Portland Tribune

Damascus City Manager Greg Baker resigns under pressure from council

Mara Stine — Sat, 25 May 2013 21:30:18 GMT

Councilor Mary Wescott resigns; apologizes for bringing Baker to hellhole

Damascus city councilors accepted the resignation of embattled City Manager Greg Baker – as well as the resignation of a city councilor – during a hastily called meeting Friday, May 24.

With a 5-2 vote, the council approved a severance agreement by which Baker will receive the same severance package he would have gotten if the council had fired him – worth roughly $300,000, or 15 percent of the city's cash assets.

Two councilors who have been vocal supporters of Baker, Mary Prescott and Jim DeYoung, voted in favor of the agreement, along with Mayor Steve Spinnett, Council President Andrew Jackman and Councilor Mel O'Brien.

Wescott, while on the verge of tears, said her yes vote would be her last act on the council, then apologized to Baker for "bringing him to this hellhole of a city."

With that, she said, "I am done," grabbed her coat and left the council meeting.

Baker, who was not at the meeting, will receive one year of severance pay and will be paid for the remainder of his contract, which extends through 2014, as well as a year of health benefits.

The separation agreement is estimated to cost the city $300,000. It also serves as a release agreement, preventing Baker or the city from suing each other.

When Baker came from Kansas City, Mo., to start the job on July 9, 2012, the severance package was far less generous. However, the previous council in December approved a new package in order to avoid costly ligation stemming from defamatory statements Mayor Steve Spinnett made about Baker following an investigation involving Spinnett's wife.

While Baker was just two months into the job, he received a report from city staff that the mayor’s wife appeared to use a cell phone to take photos or images of confidential code enforcement documents containing a Damascus resident’s personal information that were on a city employee’s desk at City Hall.

Baker reported the allegation to the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office.

Detectives investigated and found no evidence of criminal conduct or wrongdoing of such photos being taken on or deleted from her cell phone.

During Friday's meeting, councilors Randy Shannon and Bill Wehr voted against the agreement but for vastly different reasons. Shannon said the move was part of Mayor Steve Spinnett's retribution against the city manager, a move that was aided and abetted by two other councilors. "This is why the city manager can no longer do his job," Shannon said.

Wehr, however, objected to the timing of the vote, saying that he wanted more time to review the agreement. He also thought the matter could be handed during a meeting already scheduled for Tuesday, May 28, instead of a special emergency city council meeting that councilors learned of that just one hour before it took place.

Councilor Jim DeYoung, who joined the council in January, said he did not support efforts to oust Baker but voted for the separation agreement because it's what Baker wanted.

He went on to say that the process is so flawed he is considering resigning as a councilor, in part because of the council's failure to uphold its end of Baker's renegotiated contract. According to the contract, the council was supposed to review Baker's job performance by Jan. 9, and was to provide proof of any unsatisfactory performance.

That never happened.

"I personally failed him, and I appologize to him and to all of you," DeYoung told the crowd of about 30 people in the audience.

Citizens at the meeting expressed outrage at Baker's forced departure and said it would further fuel an effort to disincorporate Damascus as a city. Volunteers are gathering the signatures needed to place the matter on the November ballot.

Outside City Hall, resident Sandra Boggs held a sign saying, "Spinnett u owe Damascus $300,000." She's trying to find a lawyer to file a class action suit on behalf of the citizens of Damascus against the mayor, she said.

"He should have to pay for this, not our tax dollars," she said. "Greg Baker deserved every penny but Spinnett should pay it."

Bogg's son Alex Thom also held a sign. It read, "Spinnett this was the last straw."

That holds true for Wescott. After storming out of the council meeting, she tendered her resignation and at her request was immediately removed from the list of city councilors on Damascus' website.

"I'm feeling pretty darn good," she said afterward. "I made the right decision. It's a pretty bold statement but I ... can no long work with the council."

Firefighters battle two Friday house fires

Jim Redden — Sat, 25 May 2013 21:30:18 GMT

Portland firefighters responded to two house fires Friday night.

According to Portland Fire & Rescue, the first call came in at 8:45 p.m. on May 24. Engine 24 from the Overlook/Swan Island station arrived at 5625 N. Denver Ave. three minutes later and found smoke coming from the front door and basement of a one story house.

Fire crews entered the house and found the fire in a room in the basement and extinguished it. Firefighters also searched the basement and house for possible occupants.

The fire was under control at 9:06 p.m. There were no injuries reported.

The cause of the fire is under investigation. The value of the house and contents was determined as $179,000 with a damage estimate of $40,000.

Later that evening at 10:35 p.m., firefighters responded to a second house fire at 3445 N.E. Peerless Place. Engine 28 from the Rose City/Hollywood station arrived four minutes later and found fire coming out of the back of the house on the first floor.

Fire crews entered the first floor and began extinguishing the fire. They then noticed a 3 foot by 2 foot hole in the floor with fire in the basement.

More firefighters were sent to extinguish the fire in the basement while firefighters were advised to avoid the hole in the floor. At the same time, fire crews searched the home for possible occupants. An extra fire truck was called to assist the fire crews due to the extent of the fire and the size of the house.

The fire was brought under control at 11:02 p.m. There were no reported injuries.

The cause of the fire has been determined to be an electrical malfunction and damage estimates are $50,000. The home's value is estimated at $500,000.

Hawks skate to Memorial Cup finals

portland tribune — Sat, 25 May 2013 21:30:18 GMT

SASKATOON, Saskatchewan — The Portland Winterhawks survived a thrilling semifinal game, edged London 2-1 Friday and advanced to the championship matchup of the Memorial Cup tournament.

The Winterhawks play Halifax at 4 p.m. Sunday. The Mooseheads beat Portland 7-4 in the opening game for both teams.

Ty Rattie scored the game-winning goal on a wicked wrister midway through the third period, his fifth of the tournament, and goalie Mac Carruth led the way as the Hawks held off London. Carruth stopped 34 shots and an onslaught of Knights chances in the final moments. London pulled goalie Jake Patterson with 1:17 left, and played valiantly with the man advantage, making great plays to keep the puck in the zone and even stopped an empty-net goal attempt by Portland.

But, Carruth was up to the challenge, and the 20-year-old goalie enters the championship game playing very well. Since allowing seven goals against Halifax, he has allowed six in the past three games — three to London, two to Saskatoon and one to London in the semifinal.

Halifax star Nathan MacKinnon scored three goals against Portland the first time around. As expected, the first matchup featured stars galore — MacKinnon ranks No. 2 and teammate Jonathan Drouin No. 3 behind Portland's Seth Jones in Central Scouting ratings for the upcoming NHL draft; Zachary Fucale sits atop Central Scouting's goalie ratings — and it didn't disappoint. Portland burst to a 3-1 lead in the second period, before the Mooseheads pulled away with five consecutive second-period goals in very impressive fashion, rattling Carruth and negating Portland's lethal skaters.

But, it's a championship game, and anything can happen. Portland has played in two Memorial Cup title games, and won them both — in 1983 and 1998.

Halifax was founded in 1994 and played host to the Memorial Cup in 2000. A Quebec Major Junior Hockey League team has won the past two Memorial Cup tournaments — Saint John Sea Dogs in 2011 and host Shawinagan Cataracts last year (beating London, 2-1 in overtime).

Halifax and Portland have been the Canadian Hockey League's two top teams during the season. It's only fitting that they play for the championship.

The Winterhawks-London semifinal game was tight and well-played.

It was scoreless after one period. The Knights got on the board first after the first penalty call of the game — checking-from-behind on Portland's Brendan Leipsic. On the power play, London's Max Domi skated into the slot and ripped a shot that fooled Carruth at 12:43 of the second period.

The Hawks got the tying tally when Tyler Wotherspoon's wrist shot from the point snuck through traffic, bounced off a skate and past Patterson.

Domi got a roughing call for Portland's first and only power play in the third period, but the Knights killed the man-down situation.

But, Rattie, the Western Hockey League's all-time leading playoff goal scorer with 50, scored maybe the most important goal of his career. After a dump-in, Derrick Pouliot got the puck to Rattie, who skated right and whipped his wrister over the right shoulder of Patterson, who saved 32 of 34 shots against.

From there, it was frenetic, with Portland holding off London's charge to win the memorable semifinal game and the three-time WHL champs now play for the championship of major junior hockey.

2014 Subaru Forester: Across the board improvement

Jim Redden — Sat, 25 May 2013 21:30:18 GMT

The redesigned 2014 Subaru Forester won the Family Class category of Mudfest this year. The annual comparison of Outdoor Activity Vehicles was conducted by the Northwest Automotive Press Association.

The win was something of a surprise, since the Forester has long been considered a good bargain but not exactly a top class crossover. And the competition was stiff. it included four other redesigned crossovers — the Hyundai Santa Fe, Kia Sorento, Mitsubishi Outlander and Nissan Pathfinder — along with the sophisticated Volkswagen Touareg TDI.

In my mind, there are two reasons the 2014 Forester bested them. First, it is vastly improved in all aspects over the previous generation, including styling, interior room, handling, economy and materials. And second, the version we tested was the optional turbocharged model, which had more power than any of the competitors. Automotive writers like fast cars, after all.

But after spending a week in a non-turbocharged 2014 Forester, I can say the improvements still make it competitive against all other family-oriented compact crossovers. The additional room is especially noticeable in the rear seats, which now have much more leg room and good head room.

But most impressive is the mileage increase. My test Forester recorded over 24 miles per gallon, a vast improvement over the 18 or so I've gotten in previous-generation versions. Even more impressive, it performed better than them, too — accelerating noticaebly faster and quieter than before.

That's especially impressive, since the normally-aspirated 2.5-liter "boxer" engine is only rated at 174 horsepower. The turbocharged 2.0-liter version produces 250 horsepower, and you'd expect the performance to be pretty good. But I had no complaints about the 2.5-liter engine, even when going up steep hills or passing big trucks on the freeway.

Much of the credit goes to the Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT), which is a form of automatic transmissions without set speeds (three-speed, four-speed, etc.). Manufactures like CVTs because they can be tuned to maximize mileage. Automotive writers tend to dislike them because they are less responsive and noisier than traditional automatics. But Subaru got the CVT in the redesigned Forester right. Hopefully, they'll install it in all their other vehicles, too.

Subaru is the only company providing all-wheel-drive on all their models, meaning everything they make is essentially a crossover. Their vehicles have never been as refined as the direct competitors produce by most other manufacturers. Instead, Subaru has won a loyal following by being quirky and endearing.

The most surprising thing about the 2014 Forester is how mainstream it's become. Yes, it's still offered only with AWD. And yes, it still has a horizontally opposed engine, otherwise known as a "boxer." But the quality is now better than that in the Tribeca, Subaru's luxury crossover. At least, when ordered with practically all available options like our test Forester, which came with a leather leather interior, sunroof and upgraded stereo system.

The Forester has undergone numerous styling changes since it was first introduced in 1997. The earlier models were simple bordering on homely, as if Subaru couldn't decide whether it was supposed to be a station wagon or an SUV. The third generation introduced in 2008 was much larger and more stylish, with flowing lines offsetting its otherwise boxy design. The 2014 advance the look slightly, but also makes it more generic — much like what Toyota did with the new RAV4.

Overall though, just about the only places our Forester fell down was the digital display and backup camera screens, which were considerably smaller than those found in most competitors. They worked but required extra attention to monitor.

Those quibbles aside, the new Forester should please both traditional Subaru buyers and new converts alike. And with a base price of around $22,000 include AWD, it's still a good bargain. In fact, with all the improvements, it's a better buy than ever.

Facts and figures (all models)

• Model tested: 2014 Forester.

• Manufacturer: Subaru.

• Class: Compact crossover.

• Layout: Front engine, all-wheel-drive.

• Styles: Five-door SUV.

• Engines: 2.5-liter "boxer" 4 (170 hp, 174 lbs-ft); turbocharged 2.0-liter "boxer" 4 (250 hp, 258 lbs-ft).

• Transmission: Six-speed manual; Continuously Variable Transmission.

• EPA estimated city/highway/mileage: 22/29/24 (2.5/manual); 24/32/27 (2.5/CVT); 23/28/25 (2.0T/CVT)

• Price: Beginning at approximately $22,000 ($33,000 as tested).

2014 Subaru Forester: Across the board improvement

Jim Redden — Sat, 25 May 2013 21:30:18 GMT

The redesigned 2014 Subaru Forester won the Family Class category of Mudfest this year. The annual comparison of Outdoor Activity Vehicles was conducted by the Northwest Automotive Press Association.

Facts and figures (all models)

• Model tested: 2014 Forester.

• Manufacturer: Subaru.

• Class: Compact crossover.

• Layout: Front engine, all-wheel-drive.

• Styles: Five-door SUV.

• Engines: 2.5-liter "boxer" 4 (170 hp, 174 lbs-ft); turbocharged 2.0-liter "boxer" 4 (250 hp, 258 lbs-ft).

• Transmission: Six-speed manual; Continuously Variable Transmission.

• EPA estimated city/highway/mileage: 22/29/24 (2.5/manual); 24/32/27 (2.5/CVT); 23/28/25 (2.0T/CVT)

• Price: Beginning at approximately $22,000 ($33,000 as tested).

I-5 bridge collapse focuses attention on Columbia River Crossing project

Jim Redden — Sat, 25 May 2013 21:30:18 GMT

The collapse of the Interstate 5 bridge over the Skagit River in Washington highlights the need to invest more in transportation infrastructure, say supporters of the Columbia River Crossing project.

