Old news

This page is where stuff on the main page's news section goes when it changes from news to olds. Observe forgotten current events, humorous behavior and other hijinks of primitive human societies from the dawn of time!

Friday | March 18, 2011

The food coloring gives it an extra kick, you say? How about a head-on collision? Photo by Jonathunder.

St Patrick's Portland legacy: 16 drunk driving arrests
Sixteen drunk celebrators were arrested for driving last night, according to Oregon State Police. While the arrests were three fewer than last year, any of the sixteen could have found their green beer-lubricated partying suddenly cut short by a fatal accident. Designating a driver, taking a bus or the MAX, or calling a taxi are options that still remain ignored by some reckless individuals that would rather risk taking the lives of innocent bystanders than shell out a few bucks or endure the inconvenience of waiting a few minutes for a bus or taxi. Fortunately, there were no fatal accidents last night, but next year the "Luck of the Irish" may run out.

Go to story: On St. Patrick's Day, 16 drink, drive and get arrested

Thursday | March 17, 2011

Small Potatoes

Small Potatoes
Ah, the luck of the Irish! Whether it's boatloads of unruly Vikings storming the Celtic Isle to enslave its "blooming, lively women" and carry them off to parts unknown "over the broad green sea," or planeloads of rapacious neoliberal plunderers swarming in to loot the entire economy, it's the Irish people who're always caught one leaf short of a four leaf clover. But today is Saint Patty's Day! It's OK to drown your sorrows in ale and dance and cheer. And thank ol' St. Patty that you're (for now) spared the luck of the Japanese.

Go to story: St. Patrick Catholic Church.

Wednesday | March 16, 2011

Radiating Peace

Bleached Bones And Jumbled Residues
The nature of the most dangerous cults is that "they are led by unstable, power-wielding authoritarians who believe they alone know the true answers and can change the fate of the world." Shortly after the Dear Leader steps into the "emotional abyss," the people follow. Whether the cult leader is a charlatan preacher promising a "socialist paradise," or a b-grade movie actor cum U.S. President announcing "morning in America," the delusional fantasy always ends badly. The people become upset, and the poison Kool-Aid is dispensed. Absurd economic dogmas, crafted by the most mendacious and powermad among us, are enforced. Wars without end are launched. A torture regime is set in motion. Economic war is declared on working people. Fortunately you're invited to cheer up and bring all that gloomy madness to a screeching halt with a lazy Saturday afternoon march and rally this weekend!

• What: Antiwar Rally & March
• Where: Pioneer Courthouse Square
• Address: Downtown Portland: 715 SW Morrison Street, Portland, OR 97205-3103
• Day: Saturday, March 19th, 2011
• Time: 12:30-1:30 p.m.

Go to story: Rally For Peace

Tuesday | March 15, 2011

Oregon Convention Center, the venue. Photo by Cacophony.

April Fools: Metro invites the public to climate summit on April 1, but makes attendance inconvenient
Metro, the Oregon agency that supports the Oregon parts of the Portland Metro Area, is hosting a climate summit on April 1 that is free and open to the public. The event is intended to bring together local planners, elected officials, and the public to discuss climate strategies. However, scheduled at 8am-12pm on a Friday, and with an unnecessary but required registration, very few interested citizens will likely be able to peek their heads inside. The stated goal to "Learn about public attitudes about climate change" seems insincere when, as usual, convenience for public attendance is either ignored or intentionally discouraged.

Go to story: Metro hosts Climate Summit

Calendar page with details and registration (required, though free): Calendar

Monday | March 14, 2011

US energy consumption by energy source.

More Logos: Desperately Clinging To The "American Dream"
These days lots of hands are wrung over the notion of the demise of the American "middle class" and accompanying disappearance of the fabled "American Dream." Fretting gets evermore earnest as the Great Recession continues to plague most Americans, even as rapacious profiteering by Wall Street's casino operators and corporate chieftains becomes evermore blatant and obscene. But dreams of maintaining lifestyles propped up by massive energy consumption, corporate owned media-induced hallucinations and vacuous consumerism have profound consequences. Among them: endless resource wars, catastrophic ecological collapse, nuclear reactor meltdowns, and widespread ignorance of how and why such havoc persists. If we hope to continue living on this planet, has the time come for an alternate American Dream to emerge? One that doesn't require industrial war mongers and criminal casino operators? One that the whole world can admire? One that is more fulfilling and results in happier people?
Still wanna try and salvage the "American Dream"? Go at it:

Save the American Dream!

