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Jonathan Ferrey - Getty Images
The lead changed twice in less than 8 seconds, but in the end Gonzaga wound up on top of Western Kentucky 83-81 at the Rose Garden.
The tightly contested game came down to a furious close as Western Kentucky stole the lead, only to give it back on a driving layup with less than a second to go.
The Zags head to the Sweet Sixteen next week.
George Fox fans celebrate a 32-0 season and National Title
Thanks to a 60-53 beating of Washington University (Mo), George Fox University gets to hang a national title banner in their basketball arena.
The women’s team set NCAA history as the first team EVER to take the title west of the Rockies, and did it in dominating fashion, carrying an undefeated record through the final game of the Div 3 tournament.
Donors kicked in to pay for limos to ferry the players from PDX to the Newberg campus on Sunday.
The Vikings and the Beavers’ seasons aren’t over yet. Two of the state’s top teams have earned a shot to play in the post season. PSU gets to take on Xavier in the first round of the NCAA tournament (announced Sunday) while Oregon State heads to the CBI (opponent not known at the time of this posting).
We will be doing some maintenance on the site this week in order to debut the BRAND NEW GoodNewsPDX on Monday March 16th (with a few other big announcements as well).
We’ll do our best to avoid any interruptions of the best stories from the Portland area and we appreciate your patience.
–GNPDX
Courtesy of the Oregon Military Department
After a five month stint northwest of Baghdad, 27 men and women are home safely and officially off duty. The two dozen members of the Oregon Air National Guard 116th Air Control Squadron came home on Saturday and got a hearty pat on the back from local Big Whigs like the Governor. Several also walked away with hardware as numerous medals were dished out on the day.
The team spent its time providing support for the Balad airbase.
Welcome home Boys and Girls!
So far, this Monday morning is off to a pretty decent start:
The Dow, the S and P and the Nasdaq are all up this morning thanks to word of the big Merck merger.
Despite snowfall in Eugene, the Ducks baseball team got TWO wins over Santa Clara at PK Park (The double header wasn’t scheduled . . . the teams had to cap off Saturday’s game that was called due to darkness). The Ducks now sit at 6-6 on the season.
And despite this morning’s snowfall, it’s going to be a great week weather-wise. Mid 50s and Sunny.
Thanks to some generous partners, the German American School of Portland is now *cue bad back-up karaoke version of Katrina and the Waves classic 80’s smash* “Runnin’ on Sunshine!”
The school unveiled a massive solar panel system that will suck enough juice out of the sun to power three homes.
4 Pounds of Marijuana
Recently, we’ve seen a rash of really stupid criminals. Crooks, thieves, drug dealers and parole violators who, on their path to getting away scot free, couldn’t help but break the law right in front of watching police eyes. But now, the nogoodniks are taking steps to make it even EASIER for cops to take them downtown.
Consider Jon Burmeister. Heading north on I-5, he (allegedly) decided he needed to pull a U-Turn and head south (maybe he left the oven on). Problem is, Burmeister (allegedly) didn’t wait for an overpass or an onramp . . . he just took off through the center median and then drove against traffic in the southbound lanes.
When a trooper caught up to Burmeister, they found four pounds of pot and determined that he was (allegedly) driving under the influence.
Monday’s Amber Alert ended in Northern California. Kody Kaplon (allegedly) took off with a 3-year-old girl. Thanks to sharp-eyed witnesses, Kaplon was snagged by cops in Yreka, California. The girl is safe and the (alleged) kidnapper is off to jail.
In all of the talk of bailouts and stimulus plans, it’s easy to miss out on all the little pieces that add up to the 800, 900, or 1 trillion dollar price tag.
One of the lesser-reported pieces that has a direct impact on Oregon, is the “budget squeeze” provision. Of the $787 Billion proposed stimulus plan, nearly $54 Billion is earmarked for state budgets. The idea is that cash will help stabilize things on a local level where budgets may have gone topsy-turvy due to the economy.
Oregon is looking at an $800 MILLION shortfall which has threatened schools and public works but the bill gives us about $560 million to keep things afloat.
Even better, the original plan cracked open the federal wallet in July which is way passed Oregon’s budget cycle (like getting a paycheck in July, but the rent is due in March). But, a late change to the proposal frees up that cash a lot sooner. So, when president Obama signs the proposal today in Denver, Oregon can start spending the money right away.
