Author: Sam Lloyd

Oregon’s January special election could have far-reaching implications for the future of the Congress of the United States.

The election is being held to determine the House representative of Oregon’s First Congressional District and will take place on Jan. 31.It will feature Democrat Suzanne Bonamici, Republican Rob Cornilles, Libertarian James Foster and Progressive Steven Reynolds as candidates. Bonamici is considered the favorite, with Cornilles as the strongest challenger.

Suzanne Bonamici has won the Democratic primary election for Portland’s 1st Congressional District and will face Republican candidate Rob Cornilles in a special election on Jan. 31 to determine who will replace David Wu as the district’s House representative.

Whomever takes home the win in January’s election will hold the position only temporarily; they will have to emerge victorious in next November’s regular election in order to officially begin their first two-year term as a House representative.

Although yesterday’s Democratic race was thought to be without a clear favorite, Bonamici ran away with the victory, collecting a whopping 66 percent of the vote. The next closest finishers were Brad Avakian (22 percent) and Brad Witt (8 percent). Recent figures indicate that around 37 percent of eligible voters cast ballots in the election.

The aftermath of the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan will be presented to the Portland public in a free lecture given by Ken Belson, a New York Times reporter with personal experience in the disaster.

Belson will speak at the Mercy Corps Headquarters (45 SW Ankeny St.) Wednesday, Nov. 2, from 4 to 5:30 p.m. The event was organized by Doug Smith of the Japanese Study Advisory Board, and is co-sponsored by the Portland State University Center for Japanese Studies. It will be held at Mercy Corps largely due to the organization’s extreme relief efforts immediately following the disaster in March 2011.

On Thursday, Oct. 6, Portland State dodged a potential crisis thanks to the actions of a responsible student as well as a useful on-campus resource designed for just such a situation.

A student in Philosophy 416: The Rationalists, while engaged in a heated discussion with professor Angela Coventry, lost control and began to angrily shout at everyone in the room. A more serious situation seemed imminent: several onlookers felt that the altercation was about to turn physical.

Representatives from various organizations throughout Portland have recently discussed a proposal that would raise parking rates in the University District by 25 percent—from $1.60 to $2 per hour. Revenue raised from the fee increase would go toward on-campus improvements in the areas of transportation and public safety.

Portland State’s estimated benefit from the proposed rate hike would be approximately $300,000 annually.