The homeless protesters outside of City Hall are continuing to protest for their causes of more affordable housing and the suspension of the sit-lie and anti-camping ordinances despite a split amongst the ranks regarding whether they should leave City Hall during the evening in order to avoid a sweep by the police.

Last night, in a meeting attended by at least 50 of the protesters (see below), it was announced by protest leaders that protesters would no longer be spending the night at City Hall in an effort to avoid police sweeps.

Outspoken dissension ensued, and many people opted to stay at City Hall.

“I’ve been here way too long to let it go,” Laura Miller, 21, said.

“You don’t stand down where you’re in a fight,” Shaggy Simpson, 25, said.

Protesters say that approximately 60 people slept in front of City Hall last night.

Larry Reynolds, one of the leaders of the protest, told WW that the decision was made so that people could find a place to get some rest (it’s a bit difficult to get a good night’s rest in front of City Hall) and also so that the protesters could get re-organized and re-focused.

“We rested not very well last night,” Reynolds said, adding that he got about three hours of sleep last night.

Reynolds says that many people are anxious about the possibility of police sweeps in the middle of the night and have lost sleep waiting for the police to show up. A police sweep did not occur the night of May 12 and 13, as it was expected to, nor were any of the people who spent the night last night swept by the police.

Central Precinct Commander Mike Reese and public information officer Sgt. Brian Schmautz were not available for comment when WW tried to contact them this afternoon.

Reynolds thinks that the threat of police sweeps is only a hollow one.

“I think it is a scare tactic by the Portland police to run us out of here,” Reynolds said.

There is no hint amongst the protesters of giving up or leaving City Hall. However, people do not hold out a lot of confidence that the Mayor or rest of City Council will properly address their concerns.

“Their ears are stopped up,” Miller Miller, 47, said.

Miller was one of four people who testified in front of the City Council this morning on issues related to issues on homelessness and affordable housing.

“The number of homeless families, couples, single men and women and folks with kids far outweighs the number of temporary beds or space available to meet the needs of people,” Miller testified.

Of the way City Council is dealing with the protest, Miller testified that “this is not effective, compassionate leadership. Instead, it demonstrates an inability to recognize this as an emergency.”

“This is like a nightmare from Hell for them, and all they want is for us to go away,” Miller told WW this afternoon.

Throughout the afternoon and last night while WW was at City Hall, many cars driving by on 4th Avenue honked their horns in support of the protesters. Many people who are not homeless have also stopped by City Hall for a few hours or to spend the night with the protesters.

Supporters have even started a website documenting updates of the protest.

“We’ve got a lot of support,” Reynolds said. “We’re just going to continue with trying to get re-organized and keep driving the point until there is some action taken by City Hall.”

Long-time political strategist Elaine Franklin has apologized to Matt “The Law” Lindland, who is running for the Republican nomination in state House District 52 (parts of Clackamas and Hood River counties). Lindland, an ultimate fighter when he’s not running for office, had threatened to sue Franklin if Franklin didn’t apologize for falsely telling people Lindland is a felon.

Franklin is working for Lindland’s opponent, Phyllis Thiemann.

Late this afternoon, Franklin, who is married to former U.S. Sen. Bob Packwood (R-Ore.) issued the following mea culpa:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, May 14, 2008                                                   

SUPER-SPOILER ALERT, Wednesday 8 pm: We know where the end of the Race is filming its finish in Portland! We hear the cops have the access road all blocked off.

• If you don’t want to know where TAR13 is filming, close this post now.
• If you do want to know, click here.
—————

SPOILER ALERT: While fan forums were at first dismissive of the notion that The Amazing Race 13 was in town, it looks, at least from the blogs, that Portland, Ore. is not only on the itinerary, but is THE FINAL DESTINATION. And better yet, it’s all going down at O’Bryant Square, aka Paranoid Park, the inspiration for Gus Van Sant’s poetic film about punky, Portland skaters.

Here is a post from someone who is supposedly in the “know”

I can confirm this is 100% real!! I now know the EXACT location of the finale, but with my love of the race am not willing to subject them to a media frenzy–oh what’s a girl to do. “georgia peach”

DASHING FOR DOLLARS: Forget next Tuesday’s primary, the real race is already underway. Although officials at the Port of Portland cannot confirm rumors, CBS-TV’s The Amazing Race 13, which pits teams against each other in a race around the world, has touched down in Portland now through Thursday, May 15. Who knew? Well, as first reported here, it was none other than local mens panties proprietor, Steven Lien, of UnderU4men. According to Lien, who was pushed out of his normal parking garage to make way for the camera crew on Monday morning, the show looks like it’s staging right behind Broadway’s Benson Hotel. “There are about 20 big vehicles and lots of people in nice shoes and really dark glasses,” Lien told WW. Later that day a few production peeps (alas no Phil Keoghan) who came in to his shop looking for fresh underpants confirmed Amazing’s PDX presence for Lien. A quick web search also confirms that filming for the TV show is scheduled to take place sometime in May.

