This page contains a single entry from the blog posted on July 3, 2012 7:43 AM.
The previous post in this blog was Souter! Souter!.
The next post in this blog is Only in Portlandia.
Many more can be found on the main index page or by looking through the archives.
Nurse Amanda, staring at a serious chance of losing her Portland City Council gig, is making the state's liquor regulators, the Oregon Liquor Control Commission, her new punching bag. She's on their case not only for flipflopping on the state and city's authority to impose special regulations on downtown liquor sales, but also for their allowing alcohol sales from the city's ubiquitous food carts.
"The latest bait-and-switch by OLCC is another example of the agency showing indifference to problems linked to alcohol sales in local jurisdictions, and a disgraceful lack of transparency and accountability," Fritz said in the statement.
Hell hath no fury like a former psychiatric nurse scorned, apparently. Meanwhile, yesterday we tried to put a face on the OLCC with this post, and as so often happens, a reader who's more in the know than we are e-mailed us to fill in some of our knowledge gaps:
Pharo is a good guy. I have met with him a number of times over neighborhood impact issues. He is an ex-Marine, and as upright and scrupulous as they come. He is honest, fair, circumspect but an excellent communicator, and very dedicated to running a quality organization that will serve the public well. Action-oriented but scrupulously well organized. Good problem solver. Of course, that scrupulous bit puts him at odds with our temporizing politicos who want rule by fiat and only worry about law when the recall gets filed. Pharo knows exactly what his authorities are, and will be creative about trying to get traction without violating them, but he won't violate them. That Kitz wants rid of him is the last nail in the coffin of my respect for Kitz.
I've heard all kinds of wild stories about what is going on behind the green curtain. I'm sure you would have to subpoena Pharo to get him to talk about any of it. Heard that Grocery Outlet wanted to bypass the distributors, but Oregon law doesn't allow it, and Kitz wanted Pharo to green light it by simply pretending it wasn't illegal. Same with the impact area. Law? What law? Heard that the Police Bureau sent a letter endorsing food cart permits, which reached the Commission timely, whereas Council's letter opposing it didn't reach the Commission timely. Heard something about a personal relationship between a Commission member and one of Pharo's subordinates and someone trying to interfere with his supervisory authority. I have no idea how much of any of this is true, but it all sounds believable. Not all smoke means fire, of course, but that's a hell of a lot of smoke. Starts to sound like a script for "The Good Wife." Maybe we could get McDonald on it.
If you like politics, it's pretty interesting stuff.
Comments (7)
"He is honest, fair, circumspect but an excellent communicator, and very dedicated to running a quality organization that will serve the public well."
He's screwed as politician in Oregon - Look at his competition.
I agree. He sounds over-qualified to be happy for long playing in the Oregon/Portland political cesspool.
Also, the story hits on a point I've been wondering about it, which is, how much string-pulling is going on between City of Portland and the State government? Is the State of Oregon being made irrelevant, and is Kitzhaber a willing agent to just hand it over?
Earlier this year, I had a question for the OLCC regarding our license. We were getting conflicting answers from different people within the OLCC. I shot an email to Mr. Pharo to see if he could clarify it for us. He called me back personally and gave me the answer. Not often you get the person at the top to do that!
