It's got kind of a "Pale Rider" feel to it: The quiet, almost monk-like cowboy rides in from the high plains to put right some old scores.
Only it's not the plot for the next Clint Eastwood movie. It's this rumor making the rounds in Oregon politics:
Former Gov. John Kitzhaber's official portrait was unveiled Wednesday evening in the Capitol, but the denim-clad Democrat may not be ready to fade into history books.
Kitzhaber confirmed in an interview after the unveiling that he is seriously considering a run for governor next year, and some political insiders predict the famously enigmatic politician will indeed jump into what is now a wide-open race. [,,,]
Kitzhaber, 62, has been quietly meeting with several key political figures to talk about a possible comeback. Some questioned his intentions after he had weighed -- then rejected -- a run for the U.S. Senate and a run for governor against fellow Democrat Ted Kulongoski in 2006.
"I think that John's state of mind is much better than it was eight years ago," says Portland consultant Steve Novick, who Kitzhaber endorsed in his unsuccessful race for the U.S. Senate last year.
"He seems more relaxed, more friendly, more playful -- and in politics, that matters," adds Novick, who has toyed with the idea of running for governor himself. But he won't get in the race if Kitzhaber runs.
Having a Democratic supermajority in both houses of the Legislature might make any prospective Democratic gubernatorial candidate a little more relaxed. Certainly it's a more pleasant prospect than two terms of butting heads with Republicans, which sums up a lot of Kitzhaber's first tenure in the governor's chair.
Will Kitz take the jump? Are Oregonians ready to let him have a second act? Stay tuned.
Is trespassing now a capital offense in Marion County? Could be:
A 37-year-old Oregon man suspected of trespassing has died after being shocked by police with a Taser device, officials say.
Gregory Rold died at Salem, Ore., Hospital late Saturday after allegedly resisting police who were responding to a trespassing call in the city, The (Portland) Oregonian reported.
And here's the best part of the story:
Authorities said police shot Rold with a Taser device and handcuffed him, later noticing he was unconscious.
"Noticing he was unconscious?" Lucky Rold--after all, if they hadn't noticed he was unconscious then, they might not have noticed later that he was dead.
Four officers are on administrative leave following the incident. Wait--you mean four officers weren't able to subdue Rold without Tasering him? He must be--excuse me, he must have been--a pretty ferocious character.
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Although Oregon's jobless numbers stayed steady at 11.9-12.0 percent from March to April, Central Oregon continues to take a beating. Deschutes County rates rose to 15.9 percent, and Crook County's jobless rate hit 19.9%--a full 11.6% increase from April 2008.
A new report shows the Oregon foreclosure rate has jumped to a level seen only once in the last 30 years.
The Mortgage Bankers Association report released Thursday shows 2.21 percent of Oregon's 636,000 outstanding mortgages were in some stage of foreclosure in the first three months of the year.
The Oregonian newspaper said the foreclosure rate is the highest since it hit 2.23 percent during a recession in early 1985.
An Oregon man spent Memorial Day in jail after calling 911 to complain that a McDonald's worker was rude and didn't give him an orange juice he ordered
I think it's fortunate for everyone that he didn't demand to know what went into his Egg McMuffin.
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Oregon gas prices jumped another 8¢ last week, to $2.585/gallon. (On the other hand, a year ago this week we were still paying over $4/gal.)
Cheapest reported pump price: $2.39/gal, at the Costco at 2828 Chad Dr & Coburg Rd., in Eugene.
Highest reported pump price: $2.79/gal, at the HP Car Wash, 1796 Willamette St & W 18th Ave., also in Eugene--where they must give absolutely fabulous car washes.
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And so the master becomes the pupil: In an odd turn of events, the Multnomah County sheriff who took over for the ethically-challenged Bernie Guisto, and who, at age 70, has over 30 years of law enforcement experience, has been ordered to enter cadet training.
The Oregon agency that certifies police officers says the sheriff of the state's most populous county - a member of the force for nearly half his 70 years - has to go back to basic training.
Multnomah County Sheriff Bob Skipper will become a police cadet next month - possibly the oldest in state history - unless he and other county officials persuade the Department of Public Safety Standards and Training to reconsider. [...]
Skipper returned to the job after 13 years of retirement when Sheriff Bernie Giusto stepped down amid an ethics scandal. His time away from the job meant that he had to seek a waiver to avoid going through the four-month basic training for new recruits, even though he has spent 34 years in the sheriff's office, five as sheriff.[...]
