News headlines you missed over the holidays

Kari Chisholm

I don't know about you, but the two partial work-weeks made this holiday season feel like it lasted forever. And, like me, you may have been a bit checked out of the news (except for following the fiscal-cliff nonsense.)

So, here's a few headlines that you may have missed over the holidays:

• As you know, Senator Jeff Merkley is pushing an effort to reform the filibuster. All expectations were that the Senate would take up his rules proposal on the first legislative day, which was January 3rd. Merkley, and others, have argued that the rules for considering Senate rules changes are different on the first day. Well, Merkley's fight has been postponed to January 22. Apparently, in the U.S. Senate, the "first day" be extended to three weeks later. Go figure. Jeff Mapes at the O has the explanation.

• Previously nominated for the federal bench, Multnomah County judge Michael McShane was sent back to the U.S. Senate by President Obama for a second nomination. Hopefully the Senate will act swiftly this time.

• According to WW, Mary Nolan is being considered for the role of CEO of Planned Parenthood of the Columbia-Willamette. Seems to me that it'd be a perfect fit, both ways.

• Bob Stacey, who will be sworn in today as a Metro Councilor (alongside Sam Chase and Craig Dirksen), is wasting no time - calling for the tolling of both I-5 and I-205 in order to fund the CRC:

If Oregon consents to Washington's plan to toll only 1-5, the result will not only be a big hole in the CRC project budget, but major traffic and livability impacts on the 1-205 and 1-84 corridors on this side of the river

• Multnomah County Sheriff Dan Stanton has decided to continue deporting people suspected of low-level offenses, putting Multnomah County at odds with the practices of places like Los Angeles and Chicago. Curiously, it seems that the Portland Mercury's Sarah Mirk is the only journalist in town covering this story.

• And in one of my favorite stories, Senator Chris Edwards chased off a burglar with a baseball bat:

Edwards, who lives off River Road in the Santa Clara area of Eugene, said he snapped awake to the unnerving sound of his garage door opening.

“My heart just started pounding,” Edwards said. The former South Eugene High School baseball player got out of bed and armed himself with a 32-inch Easton aluminum bat before going to check out the noise.

“I opened my door to the garage and saw a guy standing over by my bikes,” Edwards said. “I yelled at him, ‘What the blank are you doing? Get the blank out of my garage!’ He looked up at me and then took off running.”

• At the stroke of midnight on New Year's Eve, Portland got a new mayor. Congratulations to Mayor Charlie Hales, and a tip of the hat to outgoing Mayor Sam Adams. Wednesday morning, Hales gave an inaugural speech in which he promised to campaign for school funding at the legislature.

• On Friday, Governor John Kitzhaber presided over the swearing in of Secretary of State Kate Brown, State Treasurer Ted Wheeler, Labor Commissioner Brad Avakian, and Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum Rosenblum had previously been appointed to the vacant spot following her primary victory, while Brown, Wheeler and Avakian all won re-election. Congratulations to all four of our statewide Democratic leaders!

Discuss.