A sit in by b!X today at the city council catches the Mayor, Commissioners and City Auditor, getting raises
It is a Cost of Living Increase, 2%. Which puts the Mayor at almost 105 thousand a year and the other 4 (Commissioners and Auditor paid the same) at over 88 thousand a year.
The only no vote came from none other than Mayoral candidate Jim Francesconi. But as noted in b!X's piece procedural and adminstrative costs put a chink in the protest.
I hope the mainstream media picks up on this and really hammers this home. A 2% raise might not be much but say that to the thousands of Oregonians who are out of work...and the ones who are employed that haven't seen a COL inrease in a long, long time. |
Several months ago the Portland License Bureau became a serious point of contention around city hall.
Someone inside the bureau believed that the settlement of tax bills for certain businesses was not only illegal, but costing the city millions. So the employee sent copies of tax documents of the Lee Enterprise sale of KOIN-TV to Emmis Communications in 2000 to Commissioner Randy Leonard, who heads the Bureau, and to Willamette Week (that is the story that started the whole mess).
Since then, Randy Leonard has fired the director of that Bureau, Jim Wadsworth and a full audit has been finished. You can look at the results of that audit here.
But the best part of this story is what happened once this story hit the media. Mayor Vera Katz ordered a full blown investigation into the matter. The Mayor said from the start that releasing sensitive tax information was a crime and the person needed to be rooted out. Now if you weren't following, Phil Stanford of the Portland Tribune followed this closely, with a great source on the inside.
It became a nasty subject over time, with Randy insisting that whoever leaked the information was in his words a "hero." The Mayor respectfully disagreed. So for the next few months, until recently two detectives have worked tirelessly, trying to find out who leaked the info. At some point the District Attorney got involved.
Following is a snippet of a memorandum from Wednesday sent from John Bradley to Commander Steve Brechard, top dog of the PPB Detectives....
Under the City Code, Section 7.02.230, release of such information by anyone is a misdemeanor with a possible punishment of up to 6 months in jail. Therefore, the unauthorized release of such information is a serious matter. However, I did tell your investigators that if the release was a bona fide attempt by someone to show that improper deals were made, I did not feel under those circumstances that prosecution would be justified. I think everyone agreed with me.
So no prosecution, no case on the part of the Mayor. She fired off an e-mail today too....
"The decision by the District Attorney's Office not to file charges in the case of the unlawful release of confidential tax information held by the City is not surprising, given the lack of cooperation investigators
encountered when interviewing a few City employees.
"However, I am pleased that the District Attorney's Office was able to confirm my original contention that the person or persons who released this material did, in fact, likely commit a crime, and that this breach of confidentiality is a 'serious matter.'
So the Mayor I guess doesn't realize what the majority of people have understood so far. While releasing that information may be a misdemeanor, heading up a Gestapo style investigation maybe wasn't the best way to find out how that was leaked.
And I have a feeling that the majority of people are perfectly fine with the releasing of tax information especially when it saves the city money. No matter how big or small.
I still want to know how much the investigation cost?
As always, b!X beat me to the punch. |
First off, Jack Bogdanski has already visited this, as has b!X and the Portland Communique. The tram issue was in front of City Council this afternoon. The big issue was weather to go ahead and build the thing and also to chat about the LID.
And for anyone who either attended the hearing or watched it on TV will probably feel like I do, when I say that it is confusing as hell.
The most interesting part of the whole thing to me is the Zidell issue. This is a guy whose family owns a chunk of land on the waterfront. He did speak out in the biz section of the Oregonian yesterday. His beef is about how much he will have to chip in on the LID. (For an explanation of an LID click here).
Originally he was told that his portion would be $2.92 a square foot. But as these things tend to go, the price tag for the project went up from 15, to 28 million bucks. So he was then asked to pay $5.82 a square foot. A total of over 2 point one million bucks.
Speaking on behalf of Zidell at the hearing today was lawyer Joe Voboril. His major complaint to the council is they felt they were being charged unfairly. That their 2 point 1 million, didn't match up with other landowners that were being charged considerably less.
