Image provided by: West Linn High School; West Linn, OR
About The amplifier. (West Linn, Oregon) 1921-current | View Entire Issue (May 1, 2008)
2008 15 Oregon has lots to offer—nature, culture, fun! u HlLLI ClAVARELLO____________ Staff Reporter With school ending, students are antsy for summer fun to begin. The Portland- Metro Area has tons to offer the mundane stricken teenager—here are just a few ideas to keep in mind while planning your summer fun: Culture Vulture Places like the Portland Art Museum, the Oregon Zoo, the Japanese Gardens and Pittock Mansion will fill your summer culture quota. Admission at the PAM was recently changed to FREE for students 17 and under. The Oregon Zoo also offers "Two-Dollar-Tuesdays," technically free, students and their families have a great opportunity to get in for free using the local library. The West Linn Library offers "Cultural Passes," in which you and your family and/or friends can request a date to take a cultural excursion, pick up a pass and go. For more Nobody should have to remind you that Oregon If you are looking for just plain fun, you won't have to look far. The Newberg Drive- In, a 40-minute excursion from West Linn, lets patrons take a trip into the past. The drive-in plays modern movies at an old-fashioned venue. Prices seem steep, $7 for each adult over the age of 12 plus a vehicle fee, but once added together most nights at the drive-in cost less than that spent at a modem movie theater, and you can bring your own refreshments. Sellwood's Oaks Amusement Park, about a 20 minute drive from West Linn, is a Portland favorite. Located on the Willamette River for over 100 years, Oaks Park has everything from roller coaster to a roller rink. Obviously it's no Disneyland, but the prices make up for it. A promise for all-day fun is only $14.25, and gate admission is free. Another way you can spend those summer days is checking out Portland's music scene. Venues like the Crystal Ballroom, the Wonder Ballroom, and the Roseland host all genres of music and many open to patrons under 21. And remember the local outdoor concerts at parks like Mary S. Young, Millennium Park, and Waterfront Park too. So, make sure this summer is your best yet; experience some of what Oregon has to offer and you'll be looking forward to summer for years to come, and not just because school is O-U-T! Happy summer! all w as "Grey's Anatom y" w hich left off on the 11th episode of its fourth season. It has returned full force w ith vague voice-overs and M eredith G rey's (Ellen Pom peo) dire need for a shrink. Shonda Rhim es (w riter-director-producer) and the "Grey's" w riting staff condensed the plotlines to fit the season. The season's tw o-hour finale prom ised to be full of cliffhangers. "House" left us w ith the new residents in cutthroat com petition. A lthough m uch of the fem ale audience m isses the love interest betw een Dr. Chase (Jesse Spencer) and Dr. Cam eron (Jennifer M orrison), the audience as a w hole seem s happy w ith H ouse's new entourage, w hich includes Dr. Taub (Peter Jacobson), Dr. Kutner (Kal Penn) and the beautiful, m ysterious, and coveted Thirteen (Olivia W ilde). The tw o-part finale aired M ay 19. The "Office" aired eight pre-film ed episodes of its fourth season before the strike and resum ed on A pril 10. A udiences w ere relieved to find out that Jim and Pam 's relationship finally seem s to be on again, for good. M ichael and Jan's relationship, however, cam e to a screeching halt (hooray!). The show aired a shortened season of 14-15 episodes, instead of the planned 25, w ith the finale airing M ay 15. "Scrubs" ended on the sixth episode of the seventh season. We w ere left w ith enough w ill-they-or- w on't-they tension betw een Elliot and J.D. to break a window, and it has continued to leave us w ith no real evidence of how their relationship w ill ultim ately end. A lot is being debated about the near and distant future of this show. The season ended w ith a special episode directed by Zach Braff him self. NBC has discontinued "Scrubs" for next season, but rum or has it that ABC w ill be hosting the final installm ent "Scrubs." O ther show s com ing back after the strike include "D esperate H ousew ives," airing four to six episodes after its return, "Lost," w hich is currently in the m iddle of airing the rem