Planning to join the spending throngs on Friday and support the local economy by buying holiday gifts?  If so, GoodNewsPDX recommends visiting the Barnes and Noble locations at Lloyd Center and Clackamas Town Center.  These two fine establishments of literature, music, film and espresso will be donating some of their proceeds to benefit SMART (the local organization that helps children through the written word).

Simply tell your cashier you are with SMART and some of your hard spent money will be sent off to encourage the education and reading habits of local kids.

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After passing a tax hike or bond measure, have you ever wondered aloud “hey, what’s happening with that project?”  Thanks to new technology, folks in Clackamas County can check in on construction at four of their local schools.

Ardenwald, Duncan, Rock Creek and Scouters Mountain are all under some sort of construction this winter thanks to a 2006 bond measure.  And as an added level of accountability, the school district has hooked up webcams so that neighbors can check in on progress.

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Usually, when people in Oregon think royalty come spring time, they’re thinking about the Rose Festival Court.  But this year, there looks to be a bigger name grabbing headlines come April.  

Sarah Ferguson.  Duchess of York, Sarah Ferguson.  Best selling author and bloody member of British Royalty Sarah Ferguson.  FERGIE!!!

The Weight Watcher’s spokeswoman and author of 26 best selling titles will make a special appearance at the Elsinore Theatre on April 3rd as a benefit for MedAssist and Project Access Programs.  She’ll deliver an evening lecture and then sign copies of her many books for those who purchase tickets ($25-75 a seat).

For more info visit the MedAssist Website

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The Gearhart Fire Department gets to peak under the tree a little early this year.  Thanks to outside generosity, the GFD will receive a special donation this afternoon allowing them to buy some special fire and rescue equipment.

The donation from a collective of local families as well as the Pacific Power Foundation will be given at a special ceremony today at the Gearhart Volunteer Fire Department including local dignitaries like the Mayor and Fire Chief.

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For those of you who have not been keeping track, the Blazers are currently undefeated at home and well above .500 for the season (playing well with and without Greg Oden).

The UO Mens Cross Country Team won the NCAA Cross Country Championship this week thanks to the fleet feet of Galen Rupp.

And both the OSU Beavers and Oregon Ducks are ranked in the top 20 (17, 18/19 respectively depending on which poll you check).  With a victory in Saturday’s Civil War, The Beavs go to the Rose Bowl and the Ducks are likely headed for the Las Vegas Bowl.  A “W” for the Ducks sends the flock to the Holiday Bowl and the Beavs to the Sun Bowl (with a lot of other combinations possible but those are the most likely).  Incidentally, the last time Oregon laid claim to this kind of relevance on the gridiron was in 2000 when the Beavs and the Ducks were both in the top ten and the Beavers spoiled Oregon’s Rose Bowl hopes with a win in Corvallis (oregon returned the favor the next year, keeping the Beavs out of a bowl and scampering off to the Fiesta Bowl).

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A Shady Grove pastor is putting the Good Book to use in a bit of a unique way.  Pastor Jack bacon was given a 409-year-old bible by his son as a Father’s Day gift (the son picked up the tattered volume at a yard sale for a buck).  

Basically falling apart, despite its age, the book as a whole only could grab a few hundred bucks.  BUT, the Pastor figured out that to own a single page of the volume, people would pay about $75 per sheet.  He’s already raised $23K to repair his church and now is selling the last 200 pages to donate to worthy causes around the world.  Check out more in the Mail Tribune.

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Despite the tanking economy and rising unemployment, the future may not be as bleak for college grads as some would lead us to believe.  According to this story in the Oregon Daily Emerald, students can use the current environment to their advantage . . . you just have to be creative and realistic.

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The staff at GoodNewsPDX thinks Elson Floyd is awesome.  Just, flat out incredible.  Elson is the president of Washington State University.  He went to his bosses (the board of regents) and said “you know, times are tough and I want to lead by example so I would like you to please cut my pay . . . “

“By $100,000.”  Yup, 100 grand.  $100K.  Lots and lots of dollars.  Considering his annual salary of $725,000 that’s a near 14% drop.  In a similar move, UW president Mark Emmert voluntarily gave up a pay raise this year.  

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It’s always nice when rival schools can direct their mutual displeasure towards a positive end, as opposed to simply splattering paper mache effigies of each other during a homecoming pep rally. 

In Washington, Camas and Washougal Students hope to best one another at the Stuff the Bus fundraiser December 5^th.  Students will each park a standard yellow school bus in the parking lot and accept donations of food, clothing, toys and cash.  After six hours, the buses will be weighed with the proceeds going to local charities.

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What can Brown do for you?  How about go green?  UPS is taking a unique approach to tackling the spike in deliveries this holiday season.  Faced with rising fuel costs and the potential environmental impact of running more trucks, UPS is sending out some of their local delivery staff on bikes.

Hauling trailers laden with several hundred pounds of packages, 28 “boys in brown” will be pedaling around Oregon this year.  Right now, they are out running practice routes to get the hang of towing the extra weight and timing how long it takes to get from Point A to Point B while pedaling. 

Drivers say that while it may be tough on their calves, the bikes are a heckuva lot easier to maneuver.  The typical route will require 3-6 hours of riding everyday.

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