Let’s hope they have better luck getting half and half from our baristas than the following contestant had milking a camel.

This afternoon, leaders of the homeless protesters outside of City Hall met with Mayor Tom Potter behind closed doors for a meeting they said was pre-planned and not addressing their concerns.

“He already had a response to this meeting before the meeting took place,” Arthur Rios, Sr. told a press conference outside of the Mayor’s office. “He still feels that we are a public safety problem. That’s bullshit.”

Rios gave WW a copy of the Mayor’s statement immediately after Rios left the 45-minute meeting with the Mayor, which begins “Today, I met with five folks who represent those who are protesting in front of City Hall.”

The Mayor did not meet with five people. He met with more than eight, including a three-legged dog.

The statement continues, “I listened to their concerns about homelessness about and City policies, and they listened to mine about public safety and public health issues that are concerns both to the public and to the protesters.”

A little odd that the statement is written in the present tense before he even met with the protesters, as was able to disburse it before a press conference with the media.

When asked why the statement was prepared beforehand, Potter dodged the question, saying that he began the press conference by talking about the issues brought up during the meeting.

Rios and other leaders of the protest requested that the meeting be recorded so the public could be made aware of the conversation. Potter refused, and when asked why information was being kept from the public, he said that was not case.

“That’s exactly what we’re doing right now [in this press conference],” Potter said.

One of the chief requests the protesters made to Potter was to suspend the anti-camping and sit-lie ordinances for four weeks until service providers can meet with the protesters and other homeless people to help them access services and find solutions to their homelessness.

Since the beginning of the protest, Potter has refused to consider suspending or repealing either ordinance.

“I can’t suspend it,” Potter said. “City Council must make that decision.”

When asked whether he would be willing to bring forward the idea of suspending or repealing the ordinances to the Council, Potter said he would not, and justified both ordinances by saying that they are “a valuable tool when police get complaints.”

Rumors of a police sweep that was expected to occur last night have been circulating amongst the protesters outside of City Hall. Many think that it will take place later today. Rios told media present that such a sweep will not break apart the protest.

“We will be prepared,” Rios said, adding that he is willing to be arrested by the police as many times as necessary until a compromise or better solution can be found.

The protesters have been outside City Hall since April 25 peacefully protesting for more affordable housing and the suspension or repeal of the anti-camping and sit-lie ordinances. Up until this week, the police and City have allowed the protest to happen.

When asked why the sit-lie and anti-camping ordinances are being enforced at this point, Potter cited problems with drugs, violence and fights in front of City Hall.

“We are asking that they comply with the protest rules like everyone else,” Potter said, who has maintained throughout the protest that the people outside City Hall retain the right to protest. (Up until today, no one from the protest has applied for a protest permit).

Rumors regarding a police sweep that was supposed to occur last night have circulated amongst the protesters, who think that it will take place later today. Many of the protesters are ready for it, and have packed up their belongings and are prepared to carry on the protest if a sweep happens. Check back to WWire for coverage of a sweep (if it happens).

Here’s a neat trick that shows how candidates getting endorsements from groups such as Basic Rights Oregon and the Service Employees International Union get a nice little benefit in the mailings besieging our homes in the final days before ballots are due in Oregon’s May 20 primary.

Beyond the obvious advantage to these pols of an outside group paying to promote them, these candidates also get a nice piggy-back effect.”

So in the mailing above from Basic Rights Oregon, Kate Brown—running in a very competitive statewide Democratic primary for secretary of state—gets linked in Portland voters’ minds with Sam Adams, who’s in a less competitive mayoral primary.

In this second mailing, SEIU’s two-fer gives Jeff Merkley’s candidacy in a fiercely contested Democratic primary for U.S. Senate a needed boost by linking him with Democratic presidential front-runner Barack Obama, who polls show is running strong in Oregon. (In case you’re curious what Obama’s thoughts are on this primary, be sure to pick up tomorrow’s WW, which has our interview with the Illinois senator.)

You’ve read the stories. You’ve seen pieces of the videos.

