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Last night, in advance of his brief stopover in Portland for a fundraising event at the Oregon Convention Center at noon today, President Barack Obama did not get on the phone with Willamette Week.Instead, Portlandia star and SNL's resident Obama impersonator Fred Armisen granted WW a brief but wide-ranging interview on the President's behalf. The interview touches on lonely Republicans, the case against ...
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At least one prominent Democratic politician looks to be coming through for the Prez’s efforts to stir up excitement (and money) from the Portland faithful. Gov. John Kitzhaber’s office has confirmed that he will indeed be speaking on Obama's behalf at the President's $500-$1,000 fundraising luncheon at noon today, at the Oregon Convention Center. No word yet on whether the Governor will be doing ...
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One of the longest running sagas in local political history—proponents' two-decade long quest for a "headquarters hotel" adjacent to the Oregon Convention Center—may have new life again.The Portland Development Commission budget released Jan. 31 by PDC director Bruce Warner in consultation with Mayor Sam Adams shows the agency will spend 32 percent less money next year overall—$144 million, ...
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It's the year before a presidential election, and supporters of bringing a presidential debate to Portland are trying again for 2012.Similar efforts have failed before. But project manager Mark Kirchmeier says debate organizers have met with officials at the Metropolitan Exposition Recreation Commission and Oregon Convention Center to discuss details on submitting an application to the U.S. Commission ...
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The man responsible for running some of the city's largest venues—the Oregon Convention Center, the Portland Center for the Performing Arts and the Expo Center—is in the crosshairs of Metro Council President David Bragdon, the man who approves his budget. But through an unusual governing structure, Bragdon lacks the authority to fire him. David Woolson is the Chief Executive Officer ...
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Metro Chief Operating Officer Michael Jordan has "regretfully" filed [PDF] a "formal notice of termination" with the group hired to develop a "headquarters hotel" adjacent to Metro's Oregon Convention Center. This notice on Tuesday formalizes what elected officials had already concluded. But like dandelions, kudzu and Freddy Krueger, the proposed hotel —which has been in some stage of ...
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