Please don’t quote us on this

Published 12:00 am Thursday, July 5, 2012

The Oregonian appears to have a double standard on plagiarism

The Portland daily newspaper is all hot and bothered that mayoral candidate Charlie Hales signed a letter to the St. Johns Review that included unattributed passages from one The Oregonian’s news stories. But the newspaper didn’t blink when the Tribune pointed out that it failed to give proper credit when it included two quotes from a Trib news story in an editorial.

The March 3, 2012, editorial urged the City Council to hold the line on utility bills. It noted that Commissioner Randy Leonard supported monthly water bills, even though they would cost more to administer. The editorial quoted Leonard as saying, “If every three months you get a bill for $250, it throws your world off.”

It also quoted him as saying, “People budget, rightly or wrongly, monthly, especially working people.”

But Leonard didn’t say those things to The Oregonian. He said them to reporter Steve Law for a Tribune story published on Jan. 19, 2012.

Even though Tribune Publisher Mark Garber brought the story to the attention of then-Oregonian Editorial Page Editor Robert Caldwell, he didn’t ask for a correction, clarification or apology, and none was offered.

Silence is golden (cha-ching!)

With Hales mired in the plagiarism mess, Jefferson Smith, the other candidate for mayor, did pretty well in June by keeping his mouth shut.

For example, on June 21, Hales promised to limit his campaign contributions to $600 and not accept any out-of-state donations. Instead of winning praise from campaign reform advocates, however, Hales was criticized for not negotiating a joint agreement with Smith before making his announcement.

Smith did not immediately respond to Hales’ announcement. Since June 21, his campaign received six contributions totaling $12,700, more than Hales’ self-imposed $600 limit. At least $4,000 from two contributions came from out of state.

Smith tells Sources he is willing to sign an agreement with Hales that limits contributions to $500, total expenditures to $500,000 and discourages spending by independent committees. If Hales agrees, Smith says he’ll refund the difference he’s received or donate it to charity.

Howdy, partner

It’s almost official. If and when the Portland School Board puts its stamp of approval on the proposed $482 million construction bond measure Monday night, four schools in particular would come out big winners.

All schools across the district would receive overdue upgrades and modernizations, but Roosevelt, Grant and Franklin high schools would be fully rebuilt or replaced, as well as the lesser-known Faubion K-8 School.

The low-income school in Northeast Portland’s Concordia neighborhood has one thing that sets it apart from others that could’ve made the list: a partnership.

For the past four years, Faubion students have been a training ground for 200 student teachers each semester at Concordia University, just 102 steps away.

If voters approve the bond, the $28 million investment into Faubion would deepen the “education corridor,” to potentially include an early childhood development center at Faubion, shared lab space, a health clinic and possible community space. Concordia’s college of education may move to Faubion as well.

“We want to really sign on to the accountability equation, help close the achievement gap,” says Gary Withers, Concordia’s executive vice president. “Clearly, a full vision can’t be achieved without the bond measure.”