But now the whole damn thing known as “Candidates Gone Wild” can be seen, thanks to Portland Community Media, at the following times:

Tuesday 5/13/2008, midnight, Channel 30
Friday 5/16/2008, 11:00 PM, Channel 30
Sunday 5/18/2008, 11:30 PM, Channel 30

Here are some reminders of what you’ll be seeing:
A mock-doc showing WW editor Mark Zusman scheming to scam the voters out of 150 grand, Adrian Chen pumping Nick Fish for tips on losing a race, and Randy Leonard wondering what he has to do to get Sam Adams to hit on him:

Bonus raw footage of Adrian Chen’s incredibly hilarious interview with Randy Leonard:

“The Body Report: Special Edition Elections Edition” ballot workout from Wieden + Kennedy’s Jimm Lasser and David Neevel:


Commissioners Sam Adams and Randy Leonard playing “I Blend Your Milkshake”:

Mayoral candidate Sho Dozono rapping the vote:

Amanda “Ozzy” Fritz:

Charles “Tuff Gong” Lewis (dig the swaying lighters and cell phones):

Bonus raw footage of Adrian Chen’s interview with Randy Leonard:

What a double bill!

In a benefit for the organization MOVE, controversial political activists Ramona Africa and Craig Rosebraugh are scheduled to discuss police repression faced by activists in the United States along with the necessity of direct political action to protect human rights and the natural environment this Wednesday, May 14, 7:00 p.m. at the Clinton Street Theater.

Sounds good eh? Just the kind of thing Portland lefties-in-the-choir love to hear preached from the stage.

But there are some out there who think of these two as criminals at best, terrorists at worst.

A little background:

As part of the Philadelphia organization MOVE, Ramona Africa was part of, depending on who is telling the story, either a loose-knit, African-American activist group, whose members all adopted the surname Africa, advocated a ‘back-to-nature’ lifestyle and preached against technology; or they were simply a cult of child-molesting cop-killers.

Nonetheless, during a standoff with Philly cops in May 1985, a building that housed MOVE members was firebombed by police and all but Ramona Africa and a young Birdie Africa were killed in the blaze that consumed the tenement.

Rosebraugh, as many Portlanders may recall, was the face and voice for the animal-rights group ALF (Animal Liberation Front) and enviro-group ELF (Earth Liberation Front) during a very active time for both outfits during the late 90’s.

After subsequent raids in his home by FBI, BATF and other state and local agencies, eight federal grand-jury investigations and being questioned in front of the U.S. Congress about the actions of the ALF and ELF, Rosebraugh published two books and opened and closed a vegan restaurant. What a busy fellow.

Both are slated to be discussing environmentally themed issues along with the recent parole hearing in Philadelphia for nine other members of MOVE—arrested in a 1978 incident involving a police shooting—and police repression in general.

But a former member of MOVE, Tony Allen, who operates an Anti-MOVE/Mumia Abu-Jamal blog, has sent a press release to Portland accusing the group of being a cult and wants the public to know about Africa’s unfriendly actions toward animals and children. He asked attendees of the event to “do their research” and wondered why the Clinton would host a “cultist who is as twisted as the Reverend Fred Phelps?”

Leroy Jameson, co-owner of the Clinton and a native Philadelphian, says that he hasn’t received any calls regarding the lineup but is hoping for some lively discussion about the events in his hometown. Check it out tomorrow.

John Taboada of Navarre, which is located next to Nueve, also confirmed that the Nueve dining room was closed last night. “Although [Nueve] did provide us with our daily ice delivery that we’ve been getting from them since Navarre opened,” Taboada told WW. “If they are closing, it’s heartbreaking—it’s such a great restaurant.”

No closing messages have been recorded on either Nueve or D.F.’s answering machines and no notes have been pasted on the front doors. Neither restaurant has responded to repeated phone calls. In fact, when we sent a reporter to D.F. this morning she found that the tables were set for service, and a pair of chefs were in the kitchen. They refused to come to the door and speak to her.

To be honest, we’re still holding out hope that the fact that no one involved in the operation is saying a damn thing yet means that there’s a sliver of hope that the restaurants are merely restructuring. And that we’ll still get to eat boar tacos and swill margaritas in the near future.

Demonstrators, who were nearly outnumbered by Portland Police, were told they had to remain in the “Free Speech Area” while carrying signs or banners (funny, we thought that that “area” was the whole country).

Led by Frank Dixon, one of Oregon’s 12 super-delegates, protesters chanted “McCain-McSame, McCain-McBush,” suggesting the lack of difference between the two Republicans.

Dixon, an uncommitted super-delegate said, “we’re here to oppose a hundred years in Iraq.” That’s a reference to how long McCain has said may be the amount of time a U.S. presence is required in Iraq. The protest was low-key, but demonstrators were insistent that John McCain understand that Oregon opposes the war, and would like our troops to come home.