Charamba, Douro 2008
Horse Heaven Hills, Cabernet 2010
Lorelle, Horse Heaven Hills Pinot Grigio 2011
Avignonesi, Montepulciano 2004
Lorelle, Willamette Valley Pinot Noir 2011
Villa Antinori, Toscana 2007
Mercedes Eguren, Cabernet Sauvignon 2009
Lorelle, Columbia Valley Cabernet 2011
Purple Moon, Merlot 2011
Purple Moon, Chardonnnay 2011
Abacela, Vintner's Blend No. 12
Opula Red Blend 2010
Liberte, Pinot Noir 2010
Chateau Ste. Michelle, Indian Wells Red Blend 2010
Woodbridge, Chardonnay 2011
King Estate, Pinot Noir 2011
Famille Perrin, Cotes du Rhone Villages 2010
Columbia Crest, Les Chevaux Red 2010
14 Hands, Hot to Trot White Blend
Familia Bianchi, Malbec 2009
Terrapin Cellars, Pinot Gris 2011
Columbia Crest, Walter Clore Private Reserve 2009
Campo Viejo, Rioja, Termpranillo 2010
Ravenswood, Cabernet Sauvignon 2009
Quinta das Amoras, Vinho Tinto 2010
Waterbrook, Reserve Merlot 2009
Lorelle, Horse Heaven Hills, Pinot Grigio 2011
Tarantas, Rose
Chateau Lajarre, Bordeaux 2009
La Vielle Ferme, Rose 2011
Benvolio, Pinot Grigio 2011
Nobilo Icon, Pinot Noir 2009
Lello, Douro Tinto 2009
Quinson Fils, Cotes de Provence Rose 2011
Anindor, Pinot Gris 2010
Buenas Ondas, Syrah Rose 2010
Les Fiefs d'Anglars, Malbec 2009
14 Hands, Pinot Gris 2011
Conundrum 2012
Condes de Albarei, Albariño 2011
Columbia Crest, Walter Clore Private Reserve 2007
Penelope Sanchez, Garnacha Syrah 2010
Canoe Ridge, Merlot 2007
Atalaya do Mar, Godello 2010
Vega Montan, Mencia
Benvolio, Pinot Grigio
Nobilo Icon, Pinot Noir, Marlborough 2009
Portuga, Rose 2011
Revelation, Chardonnay, Pays d'Oc 2010
Beaulieu, Cabernet, Rutherford 2005
Monte Alto, Tinto Reserva 2005
Chateau Ste. Michelle, Cabernet, Indian Wells 2009
Espiral, Vinho Rose
Vin-Koru, Pinot Gris 2011
14 Hands, Hot to Trot Red 2009
Rodney Strong, Cabernet, Sonoma 2009
Abacela, Vintner's Blend #11
Portuga, White 2010
La Bourgeoisie, Red 2009
Januik, Red 2009
Three Rivers, River's Red 2008
Kirkland, Alexander Valley Merlot 2008
Muga, Rioja Rose 2010
Quinta das Amoras, Vinho Tinto 2009
Mauro Molino, Barbera d'Alba 2009
Garda Chiaretto Rose
Columbia Crest, Two Vines Vineyard 10 White
Chateau Ste. Michelle, Pinot Gris, Columbia Valley 2009
L'Hortus, Rose de Saignee 2010
Maculan, Pino & Toi 2008
McKinley Springs, Bombing Range Red 2008
Trader Joe's Pinot Gris 2009
Montes Alpha, Cabernet 2007
Gran Sasso, Sangiovese, Terre di Chieti 2009
Garda, Classico Chiaretto Rose
Beaulieu, Cabernet, Rutherford 1999
Picos del Montgo, Tempranillo 2008
Chateau de Montmirail, Vacqueyras 2008
La Granja 360, Syrah 2009
Montgras, Carmenere Reserva 2009
Lange, Pinot Gris 2009
Columbia Crest, Horse Heaven Hills Cabernet 2008
Kirkland, Pinot Grigio 2010
Trader Joe's Coastal Syrah 2009
Columbia Crest, Horse Heaven Hills Merlot 2008
Trader Joe's Coastal Chardonnay 2009
Vieux Papes Red
Domaine de l'Aujardiere, Chardonnay 2009
Santa Rita, Cabernet, Medalla Real 2007
Penfold's, Koonunga Hill Shiraz Cabernet 2008
Guild, Red, Lot #02 2008
Dievole, Dievolino Sangiovese 2008
Laforet, Burgogne Chardonnay 2009
Columbia Winery, Merlot 2007
Bonterra, Cabernet 2008
Elk Cove, Pinot Gris 2009
Maquis Lien 2006
Scott Paul, Pinot Noir, Le Paulee 2007
The Occasional Book
Hope Larson - A Wrinkle in Time, the Graphic Novel
Rudyard Kipling - Kim
Peter Ames Carlin - Bruce
Fran Cannon Slayton - When the Whistle Blows
Neil Young - Waging Heavy Peace
Mark Bego - Aretha Franklin, the Queen of Soul (2012 ed.)