"We're glad no one appears to have been seriously hurt, but it shows the need to invest in our transportation infrastructure, like the I-5 bridge over the Columbia," says Portland Business Alliance official Megan Doern, a spokesperson for the Columbia River Crossing Coalition, which supports the project.

A section of the Skagit River bridge collapsed around 7 p.m. Thursday, May 23, reportedly because a large truck struck a support beam while crossing it. The Washington Legislature is in a special session considering whether to approve that state's $450 million of the $3.5 billion Columbia River bridge replacement and freeway improvement project.

Doern says it is too early to know what effect the Skagit River bridge collapse will have on the Washington Legislature's deliberations. But she noted one of the two Columbia River bridge spans is older than the Skagit River bridge, which opened in 1955. The first span of the Columbia Rover bridge opened in 1917. The second span opened in 1958, just four years after the Skagit River bridge.

"The Columbia River bridge is also on wood pilings that could be damaged in an earthquake," Doern noted.

The Skagit River bridge is classified as "functionally obsolete" but was considered safe by transportation officials. The same is true for the Columbia River bridge. It was inspected last summer.

The Columbia River Crossing project would replace the existing I-5 bridge with a new, wider span that would include a light rail line and improve bicycle and pedestrian access between Portland and Vancouver. The 2013 Oregon Legislature approved $450 million as the state's share of the project. The Washington Legislature must approved its share to secure the additional federal funds needed to complete the project.

The Columbia River Crossing Coalition is comprised of hundreds of business and labor leaders and organizations in Oregon and Washington.

Lions win girls lacrosse championship

Matt Sherman — Sat, 25 May 2013 21:30:18 GMT

West Linn lives up to its No. 1 ranking behind six goals from freshman Natalie Byrne

West Linn knocked off rival and two-time defending state champion Lake Oswego 19-13 on Thursday to capture its first girls lacrosse state title since 2003.

The Lions entered the game ranked No. 1 in the state with just one loss this year, which happened to come against the Lakers.

West Linn dominated the game which was played in an almost constant downpour at Hillsboro Stadium, taking control of the contest with six unanswered goals midway through the first half.

Natalie Byrne earned player-of-the-game honors with six goals. She also led the team by picking up five ground balls and captured three draws.

The freshman routinely broke through Lake Oswego double-teams and was a difficult mark all evening.

The Lakers made a run in the second half but never cut the lead to fewer than five goals. The 19 goals scored by West Linn was its highest scoring output of the season.

Look for complete coverage of the game in next week's Tidings.

SCORESHEET: Sitting Hibbert? Classic case

Steve Brandon — Sat, 25 May 2013 21:30:18 GMT

I find the discussions fascinating concerning whether Indiana center Roy Hibbert should have been on the court for the final play of the Pacers-Miami Heat series opener.

My first reaction as the Pacers came out of the timeout that preceded LeBron James' winning, driving layup: Is Indiana coach Frank Vogel crazy?

Good arguments can be made for and against Hibbert being on the floor — new ESPN analyst P.J. Carlesimo offered one of the best breakdowns of all the factors involved, and he agreed with Vogel's decision.

Vogel's done a terrific job with the Pacers, I doubt if anyone is sitting in a sports bar debating that.

This one play, however, is the stuff of classic sports talk over a beverage or two. Break out the napkins and draw it up.

I'm still not convinced that sitting Hibbert was the best move — although I agree that, even with Hibbert in the game, James still was likely to score, and that the overplaying defense of Indy's Paul George was really the culprit for the Pacers' upset hopes.

The play does show you how the NBA game has changed, though, and how much it's coached, or over-coached.

If you subscribed to the put-Hibbert-on-the-bench theory, it seems to me that you also have to say that Red Auerbach should have taken out Bill Russell in similar situations (even though Russell was relatively mobile for a big man/shot blocker).

And you'd have to say that you would have taken out Wilt Chamberlain, Willis Reed, Wes Unseld, Nate Thurmond, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Bill Walton, Moses Malone, Robert Parish, David Robinson, Hakeem Olajuwon, Dikembe Mutombo, Shaquille O'Neal, Tim Duncan … everyone, really.

None of the above would have been the optimum player, etiher, to switch a screen in that situation or defend Miami forward Chris Bosh on the perimeter — which seems to be the basis of the rationale for removing Hibbert, the concern that Hibbert couldn't have gotten out on Bosh for a 20-foot jumper.

But removing those all-time great NBA centers somehow doesn't make sense to me.

Happy birthday

May 28, 1948 — Tom Blanchard, former Grants Pass High/UO/NFL (11 seasons) quarterback-punter who led the Cavemen to the 1964 state title and averaged 41.3 yards per NFL punt (age 65).

May 27, 1966 — John Jaha, David Douglas High product (6-1, 195 pounds) played 10 MLB seasons, making the American League All-Star team at first base in 1999. He hit .263 with 141 home runs (age 47).

May 27, 1981 — Nick Barnett, linebacker from Oregon State who played with Green Bay Packers (2003-10) and Buffalo Bills (2011-12), totaling 724 tackles, 20 1/2 sacks and 12 interceptions (age 32).

May 23, 1990 — Darron Thomas, former UO quarterback who was on the Calgary Stampeders' practice squad last season (age 23).

Oregon sports history

May 27, 1978 — Sunset High successfully defends its Class AAA (largest schools) state girls track and field title — and Teri Wierson sets a meet record in the 800 meters (2:07.6 hand-timed) that no one has bettered, making it the oldest big-school meet mark, for boys or girls.

Wierson and Grant's Jackie Jackson shared top points honors with 22 1/2 apiece as Sunset scored 56 to outdistance the runner-up Generals, who had 31. Wierson also won the 200 low hurdles and was on the winning mile relay team with her sister Marchi Wierson, who placed second to Teri in the 800. Third was Crescent Valley's Leann Warren, who went on to win three national titles and 10 All-America honors during a University of Oregon career that placed her in the Ducks' Hall of Fame. Warren won the 400 at the '78 state meet.

Others in that 1978 AAA girls meet at Springfield's Silke Field included Anna Maria Lopez of St. Mary's Academy, who won the discus; and Sunset distance star Eryn Forbes, who swept the 1,500 and 3,000.

Tree collapse damages NW restaurant, knocks out power

KOIN Local 6 — Sat, 25 May 2013 21:30:18 GMT

Power was expected to be restored to more than 200 PGE customers Friday morning after a tree collapsed onto a Northwest Portland restaurant and several cars parked around it.

KOIN Local 6 reported that the tree broke apart at about 6:45 a.m., Friday, May 24, near Northwest 21st Avenue and Irving Street, bringing down heavy branches on the entrance to the Gypsy Restaurant and at least five cars. No one was injured in the incident.

Northwest 21st Avenue was closed from Hoyt to Irving streets while crews cleared the tree from the road.

PGE reported that power could be restored to customers in the area by late morning.

Lonely search for a cure

Peter Korn — Sat, 25 May 2013 21:30:18 GMT

OHSU pediatrician takes on 'orphan' diseases as families push for funding

Twenty-two years ago, Susan Hayflick was practicing as a geneticist in Buffalo, N.Y. She encountered an Amish family, the Millers, who had four daughters, three of whom appeared to be stricken by one disease.

The eldest was still crawling at age 6. By 8 she had lost the muscle control that allowed her to chew and swallow. The second daughter exhibited similar symptoms. The third, Susie, couldn’t open her mouth to eat and regularly bit her tongue. She would have all her teeth pulled when she was 4. Drug after drug failed to help control her spastic muscles. Eventually she was put on a feeding tube.

Hayflick spent hours getting to know the Millers. She collected blood from each of the children. She found four other children in the Millers’ small Amish community with the same symptoms. Until then, Hayflick had intended to practice as a family doctor, maybe in a small town somewhere. Another physician eventually made the diagnosis for the Millers. They had PKAN, a neurological disorder with only a few hundred sufferers in the United States.

Children diagnosed with PKAN and its larger universe of Neurodegeneration with Brain Iron Accumulation (NBIA) usually die by their 20s. Those with a milder version can live until middle age. Nobody, Hayflick learned, was looking for the defective PKAN gene. The Millers had come to Hayflick for help, but it was they who changed her life. They turned her into a hunter for the genes that were causing their disease.

Hayflick, a pediatrician and medical geneticist at Oregon Health & Science University, doesn’t act like anybody’s rock star. She doesn’t, on first appearance, radiate the charisma that might launch nationwide bake sales, golf tournaments and letter-writing campaigns on her behalf. But in her own small universe, she is the brightest of stars.

Imagine, for a moment, you’re a scientist. You’re going to devote your entire career to one field of medical study. Maladies such as heart disease, cancer and Alzheimer’s beckon, with millions of sufferers desperately hoping for a cure. You can probably count on funding from pharmaceutical companies and the National Institutes of Health.

Or, you could choose to work on a single rare disease, with few patients, little funding and very few colleagues.

This year marks the 30th anniversary of the 1983 passage of the federal Orphan Drug Act, which was intended to encourage drug companies to invest in the search for cures for rare diseases. There are more than 7,000 rare diseases with names such as Sturge-Weber syndrome and Dubowitz syndrome. Some of those diseases have one or a handful of scientists searching for their cures. Some have none.

Hayflick recognized that the Miller children’s gene pool offered a unique research opportunity. Three children in one family with a defective gene for one rare disease would provide a rare statistical opportunity to discover which gene was defective.

“There’s all the power we need right there to get to the gene, in one family,” she says.

Hayflick began to contact physicians around the world who had patients with PKAN, asking them to send her blood samples. In 2000, she found the gene associated with PKAN, and since then she and collaborators around the world have discovered four more NBIA genes. She’s convinced that the five known defective genes represent the cause of most NBIA cases. Now, she needs to find a model to explain how and when those genes are failing.

She does so knowing that she will be too late to save those who inspired her. The last of the three PKAN-stricken Miller children died five years ago, but Hayflick continues to correspond with their mother.

Personal patient ties

Patricia Wood understands very well why a doctor would want to devote an entire career to studying one rare disease. Researchers working in high-profile areas such as cancer rarely get the personal connection to their work that comes with studying a rare disease, says the president of the NBIA Disorders Association.

“They don’t know every single family,” Wood says of most scientists. “They don’t know who is being affected by their research. That’s important. It’s a very personal relationship. We consider (Hayflick) a friend. Wouldn’t you be motivated if it was your friend who was dying of something?”

Wood’s story is a familiar one in the rare disease community. By the time her daughter, Kimberly, was 15 months old it was clear something was wrong, but initially none of the physicians who saw her were familiar with NBIA, so none were able to diagnose her. When doctors at the Mayo Clinic were able to tell Wood that Kimberly had NBIA, they offered little hope.

“They said they’d seen about five cases in the last 30 years, and I should take her home to die,” Wood recalls.

Wood, who lives in San Diego, did more than that. She networked with other NBIA families and was told about Hayflick. Hayflick had moved to OHSU in 1993 and her clinic has become something of a mecca for families with NBIA children from all over the globe. Wood brought Kimberly to see Hayflick, who suggested medications to help control Kimberly’s spasms. Hayflick also drew blood to add to her collection, which now numbers 492.

Soon after, Wood founded the nonprofit NBIA Disorders Association, which has made her the unofficial go-between connecting families with Hayflick.

For years, she says, she would get calls from desperate families at hospital emergency departments. Typically, their child had just been admitted suffering a dystonic storm, a rare symptom of NBIA which involves whole body muscle spasms so severe that the child loses all muscle control and his or her body gets locked in a painful arched position. In some cases, patients are put into comas as the only way to get their bodies to relax.

“I’d get calls from parents,” Wood says. “The hospital would say, ‘There’s nothing to be done, they’re in the last stages, they’re going to die.’ “

Wood would tell the parents to immediately call Hayflick, who could help doctors dealing with a situation they likely had never seen before.

Funding lost, regained

The relationship between Hayflick and Wood changed dramatically in 2009, when Hayflick called to let Wood know she had lost her NIH funding and would have to close her lab. Wood says she asked Hayflick how much it would take to keep the OHSU lab open. Hayflick told her $250,000.

That led to the nationwide Hayflick Lab Campaign, with fundraisers big and small culminating in a $200,000 check sent to OHSU in October, 2010, specifically to keep Hayflick’s lab open. Hayflick was able to find the rest of the funding from other sources.

“The researchers for rare diseases are so important because they give the families hope,” Wood says. “If you take away hope, what have you got?”

Veronica Bonfiglio, whose son was diagnosed with PKAN in 2003 at a hospital in Oakland, Calif., understands well the value of hope.

“I was told that this was a rare disease, that each day would be worse than the day before, that there was nothing we could do, and there was very little research going on so probably a cure would not be found in his lifetime,” Bonfiglio says. “And that there was only one researcher in the world and that was Dr. Hayflick.”

Bonfiglio has kept up a constant conversation with Hayflick during the past 10 years. When she read that turmeric might help Alzheimer’s sufferers, she called Hayflick to ask if it might help her son. When her son stopped taking omega supplements and appeared to be drooling and falling down a little bit less frequently, she called Hayflick hoping that somewhere down the line that bit of information might be useful.

“We see her like our saint and the person who is most likely to find a cure for him,” Bonfiglio says.