The protest preceded a fund-raising dinner for McCain, at the same hotel, that had ticket prices over $30,000. Must’ve been a helluva McSteak.

WW spent the night with the homeless protesters outside of City Hall, waiting for a police sweep expected to occur early this morning. It has not — yet.

Here I am! (not looking quite as fashionable as usual; photo taken by Chad Witt):

The leaders of the homeless protesters—who have been demonstrating since April 25 for more permanent and affordable housing and the suspension (or repeal) of the city’s sit-lie and anti-camping ordinances—say the scheduled police sweep was canceled due to a meeting with Mayor Tom Potter scheduled for today at 3.

Anticipation and anxiety amongst the protesters about the police sweep had been pretty high late in the evening and early morning. Michael Miller, a 49-year-old protester who has been swept before by the police from underneath bridges, says police would normally awaken sleeping people.

In front of City Hall last night, none of the protesters were sleeping, instead talking, playing cards, or playing instruments.

“Everybody’s ready,” Miller said. “No one’s sleeping.”

By 1 am the number of people outside of City Hall had grown to 140, the largest yet. Not all the protesters are homeless. Many are housed and join the protesters in the afternoon or evening in solidarity. One of those people showing up to support the protest is Danielle Kidd, a 29-year-old emergency room nurse who frequently sees homeless people in the hospital.

“They are making a difference,” Kidd says of the protesters. “They’re giving a new face to homelessness.”

Chad Witt, a 32-year old manufacturing engineer, joined Kidd last Thursday to spend the night with the protesters. Witt spent last night at City Hall as well.

Both Witt and Kidd are opposed to Mayor Potter’s refusal to budge on the possibility of suspending the anti-camping and sit-lie ordinances.

“I think he should suspend them [the ordinances] until they can find better solutions,” Kidd says. “What else are they going to do?”

Jeff Bissonette, a City Council candidate campaigning to fill Sam Adams’ seat, joined the protesters to spend the night with them.

Bissonette says Potter’s agreement to meet with the protesters today is a step in the right direction. But he hopes the mayor’s emphasis on public safety and sanitation in his letter to the protesters won’t distract from “the key points that are at hand.”

“Where do people go to stay in the immediate and longer term?” Bissonette asked. “The Mayor needs to negotiate in good faith, and I would expect no less from him.”

Since the protest began, the City worked with the Salvation Army to open up shelter beds for men and women. The protesters outside City Hall say they don’t want to move into a shelter because of concerns about safety, hygiene and cleanliness.

“I don’t think more shelters are the answer,” Witt says. “I see that a temporary fix. It doesn’t lead to transformation in people’s lives.”

Rumors circulated amongst the protesters that the police sweep will be conducted sometime later today after the meeting with Mayor Potter.

The protesters have already decided they will not disperse or stop protesting once swept.

“This is a lot bigger than I expected this to be,” says Arthur Rios, Sr., one of the organizers and leaders of the protest.

As far as we can tell, no one is yet actively trying to win the “Best Weirdo” category. Elvis has a slight lead over Clyde Lewis and Tres Shannon. I know there’s got to be someone out there who deserves to win in a landslide.

IKEA is, so far, clearly your favorite place to buy furniture. But they ain’t local, folks. Do you really want to give the people’s endorsement to a bunch of furriners? Think it over.

Finally, Geek in the City continues to trounce its competition among local blogs, while Cort and Fatboy are gaining on Rick Emerson as the best radio hosts who aren’t batshit crazy. Fight! Fight! Fight!

They’re coming back. Again.

Like Saturday Night Live’s John Belushi as “The Thing That Wouldn’t Leave,” Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama announced today they’re returning to Oregon this weekend.

Please pass the coffee.

The announcements came just a few hours after Bill Clinton left the Tillamook Cheese Factory during a campaign stop today, two days after Barack left the state on Saturday and three days after Hillary’s stop in Portland on Friday.

We wish the children the best of luck this time. Please bring blankets.

Hillary Clinton hits the state on Friday and Saturday. Obama’s campaign says he’ll be in Oregon on Saturday and Sunday.

Maybe they heard about the great weather that’s supposed to arrive. Or maybe they really do like us.

Places and times have yet to be announced. Stay tuned for details and enthusiasm.

Okay, we’re not gonna lie, we haven’t said the nicest things about this geezer-rock version of Red Robin, but still, it’s always tough to see a local biz tank. We just noticed that this popped up on the Mark Lindsay’s Rock n’ Roll Cafe website today:

Dear Wonderful Customers,
Sadly, we must reluctantly announce the closure of the Rock n’ Roll Café.
We have greatly appreciated your loyal support.
We will have updates regarding further plans on this site as soon as available.