Eriks Gabliks, deputy director for the training agency, said the law is clear.
"Anyone out over five years has to go back to basics unless they remained current somehow in law enforcement," Gabliks said. "He hasn't had that training or experience for more than 12 years. I'm not aware of someone being out that long and coming back."
Skipper argues the state agency should make an exception because the training is designed for new officers, not veterans. He also argues that his job is an administrative position dealing with the budget, personnel and politics of a large county office that would never require him to ride on patrol or make arrests.
And how is Skipper handling the prospect of going back to school? He's not happy.
"My job is not to write citations - I am the CEO," Skipper told The Oregonian newspaper as his office prepares for a $9.4 million budget cut and large-scale layoffs.
"I'm having to back myself out of the middle of all this and say, 'I can't deal with this right now. I have to go off and learn to be a patrolman.'"
Skipper added that retraining him is a waste of taxpayer money.
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If driving among the big trucks rumbling along I-5 between Tigard and Aurora gives you chills, you'll be glad to know that the Clackamas County Sheriff's office and ODOT have teamed up to reduce the number of truck-related accidents along that stretch of interstate. The campaign is called program, called Ticket Aggressive Cars and Trucks (TACT), will put law enforcement officers in the cabs of Ticket Aggressive Cars and Trucks.
TACT focuses on aggressive driving near the vicinity of large trucks in an attempt to reduce truck crashes. Law enforcement officers are riding in commercial trucks, looking for any drivers who engage in risky driving behavior such as speeding, tailgating and changing lanes unsafely.
"It is more than just an enforcement effort -- TACT also involves educating drivers about how to stay out of trouble," Sgt. John Naccarato of the CCSO, coordinator of law enforcement participation in the campaign, said in a press release. "Of course, the bottom line objective is to reduce truck crashes, particularly those in which the car driver is at fault, and reduce the number of people injured or killed on Oregon highways."
The I-5 enforcement exercise is only one facet of TACT, which will focus on driver education, including public service announcements in Portland- and Salem-area movie theaters, throughout the summer.
(Why do they always have to have clever acronyms?)
More PSAs running before the $8.00 movie, and more tickets getting handed out on the interstate. Talk about the old one-two.
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Attack of the genetically modified beets! It may not be Jack Bauer's newest foe on "24," but if this Willamette Valley vegetable seed producer is right, the clock could be ticking on some very bad news for the industry:
Roundup Ready sugarbeets - a patented variety engineered by Monsanto to tolerate the company's widely used Roundup herbicide - have turned up in a soil mixture being sold to gardeners at a Corvallis landscaping supply business just a few miles from [organic seed producer Frank] Morton's fields.
He fears some of those roots may now be sprouting in area gardens. If so, they could soon start to bolt, sending out clouds of pollen that could fertilize his crop of golden chard - a closely related plant - and render it worthless for the organic seed market. It would also negate years of breeding that went into producing an especially cold-hardy line.
Worse still, Morton says, the GMO sugarbeets could cross-pollinate the fields of other chard growers in the area who supply seed to major bagged-salad distributors in California, potentially introducing genetically modified chard into the food system without the approval of federal regulators.
"I'd say we've got maybe two weeks to find it before it starts shedding pollen," Morton said. "I think we've got a ticking time bomb on our hands."
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StS True Animal Story: "Scottie, we need warp power for this lily pad in 30 seconds or we're all dead!" The debate among fans has already begun--is the new Captain Kirk better than the old one? New Spock or old?
As the new "Star Trek" movie continues its strong run at the box office, Oregon Zoo conservationists hope their own Kirk, Spock and Scotty, a trio of rare Oregon spotted frogs, can make a similar splash.
"Much like their namesakes aboard the Enterprise, these frogs serve as ambassadors for their planet," said Tony Vecchio, zoo director. "We hope they inspire visitors to join the zoo in its conservation efforts."
With Oregon spotted frogs disappearing from the wild at an alarming rate, the zoo has opened a new exhibit highlighting the native amphibian and the efforts to save it.
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Tune in to the (Thom Hartmann Show on KPOJ AM620 tomorrow morning between 7am and 8am to hear Carl, Christine,and Paul match wits with TJ on the weekly Spanning the State Challenge!
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