When a patient — child or adult — from anywhere in the world is suspected of having NBIA, they either come to see Hayflick or visit her via Skype.

Every two years the NBIA Disorders Association holds a three-day clinic somewhere in the United States so that patients can more efficiently see Hayflick along with other researchers and treatment providers.

Hope is not the only emotion Hayflick witnesses there. At each NBIA meeting she sees parents who no longer bring their children with them because the children have died.

“It feels like pressure,” Hayflick says. “It’s hard to go to family meetings every two years and not have a cure. That feels like a failure.”

Insight to other diseases

Hayflick is one of about 60 OHSU principle investigators working on rare diseases. Maureen Hoatlin, who co-chairs OHSU’s rare disease consortium with Hayflick, says the purity of rare disease science drew her to the field. When few people get a disease, the molecular pathways responsible are usually fewer and more distinct.

“When scientists think about things, they’re trying to get the clearest signal-to-noise ratio they can,” Hoatlin says. “And rare patients offer you a very clear signal.”

And sometimes, Hoatlin says, those clear signals for rare diseases have much wider application. She uses as an example OHSU oncologist Brian Druker’s discovery of Gleevac as a targeted cure for chronic myelogenous leukemia, a rare form of the disease. In time, Druker and others discovered Gleevac also could work, to varying degrees, on other forms of leukemia.

“Once you have an indication that’s very clear and you have a clear target and a way to determine if you knock that target down or not, you can think about shared mechanisms,” Hoatlin says. “In other words, what other diseases are similar to this, might share the same target?”

Hoatlin’s research has focused on identifying genes and pathways for a rare disease called Fanconi anemia, best known locally because ex-Oregon Attorney General Dave Frohnmayer set up a research fund when his daughter was diagnosed with the disease. Hoatlin says the fact that little was known about Fanconi anemia has made it more appealing as a career-long obsession.

Also, she says, working with rare diseases feeds her natural gambler’s instinct, even as she realizes the odds of her being part of a breakthrough are smaller than if she were part of a team studying a high-profile disease.

“I like high-risk projects,” she says. “This is a high-risk project. If it works, it’s going to be amazing.”

Part of that risk involves securing funding in a decade when research dollars across the board have been disappearing. Hoatlin says NIH funding for her work has almost completely dried up and she has had to stop working in the lab, for now. She continues to teach medical students and write as she searches for new funding. Nationally, many rare disease researchers are now primarily or exclusively funded by money raised by the families of stricken children.

Hayflick can sympathize with Hoatlin, having come perilously close to the same juncture with her work. But whether she finds the cure for PKAN or not, she won’t regret having devoted a career to an area of medicine seen by few. She’s been too connected for too long with her NBIA patients and family members, such as Mary Miller, to consider another path.

“We may think we make choices,” Hayflick says. “But the choices also partially get made for us.”

Critics rain on PPS plan to omit solar roofs

Jennifer Anderson — Sat, 25 May 2013 21:30:18 GMT

Time, money keep an eco-friendly task off summer-project list

Portland Public Schools is preparing to spend the first chunk of its voter-approved $482 million construction bond money — but even before the work has begun, it’s getting some backlash.

This summer, PPS will spend $13.3 million in bond funds to replace the roofs and make other long-awaited fixes at five schools: Wilson High; Alameda, Bridlemile and Lewis elementaries; and Laurelhurst K-8.

What has some watchdogs on the attack is that the five roof replacements are set to be conventional “plywood roof sheathing,” without any eco-friendly solar roof technology, as some advocates had hoped and pushed for.

PPS Capital Operations Director Jim Owens says it’s a matter of two things: time and money.

“This summer is our first bite of the apple,” Owens says. “There is a lot of nuance to doing solar work. We have to be deliberate with the planning, need to figure how to apply for grants. It’s a fairly complicated process.”

One major hurdle is that the Oregon Business Energy Tax Credits incentive — which PPS used in 2009 to install nine solar roofs — has since evaporated.

In its place is Feed In Tariff, a program of the nonprofit Solar Oregon, which the Beaverton and Gladstone districts used in 2011 to install solar roofs on a total of four schools.

PPS will explore the Feed In Tariff and other potential incentives to help put solar roofs on some of its proposed slate of 12 summer projects next year, Owens says.

This summer, however, he says it’s “completely unreasonable” to alter the schedule of the five roof replacements, which will run from mid-June to late August.

Owens says scope, schedule and budget of the projects must be balanced in order to complete improvements at all 63 PPS schools during the eight-year duration of the bond.

The roof projects at the five schools this summer will greatly improve their seismic safety; some of the buildings also will get science lab upgrades and accessibility improvements.

In future years, the district could come back to the five schools and add solar panels, like Beaverton has done, Owens says.

Still, critics think this approach is a huge missed opportunity for PPS.

“The district has an agreement with the citizens of Portland that they will rebuild and repair our facilities with a sustainable and asset-based approach,” says Mike Rosen, a Cleveland High parent leader who worked on both bond campaigns, in 2011 and 2012. “They’ve broken their contract with the community.”

During the most recent bond process, Rosen points out there was no shortage of planning. A group of nearly 40 community leaders and experts spent six months analyzing the long-range facilities needs of the district, which led to a comprehensive plan to rebuild the district’s schools.

The bond was shaped from that plan, and sustainability was one of the principles of design.

“PPS is Portland’s second-largest property owner and one of the city’s largest employers,” the long-range facilities plan states. “Heeding this, (the School Board) attends to the environmental, social and economic future of Portland as it sets policies and practice. These pillars of sustainability shall be integrated into all facilities decisions.”

Installing five roofs this summer without solar energy savings “doesn’t come anywhere close to that commitment,” Rosen says.

In 2009, PPS began a roof replacement project that at first was going to be a typical one. Then community members spoke up and asked why they weren’t pursuing solar roofs.

PPS then hired Gerding Edlen Sustainable Solutions, which secured a third-party investor to manage the finance and installation of 500,000 square feet of solar panels across nine schools.

District leaders continue to tout the ongoing energy savings from that project today. The solar array generates enough power to offset 18 percent of the electrical consumption across the nine schools and 50 percent in two of the individual schools.

Rosen sees the upcoming round of five roof replacements as a repeat of 2009, and urges the district to slow down and reconsider.

“For a city that prides itself on renewable resources and green infrastructure,” he says, “settling for less just doesn’t cut it.”

This summer’s roof replacement projects are a tiny portion of the $482 million bond measure, which will primarily pay to replace Roosevelt, Franklin and Grant high schools and Faubion K-8 in the next eight years.

Each of those buildings will include solar roof components, Owens says.

Savings from solar

The nine PPS schools that received solar roofs in 2009 include Woodstock, Atkinson, Scott, Creston, Jackson Middle School, Lane Middle School, Lent K-8, Pioneer High School at Columbia and Roseway Heights K-8.

The other PPS school with a solar roof is Rosa Parks School, built in 2006 to LEED Gold certification, with six photovaltaic panels that help reduce energy use in the building by 24 percent.

A Bonneville Environmental Foundation program called Solar 4R Schools provided the educational component, tying solar energy into professional development for teachers, students’ lessons, kiosks and real-time data monitoring on the energy being saved.

For example, according to solar4rschools.org, this week Rosa Parks School generated 17.5 kilowatt-hours of electricity.

From fossil-fueled sources, that amount of electricity would have emitted 24.5 pounds of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

In kid-friendly terms, that could power an electric toothbrush for one year, a 42-inch plasma-screen TV for one day, or a typical video game system for five weeks.

Renee Loveland, sustainability manager for Gerding Edlen who helped coordinate the PPS solar roof project in 2009, says she has not been involved in or aware of any PPS projects this summer.

But she says the changing landscape of state and federal incentives for renewable energy work makes it difficult for property owners to plan for solar roof projects.

“I’m sure we were all hopeful what we’d done back then could be replicated in the future,” she says.

Community must act

Shane Endicott, founder of the nonprofit Rebuilding Center in North Portland and longtime PPS advocate, says the community must rally around the district to bring change.

“Everyone — administrators, teachers, parents, students and the community at large — is struggling around how to make our old school system produce better outcomes, rather than collaborating on designing a new system that thrives in today’s world,” he says.

“It’s like trying to modify a model-T to perform like a Tesla — it’s impossible. Without true community-owned public education, where everyone in Portland understands our future rides on the success of the children, not much will change, and it certainly won’t improve. We’ll need to invest more than money in schools to meet needs and realize the full potential of the youth in our city. Without this shift, we’ll never move far beyond the current conditions.”

Region's growth is a study in contrasts

Jim Redden — Sat, 25 May 2013 21:30:18 GMT

Guess what? City really is 'Portlandia,' according to analyst

Portland is “Portlandia.”

Washington County is a magnet for families with young children.

And Clackamas County really is different than the rest of the region.

These are some of the conclusions to be drawn from a recent analysis of economic trends in the Portland metropolitan area conducted by Christian Kaylor, a work force analyst with the Oregon Employment Department. Kaylor has been presenting his findings to regional government and business leaders in recent weeks. The information is expected to help serve as the basis for development, transportation and land-use decisions as the economy improves.

All of the counties in the region added people between 2006 and 2011. But they grew in significantly different ways, Kaylor says.

He calls the changes “geographic sorting” and predicts they will continue for years to come.

Some of Kaylor’s findings confirm the premise of “Portlandia,” IFC’s comedy that portrays Portland as a mecca for young hipsters.

According to Kaylor, Multnomah County grew by 55,375 people between 2006 and 2011 — and almost all of that growth came from young people. His figures show the county added approximately 45,000 people between the ages of 20 and 39 during that time, with most of them concentrated in Portland.

“One demographic is driving growth in Portland, and that is young college graduates,” Kaylor says.

Washington and Clackamas counties lost people between the ages of 20 and 39 during that time. Kaylor says the changes represent a shift of young people from rural and suburban areas to cities that has been accelerating over the past few decades.

At the same time, Multnomah County lost children to Washington County from 2006 to 2011. The number of people younger than 19 fell in Multnomah County, but rose in Washington County, signaling a migration of families with children from Portland to the suburbs, Kaylor says.

“Washington County has done a great job of attracting families with young children,” Kaylor says, citing its good school systems and affordable homes with larger yards than those found in Portland. According to Kaylor, that helps explain Washington County’s growth by 26,141 people between 2006 and 2011.

In contrast, Clackamas County lost children during that time. It grew by only 5,977 people, with the largest share being those 65 and older.

“Senior citizens are deciding they like Clackamas County,” Kaylor says.

According to Kaylor, the shifts represent people making choices that regional policymakers should not ignore, especially those in Portland.

“Portlanders can be very arrogant. They assume everyone wants light rail and density. But that’s not true,” Kaylor says.

Share of jobs

There are seven counties in the Portland metropolitan area that Kaylor studied. They are Clackamas, Columbia, Multnomah, Washington, and Yamhill counties in Oregon, and Clark and Skamania counties in Washington. Clark County is the biggest county in Washington, and its shifts are similar to those in Washington County.

According to Kaylor, economic data reveals the region is finally beginning to recover from the Great Recession. The results vary by county, however.

Oregon added approximately 18,000 jobs in 2012, Kaylor found, with virtually all of that growth occurring in the Portland area. Multnomah County led the way with 10,200 jobs, followed by Washington County with 6,000 jobs and Clackamas County with 2,000 jobs.

The new jobs increased Multnomah County’s share of jobs in Oregon slightly in 2012 after decades of declines, Kaylor says. Washington County’s share of jobs also grew, a trend that began many years ago. The share of Oregon jobs in Clackamas County remained flat, however.

Kaylor says the leading economic indicators indicate job growth will continue. The Conference Board, an economic consulting firm, reports that online help-wanted ads are continuing to increase.

Residential building permit applications also are rising in the metropolitan area, jumping from 5,226 in 2011 to 8,483 in 2012. That’s still well below the peak of 17,175 in 2005, however.

The applications vary dramatically by city within the area, however.

Portland leads the way with 2,383. Most of those, 71 percent, are for structures with five or more units, reflecting the boom in apartment buildings being fueled by the influx of young people. Each unit counts as one application.

Hillsboro received the second-highest number of applications, 401, Most of those, 80 percent, are for apartment buildings, such as those going up in the booming Orenco neighborhood.

Wilsonville, which is in both Clackamas and Washington counties, received the third-highest number of applications, 451. Again, most of those, 344, were for apartment buildings.

In contrast, most applications for cities located entirely in Clackamas County were for single-family homes. Oregon City led the way with 410 applications in 2012, of which only 29 percent were for apartment buildings. West Linn was second with 87 application, with none for apartments. And Lake Oswego was third with 85 applications, none of which was for apartments.

Educated workforce

Kaylor believes the trends will continue even as the economy improves and people have more options.

For example, Kaylor thinks Portland is attracting highly educated young people for several reasons. Many are both underemployed and socially conscious, he says, and do not want to own cars. They are drawn to the city’s well-developed transit system and emphasis on bicycling, along with the thriving neighborhood centers that offer shopping, eating and drinking options within walking distance of homes.

“If you live in the suburbs, you really have to have a car to be comfortable,” Kaylor says.

At the same time, many couples move to the suburbs when they have children.

“When you have children, you look for larger homes with yards and good schools, which you can find in the suburbs,” Kaylor says.

But, he adds, fewer couples are having children these days, reducing the potential size of the migration.

“Right after World War II, 50 percent of all households had children. Now it’s 25 percent,” Kaylor says.

