interstate “new process” resolution hearing at city hall. I can’t recall too many votes in my time here in Portland where the outcome isn’t known ahead of time.

Commissioner Erik Sten seems to be the swing vote—he’ll vote for more process if he can convince the mayor to buy into the idea. But I really doubt he’ll convince the mayor that more process would be healthy—and potentially healing—since Sten has also made it fairly clear that when the actual rename comes up for a vote in mid-November, he’s a yes. That means the mayor—and the rename committee—probably has three votes. Why would they agree to backtrack and do more process?

(P.S.: Why does Commissioner Sten think it’s a bad thing to force additional process by a 3-2 vote over the mayor’s objection, but doesn’t think it’s all that bad to force a rename by a similar margin over every Interstate neighborhood’s objection?)

Over at the St. Johns Sentinel, they think Commissioner Dan Saltzman is in the swing seat tomorrow, even if Sten’s a no on more process: “He voted for Rosa Parks and is criticized for rushing that process through. So does he dare open himself up to that same criticism again? Hmm. That’s the question. His name is mud in North Portland if he does.”

Meanwhile, the Oregonian today called for the council to vote for the new process.

On Thursday, following Leonard’s cue, the Portland City Council will consider appointing a commission to home in on five finalist streets and hold public hearings on which one to rename for Chavez. It’s a smart and sensitive approach, assuring a Portland street will be renamed — by next July, at the latest — and that it will be the best possible street.

This is what should have happened to begin with, but it’s not too late for it to happen now. Mayor Tom Potter should embrace Leonard’s proposal, as should the other council members and the Chavez name-change group itself.

This is the best way to leave Division behind.

Directions: Turn off North Interstate Avenue and merge — as one city — onto Cesar E. Chavez Boulevard.

Meanwhile, Amanda Fritz disagrees with the Oregonian, arguing that the council should really be apologizing for ignoring the city code that lays out a street rename process, and pledging to follow that process now and in the future.

While I think that’s a good suggestion, it’s not the proposal on the table. The proposal on the table makes sense, if only to fix the damage that this debate has caused. I hope the council votes for it, and I hope the Chávez rename committee accepts that they’ve won a huge victory—a street will be renamed—and take the high road to implementing it.

Chas and I saw No Country for Old Men a week or two ago, and we both really liked it. We’re both fans of Cormac McCarthy and the Coen Brothers, so that was probably to be expected, but what could not be predicted was a fucking crazy scene in which Josh Brolin is chased by a terrifying dog. It’s one of the most insane chase scenes I’ve ever seen, and it was awesome and hilarious and scary, and it stood out in a film already full of some pretty amazing stuff.

Anyway: Time has a great piece up in which the Coens and the reclusive McCarthy sit down and talk about No Country, Five Easy Pieces, killer dogs, and McCarthy’s beef with magical realism (“You know, it’s hard enough to get people to believe what you’re telling them without making it impossible. It has to be vaguely plausible”). Definitely worth reading. No Country for Old Men comes out on November 9.

Probably not, actually. But it’s pretty funny:

“I called those sons of bitches into my office one by one and made them hand over their badges and guns,” Los Angeles Police Department chief William J. Bratton said. “I know deep down that McCluskey’s a good man, but he needs to shape up or ship out. Same goes for Conroy, McAdams, Peterman, Black, Grimwald, Tobias, Keating, and McAllister.”

“Also Cobb, Williams, Miller, Sanchez, Rutgers, Grodinger, Spencer, Smith, Anderson, Garcia, Walker, Thompson, Nelson, Collins, Ellroy, Morris, Coleman, Gibson, Payne, Matthews, Gonzalez, Jacobs, Hoffman, Walters, and Hopkins,” Bratton added.

Realist fiction heavyweight Richard Russo is in town tonight, reading from his new book, Bridge of Sighs. In last week’s paper, Alison Hallett said it’s “a sprawling, warm blanket of a book that, like Russo’s Pulitzer Prize-winning Empire Falls, explores small town values and small town ugliness, the myth of upward mobility, and the importance of carving out a friendly corner of the world.” Russo is a contemporary master of small town writing, and the setting for the new book is Thomaston, NY, just north of Albany. To quote the New Yorker:

It’s a tiny anthill. But the ant’s a centaur in his dragon world (as Pound put it), and dramatic intensity is proportional to its setting. A boy may be falling out of the sky, but whether there is enough macaroni salad at the deli counter is a problem a thousand times more consequential to those who make their living running deli counters. Russo is committed to inventing this sort of problem, the macaroni-salad problem, and then taking it seriously. He is a sentimental, humorous, ruminative, occasionally satirical, and extremely unhurried writer.

Tonight’s reading is one of those new models of moving units: To attend the reading, you must buy the book (at a very generous discount). So it’s $19 to get in, and that gets you a copy of Sighs, which you can presumably get signed afterwards, if that’s your thing. If you like the sound of this, it all happens tonight at the Bagdad, 3702 SE Hawthorne, at 7 pm.

Oh, I wish we had a picture of this:

Hi Merc, There is an Oregon Live performance going on now in the Pearl opposite Whole Foods at 12th and Couch that includes a guy on a segway with a sandwich board doing aimless circles and a pudgy white boy in a backwards baseball cap attempting something resembling breakdancing.

They have a little boombox set up blasting non-confrontational rap, and two additional people with brochures of some sort. All are wearing Oregon Live t-shirts, and they’re terrifying everyone that walks by. Please go make fun of this.

Thanks,
Carissa

Anyone nearby? Send a pic to todayinpdx@portlandmercury.com

From a reader:

Brett Jarolimek was the victim of the bike/ truck colllision on Monday. His life and now his death has affected many people in many different ways and I just wanted to make sure that his memorial service reached the public.

The service will be held at Pacific Northwest College of Art (PNCA) Monday, October 28th at 6:30pm. His funeral will be held in Idaho (his hometown).

more info is online at www.bikeportland.org

This would be very much appreciated.

Thank you
Jennifer

According to BikePortland.org, Jarnolick is a PCNA alum. Tracey Sparling, killed a few weeks ago, was a current PCNA student.

When asked to name my favorite actor of all time, I almost always go with the immortal LEE MARVIN (The Dirty Dozen, Point Blank, The Big Red One, etc). However, whenever I’m asked for my number one DRUNK actor, I must then turn to the immortal British legend, the late OLIVER REED. It would behoove you to check out his stellar work in such cinematic classics such as The Three Musketeers, Gladiator, and his nude male wrestling scene (a first in world cinema) in Women in Love. How did he die? From IMDB.com…

He died of a heart attack in a bar after downing three bottles of Captain Morgan’s Jamaica rum, eight bottles of German beer, numerous doubles of Famous Grouse whiskey, and beating five much younger Royal Navy sailors at arm-wrestling. His bar bill for that final lunch time totaled 270 Maltese lira, almost £450.

Ready for a clip of Reed in all his drunken glory? Prepare yourself for the wild abandon he displays while appearing on a British talk show. Oliver Reed… Blogtown salutes you!

If Multnomah County Sheriff Bernie Giusto survives more than a week following the Oregonian’s scorching front page story this morning—the result of five months of interviewing, they say—I’ll be surprised.
GIUSTO: Could soon be playing a lot more golf…

Having written that, reading about the man’s history, it’s as if he must have some pretty nasty dirt held over somebody’s head to have kept his job this long. Good work, Oregonian! And I don’t think that very often.

Update, 15:05: I’ve found a BRILLIANT pic of Giusto on the O’s website:
NOT CORRUPT AT ALL: No, sir…totally above board in every respect…