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Sustainability
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Energy
■City of
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Volume XXXX, Number 29
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•^community service
Established in 1970
Committed to Cultural Diversity
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Wednesday • July 21. 2010
Arrest Busts Crime Spree
M ountain o f stolen
goods recovered
by J ake
T homas
T he P ortland O bserver
photo by J ake
T homas /T he P ortland O bserver
A table top filled with recovered guns that were stolen from cars, buildings and storage units during a six month crime spree are
displayed at a news conference with Portland Police Det. Mark Georgioff(left) and North Precinct Police Commander Jim Ferraris.
Plastic Bag
Ban Drafted
Law would target supermarkets
D rew D akessian
T he P ortland O bserver
by
Portland is gearing up to join the ranks o f other cities, like
San Francisco, in banning plastic bags. Mayor Sam Adams
has made good on a promise to draft up an ordinance banning
single-use plastic bags from supermarkets, but even in a city
that has prided itself on its green reputation the proposal still
faces opposition and isn’t in the clear yet.
Last year, Seattle passed a 20-cent fee on plastic bags, but
was shortly overturned by voters after significant push back
photo by
D rew D akessian /T he P ortland O bserver
Mason Brock turns into a bag monster during a rally in support
a ban on plastic grocery bags in front of City Hall.
Portland police have apprehended a man
whom they believe spent more than six months
prowling cars and storage units, allegedly
stealing what could be hundreds o f thou­
sands o f dollars in goods.
Detectives from North Precinct arrested
37-year-old Michael Pavlicek and charged
him multiple counts o f theft in connection
with at least 100 thefts from storage units and
cars.
Police opened up a room brimming with
the stolen bounty on Thursday. Inside was
a small mountain o f goods. A snowboard,
greasy De Walt power tools, a jacket for ABC
News, a table full o f laptops, a sawed-off
shotgun, a cigar humidor with an Air Force
insignia, taped-up and tattered boxes full o f
electronic goods, even a riding lawnmower,
were among the items recovered.
Speaking to reporters, Det. Mark Georgioff
said that there were easily 35 victims, and
possibly 50 in total. He said that Pavlicek
likely began his alleged spree around De­
cember.
“This guy was rather prolific,” he said.
Police believe that Pavlicek would target
continued
on page 17
from industry groups. In Oregon, similar efforts
have also fallen flat. During the last Legislative
session, Oregon lawmakers punted on a bill
that would ban plastic bags state-wide.
Proponents o f the ban say that plastic bags
are seldom recycled, and create big messes after
making their way into waterways. They also add
to the country’s dependence on oil since it is a
key ingredient in manufacturing them.
The ordinance would prohibit the provision
of'single-use plastic or non-recycled paper
carryout bags at big grocery stores like Fred
Meyer, Albertsons and Safeway or large retail­
ers with pharmacies; require the regulated
stores to charge a minimum o f 5 cents for
recycled paper or compostable plastic bags,
and provide reusable bags, at no cost, to se­
niors and low-income residents.
The ordinance will be voted on in August.
continued
yf
on page 5