Kaylor notes that many young people in the Portland area work in Washington County, especially for such large companies as Intel, which is in Aloha and Hillsboro, and Nike, which is based just outside Beaverton. He expects that to continue, in part because both companies can be reached from TriMet’s westside MAX line.

Eventually, however, Kaylor thinks even more employers will move to Portland to take advantage of the educated workforce that is growing there.

“Over time, I see more businesses will feel pressured to locate in Portland, where their workers are living,” Kaylor says.

In Character with Amina Moreau

Peter Korn — Sat, 25 May 2013 21:30:18 GMT

Toronto native Amina Moreau moved to Portland three months ago, bringing with her Stillmotion, a band of storytellers who make films, commercials and documentaries and insist that’s a poor description of what they actually do. Whatever it is they do, Stillmotion has won four Emmy Awards after starting as wedding videographers.

Portland Tribune: What are you guys doing here in Portland?

Amina Moreau: We’ve been to Portland for educational workshops we’ve hosted, and every time we left Portland we felt like we were missing something.

Tribune: Now that you live here, have you figured out what you were missing?

Moreau: The beards. The plaid.

Tribune: Wait a minute. I’ve got a beard and I’m wearing plaid. And I don’t even know you. Do I?

Moreau: I feel like I’ve met you before. There was a lady the other day and she had a big laundry hamper full of yarn, and I asked her if she had some knitting in her future. And she nodded her head. And I said, “Well, it’s Portland after all.”

Tribune: Do people here knit a lot?

Moreau: People here craft.

Tribune: Yes, but are they crafty? Anyway, any favorite projects?

Moreau: We’re telling the story of a 9-year-old (girl) who once saw a photograph of two young boys with rocks strapped to their heads. She asked her dad what happened in the photograph, he explained to her the concept of child slavery. She says they should be playing.

She decided to make a lemonade stand and donate all the profits to an organization that would free slaves. She started telling people at the lemonade stand to just pay what was in their hearts. She has since made over $1 million and freed 500 child slaves. We’re going to follow her to Nepal where she meets the two boys in the original photograph.

Tribune: A touching story, but this is for a Portland audience, so, did you actually taste the lemonade?

Moreau: I did. Good lemonade.

Tribune: Things ever go wrong?

Moreau: There’s nothing worse than planning a shoot, having storyboards, the concept completely mapped out, and you show up and you’ve forgotten all your cameras and lenses back at the studio.

Tribune: How can a filmmaker forget her cameras?

Moreau: You get so engrossed in the moment, the details and the story. That story was a wedding we were shooting. I arrived at the bride’s house in the morning to capture her hair and makeup, and as I pulled into her driveway I realized I had nothing to shoot with and the studio was 40 minutes away. I knocked on her door, ran up to her bedroom, and I said, “Hi, you look so beautiful.” I gave her a big hug and said I forgot something at the studio. I acted all nonchalant. I drove 149 kilometers an hour.

Tribune: Excuse me, you’re in America now. Kilometers?

Moreau: The rest of the world is in the 21st century, using the metric system, thank you very much. It was 149 kilometers per hour because at 150 you lose your license.

Tribune: Why are you wearing house slippers to an interview in a coffee shop?

Moreau: I wear either slippers or go barefoot anytime I’m in a new situation.

Tribune: You’re going to fit right in, here in Portland. But how did your company grow so fast?

Moreau: One day we got a phone call from a lady who had been on our Vimeo watching our wedding films and crying. She said, “I’m from the NFL Network, and I don’t know why I’m crying because these are perfect strangers, but I love how you tell stories, and we’d like to see how you tell stories in the football world.”

We’re Canadians and we don’t know what football is. The first-ever football game we ever watched was on the field with full access at the AFC-NFC games.

Tribune: What games? We don’t have games. We have playoffs. We have championships.

Moreau: At that point we were asking, “What does the quarterback do again?” We weren’t concerned with semantics.

Tribune: So the film you ended up producing, did the NFL Network woman cry when she saw it?

Moreau: It was like a wedding. It was fast. It was emotional. It had blood, sweat and tears.

From curb to college to ... Congress?

Jennifer Anderson — Sat, 25 May 2013 21:30:18 GMT

Last-ditch effort puts former dropout back on track to success

Patrick Stupfel began skipping school in fourth grade, when his divorced parents were working long hours and he was forced to take the bus to school.

Teachers and counselors and administrators at the 13 schools he’s attended over the years — a mix of public and alternative and private Catholic schools in Portland — tried to reach out and help him, but he refused.

He also paid no heed to his parents, who were struggling to put food on the table.

“I was such a stubborn kid,” the 20-year-old says now. “I didn’t see the relevance of school. ... I slipped through every crack possible.”

By his junior year at Franklin High School, Stupfel had just five credits to his name, and he realized his days of acting like a “skater punk” were over.

He’d been skipping school for up to a month at a time, smoking marijuana and drinking, and getting into all sorts of other trouble with his friends. “I’m lucky I never got a Measure 11,” he says now.

Fast forward three years, and Stupfel is a high school graduate, a model student at Portland Community College, a youth activist at City Hall and a legislative intern in Salem, with his eye on a career in politics.

“The military school’s motto is ‘Dream, believe, achieve’ — I actually took that to heart; I’m a testament to that,” says Stupfel, who splits his time between his mom’s house and dad’s house, both in Southeast Portland.

Upon the advice of his administrators at Franklin when he hit his rock bottom, Stupfel signed up for the military school — the Oregon Youth Challenge Program, located in Bend.

“Think of ‘Full Metal Jacket,’ and it’s pretty much just like that,” he says, referencing the classic Vietnam War flick.

Stupfel spent six months there, earning 10 high school credits and a new work ethic. He returned to Portland to earn the credits he needed to graduate at the Portland Public Schools Reconnection Center and then Portland Night High School, both based at Benson Polytechnic High School.

Once back in Portland he steered clear of his old diversions by transforming himself into an overachiever. He served on not one or two, but six youth leadership committees.

They included the Multnomah Youth Commission, PPS Superintendent Carole Smith’s Student Advisory Council (also known as SuperSAC), the PPS Long Range Facilities Planning committee, the PPS Citizen’s Budget Review Committee, the PPS Student Union and the PPS Teacher Evaluation Committee.

The work gave him an insider’s look at the way policy is shaped — and earned him a personal letter of recommendation from Superintendent Smith.

“He is assertive yet respectful, and very interested in engaging with others with the goal of learning, understanding and sharing,” Smith wrote.

“His attitude, drive and commitment are focused on succeeding academically, and these are the traits that define his character; he is a remarkable young man who is bright, hardworking and determined.”

Stupfel earned his long-awaited high school diploma in June 2011 in the Benson auditorium, and he already was thinking about the next diploma he’d earn.

College was just a fuzzy goal, however. It wasn’t until he registered for an initiative called Future Connect that it began to take shape.

Future Connect was created by former Mayor Sam Adams as a way to connect low-income or first-generation college students with higher education.

Funded by the city and PCC, Future Connect is open to anyone with a high school diploma or GED within Multnomah County or the Hillsboro School District by the end of the year and who will be attending PCC starting this fall.

Stupfel, who’s become a poster child for Future Connect, joined a group of students this month to lobby City Hall leaders to continue its $480,000 per year investment in the program.

The initiative provides students with: scholarship money; a “college success coach;” free classes on career guidance; and access to internships, workshops and summer orientations to college.

Stupfel credits his success coach for helping him to get through the registration and financial aid processes at PCC, and being available anytime for a chat, even about his personal life. He’s now one year into his associate’s degree, taking classes in politics, something he’s always been interested in.

He remembers wanting to be a congressman as a young boy; now he’s thinking about law school after spending some time abroad. The Semester at Sea program is a possibility; he also may head to Washington, D.C.

Last summer, Stupfel spent time there as part of the weeklong Bill of Rights Institute’s Constitutional Academy, where he met with members of Congress on Capitol Hill, attended lectures and networked with political leaders.

It reinforced his desire to work in government.

This year, in between his PCC course load, he’s working in Salem two days per week for Democratic state Rep. Alyssa Keny-Guyer. (He gets to carpool with her in her Prius.)

Stupfel does constituent outreach, which means talking with people from various backgrounds about public policy issues — something he feels well-versed on from his days on the youth commission and other groups.

Occasionally, his own political views differ from what he’s working on, but Stupfel doesn’t let that get in the way. “Politics is politics,” he says. “It’s not about the individual; it’s about the issues.”

Stupfel speaks with the confidence and poise of a politician, not to mention his voice. A natural baritone, he’s lately developed an interest in being a voice actor.

As far as old habits go, Stupfel still skateboards to school when the weather allows. But he has no problem switching to his professional role for his days at the Legislature.

“When I started military school, I wasn’t used to wearing a (shirt) collar,” he says. “Now, I’m wearing a suit with a pocket scarf.”

The Short List

Jason Vondersmith — Sat, 25 May 2013 21:30:18 GMT

MUSIC

Primus

The band’s show features a 3D-enhanced live musical performance with Quad Surround Sound, providing a one-of-a-kind psychedelic experience. Yes, audience members are given 3D glasses. Primus’ recent album was “Green Naugahyde,” with all the magic and mystery that the title entails.

7 p.m. Saturday, May 25, Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, 1037 S.W. Broadway, www.pcpa.com, $42.50, $53

Mumford & Sons

The recent Grammy-winning group comes to Portland on its “Summer Stampede” tour, supported by Michael Kiwanuka and Mystery Jets. “Babel,” its second studio album, debuted at No. 1 on the U.K. and U.S. charts and won Album of the Year at the Grammys.

7 p.m. Monday, May 27, Rose Garden, 1-877-789-7673, $39.99, $49.99

STAGE

‘Beaux Arts Club’

Imago Theatre is transitioning into theater from its day of “Frogz,” “Cats” and “ZooZoo.” Carol Triffle’s comedy turns on its head the notion that 19th-century housewives’ tea parties were boring.

8 p.m. Thursday, May 23, 8 p.m. Fridays-Saturdays, May 24-June 9, Imago Theatre, 17 S.E. Eighth Ave., www.imagotheatre.com, free

‘Little Women’

Southwest Washington’s Metropolitan Performing Arts Academy puts on the musical based on Louisa May Alcott’s Civil War-era novel about four unique sisters.

7 p.m. Friday, May 24, 2 and 7 p.m. Saturday, May 25, Brunish Theatre, 1111 S.W. Broadway, www.pcpa.com, $17

‘Ithaka’

Artists Repertory Theatre puts on the play about U.S. Marine Corps Capt. Elaine Edwards’ homecoming and subsequent trip through America. It’s written by Andrea Stolowitz, who interviewed veterans and their families for inspiration.

7:30 p.m. Tuesday-Sundays 2 p.m. Sunday, May 28-June 30, Artists Repertory Theatre, 1515 S.W. Morrison St., www.artistsrep.org, $50, $20 students

‘Somewhere in Time’

Three-time Tony Award nominee Marc Kudisch plays Robinson — Elisa McKenna’s protective and controlling manager — in the Portland Center Stage world-premiere production, based on the novel by Richard Matheson, choreographed by Tony Award nominee John Carrafa and directed by Scott Schwartz. The movie starred Christopher Reeve, Jane Seymour and Christopher Plummer (who played Robinson). Kudisch previously starred in “9 to 5” and “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.”

7:30 p.m. Tuesday-Sunday, noon Saturday-Sunday, noon Thursday, May 28-June 8, Gerding Theater, 128 N.W. 11th Ave., www.pcs.org, $30-$70

Live Wire! Radio

The final spring show features TV writers Kristen Schaal and Scott Jacobson, author Dan Savage, cartoonist Lisa Hanawalt, comedian Jen Kirkman and musical guest The Builders and The Butchers, as well as Courtenay Hameister debuting as essayist and performer after stepping down as host in March.

7:30 p.m. Saturday, June 1, Alberta Rose Theatre, 3000 N.E. Alberta St., www.livewireradio.org, $20, $25 day of show, $35 reserved.

‘The Addams Family’

Tickets are on sale for the Broadway Across America musical based on the bizarre and beloved family of characters created by legendary cartoonist Charles Addams and featuring the comedy of the famed television show.

7:30 p.m. Tuesday-Friday, June 25-28, 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, June 29, 1:30 and 6:30 p.m. Sunday, June 30, Keller Auditorium, 222 S.W. Clay St., 503-241-1802, starting at $28.75

MISC.

CityFair

The Willamette River waterfront carnival helps get the Rose Festival going, opening Memorial Day weekend and continuing the following two weeks — closed for only five days during the Rose Festival.

5 p.m.-11 p.m. Friday, May 24, 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Saturday-Monday, May 25-27, 3 p.m.-11 p.m., May 30-31, 11 a.m.-11 p.m. June 1-2, 3 p.m.-11 p.m. June 6-7, 11 a.m.-11 p.m. June 8-9, Waterfront Park, www.rosefestival.org, $7

Multnomah County Fair

Three days of fun are ahead at the 107th annual event — rides, petting zoo, arts/crafts, vendors, live entertainment and more.

Noon-7 p.m. Saturday-Monday, May 25-27, Oaks Park, 7805 S.E. Oaks Park Way, www.multnomahcountyfair.org, free

Portland Music Video Festival

The second year of the festival showcases the work of musicians and filmmakers from Portland and beyond. The festival’s programmers have considered hundreds of submissions and have curated a program of Pacific Northwest videos, along with an international one.

