In a weird way, I'll kind of miss you, too, Jack.

well, at least the Mercury didn't hire someone who knows who Ramblin' Rod is. Come on, this come to out-of-town town outfit selling the fashionably poor glorified music calendar...

meanwhile...over in Beaverton, "The Don" Mazzotti is very busy forming up an 'urban renewal area' on Canyon Road.

Matt made a huge contribution to Portland's press. He turned the Merc around. Before he arrived, most of the Merc's stories involved how much coke the staff shoved up their noses and how many ways you can drop your pants in Portland.

Matt changed that. He'd show up at meetings and hearings (and sober, too). He hunted down sources. Most importantly, he reported. Agree or disagree with his editorial slant, he covered the facts in more detail than just about anyone else in town.

For years I thought that WW was going downhill. That may be true. However, I think it is more likely that the Merc was overshadowing WW.

Good luck, Matt.

I heard him on the radio saying something about how corrupt it is around here.

Gee I wonder whathe was talking about?

I think Matt has made a positive contribution to the journalism here in Portland, and I looked forward to reading his stuff. He will have a lot to report on when he moves on the Big Easy, which is essentially the cesspool of all cesspools when it comes to corruption.

I'm a fan of Matt, and I don't care what anyone else says, keeping up with the Romper Room on SW 4th is going to be quite a bit less interesting and a lot less informative.

How romantic -- but despite the best attempts to cling to and promote their charming corruption accomplishments, Nevada, Arizona, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New Yawk, West Virginia, DC, and several others long surpassed NO/LA. And Oregon's on the "Hot 10" list with a bullet (and no indictment). Sorry, Kingfish. No cigar.

Bon chance, Matt.

If he is headed to the Big Easy to escape corruption, what does that say about Potland?(no sp.) We should put away our hookahs and consider.

Matt made a huge contribution to Portland's press. He turned the Merc around

I'm unclear how "turning around the Merc" was a "huge contribution to Portland's press".

Before he arrived, most of the Merc's stories involved how much coke the staff shoved up their noses and how many ways you can drop your pants in Portland.

As opposed to recent recurring front page stories like (1)Dan Savage touting a homemade porno film festival and discussing the various body cavities, (2)fashion exposes featuring models holding guns in various provacative poses, (3)Interviews with Ron Jeremy, (4) videos of cats pooping, and (5)repeating the word fu*k as many times as possible in every headline?

Get real. The Mercury has never been much--its primary push is soft-core porn, four letter words, and snarky, holier-than-thou hipsterism with a healthy dose middle finger. It's addition of actual content for adults is primarily a result of its parent company saying "do something more or die". Saying Matt Davis did something special for local journalism is like saying Storm Large did something special for local politics.

And the WW, once an actual alternative weekly, is barely any better than that. It's become a parody of itself.

For years, I was afraid to even pick up a copy of the Merc for fear of contracting a social disease, but since Matt came aboard, I have to see he did upgrade news coverage considerably. Yeah, the covers and the features still have that heavy gross-out quotient to attract the kids, but the two or three news pages have had articles of substance and real reporting.

Having met Matt recently, I must add that in person he is a true gentleman.

Now the cop watch is all on you, Jack. I hope Matt continues his work on Alien Boy.

While I generally agree with the consensus about the Mercury itself, I think Matt Davis did a great job reporting on the goings on at city hall. And, having played golf with him a couple of times, I can tell you that he is a true gentleman. He can, and will, do much better than the Mercury.

He needs the sun, and more money, and fewer self-satisfied white people. And to get away from hipsterdom, Sam, and Randy.

All depressives need big changes periodically, or they sink under the weight of stillness.

Good luck, Matt, it was nice knowing you.
Pay a visit to John Kennedy Toole's grave,
and light a candle for me, OK?

I kinda liked Matt, he was a hell of a lot better than Amy Ruiz, that much was certain.

I'll admit that Matt is a friend, and a good one at that. Personally, I saw you both as fighting on the side of the angels, and I suspect that he's going to New Orleans because he's sick and tired of bashing his head up against the wall with City of Portland stupidity. I don't know what's going to happen with the Mercury once he's gone, but I'll tell you this: the Mercury might be a half-assed weekly compared to what the field could produce, but it was a lot better under his editorship than a lot of other weeklies. (Or have we forgotten the morass that was PDXS so soon?)