News briefs

Athletic director candidates to visit PSU

Two candidates vying for the position of Portland State athletic director have been formally announced and they are scheduled to visit campus and hold open forums this week.

Michael “Torre” Chisholm will be on campus Thursday, March 1, for an open forum from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. in Room 298 of Smith Memorial Student Union. Chisholm is currently the associate athletic director of development and advertising at the University of California, Irvine, a position he has held since September 2000. He has previously served as the assistant athletic director at UC Santa Barbara.

Pete Isakson will be on campus Monday, March 5, for an open forum from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. in Room 329 of Smith. Isakson is currently the associate athletic director for external operations at Washington State University and held that position since June 2003. He was previously the assistant athletic director for development, marketing and promotions at the University of Idaho for five years.

PSU’s previous athletic director, Tom Burman, held his position from September 2000 to January 2006. Former PSU softball head coach Teri Mariani is currently serving as interim athletic director.

-Robert Seitzinger

Sushi restaurant opens on campus

Blue Fin Sushi, located at 1988 S.W. Broadway Ave. in the Broadway Housing Building, opened its doors to diners last week. The restaurant is open Monday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Blue Fin is a full-service sushi bar and serves sushi dishes on a conveyer belt. Beers on tap include Widmer Hefeweizen and Kirin Ichiban, a traditional Japanese brew.

The cost of sushi plates range from $1.25 to $3.50, and traditional Asian dishes such as yakisoba and bento can be ordered from the kitchen. The restaurant also does special order catering and offers diners a to-go menu for take-out orders.

-Robert Seitzinger

State Board approves new doctoral degree at PSU

The State Board of Higher Education approved a new doctoral degree program in sociology and social inequality at Portland State, the first such degree to be offered in the Pacific Northwest.

The program will be effective for fall 2007 and will be housed in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. The degree program will focus on issues such as access to healthcare, immigration and accessibility to higher education.

The new doctorate is a 106-credit-hour program and PSU anticipates that five to eight students will enroll in the program each year.

-Robert Seitzinger

Al Gore accused of using too much electricity

Al Gore, a leading voice in the fight against global warming, is being called a hypocrite by a conservative group that claims his Nashville mansion uses too much electricity.

A spokeswoman for Gore said the former vice president invests in enough renewable energy to make up for the home’s power consumption.

Utility records show the Gore family paid an average monthly electric bill of about $1,200 last year for their 10,000-square-foot home.

The Gores used about 191,000 kilowatt hours in 2006, according to bills reviewed by The Associated Press, spanning the period from Feb. 3, 2006 to Jan. 5, 2007. That is far more than the typical Nashville household, which uses about 15,600 kilowatt-hours per year.

His Nashville home is more than four times larger than the average new American home built last year– about 2,400 square feet, according to the National Association of Home Builders.

A spokeswoman for Gore said he purchases enough “green power”–renewable energy sources such as solar, wind and methane gas–to balance 100 percent of his electricity costs.

-Kristin M. Hall