5 p.m.-9 p.m. Thursday, May 30, Hollywood Theatre, 4122 N.E.

Sandy Blvd., www.portlandmusicvideo festival.com, $7

‘Archaeology Roadshow’

Sponsored by the Portland State University Department of Anthropology, the show features experts from PSU and the community telling the stories behind artifacts — no financial appraisals will be given.

11 a.m.-3 p.m. Sunday, June 2, Oregon Museum of Science and Industry, 1945 S.E. Water Ave., www.anthropology.pdx.edu, free

Bread & Brew: Genoa spices up history with new mix

Anne Marie DiStefano — Sat, 25 May 2013 21:30:18 GMT

Venerable is one thing. Exciting is another. They don’t often go together, but Genoa, right now, is both.

The newest chef to occupy the long-running kitchen is Jake Martin, who has found creative ways to invigorate Genoa’s elaborate prix fixe menu. He previously worked at Carlyle and Fenouil, where I enjoyed his cooking, but he really impressed me at Central, a dark little bar whose limitations didn’t stop him from serving unexpectedly excellent dishes.

Genoa is a much grander stage — a place where expectations run high.

Truffles launch the meal. They’re the opulent, nose-filling, dominating force in a shot glass of cool, buttery potato and leek soup. It’s a fitting start: simple and straightforward, with an intensity that comes across as luxurious rather than rustic.

If there’s a little bit of kitchen trickery here, it’s based in nature rather than in a lab. A strange, startlingly yellow orb was the yolk of a duck egg, cooked so slowly that it seemed to be condensed without losing volume: a self-contained sauce with only one ingredient. It was a brilliant match for spears of new spring asparagus.

All the richness from king salmon came from the salmon itself, fatty and raw, arranged in a pink disk to contrast with piquant baby leeks and pickled spring onions. A pop of saline came from dollops of orange salmon roe.

Plates have visual punch, with food arranged in bright, modern, minimalistic designs. But it’s not just about looks. The vivid dots and splashes of color are also vivid dots and splashes of flavor.

Thin, flat pasta, green with nettles, was tangled up with salty shredded ham. For contrast, there was a bitter tinge from foraged salad greens. It was a pasta course that did what pasta courses are supposed to do — a starchy bridge, a setup for the meal to follow. It also was one of the stronger links between what’s happening at Genoa, the restaurant, and what happens in Genoa, the city.

Gnudi were less interesting. Made with yogurt, they were rather tasteless little dumplings with a sour tang that begged for something rich. Small, salty black olives weren’t quite the thing, and neither were baby artichoke hearts, although they were fine in their own right.

With seasonings kept to a minimum, blander items fell short. Potatoes, for instance, were pared into tender cylinders that didn’t have much kick, even when colored black with squid ink. They were part of a salad of tiny chilled mussels and crunchy chips of dehydrated chorizo.

But strawberries sprang to life in another salad that alternated early red strawberries with lightly pickled green strawberries, arranged between little pillows of soft cheese. Decorated with small flowers and mild herbs, it was an expression of time and place.

So was lamb with garlic and spring onions. Tasting it, I thought that every lamb I’ve ever had before was over-salted, and that the salt had been masking some crucial layer of flavor. A rosy jam of San Marzano tomatoes provided just the right level of sugar and acidity.

Morels were the highlight of a chicken entrée, scattered around the plate and also mixed with dark meat to create a rich stuffing for the juicy white bird. Buttery asparagus rounded out the plate, which was, again, simple and yet indulgent.

It’s all consumed at a stately pace, in a room that is dimly lit and peaceful. Its greatest luxury is the wide spaces between the tables; loud music isn’t necessary to drown out your neighbors’ conversations.

You order dessert at the start of the meal, which seems odd: it’s the rare moment when you don’t feel that the whole establishment rotates around you. Still, I was able to successfully predict that I would eventually be in the mood for chocolate. A plate of chocolate confections in various textures was good, but not memorable. A semifreddo was more in tune with the rest of the meal: the slowly melting cream tasted purely of cream. Slices of strawberry stood alone on one side, sweetened rhubarb on another, concise and delicious.

Genoa has come a long way since opening in 1971 and going through a change of ownership in 2010. Originally focused on textbook northern Italian cuisine, it’s now Italian in a much more abstract sense. It remains a high point in the Portland dining landscape.

5:30 to 9 p.m. Wednesday-Thursday, 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. Friday-Saturday, 5:30 to 9 p.m. Sunday, closed Monday-Tuesday, 2832 S.E. Belmont St. 503-238-1464, http://www.genoarestaurant.com, prix fixe $65

portlandtribunefood@gmail.com and on Facebook at Bread & Brew

Live Music

Rob Cullivan — Sat, 25 May 2013 21:30:18 GMT

May 26

Mr. Anonymous

Dhani Harrison, guitarist, keyboardist and singer for dreamy electro-popsters

thenewno2, says his band always selects a lucky member of the crowd to be part of the show.

“During the second act, we bring them on stage and saw them in half,” he says dryly.

He’s joking, of course. As the support act for bluesy alterna-rockers Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, thenewno2 has only so much time to give the audience a taste of its music.

“We’re all techie nerds,” says Harrison, the son of Beatle George Harrison. Dhani shares the stage with keyboardist and programmer Paul Hicks, keyboardist-guitarist Jonathan Sadoff, guitarist Jeremy Faccone, drummer Frank Zummo and bassist Aaron Older.

“We like using unconventional sounds, he adds. “It’s kind of electro blues.”

His audience was initially rooted in the kind of “college stonery” you find at festivals, he adds with a chuckle. The band is touring to promote reflective album “The Fear of Missing Out,” which they’ve just re-released in a deluxe version, Harrison says, noting he wants to get people to listen to albums again in this downloadable age. “Missing Out,” with its sparse keyboard lines, textured layers of sound, and tempos that move like gentle waves linking song to song, was written with the idea of being a vinyl record, he says.

“I like the idea of building a concept album,” he says. “I think it’s more like a suite of music. It’s more filmic.”

Speaking of filmic, Harrison’s band scored the music for the movie “Beautiful Creatures” and is interested in doing more such works, although not in the conventional sense.

“I can’t say we’re a particularly underscorey type of band,” he says. “The music almost becomes another character in the movie.”

Harrison has acknowledged his dad’s influence — who hasn’t been influenced by The Beatles, he’s said before — but says his own music is rooted more in the sounds of fellow Brit and eclectic trip-hop king Tricky, although Harrison gives his props to Hendrix and Cream as well. It’s clear listening to thenewno2 that there’s some of his dad’s sound in the music. Heck Dhani’s voice could be mistaken for George’s. The group is not his backup band, Dhani stresses.

“We all write,” he says. “Jeremy wrote, Paul writes with me a lot. Me and Paul and John write. I like writing with people, I like collaborating.”

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, thenewno2, 8:30 p.m. Sunday, May 26, Wonder Ballroom, 128 N.E. Russell St. $25, 21 and older. Info: 503-284-8686, http://www.wonderballroom.com.

Listen to the grass scream

Speaking of dreamy, Seattle’s Rose Windows draws on all kinds of pyschedelia from The Doors, early Pink Floyd and Jefferson Airplane, as well as some Black Sabbath and Persian, Indian and Eastern European music. The band sits squarely in the art-rock category, which is nonetheless a pretty expansive genre. The male and female cats often sing like a chorus (lead singer Rabia Shaheen Qazi is a modern Grace Slick), play flutes, synthesizers and rockin’ guitars, and generally sound like a neo-pagan-half-metal-half-folk combo and could have a shot at becoming some sort of Peter Gabriel-meets-Jethro-Tull entity at some point.

Suuns, Rose Windows, 9 p.m. Sunday, May 26, Doug Fir, 830 E. Burnside St. $10. Info: 503-231-9663, http://www.dougfirlounge.com.

‘Round town

• San Francisco’s French transplant Morgan Manifacier plays eloquent classically influenced folk-rock that would appeal to fans of Nick Drake and Bon Iver and will bring his game to The Waypost, 320 N. Williams Ave., at 8 p.m. Sunday, May 26. $2 to $5. Info: http://www.thewaypost.com.

• OK, so it’s turning into art rock week, as ethereal, brilliant and poetic Hundred Waters, who sound like sonic waterfalls and talking trees, opens for The XX at 7 p.m. Monday, May 27, in the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, 1037 S.W. Broadway. $47.50. Info: 503-248-4335, http://www.pcpa.com.

• Eternal Summers, a female-fronted power-pop-punk trio from Roanoke, Va., sound like their name, all danceable, surfable and sunny. 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 28, at Backspace, 115 N.W. Fifth Ave. $8. All ages. Info: 503-248-2900, http://www.backspace.bz.

Bits & Pieces: Rushdie coming

Jason Vondersmith — Sat, 25 May 2013 21:30:18 GMT

Literary Arts has announced its 2013-14 arts and lectures season. The lineup: Salman Rushdie, Oct. 8; Ann Patchett, Nov. 20; Lawrence Wright, Jan. 14, 2014; Chris Ware (in conversation with Chip Kidd), Feb. 18, 2014; Julia Alvarez, April 3, 2014. Full subscriptions and info are available at www.literary-arts.org or by calling 503-227-2583.

Portland in Cincinnati

The 10th annual Cincinnati Fringe Festival, which runs from May 28 to June 8, will feature 36 productions, including “Loon” by Wonderheads from Portland.

The festival is produced by Know Theatre of Cincinnati, and it’s geared toward artists who are “willing to take a risk,” pushing the boundaries of the norm and continually experimenting with style and content.

The creators of “Loon” have been to the festival before. The production is a love story, in which a man is whisked to the moon and back, and features Wonderheads’ life masks, fantastical puppetry, and style described as “live-action Pixar.” It won the 2012 Edmonton Critics Choice Award and Best of Fest Edmonton and Vancouver 2012.

For info: www.cincyfringe.com.

Slabtown book

Tracy J. Prince, author of a 2011 book on Goose Hollow, has co-authored — along with Mike Ryerson and Norm Gholston — a similar book on the Slabtown neighborhood.

Prince says the book delves into Slabtown history, revealing details on its large Johnson Creek Gulch, nearly a century of Native Americans in Portland, and Chinese vegetable gardens. She says the authors have accumulated many photos, including some of the piles of slabwood, which gave the area its name. Another photo shows Olympian Jesse Owens, owner of the Portland Roses in the West Coast Negro Baseball Association, and there are images of Slabtown women who worked in the war industry during World War II.

There’ll be a slideshow presentation at 7:30 p.m. July 10 at Powell’s City of Books.

Band camp

A heads-up for parents: The Joy Now Arts Project will host its annual summer camp for youth ages 12 through 18 in June, with members of the MarchFourth Marching Band. Registrations are being taken. Details: June 23-28, St. David of Wales Church, 2800 S.E. Harrison St., www.joynowproject.org/summer-camp, $425.

Peterson gamble pays off for OSU

Kerry Eggers — Sat, 25 May 2013 21:30:18 GMT

When you’ve won a pair of national championships, you normally don’t offer a scholarship to a recruit sight unseen.

That’s exactly what Oregon State coach Pat Casey did in the case of Andy Peterson last spring.

Peterson was the star shortstop at Santa Ana (Calif.) College, and Casey was in the market for a middle infielder who could provide immediate help with the loss of senior shortstop Ryan Dunn.

The Beavers were playing at Southern Cal last May, so Casey called “a couple of guys I trust and asked, ‘Who should I go see play?’ ” the OSU skipper says.

Andy Peterson, they told him.

Problem was, Peterson — hitting .426 with 25 RBIs in just 29 games — had just been shut down for the season with a stress fracture in his left leg.

When Casey called to request a meeting, “I thought, ‘Great,’ ” Peterson recalls. “ ‘I have to see the coach on crutches. This isn’t going to go very well.’ ”

But it did.

“I went in there thinking, ‘How can I recruit this guy if I don’t see him play?’ ” Casey says. “But I fell in love with his character and makeup. It didn’t take me long to make a decision. I could tell, this guy is real, man.”

So without seeing Peterson play, even on video, going on a hunch and the advice of some trusted coaching colleagues, Casey took a chance and offered a ride.

Good move, I’d say.

Peterson has been a fortress at second base for the third-ranked Beavers (43-9 overall, 22-5 in Pac-12), who open the final three-game series of the regular season at 5:30 p.m. Friday at Goss Stadium with a chance to clinch their first conference championship since 2006.

The 5-11, 170-pound junior is batting .332 — a point behind co-team leaders Michael Conforto and Dylan Davis — and has teamed with shortstop Tyler Smith to form as good a keystone combination as there is in the Pac-12.

“Andy has been an unbelievable addition,” Casey says. “He can bunt, he can run, he can defend, he can play short, he can play second. And at times this season, he has been our best hitter.”

Peterson had drawn plenty of interest from major Division-I programs but, on the advice of his coach at Santa Ana, decided to wait until “the perfect school calls.”

That was Oregon State.

“I liked the coaches,” he says. “I liked the way they presented themselves. They guaranteed me nothing but an opportunity to play. That was fine. And you can’t beat the program.”

Peterson had originally decided to play both football — he was “a little bit undersized” quarterback at Kennedy High in La Palma, Calif. — and baseball at Division II Missouri Tech. At the last minute, he opted to focus on baseball and wound up at Santa Ana.

