The Next Best Thing To $100 Gas Rebates.

[May 10th, 2006] Amid the partial meltdown of Naomi Pomeroy and Michael Hebb 's ripe-Gotham Tavern restaurant empire are some presumably nervous creditors of clarklewis, the only Pomeroy-Hebb property still operating. Records show that lenders include Albina Community Bank (amount unknown), Jean Vollum ($60,000), whose late husband co-founded Tektronix; Missy Vaux Hall ($25,000); Dr. M. Howard Weinstein ($20,000); Eva Kripalani ($20,000), the general counsel at Knowledge Learning Corp.; and Joan Shipley ($15,000), whose family owns Dennis Uniform Co. None of the individual lenders returned Murmurs' phone calls. Developer Brad Malsin, who is not an investor but is clarklewis' landlord, says the restaurant is current on its lease payments.

Although Portland General Electric stock is again trading in New York, controversy still swirls around the utility. Harbinger Capital Partners , the Alabama hedge fund that holds more than 7 percent of PGE's newly issued shares, is declining to comply with Oregon law requiring anybody owning more than 5 percent of a regulated utility to seek the Public Utility Commission's OK. "Harbinger does not have the power to exercise any substantial influence over PGE's policies or actions," the firm's attorney wrote in response to a PUC inquiry. Meanwhile, the City of Portland filed a PUC complaint last week, arguing that PGE and Enron should never have been allowed to file a joint tax return—a strategy that allowed Enron to pocket nearly $900 million in ratepayer dollars intended for the tax collector. PGE has until May 30 to respond.

Rock 'n' Roll Camp for Girls founder Misty McElroy, who resigned last year as the camp's executive director ("Rock Camp Blues", WW, Nov. 30, 2005), is suing the camp's board of directors. The suit filed recently in Multnomah County Circuit Court includes charges that the board forced her to resign and refused to return her equipment. McElroy wants the court to remove the board, reappoint her as camp director, and award her $100,000 in damages . She also requests a permanent injunction against use of her "creative expression," including the camp name. Board member Deane Funk told Murmurs he'd not heard about the suit, but noted the board had recently dismissed McElroy's demand list.

Portland Public Schools' district office tried to regulate KATU 's access to classrooms after the TV station ran a story about an after-school music mentor who also produces rap albums with adult lyrics . An April 28 memo telling principals to refer all KATU calls to the communications office says that a Channel 2 reporter used "inappropriate language in the presence of students." That refers to a May 1 story by KATU reporter Dan Tilkin, in which he brought the offensive lyrics to Vernon Elementary for his report. KATU station manager Roberta Altstadt says Tilkin made "every effort" to ensure he was away from the fourth-graders when he read the lyrics to rapper-mentor Joseph Garcia, and that he stopped immediately when he noticed the kids. Schools spokesman Bob Lawrence says the principals will get a clarifying memo in the next few days to resolve the matter.

When Murmurs last visited The Oregonian's circulation stats six months ago, the newspaper's Sunday subscriber numbers had fallen under the 400,000-reader mark, which is key for charging higher ad rates. Now, the latest figures from the Newspaper Association of America show Sunday circulation has fallen another 2.6 percent over the past six months, to 384,729 readers. Meanwhile, readership of the paper's daily edition over the past four years has fallen by about 7 percent, or 25,000 readers, the latest local evidence of national declines in daily newspaper circulation.

^WEB-ONLY MURMURS!

There's a sequel in the drama of the West Linn High School senior who was briefly expelled (sort of) after screening his film Brokeback High ("Brandon Flyte's 15 Minutes of Fame," WW, March 22, 2006) in class. Flyte's attorney, Patrick Angel, wants the West Linn/Wilsonville School District to pay the student $150,000 after school officials told his client he couldn't go to the prom. Since Flyte patched up the film flap with District Superintendent Roger Woehl in March, he's been suspended again because he's been tardy for some classes. But Flyte contends he's still being hassled for his movie. The school district's lawyer, Peter Mersereau, says the district has "no intention" of honoring the money demand.

We can hear the cash registers of microbreweries ringing already! The Association of Alternative Newsweeklies has announced that Willamette Week will host the trade group's 2007 convention. From June 14 to 16, 2007, several hundred editors and publishers representing 126 newspapers all over North America will descend on our fair city to sample its good cheer, great beer and urban design without peer!

Between construction of a new building near its current home in Northwest and continually trying to raise money for the care of our furry friends, the staff at DoveLewis Animal Hospital has its hands full. Last weekend, Sharpie-brandishing vandals added more crap for the pet hospital to deal with, by leaving graffiti tags all over DoveLewis' current campus and two animal transport vans. Police estimate the cost of repairing the damage at $5,000 and say they have no suspects.