The closure wasn’t a huge surprise, considering that the cafe, named for Portland’s Paul Revere & the Raiders alum Mark Lindsay, was operated by Aequitas Capital Management (and, until recently, owned by the spectacularly failed Cutting Edge Restaurants/Hayden Enterprises). The two companies have already jettisoned most of their properties, including Tondero and Chayote Grill.

We’ll update this post as we get more info.

Last week, Wwire posted a new video from opponents of the proposed Warm Springs casino in the Columbia River Gorge town of Cascade Locks. Opponents, who include the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde, argue that the Cascade Locks location is too far from where most Warm Springs tribal members live to meet a federal criterion that a casino be located within commuting distance for employees.

In a statement, Warm Springs spokesman Justin Yax took issue with the Grand Ronde video:

“Tribal employees currently commute to the Reservation from off-Reservation homes in communities such as Hood River, Sandy, Prineville, Bend and Camp Sherman. Following is a breakdown of one-way mileage that some Tribal employees travel from off-Reservation homes to work on the Reservation:
Location Distance (one way, in miles)

Hood River 83 miles
Bend 58 miles
Sandy 77 miles
Camp Sherman 75 miles
Prineville 56 miles

Commute distances from the Reservation to the proposed Bridge of the Gods Columbia River Resort Casino would vary depending on pick-up and drop-off point, and would be less than what many current Tribal employees commute daily,” Yax said.

Here’s a take on the issue from the Warm Springs tribe’s perspective.

The context for both videos is the public comment period for the proposed casino’s Draft Environmental Impact Statement. Here’s that document, which the feds require as a preliminary step for any project that requires federal approval or funding. Take a look, and if you have a point of view, give the feds your opinion via a link on the EIS.

The public comment period ends May 15.

Holy Money Bags, Batman! The Democratic primary for Attorney General (which is effectively the general election since Republicans failed to field a candidate in this race) is becoming Exhibit A in how union money dominates Oregon elections.

The freshest examples as the May 20 deadline approaches to vote in the primary?

SEIU, which represents public employees and previously gave Attorney General candidate John Kroger $150,000, gave Kroger another $162,500 last week.

The Oregon Education Association, which earlier gave Kroger $25,000, also chipped in another $25,000 last week. Collectively SEIU and OEA have given Kroger $362,500. That’s nearly half the $762,000 the Lewis & Clark law professor and former federal prosecutor has raised.

In the money sweepstakes, Kroger is about $100,000 ahead of his opponent, state Rep. Greg Macpherson (D-Lake Oswego). Macpherson, who angered public employees for his leadership on 2003 legislation that cut public employee benefits, has generated an impressive number of contributions from law firms and corporate interests (he is a pension benefits lawyer at the state’s largest law firm, Stoel Rives). But he has received no contribution larger than $10,000.

Here’s the reference:

You know…Lewis may be on to something. After all, somebody did take the time and effort to upload a decades-old beer commercial into YouTube, because it was that important.
But will that person vote? Should he?

WW caught a sneak peek of the chic boutique hotel as a cast of construction workers in orange jackets and hard hats scurried throughout the building, finishing painting, plumbing, woodwork and marble installations as the opening day careens closer. Built in 1962, the hotel had become so shabby, Mollendor says, that few people were staying there when he and his Seattle-based partners with Posh Ventures bought the property. The Portland State University grad says he saw an opportunity to cater to business travelers coming to the surrounding office high rises. “It was a great find —and a great location,” Mollendor says of discovering the aging hotel himself.

With the Portland streetcar construction underway at the west boundary of the property, Mollendor says they’re shifting the car entrance to Clay Street, and have transformed what was once a swimming pool and circular driveway into a lush court yard, complete with a “living wall,” planters of small trees and fire pits. About half of the courtyard will be devoted to outside dining space, once a restaurant tenant for the 7,000-square-foot space is secured, Mollendor says. The same group of partners, Mollendor says, has opened six of hotels together, including Tacoma’s Hotel Murano and Seattle’s Hotel Andra. Highly regarded Seattle chef Tom Douglas’ restaurant Lola is located in Hotel Andra.

The group purchased the hotel in June of last year and operated it for five months before closing it down for renovation in November. Completing a job of this magnitude is such a short period of time, Mollendor says, is practically unheard of in his industry. “It’s pretty damn amazing,” he says.

Hotel Modera, 515 SW Clay St., 221-1611, http://www.hotelmodera.com/, currently taking reservations starting May 30.