In Brief

In Brief

Homeland Security funds secured for Oregon

Gov. Ted Kulongoski announced yesterday that Oregon would receive approximately $32 million in homeland security funding through 208 grants awarded to state and local government programs.

Multnomah County received $4,491,825 for programs that include work on detection, prevention and the response to terrorism, as well as community engagement and emergency operations planning activities.

All of the grant money was funded through the federal Office of Homeland Security.

Kulongoski wades into Willamette River clean-up

Gov. Kulongoski will tour the Willamette River today and tomorrow, spearheading his top environmental project – cleaning the river from top to bottom.

The Governor will tour Portland-area sites on Thursday, including the Portland Harbor, and will be joined by Port of Portland Executive Director Bill Wyatt and City Commissioner Jim Francesconi.

Kulongoski outlined the Willamette River clean-up as his top environmental priority in his State of the State address in March.

More pay for parking – not so hot

Recently, Portland Mayor Vera Katz presented a budget proposal that would extend paid parking hours from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. and to Sundays, in an effort to raise revenue for street repairs.

However, the mayor’s proposal has come under fire, especially from small business owners and downtown churches. Businesses don’t want their clients to have to pay even more to frequent their enterprises, and churches already face enough work bringing in a congregation. Adding more parking fees makes their work even more difficult, they claim.

Francesconi said he is currently opposed to the proposal.

City elections: all about the money?

City Commissioner Jim Francesconi has hit the $500,000 mark in his fund-raising for his mayoral campaign. That is far above the approximately $44,000 raised by his top competitor, candidate Tom Potter.

Potter, who has limited his campaign donations to $25 per person, came under fire from Francesconi, who accused the former police chief of not filing the names of his donors.

State law, however, only requires donors of $50 or more to be disclosed.

A spokesman for Francesconi said their campaign did not feel Potter was acting in the “spirit of the law.”

Potter, whose campaign focuses largely on campaign finance reform, said he was disappointed – though not surprised – by Francesconi’s accusations.

– Sara Gundell