Matt Brown with the city rebuked that claim, saying the charges were all fair and comparable, based on where the land is in comparison to the proposed tram site.
I fully agree with b!X on this one, that there doesn't seem to be a whole lot of explantion on this project. I just don't understand where they would find the 2 million if Zidell said he wasn't going to pay.
You have to assume since this thing is so far ahead, they would find the money from somewhere. see: taxes.
But why should this project be explained to me? I don't work at OHSU, live in Lair Hill, or own property on the South Waterfront. And plus I will probably never ride the tram as long as I live. So why should the city care if I understand?
Update 8:42pm
I forgot to mention this. I had dodged Randy Gragg's column on this subject, but I sat down and read it thoroughly today. The most interesting part of the whole thing to me, is that a tram like this has never even been attempted before!
Portland's tram will be held aloft by world's tallest upper tram tower, a 162-foot-high structure with no known engineering precedent.
With 1 million pounds of cables and tram cars exerting upward of 162 million pounds of force, the project's lead engineer, Bruce Gibbons of Arup, flatly states, "Nothing with this much force this high has been done."
So this certainly backs up claims of people like Jack Bog that the cost of this right now is at 28 million, but the sky is the limit on how much it will cost when it is all over.
By the way, a call today to Bruce Gibbons the lead engineer, was not returned. |
Tomorrow a conference call will be held with the media regarding the new and improved Jim F. for Mayor campaign.
It will be announced that Holly Armstrong will serve as campaign manager, and also as communications director. A quick Google search of Ms. Armstrong shows she has worked with David Wu, Oregon's Representative of the First District.
Who knows, it might just be the spark that Jim F. needs?
Update June 9th, 7:01pm
I have neither the time nor the energy to do a full on in depth piece like b!X has done. So for more on this here is his disection of the conference call |
So a very 'heartfelt' apology today from the Dean of the Journalism School at the U of O. This is all over the flap about the workshop that dared students to do some pretty silly stuff to overcome fear.
The dean of the journalism school at the University of Oregon has apologized to students offended by a workshop on creatively facing fear.
The workshop was taught by advertising guru Dan Wieden, of the Portland firm that came up with the famed Nike slogan, ``Just Do It.''
One assignment for the workshop required a student to run naked through a golf course. Another student had to object at a wedding.
Dean Tim Gleason says faculty members will review school policies and work more closely with Wieden to help ``safeguard'' students.
Oregon journalism senior Marissa Jones complained about the workshop to school officials after she was asked last month to spoil a wedding.
Jones says Wieden seemingly acted for his own amusement at the expense of his students.''
It was just last Friday that Tim Gleason defended the class and the assignments given, based on the fact they weren't, "illegal or unethical. "It was a misunderstanding of the assignment," he said."
Now I remember reading somewhere, I think it was Jack Bog's blog that a post in the comments section pointed out that streaking naked in public is in fact against the law. And of course falsely objecting at a wedding is certainly unethical.
Now I will say that I and most other media outlets in town have used Gleason as a source for stories dealing with the media. Most stories are about ethics. I won't be calling on him anymore. |
| » I'm turning Japanese. I think I'm turning Japanese........... |
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I get this peach of an e-mail late last week from the office of the Governor of Oregon.
Governor to Conduct Trade Mission To Asia
Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski will depart for Asia on Thursday, June 10, 2004 to conduct a trade mission to Tokyo, Japan and Seoul, South Korea. The purpose of the trip will be to highlight the business development between Oregon and Asia and to invite visitors to the state.
"We know that Oregon offers the best environment for expansion into the United States," said Governor Kulongoski. "We want to share this with Asia's business and political leaders and introduce them to Oregon's strategic location, dedication to business growth, and lifestyle assets will help them to be successful."
Maybe Ted should be watching what is going on here and other business in this state which are flying the coop on a regular basis.
Jun. 6th, 2004 @ 11:00 pm
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| » Let my people go |
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A little slow to the punch on this one, but I have to get into this story. First off here is the Oregon Live story about this.