• Tuesday, March 15, 2011 - 5:30 p.m.
• Terry Schrunk Plaza, SW 3rd & Madison
• 1200 SW 3rd Ave., Portland, OR 97204

Go to rally page: Defend the Dream Action

Go to story: American Dream

Sunday | March 13, 2011

Tsunami Early Warning System

"A Swirl Of Agencies" Manage To Cooperate
Despite a "hardware glitch" preventing Curry County from using its reverse 9-1-1 system to notify residents, and sirens in Tillamook County that didn't activate, "a swirl of agencies" managed to cooperate anyhow, "ensuring that thousands were evacuated to higher ground." There were no major accidents and no visible panic as improvised warnings were sent out by email, text and Twitter messages. Gov. John Kitzhaber thought "the response of the local folks was really quite remarkable." On the flip side, no massive quake had just severely damaged or completely destroyed emergency response infrastructure, as had just happened in Japan.

Go to story: Tsunami triggered by Japan quake tests Oregon's emergency relief, showing need for education, communication

Saturday | March 12, 2011

Cascadia Subduction Zone

Cascadia Rising! Or Maybe Sliding, Shaking Or Falling...
Japan's unfolding tragedy of a massive earthquake, immediately followed by a devastating tsunami, catastrophic nuclear power plant breakdown, and the quake's major aftershocks is a wake-up call for the Pacific Northwest. Does "the big one" lurk just around Cascadia's corner?

Go to story: Japan tsunami a wake-up call for US west coast: Japan’s earthquake and tsunami is alerting the US west coast that the same kind of thing could happen there. Experts who study the earth’s shifting crust say the “big one” may be past due.

Friday | March 11, 2011

Govenor Kitzhaber to Oregonians: "Head for the hills."

Big In Japan; Small In Oregon; Minuscule Along The Willamette
An "extraordinary powerful earthquake" struck a wide area of northeastern and eastern Japan including Tokyo on Friday at 2:46 p.m. local (Japan) time. At an estimated magnitude of 8.8 to 8.9, the massive quake "the biggest quake to hit Japan since officials began keeping records in the late 1800s." The quake triggered "dozens of fires and a massive tsunami that swept away houses and cars...." Estimates of the number of people killed during the quake and subsequent tsunami had already reached 1000 as PortlandWikiNews went to "press". The first waves from the subsequent tsunami caused by earthquake reached the Oregon coast at Port Orford, Oregon "around 7:30 a.m. PST Friday" according to Geophysicist Gerard Fryer at the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Honolulu. Gov. John Kitzhaber issued a statement urging "all Oregonians along the coast to heed tsunami alarms and follow instructions from public safety officials about heading to higher ground." Waves the size of a small ripple are expected to reach the banks of the Willamette River in Central Portland.

Go to story: Tsunami Swamps Hawaii Beaches, Brushes West Coast

Thursday | March 10, 2011

Potato Champion at Cartopia in inner Southeast. Photo by Sarah Gilbert.

National & international media continues breathless praise/stereotyping of Portland
While satirical TV show Portlandia still loudly echoes through the streets of Portland, national (and international) media attention to Portland's "quirky" culture continues to grow. Nearly all coverage of PDX praises and/or ridicules Portland as a haven for progressives, artists, foodies, hipsters, hippies, punks, and sex workers. Today's scrap of moderately accurate out-of-towner commentary comes from the UK's The Guardian, praising Portland's food scene.

Go to story: Top 10 places to eat in Portland, Oregon.

Wednesday | March 9, 2011

Walls Of Pride Book Release

Walls Of Pride
After gentrification managed to dislodge residents from whole Portland neighborhoods largely to make way for affluent newcomers, the city launched a "Restorative Listening Project" it said was "based on the principles of Restorative Justice which says that only when those most impacted are heard, acknowledged and efforts have been made to repair the harm can the community be made whole again." Some of the gentrified folks, like Norma Trimble, weren't terribly impressed. "That's been our history. They take all you've got. They take your land. Now they want your stories," she observed. Now Portlandians can "celebrate" some of that lost history with the release of Walls of Pride: A Tour of African American Public Art. "Walls of Pride provides a self-guided tour to 20 of the city's African American public artworks through color photos, a detailed map, mural descriptions and artist bios." The event includes brief talks and two short movies: a 16mm documentary on the Albina Mural Project and a piece on the history of In Other Words Bookstore. Refreshments will be provided by E’Njoni Ethiopian Cafe.

• What: Walls Of Pride Book Release
• Where: In Other Words | Portland's Feminist Bookstore and Resource Center
• Address: 14 Northeast Killingsworth Street, Portland, OR 97211-2624, (503) 232-6003
• Bus: N Killingsworth & Williams
• Day: Sunday, March 13th 2011
• Time: 4:00pm - 6:00pm

Go to story: Walls of Pride Book Release

Tuesday | March 8, 2011

Cram these into vending machines to destroy the system from within!