About that time, tragedy struck the Peterson family, which included Andy’s older brothers, John and Matt. Their father, Walt, was diagnosed with brain cancer.

“The doctor told him they had to operate the next week,” Andy says. “But I was playing in the Orange County North-South all-star football game, which was about three weeks away. Dad told the doctor, ‘I’m not having surgery until after the game.’ ”

Peterson completed seven of eight passes and threw for a touchdown and ran for another.

“I had a phenomenal game,” he says. “I was so excited Dad got to see it. It was one of the greatest days ever.”

A month later, Walt Peterson died. He was 55.

“We were very close,” Andy says. “He did everything for me and my family. I didn’t begin to realize all the stuff he had done for me until after he passed.”

The following year, Andy’s mother, Debbie, was diagnosed with stomach cancer and underwent radiation treatments. After getting through that, doctors found lung cancer, too, last September. She has undergone chemotherapy and radiation treatments for that as well.

“She’s doing better,” Andy says. “We’ve played games in Palm Springs and San Diego and at UCLA, and she was able to watch all of them. John is living with her in La Palma, and Matt is 20 minutes away, so they’ve been able to help take care of her.

“My brothers and I have always been super close to our parents. When my dad went into surgery, he told us to take care of our mother.”

Peterson wasn’t an immediate hit at Oregon State. He was unimpressive during fall workouts.

“He couldn’t even bunt,” Casey says. “He said, ‘I never had to bunt in junior college.’ ”

Ironic, because Peterson has developed into what Casey considers as adept a bunter as he has coached in 19 years at Oregon State.

“Coach Casey told me, ‘If you want to play on this team, you have to learn how to bunt,’ ” Peterson says. “I took that pretty seriously. We bunt so much in practice every day, at least 50 balls. It’s worked out pretty well. Everyone has been as surprised as I am at how well it’s working.”

Peterson admits he fought a confidence problem when he arrived in Corvallis.

“ ‘Case’ told me one day, ‘I don’t know why you don’t have confidence in yourself,’ ” Peterson says. “ ‘Don’t play scared; play fearless.’ ”

Casey put Peterson into the starting lineup during opening weekend, and he hasn’t relinquished his spot. He even slid over to shortstop for a dozen games when Smith was out with a broken hand.

“I love second, especially playing next to ‘Smitty,’ ” Peterson says. “I’ve learned so much from that kid. What an unbelievable fielder.”

Batting in the No. 2 spot, Peterson has been especially formidable at the plate of late. He had six hits in last weekend’s Oregon series, including four in a 9-0 win on Saturday.

“At the beginning of the year, I was a little out of my element,” he says “I hit OK, but I got some bunts that saved my average. I went back to the no-stride swing I used at Santa Ana about five or six weeks ago. I widen my stance, pick my heel up and put it right back down. My timing is better, and I can hit off-speed pitches. I’m feeling comfortable up there right now.”

Baseball has helped Peterson deal with the health issues that have struck both of his parents.

“Baseball is the No. 1 thing that has kept me going,” he says. “On the field, I’m able to get away from the reality of all the stuff that has happened.

“Every game I play, I think about my dad. I never would have guessed I’d be having this kind of success this early at Oregon State, but it’s something my dad always thought I could do. He wanted me to go to Long Beach State. I didn’t think I was good enough.”

Now, he’s a key cog on a team that has its sights set on the College World Series.

“I love it,” Peterson says. “Best decision I ever made.”

kerryeggers@portlandtribune.com

Twitter: @kerryeggers

An overflowing tribute for Alex Rovello

Steve Brandon — Sat, 25 May 2013 21:30:18 GMT

The crowd of friends and family — everyone who knew Alex Rovello was one or the other — overflowed at St. Philip Neri.

A teary-eyed University of Oregon tennis team arrived en masse, wearing “Fighting Ducks tennis” T-shirts under their suits.

Coach Nils Schyllander and assistant coach Jonas Piibor choked on their words as they spoke at Saturday’s memorial for tennis champion/Cleveland High hero/Ducks star Rovello.

“Alex had no enemies, only people who loved him,” Piibor said through tears. “Alex, I love you forever.”

Rovello, 21, had just completed his UO junior season when he died May 11 in a cliff diving accident near Eugene.

Schyllander recalled the first time he came to watch the Cleveland Warriors star, who was about 5-7 and maybe 140 pounds and had an unorthodox style (two-handed forehands and backhands) that helped him make up for it.

“My first thought wasn’t, ‘Who is this?’ It was, ‘What is this?’ ” Schyllander said, eliciting chuckles at the service. “What is this scrawny kid with the chicken wings and two forehands?”

Quickly, though, the coach came to understand what all the fuss over Alex Rovello was about.

“It only took me a few minutes to see that this was someone very, very special,” he said, “in every kind of way.”

The Oregon tennis team, like others in major colleges, has players from across the globe: Belgium, Australia, the Netherlands, France and Hungary. In 2010, the top recruit for the UO coach from Sweden, and the program’s future No. 1 man in every way, was basically in Schyllander’s Oregon backyard.

Rovello turned down several other schools to be a Duck; he loved the idea of staying close to home and being a loyal part of something in the state. And he quickly became more than just a new member of the team.

“He was Alex Rovello,” Schyllander said matter-of-factly. “He WAS Oregon tennis. There has never been anyone like him.”

Derin Hibbs said he loved every every minute of the 15 years he spent “with this beautiful young man” as his coach at Eastmoreland Racquet Club.

“In life,” Hibbs said, “you are lucky if you know one person whose integrity amazes you, whose spirit always lifts you, who you can honestly call flawless. Alex was all of that and more.”

The day he died, Hibbs said, “was a horrific tragedy, a loss beyond comprehension — but it was just one day at the end of 21 perfect, flawless years. One day of 7,705 days he lived to the fullest, with so much heart and passion and love.

“He was given to us on borrowed time, a gift to all of us.”

Many remembered Rovello’s kindness, humility, humor and other positive traits, and the incredible influence of his beloved parents, recently retired school teachers Jim and Geri.

Father Michael Evernden, who led the service, noted that “the first few years I knew them, I didn’t even know he played tennis. He never brought it up.”

A stream of people gave testimonies for some 90 minutes at the post-service reception — and they tried as best they could to capture the essence of Alex. What was it that made him so widely, wildly loved?

“Alex always had this kind of regal character; he seemed to float through the halls, in the sense of someone with a miraculous aura,” said Bradley Eckerson, a close friend and tennis teammate from Cleveland. “You didn’t even have to talk to him, you just had to be in the same room, and you felt him.

“His sheer presence was enough to bring someone out of the deepest despair. I can say with all my heart that he changed my life.”

Rovello’s main tennis contemporary in the Pacific Northwest was Max Manthou, a Washington prep star from Kent who plays for UW.

“A part of me has left,” Manthou told the crowd. “We lived such parallel lives. Our parents were all teachers and became great friends. He and I played each other 20 or 30 times, and he got the best of me most of those. It was a beautiful rivalry.”

Manthou’s poignant speech ended with the Husky embracing Schyllander and Piibor in a sobbing, three-man hug.

Rivals but friends, different but the same — Alex would have loved that. Alex always was able to make things like that happen.

One woman remarked about the memorial: “I’ve never seen so many men cry.”

Some cried as they watched Alex’s friends leave their gifts for him at the altar, beneath a poster of his smiling, so-welcoming, so-happy face.

Others wept when Jim Rovello ended the service by asking everyone to listen to a song he said always seemed as if it could have been written about Alex: John Lennon’s “Beautiful Boy.”

Scores of tennis players left notes and stories about Alex for his family and others to read.

“You were an unbelievable partner for me and felt like a brother,” said Daan Maasland, a UO freshman from the Netherlands who played doubles with Rovello this season.

Said Brent Chin, a PIL champion from Grant who just finished his freshman year on the Oregon team: “There are no words that come close describing how much you mean to me, your family and your team. You were always there for me. You were the one who made me the tennis player I am today.”

Chin remembered what it was like for him to play against Rovello in high school:

“It was an honor to even be on the same court. I lost 6-0, 6-0, but you showed me how to be a good tennis player, and you could not even imagine my joy when the next year I played you again and lost 6-1, 6-1.”

Rovello’s impact on people started long before he got to Cleveland, and it will be felt long after Saturday’s memorial.

His preschool teacher, Bob Parker, recalled how the children in Rovello’s group were asked to come up with a name for a new pet rat the teacher had brought for the room.

“We should name it Alex,” one child said.

“The whole class erupted in cheers,” Parker said. “And then one girl said, ‘Yes, I think his name should be Alex ...

because he is very nice and doesn’t bite.’ ”

With injuries behind him, Crouser calls the shots

Kerry Eggers — Sat, 25 May 2013 21:30:18 GMT

Former Barlow star favored to win NCAA shot put title

Ryan Crouser’s next visit to Hayward Field should be much more enjoyable than his last.

The last time Crouser set foot in the historic home of the University of Oregon track and field, he was watching from the sidelines, injured and unable to compete in the U.S. Olympic trials last July.

Nearly a year later, the Texas sophomore out of Barlow High is healthy and the heavy favorite to win the shot put title in the NCAA championships, June 5-8 at Eugene.

“I’m real excited to be coming home,” says Crouser, an overwhelming favorite to claim the shot put title this season. “My grandparents are big track fans and haven’t gotten to see me compete in college. I’m really excited for them and a lot of other family and friends being able to watch me perform.”

Crouser’s school-record throw of 69 feet, 2 1/2 inches — achieved during the Big 12 Championships at Waco, Texas, on May 5 — is light years ahead of Texas Tech’s Kyle Weldon, No. 2 on the collegiate list this spring at 63-9.

Crouser is 12th on the current discus list at 194-6, just short of his personal-record 196-1, set while placing fourth at the NCAA championships last year but well behind 2013 leader Julian Wruck of UCLA at 216-8.

“I’m real happy with where I’m at right now,” says Crouser, on the watch list for the Bowerman Award, given to the nation’s top college track and field athlete. “But I feel like there’s a fair amount more I can do.”

It’s a comeback season after a struggle to stay healthy during and after his freshman year at Austin for Crouser, who as senior at Barlow set three national prep records — the indoor shot (77-2 3/4), the indoor 16-pound shot (63-11) and the outdoor discus (237-6).

He was hampered when he tore a ligament in his throwing hand while placing fifth at the NCAA indoor championships. Crouser nursed it through spring, finding he could throw the discus adequately but had too much pain in releasing the shot.

“I’d tape my whole hand up, tape my fingers together, but I really couldn’t get things done like I wanted,” Crouser says. “That was really frustrating.”

Just as the hand was recovering in July, Crouser developed a throat problem that resulted in surgery to have his tonsils removed. But ill health persisted.

“After two weeks I still felt horrible. I could hardly get out of bed,” Crouser says. “The doctor finally determined I had a strep infection where the tonsils had been taken out.”

In five weeks, the 6-7 Crouser lost 50 pounds to drop to 205.

“I couldn’t even do a pushup,” Crouser says. “I lost all the training base I had.”

Recovery took much of the fall, and Crouser opted to redshirt through the indoor track season to regain strength and get back into shape.

Crouser raves about the contributions of Texas’ strength and conditioning coach, Trey Zepada, and the Longhorns’ throws coach, Mario Setegna, in his progress.

“Trey has worked with me on strengthening the weak links in the chain and, this year, helping get me more injury-proof,” Crouser says. “Mario has done a great job getting me more consistent with technique.”

Crouser threw the discus 194-6 at the Texas Relays on March 30 and has been in the 180-188 range since.

On the same day, he hit a then-PR 67-0 1/2 in the shot, then made a quantum leap of more than two feet at Waco.

“I’ve been real happy with the shot,” Crouser says. “The discus has been touch and go.”

Part of that is his heavy academic load. Crouser chose Texas in no small part due to its mechanical engineering program. He is an excellent student, with a 3.75 GPA during his most recent semester and a cumulative 3.20 mark.

“When school is in session, my usual day on campus begins at 6:30 in the morning and goes until 9 at night,” Crouser says. “Discus requires more practice time than the shot. I’ve only been able to work on the discus three or four days a week. Finals were two weeks ago, so now that I’m done with school, I think my discus can make a jump and get close to my shot performance.”

Crouser has enjoyed his time on the Austin campus, one of the meccas for intercollegiate athletics.

“The track program is great, and the school is, too,” he says. “It’s perfect weather for my training. It’s a big difference from Oregon.”

Crouser’s goal at the NCAA meet is to win the shot put and finish among the top three in the discus.

“If my discus starts clicking like I know it can,” he says, “I think I can be up there and make the podium.”

He’d like to hit the 70-foot barrier in the meet.

“That’s my main goal for Eugene,” Crouser says. “That’s kind of the holy grail for shot putters.”

To qualify, he’ll first have to finish among the top 12 in each event in the West regional event at Austin this weekend. There he’ll meet up with cousin Sam Crouser, a sophomore at Oregon who has the nation’s No. 3 javelin mark at 249-10. They’ve gotten together twice in the past two months — at Austin for the Texas Relays and at Gresham during Texas’ spring break.

“It’s always fun to see Sam,” Ryan says. “I grew up with him. We share such a passion for throwing. He has a pretty good eye watching me throw, noticing little things I’m not doing. It’s nice to have him there when I’m competing.

“He looks powerful heading into the championship part of our season. There’s a lot of potential there.”