aining five episodes of the season, "Ugly Betty," amid four to five new episodes and "C.S.I.," w hich w ill w rap up w ith som ew here betw een four to seven new episodes. Unfortunately, m any show s w ere canceled after the strike, including som e in their debut seasons. Som e w ill air in the fall or next January. "Heros" w on't start again until the fall and "24" w ill not return until January, 2009. "Prison Break" is on the endangered series list, and it is predicted that it w ill not return. "Friday N ight Lights" appears to be a goner, unless it is picked up by another station, w hile "Bionic Woman," "Big Shots," "Journeym an," "Las Vegas," "Jericho," "Cashmere Mafia" and "Cavemen" have all been canceled...for good. Food Fiend Portland Saturday Market has been a tradition since 1976. Over the years it has become home to more than 400 artists and vendors. Saturday Market, along with Powells, is one of the main tourist attractions downtown Portland has to offer. At the market, you can view different kinds of art and entertainment, as well as enjoy great food such as elephant ears and true Portland culture including local eclectic bands. Other area farmers markets include the close-to-home West Linn Farmers Market, or farmers markets in Portland, Beaverton and many other areas. Take advantage of buying local and shopping |green at these markets for groceries and other interesting purchases. has some of the best hiking, camping and, in general, outdoor attractions in the nation. Not more than two hours away in almost every direction is a natural wonder with varying terrains. East of Portland is the Columbia River Gorge; home to hundreds of trails, more than 20 waterfalls, and many accessible campgrounds. To the West is the Oregon Coast, which is pebbled with look-outs, campgrounds, and old-fashioned beach towns. In Central Oregon places like Bend and Sisters offer state parks filled with opportunities for biking, fishing, camping and much more. Just Plain Fun A local Portland musician serenades the crowd at Portland Saturday Market. Area outdoor markets are j ust one of the many attractions that Oregon has to offer for summer fun. Photo by Aubree White every second Tuesday of the month, open to anyone who would like to spend time with the animals. Although the rest of these cultural places aren't information, visit the library or library website. Nature Guru April showers bring May finales with return of dramas u K elsey S chrader ___________ Staff Reporter A fter the W riter's G uild finally put an end to the 100-day strike, m uch of A m erica w as left w ondering, "W hat ju st happened, and w hen are m y show s com ing back?!" N ew episodes of show s began trickling back into prim e-tim e slots in April. The strike began over the lack of rights given to W GA by the A lliance of M otion Picture and Television Producers, a trade organization that represents TV producers at com panies such as N BC, ABC and D isney Corp. The strike cost the entertainm ent industry an estim ated $870 m illion dollars, and finally ended last February. O ne show m issed by East coast business hopes to bring service to community ■ K elsey S chrader _________ Staff Reporter N ew b u s in e s s e s are springing up all over West Linn including the m ostly E a s t c o a s t p iz z a c h a in , H ungry H ow ie's Pizza, lo cally ow ned by Tom Bauer and located on W illam ette D rive. R en tin g sp ace, p lacin g advertisem ents and training em p loy ees bu sin esses are only som e o f the challenges o f opening a new business. It took a total of four m onths to open the doors, from N o vem ber w hen they signed the lease to their opening on F e b .1 2 . A very im portant part of introducing a new business into an already-developed city is to involve the business in the com m unity according to Bauer. They hired nine students as em ployees and are helping to sponsor the 2008 senior grad party. A nother im portant start up task is to find an audience. H ungry H ow ie's has used techniques such as m ailing coupons and w ord of m outh to com pete w ith already es tablished pizza restaurants. "The hardest part is get ting people to try [your prod uct] for the first tim e," Bauer said. "They have ty p ically built a com fort zone and a loyalty to another brand. Our job is to break dow n those barriers."