Trimet ticket dispensers treated as ashtrays
Beginning in January, dozens of Trimet's transit ticket vending machines have been taken offline due to a vandal or vandals stuffing the bill intake slot with cigarette butts. Trimet officials have yet to identify the culprit(s), despite heavy video surveillance.

Go to article: Cigarette-butt bandit crashing TriMet fare machines, officials say

Tuesday | March 8 & ¹/₂, 2011

Young women choreographers (and one boy) gather to anxiously anticipate International Women's Day on a makeshift dance floor at the Multnomah Athletic Club at the conclusion of this year's Young Choreographers Competition.

Young Choreographers Compete In Lead-Up To International Women's Day 2011
On Sunday March 6th, dance students were invited to participate in a "unique opportunity to showcase their own choreography in a safe and supportive environment" in the lead-up to International Women's Day (internationally celebrated today, Tuesday March 8 & ¹/₂). Each student's work was "adjudicated by dance professionals." Before sentencing was announced "choreographers receive(d) personal feedback from the judges." Exactly one third of the three judges were woman, in deference to International Women's Day. The private club with a dysfunctional web site charged each young choreographer "only $25.00 to enter," warning that "space is limited." Performers from Groove Nation, Northwest Academy, Studio One Dance Academy, Vancouver School of Arts and Academics, Columbia Dance and Multnomah Athletic Club competed choreographically with one another. Parents, even International Women parents, were charged $4 to observe the choreographical competition, although grudging allowances were made for cashless parents. Even cashless Domesticated Men parents.

Go to story: Young Choreographers Competition

Monday | March 7, 2011

Health Care, Not Wealthfare!

Carefully Crafted Wealthfare For The Few; Totally Botched "Health Care" For All
It's not entirely unreasonable to suspect that the primary purpose of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), more widely known by its "Obamacare" pejorative , was to construct a piece of legislation designed to fail on every legitimate front. This same legislative travesty, however, succeeded brilliantly in key areas--providing opportunities for increased profiteering by private "health care providers," pharmaceutical companies, insurance corporations and so on. It also handed an even bigger gift to the multinational corporations not able to cash in as a direct result of its passage (major resource extractors, Wall Street casino operators, etc.) by giving them all the ammunition they could hope for to further befuddle an already terribly confused and horrifyingly ignorant public. Thus a Tea Party is born. Wall Street's major criminals get off scot-free for their part in unleashing a catastrophic global financial meltdown. Ultra-right Republicans take over Congress, despite having so totally disgraced themselves a short while earlier. And this list can just go on and on.
But not everyone stands idly, merely wringing helpless hands. The Oregon Single Payer Campaign is sponsoring a Legislative Action Day "to support HB 3510 & SB 888, Oregon's Single Payer Health Care Bills." Here's the lowdown:

Legislative Action Day

• Friday, March 11, 2011
• To support HB 3510 & SB 888, Oregon’s Single Payer Health Care Bills
• State Capitol, Salem

Go to info page: Oregon Single Payer Campaign

Go to resource page: Oregon Single Payer Campaign Resources

Go to story: Progressive Models For Health Care Exchanges Emerge

Sunday | March 6, 2011

Wiki volunteers show off more than a baker's dozen of "wiki cupcakes."

Barnraising Party: No Instant Barns, But Lots Of Interesting Discussion, Ideas, Fun!
Sudden illness forced our keynote speaker to drop out at the last moment. Several core PortlandWiki contributors also couldn't make it for similar reasons. And we didn't exactly "raise barns" (make a bunch of immediate improvements to PortlandWiki)...yet. Despite the hiccups, PortlandWiki's Barnraising party was a success. Among many highlights, a few truly stand out: wiki cupcakes!, Street Roots contributing vendor, Sam Al-Jondi (lots of great insights, enthusiasm and a firm grasp of PortlandWiki's potential), out-of-towner Brian Kerr's presentation on what makes ArborWiki so successful. And most of all, the generosity of PortlandWiki volunteers for making getting this party started, and for the wonderful folks who came and celebrated with us. Thank you! Also a special shout out to Schmizza Pub & Grub on 21st Avenue for generously providing pizza to hungry Barnraisers. Show some appreciation and go hit the "like" button on their Facebook page.

Go to story: PortlandWiki Barnraising / Post Event

Saturday | March 5, 2011

PortlandWiki Barnraising Party Today! Central Library!
2:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.!