Ryan Crouser, who has bulked up to 260 pounds, ranks third on the U.S. shot put list in 2013 behind professionals Ryan Whiting (73-1 1/4) and Reese Hoffa (71-2 3/4).

If he can finish in the top three at the USA championships June 19-23 at Des Moines, Iowa, Crouser will make the U.S. team for the world championships at Moscow, Aug. 10-18.

“I started late this year, so it seems like the season is pretty early right now,” Crouser says. “I haven’t started peaking yet.”

At some point over the next two years, health permitting, Crouser might challenge the collegiate record of 72-2 1/4 set by UCLA’s John Godina in 1995.

“That’s definitely a goal, especially next year, if I can keep progressing,” Crouser says.

kerryeggers@portlandtribune.com

Twitter: @kerryeggers

Police capture pig after struggle

Cliff Newell — Sat, 25 May 2013 21:30:18 GMT

Porker's gambit ends thanks to canny officer, alert citizen

The pig file of the Lake Oswego Police Department has just added another case.

A round but elusive pink pig escaped all efforts to catch it the evening of May 16 near Freepons Park until Officer John Brent of the Lake Oswego Police Department arrived and cornered the annoyed animal. The pig was extremely fast and very loud, but Brent was able to grab the squealing rascal and place it in his patrol car.

The pig was transported to the LOPD’s downtown headquarters and placed in a holding cell. The next move was to contact Officer Ulli Neitch of the Milwaukie Police Department, who is widely known for her work with animals. Neitch said she was just getting into a patrol car to drive to Lake Oswego when she got the word that the pig’s owner had called and had taken the pig back home.

This story had a happy ending, but for a while it was touch and go.

It started on May 16 at around 5 p.m. when Bill Abadie, a resident of Meadows Drive, came upon the pig rooting around in a yard at the corner of Meadows and Hemlock. The action began when Abadie’s neighbor, Betsy Ouchida, came along walking her dog, which spotted the pig and pulled her over so he could get nose-to-nose with the animal.

“The pig was about 25 pounds and pink and white — about the size of a pot bellied pig,” Abadie said. “He wasn’t afraid of us or the dog.”

Abadie sprang into action and tried to capture the pig, but the pig would not allow him to get close. So, Abadie reported the loose pig to police. Fifteen minutes later Brent arrived. He was the right man for the job.

“He’s an expert,” said LOPD Capt. Dale Jorgensen. “He is quite the animal whisperer. Whenever we have weird animal calls he seems to be on duty. He handled the case of the bald eagle caught in the tree and recently with the cougar sightings.”

It was no easy task, however, for Brent to corral the pig, who was determined to keep on rooting. Abadie was fortunate enough to observe the whole incident.

“It was really funny watching him trying to grab the pig and put it in the back of the patrol car,” Abadie said.

Brent kept his sense of humor during the situation, cracking pig jokes the entire time, and finally got the pig in custody by pretending to have food.

Brent’s fellow officers were delighted that he brought in the pig and tried to take photos of it in the patrol car. Only an hour and a half after the pig was put behind bars, the LOPD got a phone call.

“I’ve lost my pig,” a man said.

“We were able to reunite them,” said Jorgensen, who noted there was another pig-on-the-loose incident several years ago.

News that the pig was home again was greeted with relief.

“It was good to hear,” Abadie said. “I’m glad it didn’t end up on somebody’s breakfast table.”

Heavy early morning rain sends sewage into Willamette

Pamplin Media Group — Sat, 25 May 2013 21:30:18 GMT

Heavy rain early Thursday morning caused combined sewage and stormwater to overflow to the Willamette River from three outfall pipes.

Portland’s Bureau of Environmental Services reported that the sewage flowed from a pipe on the east bank of the river just north of the Morrison Bridge; another on the west bank of the river at the Burnside Bridge; and a third on the east bank of the river just north of the Fremont Bridge.

The overflows began at around 2 a.m. Thursday, May 23, and lasted for several hours until heavy rain subsided.

The bureau is asking that people avoid contact Willamette River water north of the Morrison Bridge for a couple of days.

About two years ago, the city completed its $1.4 billion Big Pipe project to reduce those types of sewage overflows.

Group launches recall petition against Langer, urges city ordinance to prevent Walmart from coming

Ray Pitz — Sat, 25 May 2013 21:30:18 GMT

The Sherwood Community Action Committee has to collect 704 signatures before Aug. 15

A group opposed to a proposed Walmart store coming to Sherwood has filed a recall petition against Sherwood City Councilor Matt Langer.

The petition was filed Friday by the Sherwood Community Action Committee, a registered political action committee.

Among wording in the recall, the group claims that Langer has “blatant disregard of the will of the voters” and claims he has a conflict of interest, saying that “his sale of real estate slated for development within the city limits is a clear conflict of interest” based on a recent announcement that a Walmart will be built on property Langer family members own. Langer serves as a spokesman for the family’s real estate company Langer Family LLC.

Sherwood City Recorder Sylvia Murphy said the recall group, which lists Jennifer S. Harris as chief petitioner, has until Aug. 15 to collect 704 signatures in order to place the measure on a future ballot. As of Tuesday evening, 120 signatures had been collected, said Harris.

Want more?
Editor Ray Pitz sat down with Langer this week to discuss the Walmart site, the reaction from the community and the recall.

Murphy said in response to the recall petition, Langer can either choose to resign or fill out a statement of justification.

Once the signatures are validated, and Langer determines whether he’ll resign or submit a statement of justification, an election must be held within 35 days, said Murphy.

During a recent interview, Langer denied having a conflict of interest, saying all issues involving the Walmart zoning and property were decided before he was elected to the Sherwood City Council in 2010. Since then, he has recused himself during other issues related to Langer family property, he said.

Also, as spokesman for the 17-member Langer Family LLC, Langer said he had no official vote on whether Walmart would be selected as the anchor for the 20-acre shopping complex or not.

Meanwhile, during a Sherwood City Council meeting Tuesday, Harris asked the council to consider a variety of ordinances that could bar Walmart from building a store here. Among suggestions were:

• Requiring retailers who have more than 150 employees to request a full-time schedule without fear of a penalty before additional employees are hired. Also requiring a work schedule at least two weeks in advance and providing part-time employees who work at least 15 hours a week with benefits.

• Banning large retailers from staying open 24 hours a day or allowing 24-hour parking.

• Banning sales of firearms within 1,000 feet of a school. St. Francis is within that boundary, said Harris.

• Require that buildings must be reoccupied within a year or torn down at the original retailer’s expense with the building has more than 100,000 square feet of floor space.

Is Haley the Best of the Bunch?

David Ball — Sat, 25 May 2013 21:30:18 GMT

The Gresham senior heads into Saturdays final day at state track two points from becoming the high scorer in big-school history

Gresham senior Haley Crouser has always performed well on the big stage, and she expects no different this weekend at Hayward Field as she wraps up her prep career while operating at less than full strength.

Crouser put together a standout 2012 season that including setting the national high school record in the javelin, earning high-score honors at the state meet and winning the javelin at the U.S. Junior Championships. Not to mention making the finals in the event at the U.S. Olympic Trials.

She had been on the college recruiting radar for a long time, but finished the summer with her choice of top schools. She made visits to UCLA and Texas A&M before deciding to stay closer to home, joining her older brother Sam at the University of Oregon.

“She had some crazy options, but Oregon is so strong with its track and field program,” her father Dean says. “Hayward Field is a different place — you get an experience there that you won’t get anywhere else.”

“All the schools had so much to offer, but Oregon was the best fit for me,” Haley says. “I’ve wanted to go there since I was younger.”

Just when everything seemed to be falling in place Haley hit a hiccup.

For the first time in her athletic career she was facing something more serious than a sprained ankle. Haley entered the season with a bone spur on her right big toe that forced her to fight through pain and adjust her training schedule. It also led to strains in her back, hamstrings and Achilles tendon.

“It started with her toe and has just moved its way up,” her mother Molly says. “She’s a happy, positive person. She knows she will be better — she just has to be patient.”

Haley is expected to undergo surgery to remove the bone spur soon after the state meet.

“I’ve just had to take it all in stride and figure out how to deal with it,” Haley said.

At this year’s district meet, she decided to pass on the jumping-style events that would put greater stress on her injuries. Instead focusing on the throws — winning all three.

That will be more than enough to keep her busy this weekend at Hayward Field where she needs to score 12 points to become the highest scoring athlete in big-school state history. According to her qualifying marks, Haley is slated to score 19 points.

“That’s my main goal for this meet,” Haley says. “After all these years being able to see the payoff at the end is big for me.”

The highlight of her state-meet career came last season when she came into the high hurdles with the fourth-best qualifying time. But she didn’t have her sights set on a middle-of-the-pack finish. In prelims she dropped nearly half-a-second from her personal best to gain one of the premier inside lanes for Saturday’s final.

“After that I knew anything was possible,” Haley says.

She stepped into the starting blocks alongside Jesuit senior Mackenzie Mathews. The gun sounded and the two pounced, clearing hurdles side-by-side while the grandstands roared approval for the closest battle of the weekend.

“It was so intense, just super close the whole way,” Haley says. “I remember being at the finish line and waiting for the names to go up on the scoreboard. When I saw mine flash up there in first place I was super excited.”

She had won by .03 hundredths.

Haley knew something big awaited her when she was 9 years old throwing a hunk of plastic around. It was at that young age that she won her first major title in the turbo javelin (a plastic rocket-shaped spear) at an age-group national meet.

“That always sticks in my mind as when it all got started,” Haley says. “It’s the first time I realized this could be something special.”

Several years later, as a fifth-grader at Dexter McCarty, it was her middle-school coach Kelly Holding who saw the full spectrum of her athletic talent. Soon she was adding the long jump and hurdle races into her regular throwing routine.

“You don’t see many who win state in the shot put, walk across the track and win the hurdles, and oh by the way, hold the national record in the javelin,” Dean says. “What she brings to the table is very rare.”

Her talents extend beyond the track, as she has been a mainstay along the frontline in Gresham’s elite volleyball program, earning second-team all-state honors as a senior.

The University of Oregon plans to utilize her javelin ability to the fullest, but is also exploring options of putting Haley into the heptathlon, Dean says.

But before the Crousers look ahead too far into the future, they are planning one more summer together with fishing trips on the Columbia River and a week in a cabin on a lake in Central Oregon — a family tradition that has been going for more than 20 years.

“We’ve had so many great hours out fishing and camping. Times where it’s 100 degrees out, and the kids hop out of the boat to go swimming — those are the days I’ll remember most,” Dean says. “It’s a big turning of the page, but that’s life and I couldn’t enjoy it any more than I have.”

“I’m sure there will be a lot of tears when September rolls around. But I’m happy to have her close — putting her on a plane to Texas or Los Angeles would have been hard,” Molly says.

“I take it for granted sometimes, but I know I wouldn’t be where I am without them,” Haley says.

Running for a reason

Kate Hoots — Sat, 25 May 2013 21:30:18 GMT

For the Love of Schools fundraiser will be held in Wilsonville on June 2

This time of year, a lot of people run for leadership positions in schools’ parent-teacher organizations. A few people run for positions on the school board. Michelle Tonkin has a bigger idea: She wants you to run for all the schools in the West Linn-Wilsonville School District.

The parent of three children who attend or have graduated from West Linn-Wilsonville schools, she is married to Brad Tonkin, the son of Portland-area auto dealer Ron Tonkin. She also is the force behind For the Love of Schools, a 5K and 10K race to be held June 2 in Wilsonville to benefit four school-supporting groups: Music and Art Partners (MAP), the Wilsonville High School Athletic Fund, the West Linn-Wilsonville Education Foundation and the West Linn High School Athletic Fund.

The Ron Tonkin Family of Dealerships is known for its slogan, “For the love of cars,” as well as for its support of charitable organizations such as Doernbecher Children’s Hospital, the Make-a-Wish Foundation and the Oregon Schools Foundation. In early 2012, the Tonkin organization was interested in starting a local fundraising campaign.

“Schools, that’s always my hot button,” Tonkin said.

From the start, she knew she needed something much bigger than a typical cookie dough or magazine sale fundraiser.

“We send our kids out into our neighborhoods and we keep asking the same people all the time. We wanted a more global reach — we need to get out of our ZIP code,” she said.

The first For the Love of Schools race was held last year and attracted about 150 runners. The Tonkin Family of Dealerships underwrote all expenses associated with the event, so unlike in other fundraising races, 100 percent of each entry fee went to one of the specified causes.

“Why reinvent the wheel?” Tonkin said, explaining her decision to give the money raised through the race to organizations that already were doing the job of supporting West Linn-Wilsonville athletics, music, arts and teachers.

The online entry form allows each runner to choose which group will receive the registration fee. Registrants can select their school affiliation to target their donation or they can use the comment box to identify a specific sport. Teams ranging from cheerleading to lacrosse are promoting the race to supplement their own fundraising efforts — an idea Tonkin enthusiastically supports.

“Coaches shouldn’t have to think about fundraising,” she said. “They should think about coaching.”

A runner herself, Tonkin knows that people enter races not only because of who the organizers support, but also because they enjoy the experience.

“We started this (as) something fun for people to do,” she said.

Now, in its second year, the event will see the addition of an elite race that is attracting top-tier runners from around the Northwest.

“I wanted not just a participation event but also something that others would come to see,” Tonkin said.

