A young German's camera puts us in a New York state of mind.

This morning, upon deciding that we should make a run to Kettleman's for some bagels (get 'em while they're real), we made the further decision to go by bicycle. Surprisingly, the tires didn't need air, and so we were on the road without delay. We encountered hardly

Reed College's aging nuclear reactor keeps a-reactin' away, while federal regulators decide whether to renew its license. The "research" facility, which is right on campus next to the psychology building, is

Over in northwest Portland, just west of the I-405 freeway and in the higher letters of the Alphabet District, there used to be some actual industry, especially trucking. Blue collar jobs, like the ones the politicians around here keep telling us they're trying to bring us. But now all those businesses have been chased aw

Here's a wild one in Willy Week: Phil Knight's building a new sports building on the Universi

Here's a tale that does not speak well of what we thought was a sleepy southern suburb of Portland.

Yesterday, on our post about the City of Portland's outrageous $60 parking zone "Gotcha," we got this comment from a poster calling himself or herself "PdxBug

It's amazing that one false move could erase a decade or more of goodwill in a matter or a day or two. But that's what's happened. Stunning, really. Most of the board and officers will probably be gone by

It's Graham Nash's 70th birthday.

In light of our post of last night about the latest $60 "Gotcha" from Portland City Hall, we think that these ought to be posted in the parking zones to alert unsuspecting motorists of the operative rules:

The Portland City Council can easily get one's blood boiling, but in brighter moments it's important to stop and savor the sublime hilarity of their actions. Take the police fitness money scandal, for example -- the one i

Our old partner from law practice, Greg Macpherson, made it official yesterday that he's running for mayor of Lake Oswego. We've always liked Mac as a politician, and were dismayed to see him lose the state attorney general's race at the hands of

Stenchy saw his shadow, which means there'll be two more weeks before the next garbage pickup.

The race to the bottom has never been more apparent. If you live in Portland, you pay money to a company in Spain to keep some well connected local landlord's office building occupied. All in the name of

Here's a new atrocity from Sam Rand City Hall. A reader writes: I recently discovered an interesting and unusual Portland parking law today after I was issued a ticket. I parked in the NE industrial area near Widmer brewery (zone J 2 hour zone) in the morning (9am) and returned again briefly in the afternoo

"Urban renewal" is now officially dead in the bankrupt Golden State. It will take a long time, but eventually

Funny thing -- finally, the City of Portland admits that shooting an unarmed man in the back is wrong. "In the Campbell case, the city hired multiple outside attorneys to represent Frashour and Lewton and two other officer

Is the City of Portland being run by vicious, petty, vindictive people? Here's somebody who thinks so, based on personal experience.

Call us crazy, but we have a theory: Willamette Week really, really doesn't want Eileen Brady to be the next mayor of Portland. We're not sure why that is, but whatever the motive, the Wednesday wonders are pounding on Brady relentlessly, pausing only for the latest

Funny thing. Here it is a Presidential election year, and all of a sudden (a) the official unemployment numbers are down, and (b) there's talk of an imminent strike on Iran, by Israelis armed with weapons, if not aided by soldiers, from the United States. Oh, and watch out for Iranian "terists" here in the "homeland" -- t

We've been leafing through the City of Portland annual financial statements that have just come on line, and we've adjusted the unfunded pension figure on our debt clock (see left sidebar) in light of our findings. As best we can compute, the city'

The City of Portland's big fat annual financial statement for the year ended last June 30 has finally hit the streets. The whole phone book is here. Among the interesting insights it provides is that the city's outstanding bonded debt rose by $493.

One of the reasons for Portland's many problems is that its congressman brings home money only for real estate development projects. He doesn't seem interested in basic government services at all. But he's convinced that

It's hard to like the people who run political campaigns. Now they're sending around snitch sheets to tell you which of your neighbors vote, and which ones don't. Yeah, that's technically a public record,

Every decade or so, the members of Congress get together and scare up some votes for themselves by beating up on the IRS. Some of the laws that come out of these cycles are horrible, but some of them are good. One of the best over the years has

Apparently now it's a sin to live in a detached single-family home. Here's the official word from City Hall.

Helping students stay in school is a great cause, and helping them get into college with the financial aid they deserve is, too. But why is Portland City Hall involved in it, and in particularly, why is the city's pa