AltWeeklies Wire
University Advocates to Oregon: Hands Off Our Millionsnew
As a result of a decades-old formula, students who together pay about $500 million a year in Oregon tuition and fees unknowingly send their money to the state's general fund. There, the interest earned on their tuition isn't automatically returned to the state's higher-education budget.
Willamette Week |
Beth Slovic |
07-16-2008 |
Education
The Russian Mob Comes to Town with a New Scam: Medical Identity Theftnew
The ease with which Alexandr Shcherbakov and at least one other Russian in Portland bilked the feds illustrates in part why healthcare costs are soaring. "Medical identity theft is the new frontier for organized crime," says Alex Johnson, a former FBI agent who investigates fraud for Regence BlueShield.
Willamette Week |
Nigel Jaquiss |
07-09-2008 |
Crime & Justice
Why Doesn't Oregon Let Bounty Hunters Chase Down its Most Wanted?new
Since 1974, this state has banned bail bondsmen from operating inside its borders -- one of only four states in the country to do so. Critics say it's no coincidence that in Portland alone, there are thousands of wanted criminals walking the streets.
Willamette Week |
James Pitkin |
07-02-2008 |
Crime & Justice
Do Yuppie Hybrid Buyers Really Need a Tax-Break Carrott Anymore?new
Like many states, Oregon has long offered generous tax credits -- on top of existing federal tax credits -- to buyers of new hybrids. But if demand is already high and climbing as fast as the price of gasoline, why keep giving away money?
Willamette Week |
Corey Pein |
06-25-2008 |
Transportation
Utility Giant PacifiCorp Blocks Solar Energy Development in Oregonnew
PacifiCorp has asked the Public Utility Commission to clarify whether the solar installations popping up like dandelions around the state are legal, which put all projects on hold.
Willamette Week |
Nigel Jaquiss |
06-11-2008 |
Environment
Seeds of a Portland Immigration Battle are Sproutingnew
One year after a federal immigration raid at Del Monte Fresh Produce, three ex-workers at the North Portland food-processing plant are trying to lead a class-action lawsuit against the fruit company and the staffing agency that hired them.
Willamette Week |
Beth Slovic |
06-11-2008 |
Immigration
The Death of a Landlordnew
Plenty of people want to kill their landlord. Not many are accused of actually doing it, hacking him to pieces, offing a roommate at the same time, then dumping both bodies 30 miles away in the sticks.
Willamette Week |
James Pitkin |
06-11-2008 |
Crime & Justice
Let the Commencements Commencenew
With pomp and circumstance, commencement speakers try to convince grads that their credits will transfer to the real world.
Willamette Week |
Joe Watts I Chandler Frederick |
06-04-2008 |
Education
Environmental Icon to Plead Guilty to Arson and Conspiracynew
Tre Arrow's decision last week to plead guilty to the longstanding federal charges comes as a blow to his fellow activists, some of whom have spent years fighting for his release while Arrow proclaimed his innocence.
Willamette Week |
James Pitkin |
05-28-2008 |
Crime & Justice
Huge Debt Loads Weigh Down Today's Graduatesnew
The dirty secret of today's economy is that the odds are stacked against the under-35 set. College graduates are hitting the books just to stay even with their parents’ economic performance. They’re paying more for less.
Willamette Week |
Beth Slovic |
05-28-2008 |
Education
Why Build Another Bridge Between Portland and Washington?new
Portland-area pols say global warming is a dire threat -- but they want to spend $4.2 billion on a project that makes driving easier.
Willamette Week |
Nigel Jaquiss |
05-21-2008 |
Transportation
Mercy Corps is Helping America's Image in Ethiopia One Goat at a Timenew
While Mercy Corps gets major publicity when disasters occur, the nonprofit also works throughout the year on myriad projects. One such effort is in the West Hararghe region in remote eastern Ethiopia, where the group has spent about $1 million since 2002 among the region's estimated 1,000 villages to vaccinate animals in an area the size of Maryland.
Willamette Week |
Don Lieber |
05-21-2008 |
International
Reed College: One of America's Most Permissive Drug Collegesnew
The private school with one of the most prestigious academic programs in the U.S. is one of the last schools in the country where students enjoy almost unlimited freedom to experiment openly with drugs, with little or no hassles from authorities.
Willamette Week |
Staff |
05-14-2008 |
Education
Opening Portland's First Day-Labor Hiring Center Turns Out to be a Hasslenew
Plans for the center seemed so simple: a single-wide trailer. Two Port-A-Potties. And as many laborers as could fit under a 30-foot tent. But nothing is ever simple when the city is Portland and the issue is land use.
Willamette Week |
Corey Pein |
04-30-2008 |
Immigration
Black Preachers Struggle in White Citynew
While African-American ministers in Portland rise to defend Rev. Jeremiah Wright's statements as both theologically accurate and needed tonics to America's history of racial oppression, their unanimity disguises a much more local question they say confronts their churches now: How do they make their voices heard in America's whitest city?
Willamette Week |
Aaron Mesh |
04-23-2008 |
Religion