Her goal has always been to “start small and grow smart,” letting the race develop in the West Linn-Wilsonville district before slowly expanding it to other area school districts.

However, upon learning that some Portland Public Schools may be cutting arts programs drastically in the next school year, she scheduled meetings with school leaders to discuss the possibility of organizing a separate event there in 2014.

After the race’s success last year, she plans to add other nearby school districts to the Wilsonville event, perhaps as early as next year.

“It’s just adding buttons onto the registration,” she said. “It’s more work, but I want it to work.”

With a long-term commitment to the race from the Tonkin Family of Dealership, she intends to build a track record that will attract business support — especially support from other homegrown Oregon businesses.

“It’s so much better for our community when we have strong schools,” she said.

So far, the plan is working. Registration is up this year, thanks in part to strong encouragement from the running community online. With the race more than two weeks away, registration already is approaching the total number of participants last year. Tonkin said she is expecting a last-minute surge of registrations, and she hopes to double last year’s participation.

The Wilsonville City Council plans to send a team of 25 runners and the city of West Linn is putting a team together too.

“Whoever wants to come support schools, this is a fun way to do it,” Tonkin said.

Volunteers are also needed at the event to staff aid stations, provide directions, help with registration and more.

The event will be family friendly, with options for both walkers and runners. Strollers are welcome, although pets are not. Both the 5K and 10K will be closed-course, chip-timed races, and those with strollers should plan to start toward the rear to avoid entanglements.

Learn more, register online or download a registration form at fortheloveofschools.com.

Good old dogs are not forgotten

Cliff Newell — Sat, 25 May 2013 21:30:18 GMT

Zonneveld preserves memories of precious pooches before they pass

Pauline Zonneveld created sort of a Valhalla for dogs with her photo exhibit this past April at the West Linn Public Library.

In a large room just off to the left of the main entrance, the West Linn resident placed many splendid portraits of dogs. Wonderful in themselves, these photos are made even more poignant because all of the dogs pictured are now gone. They once made this world a better place. But Zonneveld’s unique mission is to preserve sweet memories of those dogs with the people who loved them.

Her effort is called the Good Old Dog Project, and one way Zonneveld had of finding what a great impact she was having came from reading the guest book in the library gallery room.

“People leave notes that bring tears to my eyes,” she said. “They break my heart and make me smile at the same time.”

Zonneveld started her project because of a lost opportunity.

“I had moved to a new neighborhood and there was this old, old dog I fell in love with,” she said. “It was wintertime, so I thought I would wait until spring to take its photos. But in the meantime it passed away. I promised that I would never let that happen to me again.”

Immediately, Zonneveld started contacting pet shops and spreading by word of mouth the message that she wanted to take photos of elderly dogs. She not only had a passion but a profession.

A native of the Netherlands, Zonneveld was already a proficient amateur photographer from her many travels around the world with her husband, Tom Hooker. As she put it, “My camera was my friend. I loved photography for 20 years.”

Zonneveld had already earned master’s degrees in cultural science and Asian studies. Yet she knew she could be happy as a pro photographer, and she was so right.

There was one more major reason for this major milestone in Zonneveld’s life. Five years ago, she became a dog lover herself.

“I got a golden doodle named Maggie,” Zonneveld said. “Before, I had no idea what it meant to have a dog and experience the love, time, commitment and also the friendship with other dog lovers. Now I can’t imagine life without Maggie.”

Now, Zonneveld knows exactly how other dog owners feel when they contact her about doing a portrait of their pet.

“I want to give them something they can laugh or cry about,” Zonneveld said. “People want to remember their dog at their best. When you take a photo it’s a matter of patience and time to get the best out of them. I want to commemorate them and show why they were so special to the people that loved them. I’ve seen tears and laughter from big men who come in here.”

Some dog owners call Zonneveld in plenty of time. Her oldest dog model was 19 years old, and she encounters many older dogs in vigorous health. Perhaps her most satisfying experiences, though, come when she is able to photograph a dog that is near death.

“There was this Siberian husky that was 13 years old,” Zonneveld said. “We were able to make something gorgeous out of it. It’s life still shines through.”

Humor is a big part of what Zonneveld brings to her dog portraits, like one of a malamute howling and another of a dog who was wearing a sweater after having lost much of its fur.

There is one more touch that makes the portraits even more special. Each one is accompanied by a haiku — a saying or proverb that illustrates some quality the dog had in life, such as a memory of a favorite day or an anecdote.

As Zonneveld said, “Something that will make you laugh or cry out loud. The combination of a haiku and a photo is a winner.”

Besides her intense photographic endeavors, Zonneveld is busy spreading the word about her project. It is set for another exhibition at Umpqua Bank in Tualatin and she is looking for more venues.

“It’s important to spread the word,” Zonneveld said. “People tell me, ‘If I had only known about this. I lost a dog last week.’ It’s important that people know what I do.”

To learn more about the Good Old Dog Project, go to paulinephotography.com, or call 503-347-7842.

'American Idol' tour to feature hometown talent

Barb Randall — Sat, 25 May 2013 21:30:18 GMT

West Linn's Aubrey Cleland hopes to see friends among fans in Portland

American Idol Live! 2013 returns this summer for another tour across the United States showcasing the TV show’s top finalists.

The 40-show concert tour launches June 29 in St. Louis, Mo., and includes stops in cities including New York, Los Angeles and Portland before wrapping up in Nashville on Aug. 31.

The “American Idol” tour gives fans an opportunity to be up close and personal with Season 12 “Idol” finalists Amber Holcomb, Angie Miller, Burnell Taylor, Candice Glover, Curtis Finch Jr., Devin Velez, Janelle Arthur, Kree Harrison, Lazaro Arbos and Paul Jolley. Plus, West Linn’s Aubrey Cleland joins the tour as the 11th Idol finalist, thanks to a “fan save” — a twist in the show in which two runners-up competed in a sing-off, with the fan favorite winning a spot on the tour.

“I am very grateful,” said Cleland. “For all the other people in the top 20 their journey was over. And even though my journey on the show was over, I get this amazing opportunity to go on the tour. I am really grateful that they chose me.”

Cleland said rehearsals for the tour will begin May 31, and until then she is relaxing at home in West Linn.

“We don’t know what we’re singing yet, so I can’t really rehearse anything,” she said.

Finalists will perform favorite songs from the season as well as never-before-seen performances.

“I know the music will be fun and upbeat. I’d love to see as many people I know as a I can when we are in Portland. I hope I can make them proud,” Cleland said.

Performing in front of her hometown crowd will definitely be a highlight of the tour, but Cleland is also looking forward to touring through the South and performing in the Nokia Theater in Los Angeles. She is also looking forward to touring with the “Idol” finalists, with whom she became close during the season.

Cleland encourages others interested in pursuing a career in entertainment to keep at it.

“You can’t give up on it,” she said. “This was my third time trying out. ... Put the time in and go do it!”

The American Idol Live! tour stop in Portland is scheduled for July 20. Tickets are available online at AmericanIdol.com/tour and at aeglive.com.

This year American Idol Live! has partnered with the Melanoma Research Alliance. For every ticket purchased for the tour, American Idol Live! will donate $1 to the Melanoma Research Alliance to help cure melanoma, a skin disease whose incidence is among the fastest growing cancers.

Truck stops here: Reality TV comes to city streets

Peter Korn — Sat, 25 May 2013 21:30:18 GMT

Despite red tape, 'Great Food Truck Race' films in Portland

Want proof that food carts are taken more seriously in Portland than in other cities? Seven food trucks arrived in Portland last week to compete in the Food Network’s reality TV show “The Great Food Truck Race,” and Multnomah County health inspectors insisted on visiting and inspecting each truck while it was operating and being filmed. That’s never happened in any other city, says Peter Woronov, the show’s co-executive producer.

Each week the trucks, much bigger and more brightly decorated than typical Portland food carts, alight in a different city and compete to have the highest sales. The food truck making the least money is eliminated and the remaining trucks advance to the next city. The show’s season winner is the truck that takes in the most revenue. The contestants are not seasoned food truck owners.

The victor will get their own food truck and $50,000 to distribute among the three-person teams.

Elsewhere, Woronov says, a health inspector was content to inspect the food trucks on the Friday before they began operating or preparing food. That’s when the seven trucks competing in Portland lined up in St. Johns’ Cathedral Park for preliminary shooting and to get their instructions and money to buy groceries.

But in Portland, according to Woronov, county health inspectors wanted to inspect the trucks while food was being served, which meant Saturday hours for the inspectors.

Saturday and Sunday the seven competing trucks (this was Week 2 of what will be Season 4 and one truck had been eliminated in Week 1) were vying for parking spots and customers. Officials at both Saturday Market and the downtown farmers market reported they had been approached by trucks hoping to secure a prime location. Both markets said no.

On Saturday, one truck was spotted camped in a private parking lot on Northwest 23rd Avenue and another — The Bowled and the Beautiful — had rented space downtown on Southwest Second Avenue and Ash Street. Others were spotted near Jeld-Wen Field, on Southeast Division Street and on Southeast 82nd Avenue.

In previous seasons, Woronov says, producers challenged contestants by removing everything from each truck except what contestants could first remove themselves in five minutes. In an episode last season, producers in Denver booted each truck for a day so they could not move around and forced two of each truck’s three-member team to sit on the curb while one team member took orders and cooked alone.

But in Portland, the biggest obstacle may have come in the form of city ordinances. Portland city code doesn’t allow food trucks to ply the streets as they do in many cities. Here, trucks, or the more typical Portland carts, must be parked off the street, usually in parking lots, if they want to sell food. So “The Great Food Truck Race” contestants were forced to spontaneously find parking spaces during the weekend, paying driveway and parking lot owners for the right to spend the day or a few hours, depending on how sales were going.

Producers tried to keep the filming quiet since the episode shot over the weekend won’t air for three months. But that wasn’t easy, what with the brightly colored trucks moving around town and vendors doing their best to hawk their wares. By Friday afternoon,

social sites such as Yelp were on to the filming. By Saturday and Sunday, similar sites were advertising where the trucks were in place.

“We might be the worst-kept secret in reality TV,” Woronov says. “It’s hard to hide those giant trucks.”

Woronov predicted on Friday that the contestants would find it harder here than in other cities, given that food carts are such a popular Portland cultural institution. Typically, he says, a food truck on the show in past seasons in cities ranging from Los Angeles to Atlanta could expect to take in about $2,000 a day.

“My mom would think (Portland) is a great place to go, but I think Portland’s going to be trouble,” Woronov says. “It’s like stepping into the big leagues.”

That trouble might be overstated, however, if a sample of the Saturday customers at The Bowled and the Beautiful truck downtown were representative. Most of the 20 or so customers in line confessed they were there because of a personal connection to the truck owners. Some were friends of friends in other cities and had been asked through calls or social network sites to support the truck. Others were fans of the TV show and came out to support their favorite contestant. None confessed to being random Portlanders or tourists who just happened to stop for a meal.

The traffic on social networking sites also reported a huge disparity in prices the out-of-town trucks were charging for their food. Apparently some were charging $20 or more for a meal, possibly operating under the impression that they had a built-in customer base no matter what the cost.

Sources Say: Vote didn't end fluoride fight

Jim Redden — Sat, 25 May 2013 21:30:18 GMT

The fight over fluoridating Portland’s water isn’t finished. Voters overwhelmingly defeated Ballot Measure 26-161 in Tuesday’s election, repealing the City Council’s plan to fluoridate the water. But opponents have already filed an initiative petition for a City Charter change to prevent the council from ever doing it in the future. They temporarily stopped gathering signatures during the campaign.

Opponents also are pressing for an investigation into officials at the Oregon Health Authority, whom they accuse of illegally aiding the pro-fluoride campaign on public time. Clean Water Portland, the committee that fought the fluoride measure, released a collection of emails from OHA officials obtained through the public records law the day before the election.

According to campaign chairwoman Kimberly Kaminski, the emails prove the officials worked behind the scenes with the pro-fluoride campaign to pass the measure. She is calling for an Oregon Department of Justice investigation.

Smile, it’s the future of fluoride politics

Although they’re unlikely to admit it, City Commissioners Nick Fish and Dan Saltzman must be wondering what the overwhelming defeat of the fluoride measure means for their re-election chances, especially if opponents place their measure on the primary election ballot.

Fish and Saltzman have both indicted they will run for re-election next year. They both voted with the rest of the council to fluoridate the water last September, then watched as opponents referred it to the May 2014 ballot. Fish and Saltzman then joined the rest of the council to move the measure to Tuesday’s Special Election ballot. At the time, both said they were not worried about the effect it might have on their re-elections.

But now they’ve seen the passions the issue stirred up. And it is possible that some of the activists who worked on the successful repeal campaign might have their eyes on City Hall.

Wiener rhymes with winner

Once again, Portland political consultant Mark Wiener was the go-to man in the May 17 special election. His firm, Winning Mark, worked on all three of the measures that appeared on Portland ballots.

Because Winning Mark provides both management and media buying services, it’s impossible to tell from campaign financing filings how much profit the firm made. But as of election day, the ballot measure committees reported paying it more than $341,000.

The largest amount came from the pro-fluoride campaign, which reported paying Winning Mark more than $198,000. The firm also received more than $164,000 from the campaign in support of the Portland Children’s Levy and more than $79,000 from two committees supporting Metro’s natural lands levy.

The amounts undoubtedly will increase as the filings are updated, perhaps significantly.