Given that Portland has more strip clubs per capita than anywhere else, with twice as many strip clubs as Vegas, it really shouldn’t be a surprise that Oregon Republican Party chairman Kevin Mannix is leading a push for a ballot initiative to allow local jurisdictions more power in regulating the nudie business.

According to this KATU article, they have filed a proposed ballot measure with the state. I’d love to find out more about what’s going on, or the details of the measure.

Unfortunately, Googling the name of their PAC didn’t result in any information, and although the KATU article notes that the group opposes the proposed ballot title, the article didn’t bother to give that title…

So in summary, there might be a ballot measure, but we don’t know what it’s called and don’t have any information. And that’s the news.

I enjoy spicy food. Not hot hot hot spicy, but flavorful spicy. One of my favorite spots to get some good flavorful spice is Fire on the Mountain, a Buffalo wings restaurant in N. Portland. Open now for over a year, they have done well for themselves. We go in about every two weeks and it is always crowded. Luckily, we live across the street, so we get our order of wings to go and head home to enjoy.
The menu is pretty great, with appetizers like tatter tots, fries and deep fried pickles. They have a few salad choices and sandwiches. You can get almost any sandwich with whichever sauce you want, so the options become endless. On to the wings. They have both chicken wings and “Portland” wings. Portland wings are meatless for the vegetarians in the house and I’ll tell you this, they are just as good as the chicken. One of the best parts of ordering wings is choosing the sauce to go with it. There are about 12 regular sauces they offer daily, from mild to extra hot to El Hefe (super super hot). Then there is Raspberry Habanera, Bourbon Blue Cheese, Jamaican Jerk, and Chipotle and so on. Usually they have a special sauce that rotates in and out also. Now, you don’t have to stick with just one sauce. Order a 12 piece and get 1/2 with one sauce and the other 1/2 with another. That way, you’ll be able to try different combinations. Also, I’ll warn you now about the hot sauces. They are not Taco Bell hot, they are down and dirty make you cry hot. You’ve been warned. All their food is available to go, so when you want to get something for the big game, give them a call.
Check out Fire on the Mountain, they are truly a local joint with a local feel. They make great food and have always been friendly and fast. In the near future, a national chain will be opening 10 stores in Portland, probably in the strip malls in the burbs, but don’t be fooled by it. Head in to North Portland and try the real deal.

Fire on the Mountain
4225 North Interstate Avenue
Portland; 503.280.WINGS

The Portland Marathon is Sunday, resulting in some road closures for anyone venturing into downtown and close in. Some high profile closures:

The Steel Bridge: W/B closed 6am-2pm; E/B closed from 6am-10am

The St. John’s Bridge: Bridge Ave. (South side of bridge) from Hwy 30 to the bridge CLOSED to ALL vehicular, bicycle and pedestrian traffic from 7am-1:30pm.

The Morrison Brige: W/B lanes CLOSED 6-8:45am.

There are streets closed downtown during the morning and sections of N. Interstate, N. Greely and N. Willamette will be closed throughout the day.

Plan accordingly. Last year, we used MAX to get around and had not issues. Also, if you see the runners throughout the day, cheer them on. There’s nothing like getting a “Woo Hooo!” from the sidelines.

More info on road closures and the Marathon.

Like art? Want to check out one of Portland’s hippest hotels for free. Then head on down to the Affair at the Jupiter at the Jupiter Hotel on SE Burnside. This is a weekend long Art show where different galleries setup their offerings in the rooms. We went last year and it was a blast. We got to wander about and check out the then new hotel rooms and some amazing art. These aren’t just Portland galleries either. There are offerings from around the US. They are having an opening night gala tonight which you may still be able to get into. The event runs through the weekend, so go check it out after you visit the free museum.

Affair at the Jupiter
Jupiter Hotel
800 E. Burnside

It’s a beautiful fall Friday. The sun is shining, a gentle breeze is blowing, and the sound of drums resonates through downtown. Drums? Yes, drums. And singing. The sounds echo off the walls of the concrete arroyos that lead to Pioneer Courthouse Square, like the soundtrack for one of the Westerns I watched as a child. It’s just another example of the surreal living mash-ups that Portland offers up on a daily basis.

What I’m hearing is an American Indian Day Celebration, put on at The Square by the Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board and other local American Indian organizations. The celebration will be held from 3:00 pm to 7:00 pm, and will include “Northwest Tribal leaders, Indian advocates, drum groups, dancers, and arts and crafts vendors who will share their talents and experiences with the Portland community”. And the event is free and open to the public.

It sounds like a cool way to end the work week, but there is also a serious message behind the celebration: It’s intended to help raise the level of awareness concerning the challenges that American Indians continue to face in this country.

MC Chris, he of the many animated voices, among other talents, is doing a signing tonight before his show at Dante’s at Bridge City Comics from 6-7p.m.

Come meet the man behind Hesh and get him to sign some stuff, you know you want to! And check out this video of him performing Fett’s Vette. Gotta love a man who raps about having jets on his backpack.

Bridge City Comics is located at 3725 N. Mississippi Ave.

If you weren’t at the Metroblogging Meetup last night (and a lot of you weren’t), you missed out on some good conversation with some interesting people. We had five or six of our authors there along with Commissioner Randy Leonard and someone from his office (whose name escapes me).

Hot topics of conversation included the water bureau’s conversion to biodiesel vehicles, the automobile purchasing process and local dealers we love or hate, where to find the freshest seafood in town, Asian groceries, and whether or not the “Avenue of the Roses” is a good idea.

We’ll have other gatherings in the future… stay tuned, and we hope to see you there!

Looking for something educational and free to do this weekend? Tomorrow is museum day, where select museums throughout the country are partnering with the Smithsonian and offering free admission for one day.

The only “catch” is that you need to go to the Museum Day website and print out a free admission card.

Participating local museums include:

• Oregon Historical Society (Portland)
• Pittock Mansion (Portland)
• World Forestry Center Discovery Museum (Portland)
• Schnitzer Museum of Art at the U of O (Eugene)
• Science Factory Children’s Museum & Planetarium (Eugene)
• U of O Museum of Natural and Cultural History (Eugene)

This just in from the Belmont Station Beer Forum: Rose & Randrop will be closing at the end of the year.

We were meeting there monthly (or almost sorta kinda every month) for our MB author gatherings at first - the Happy Hour food menu won us over, while the free WIFI was a bonus. We’d gather on the non-smoking side, but would usually have to forego the ‘good’ table, saved for the Scrabble gang that met there regularly. But we moved on once the weather turned nicer to take advantage of the space (and huge patio) at Acme.

I’m thinking we’ll have to head back to Rose and Raindrop at least once or twice more before December 31st. What’s to become of the space, anyway? Rumor has it that it won’t be another restaurant or bar…but it’s also a historic building, which should limit the options, shouldn’t it?

This is George, a tree whose likeness to a man with a bulbous nose is rather spooky until you get to know him. Every day, children walk by George on 27th and Raleigh and pat him on the nose on their way to Chapman School.

George declined to be interviewed for this story. However, he did want to go on the record to say that Tre Arrow is a knob.