In short a lawyer is going to argue that an African American man in Beaverton who killed his two year old child by beating him to a pulp was justified because masters beat slaves, therefore he was justified in beating his son.
Here is an excerpt from the story that talks about the child's injuries....
An autopsy found Ryshawn Bynum died of a brain injury and had a broken neck, broken ribs and as many as 70 whip marks on his legs, buttocks, back and chest that were of various ages.
The theory, most likely cannot be proven in court. The theory is the brainchild of Joy Degruy-Leary. Here is a peach of a quote from the PSU Assisstant Professor.
"It's not a conversation that America wants to have," DeGruy-Leary said. "It's so ugly; it's so blatant."
I would really like some input on this one from a lawyer (like Jack Bog). Is this just a judge who is gunning for a job on the most overruled court in the nation, or is this really a viable defense?
Jun. 2nd, 2004 @ 09:50 pm
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| » And there we have it.... |
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From this weeks murmurs in the Willy Week
* It happens all in the time in pro sports: A lousy team keeps its players and fires its coach. Murmurs hears that Team Francesconi is following that model. When the million-dollar mayoral candidate returns from a post-primary European jaunt next week, he will name replacements for campaign manager Phil Donovan and communications director Ed Grosswiler, who take the fall for his having no achievements and no plan. Pollster Lisa Grove will reportedly remain on the payroll.
Now maybe someone can correct me, but Ed Grossweiler has been with Jim F. for quite some time?
Jun. 2nd, 2004 @ 10:43 am
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| » Tom Potter sends me an e-mail |
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Powered by Mandate Media I recently got an e-mail from the Tom Potter campaign. Below is the text from the e-mail....
 Dear PDX,
A week ago, Portlanders shocked the politics-as-usual crowd by lifting Tom Potter to victory in the primary election. Though our campaign was outspent by roughly $1 million to $65,000, our grassroots support came through loud and clear.
And now, Governor Howard Dean has endorsed Tom Potter and our progressive grassroots campaign. Learn more about the campaign at www.TomForMayor.org.
Adding Tom to the Dean Dozen, Governor Dean said, "These twelve are fighting to take our country back from the special interests. They are working to protect our civil liberties. They are building communities and encouraging economic growth. They are fiscally responsible. And they are supported by the grassroots!"
Join Howard Dean. Support Tom Potter.
Volunteer for our grassroots campaign. Host a coffee, put up a lawn sign, work in the office, or volunteer your talents, time, and energy in any way that you'd like.
Make a small-dollar contribution. Because Tom believes that money should not limit political access to only our wealthiest citizens, his campaign has set a maximum financial contribution of $100 per person (up from $25 in the primary). You contribution of up to $100 for the general election, joined with many others, will help sustain our grassroots campaign. Make a contribution right now.
Forward this email to a friend. This is a people-powered campaign, not a dollar-driven campaign. Tom's campaign slogan is "Bringing Portland Together" -- and it all starts with your help!
"The primary election was a victory for Portland. Conventional wisdom tells us that 'the person with the most money wins.' We proved this is not true in our city. Portlanders look at a candidate's experience and commitment, then choose the best leader for the job. Thank you for your hard work in support of my campaign to become the next Mayor of Portland. Without you, none of this would be possible. Let's move forward together to ensure Portland is the city where all voices are heard." -Tom Potter.
Make a people-powered contribution today. Thank you!
While I will not be donating I appreciate the opportunity. And may I be the first to say that I cannot wait for summer to be over so we can get down and dirty in November.
May. 30th, 2004 @ 10:06 pm
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| » Find Brooke. |
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She has been missing for about a week now and still no sign of the 19 year old BYU student. The lack of updates on this site was because I spent a considerable amount of time in Corvallis covering the story.
First off here is the Find Brooke website.
They arrested the "panty thief" in connection with a theft, but call Sung Koo Kim a person of interest in Brooke's disappearance.
Police say there is another three people who are considered to be persons of interest but still nothing to go on. No solid leads, no real suspects.
A terribly sad case. And as we know it can go either waylike this case or more sadly like this one.
May. 30th, 2004 @ 09:46 pm
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