Jenny Lawson - Let's Pretend This Never Happened
J.D. Salinger - Franny and Zooey
Charles Dickens - A Christmas Carol
Timothy Egan - The Big Burn
Deborah Eisenberg - Transactions in a Foreign Currency
Kurt Vonnegut Jr. - Slaughterhouse Five
Kathryn Lance - Pandora's Genes
Cheryl Strayed - Wild
Fyodor Dostoyevsky - The Brothers Karamazov
Jack London - The House of Pride, and Other Tales of Hawaii
Jack Walker - The Extraordinary Rendition of Vincent Dellamaria
Colum McCann - Let the Great World Spin
Niccolò Machiavelli - The Prince
Harper Lee - To Kill a Mockingbird
Emma McLaughlin & Nicola Kraus - The Nanny Diaries
Brian Selznick - The Invention of Hugo Cabret
Sharon Creech - Walk Two Moons
Keith Richards - Life
F. Sionil Jose - Dusk
Natalie Babbitt - Tuck Everlasting
Justin Halpern - S#*t My Dad Says
Mark Herrmann - The Curmudgeon's Guide to Practicing Law
Barry Glassner - The Gospel of Food
Phil Stanford - The Peyton-Allan Files
Jesse Katz - The Opposite Field
Evelyn Waugh - Brideshead Revisited
J.K. Rowling - Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
David Sedaris - Holidays on Ice
Donald Miller - A Million Miles in a Thousand Years
Mitch Albom - Have a Little Faith
C.S. Lewis - The Magician's Nephew
F. Scott Fitzgerald - The Great Gatsby
William Shakespeare - A Midsummer Night's Dream
Ivan Doig - Bucking the Sun
Penda Diakité - I Lost My Tooth in Africa
Grace Lin - The Year of the Rat
Oscar Hijuelos - Mr. Ives' Christmas
Madeline L'Engle - A Wrinkle in Time
Steven Hart - The Last Three Miles
David Sedaris - Me Talk Pretty One Day
Karen Armstrong - The Spiral Staircase
Charles Larson - The Portland Murders
Adrian Wojnarowski - The Miracle of St. Anthony
William H. Colby - Long Goodbye
Steven D. Stark - Meet the Beatles
Phil Stanford - Portland Confidential
Rick Moody - Garden State
Jonathan Schwartz - All in Good Time
David Sedaris - Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim
Anthony Holden - Big Deal
Robert J. Spitzer - The Spirit of Leadership
James McManus - Positively Fifth Street
Jeff Noon - Vurt
Road Work
Miles run year to date: 32
At this date last year: 66
Total run in 2012: 129
In 2011: 113
In 2010: 125
In 2009: 67
In 2008: 28
In 2007: 113
In 2006: 100
In 2005: 149
In 2004: 204
In 2003: 269
Comments (7)
"He is honest, fair, circumspect but an excellent communicator, and very dedicated to running a quality organization that will serve the public well."
He's screwed as politician in Oregon - Look at his competition.
Posted by Steve | July 3, 2012 8:56 AM
I agree. He sounds over-qualified to be happy for long playing in the Oregon/Portland political cesspool.
Also, the story hits on a point I've been wondering about it, which is, how much string-pulling is going on between City of Portland and the State government? Is the State of Oregon being made irrelevant, and is Kitzhaber a willing agent to just hand it over?
Posted by Mr. Grumpy | July 3, 2012 9:33 AM
"and a disgraceful lack of transparency and accountability," Fritz said in the statement."
If anyone would know about a disgraceful lack of transparency and accountability it would be a member of the Portland City Council....
Posted by thaddeus | July 3, 2012 9:49 AM
how much string-pulling is going on between City of Portland and the State government?
It's similar to that between Chicago and Illinois. The main difference is that in Illinois, prosecution and incarceration are distinct possibilities.
Posted by Max | July 3, 2012 10:51 AM
prosecution and incarceration are distinct possibilities
The obvious question is, what gives this place a free ride? Is it because it's "progressive"?
Posted by Mr. Grumpy | July 3, 2012 11:17 AM
Earlier this year, I had a question for the OLCC regarding our license. We were getting conflicting answers from different people within the OLCC. I shot an email to Mr. Pharo to see if he could clarify it for us. He called me back personally and gave me the answer. Not often you get the person at the top to do that!
Posted by Jeff | July 3, 2012 3:39 PM
More troubles for OLCC...racial discrimination lawsuit:
http://www.oregonlive.com/politics/index.ssf/2012/07/oregon_liquor_agency_hit_with.html#incart_river_default
Posted by Rich | July 3, 2012 8:31 PM