Today Is PortlandWiki's Barnraising Party Day!
Today we celebrate PortlandWiki's first ever Barnraising Party! What's a Barnraising party? It's where neighbors come together to build something that benefits the entire community. For PortlandWiki, that means building a more useful, informative and fun city wiki for Portland!
Here's the details:
PortlandWiki Barnraising Event
PortlandWiki's Barnraising event is where you help decide which improvements to PortlandWiki are most important, and then help make them.
Participants will enjoy an afternoon of vibrant, real-time collaboration. Share your Portland knowledge and help make PortlandWiki a world-class city wiki. Why would we expect anything less than a world-class wiki from the "birthplace of wikis"?
PortlandWiki's Barnraising event is FREE and open to the entire Portland community. Refreshments and "unique" swag will be happily provided at no cost.

• Where: Portland Central Library at 801 S.W. 10th Avenue, downtown Portland.
• When: TODAY! Saturday March 5, 2pm - 5pm.
• Room: Central's U.S. Bank Room, near main entrance on right as you enter the building.

Go to press release: PortlandWiki:Barnraising/PR

Go to event page: PortlandWiki:Barnraising

Friday | March 4, 2011

Go on! Make a new friend.

Friends & Neighbors
Good news! You have an opportunity to attend a workshop that promises to show you how to "make friends of your neighbor." At the workshop, you can "learn tools and strategies for building positive relationships with your neighbors and community."

• When: Wednesday, March 23rd
• Time: 6:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.
• Where: Friendly House, 1737 NW 26th Avenue, Portland, OR 97210

Go to story: Great Community Building Free Workshop!

Thursday | March 3, 2011

Hooked on "mindful meat."

From The "Whole Animal Experts"
Did you know that "Porchetta, the unofficial darling of the Portland foodie crowd, is a traditional Italian preparation"? Or that "you can find porchetta sandwich interpretations at food carts (Lardo, The People’s Pig), or you can learn to prepare it on your own"? Or that porchetta is "the entire body of a pig, deboned, carefully taken apart and stuffed (herbs, meat, fat, vegetables), then put back together in its original shape and roasted on a spit"? Well, neither did PortlandWikiNews, until just now! Whew. Makes me hungry just thinking about it.

Go to story: Mindful Meat: How to Use Every Juicy Morsel, From Nose-to-Tail

Wednesday | March 2, 2011

PortlandWiki Barnraising Party This Saturday!

You're Invited To PortlandWiki's Barnraising Party This Saturday!
"The wiki has left the barn!" Rather, PortlandWiki has no barn. But that's all gonna change this Saturday at PortlandWiki's first ever Barnraising Party! What's a Barnraising party? It's where neighbors come together to build something that benefits the entire community. In our case, that something is a better, usefuller and funner city wiki for Portland! (And maybe some remedial English tutorials aimed at preventing PortlandWikiNews contributors from using words like "usefuller" and "funner.")
Here's the lowdown:
PortlandWiki Barnraising Event
PortlandWiki's Barnraising event is where you help decide which improvements to PortlandWiki are most important, and then help make them.
Attendees will enjoy an afternoon of vibrant, real-time collaboration. Share your Portland knowledge and help make PortlandWiki a world-class city wiki. Why would we expect anything less than a world-class wiki from the "birthplace of wikis"?
PortlandWiki's Barnraising event is FREE and open to the entire Portland community. Refreshments and "unique" swag will be happily provided at no cost.

• Where: Portland Central Library at 801 S.W. 10th Avenue, downtown Portland.
• When: Saturday March 5, 2pm - 5pm.
• Room: Central's U.S. Bank Room, near main entrance on right as you enter the building.

Go to press release: PortlandWiki:Barnraising/PR

Go to event page: PortlandWiki:Barnraising

Tuesday | March 1, 2011

Inside Reed College's Hauser Library. Photo by Cacophony

Reed College tries to shut down copycat scam website
Reed College, the prestigious liberal arts college in inner Southeast, is attempting to battle a scam website that duplicated theirs in its entire look and content, other than the name: "University of Redwood". The clone site's game seems to be to scam prospective students in China out of application fees. Reed discovered the site in October, but is still trying to put it out of business. Reed was able to temporarily get the site shut down, but its host, GoDaddy, let it back up after an inquiry. In the meantime, Reed has been forced to quickly redesign their own online portal.

Reed College: "Reed College was founded in 1908, and its first classes were held in 1911. Reed is named for Oregon pioneers Simeon and Amanda Reed. Simeon Reed had been an entrepreneur..."

"Redwood College": "University of Redwood was founded in 1908 and was operational in 1911. Redwood is named after the Oregon pioneers Simeon and Amanda Redwood. Simon Redwood had been an entrepreneur."

Go to story: Scammers 'steal' university website

Go to story: Reed College website cloned by scammers in China

Go to story: Reed College Targeted by Clone Website Scam

Earlier Months

• February 2011

• January 2011

• December 2010

• November 2010

• October 2010

• September 2010

• August 2010

• Early 2010

• Late 2009