Andanh.com

By Craig Edwards

Lightning did not strike twice for the Blazers. After hitting the Draft Lottery jackpot in 2007, Portland heard its name called early in the 2008 proceedings. They're scheduled to pick 13th this year... emphasis on the "scheduled."

GM Kevin Pritchard and company have a lot of options with their pick. They can hold position, and draft for need and depth. They can trade the pick for a veteran or future pick. They can also gamble and try to trade up, and add one more young star to their nucleus. There are lots of options.

What do you think the Blazers should do with their pick?

A newsroom can be a very noisy place. I've had the good fortune to be relatively quiet and just listen today as everyone bustles about with all our election coverage. It's really pretty incredible how everyone comes together and pulls off so much... content. It's a feat!

But because we have so much Decision 2008 ground to cover, I'm not working on health stuff today. So, let me take a quick moment to share a few emails with you.

About the Stretching Your Dollar segment we've been running during the morning show.. Mike writes:

The heart of the matter comes from our collective American mentality of "keeping up with the Joneses," and now it has caught up with those who played that game. If it's shiny and new, get it! If my neighbor want one, get it, before he does! Charge it! It goes on and on.

Those of us that are, and have been secure in our choices (self confidence), we have not been greatly affected by higher gas prices, etc...

We have used rabbit ears for TV reception since 1993. It's just nuts to pay $50-$100/month for cable/satellite ($600- $1200 a year!!! in 10 years, that moeny could have gone into savings!) We have not chosen gas-hog type vehicles. We don't participate in conspicous consumption, or buying every freakin new gadget, or $250 jeans, or Venti sized coffee everyday, get manicures every week, or beauty or massage salon trips every week. We pre-cyle, recycle, reuse.

We don't miss out on the many good things life has to offer. We take vacations, we eat good healthy foods, we have 2 of our 3 children in college. and we keep a nice and comfortable home. We also make contributions to charities every year.

People just need to say, "No," sometimes, resist advertisers allure, not be selfish, etc...

My wife gets 54 miles per gallon in her 2006 Prius. I drive a 2005 GMC Canyon (4 cylinder mini truck), the kids share a 2003 Kia van and 1988 Volvo 240 DL (4 cylinder with 248,000 miles on it!)

Our family is not just different, we are making a difference too. It's not hard to do.

Can I just say that I hope my car sticks with me for 248,000 miles!!! It's SO nice not having a car payment. Mike-- thanks for the email!! I promise, I'll try to wean myself off the coffee ((and I'm mostly a decaf girl.. I just crave the taste!)).

Laural has this tip for falling asleep/relaxing: My formula for getting to sleep: Work puzzles until the brain gets tired. Logic puzzles, sudoku and its variants. At half an hour before bedtime, I can generally get through about 1 or 2 sudoku grids and my eyes get heavy while my mind starts fading off. Turn off light, and happy dreaming.

(One nice thing about sudoku is that the last thing in your mind is numbers, not usually something to generate nightmares or really strange dreams).

Now, this may not work for everyone. It may be too stimulating. But it's working great for her and so I wanted to pass it along in case you find it helps you!

Shawn writes: It usually takes me about 45 minutes to fall asleep and I tend to wake up after about 2 to 3 hours if i'm lucky. Then it takes me awhile to fall back asleep.
I've come to think that its conditioning. I am a former Marine and sleep in the field never came easy.
Though I served during Dessert Shield some 20 years ago when this war started, some of that training never leaves.
I'm I missing something here, believe me you I would love to sleep a whole night through. Instead I go days where I get broken sleep all night. After about 4+ days later I finally sleep a good 6 to 7hours sleep.

Shawn says he does not have sleep apnea, doesn't snore, or have other medically related sleep issues. And if his situation sounds familiar (in terms of the whole waking up bit)-- I mentioned this in the story and I think it's a smart next step: get to your health care provider and ask about Cognitive Behavoral Therapy. A sleep doctor will know all about this. And while the ideas of visualizations, and counting may not seem like the kind of thing you'd go see a doctor for, or maybe they're too "out there"... studies show if you do it right it can work better and faster than sleeping pills. What do you have to lose??

Have a great Wednesday!!
OHH.. wait. Here's a pic of two little ones who leave me THE cutest voicemails EVER (with mom's clever coaching in the background). If only I could post the voicemails on this blog. This is Tristan and Kiernan and I count their mom Kris as one of my dearest friends-- you know, the kind of friend you know you'll have for life.

sstricklen@kgw.com

Coming home with a brand-new item can be a great feeling, but so can coming home with something new to you - and saving some money at the same time.

Liz Pulliam Weston, the personal finance columnist for MSN Money, came up with a whole list of items she says you're better off buying used.

First off - jewelry. One-hundred percent mark-ups are common at retail stores, meaning if you do need to sell a piece of jewelry that you've bought, you'll be lucky to get a third of what you paid for it.

One exception to this rule is if you want something custom made. But even then, Pulliam Weston suggests buying something used and having it reset.

Another thing she says to never buy new - kids toys. Parents know it's all but impossible to predict which toys will be a hit with your kids, so rather than gamble at full price, try checking out consignment shops and yard sales for bargains.

Like working around the house, or in the garden? If so, why pay full price for hand tools?

Well-made items with few or no moving parts, like hammers, wrenches, and shovels can last for decades. They're also easy to find at yard sales.

Those are only three of Pulliam Weston's Top 10 list of things you should never buy new. You can read the rest of the list right here.

Have a tip you want to share? Click below on comment, and leave us your idea there.

8:59 -- With Admans and Fish the winners, the question is what does the City Council look like in the 'coming months and then into next year...Fish probably becomes a Potter ally for the short term, giving ther mayor the chance to move a final agenda with Dan and Nick's votes...then Nick has to figure how he plays it so that he maintains a close enough working relationship with Adams when the new Council forms around Mayor Adams
Len Bergstein

8:55 Beaverton mayor's race has Doyle with a early big lead over Drake
Len bergstein

8:50 Multnomah County Commission will cpontinue to get stronger -- Deborah Kafourey brings political talent to add to Wheeler and Cogen...Carla P looks like a winner from East County, but the Shiprack Delman race may go to a runoff..
Len Bergstein

8:40 I'm surprised that Erickson has won his 5th CD -- his early TV must have painted Mannix in a corner he couldn't get out of, even withthe explosive charges that dominated the end of the campaign
Len Bergstein

8:35 I'd say they will be calling Kate Brown winning soon and the same with Nick Fish...tempting to say that Kroger has a commanding lead that will mean he'll be the next AG
Len bergstein

8:18 Merkley moves ahead -- I'm expecting that this means this will see-saw back and forth for most of the night
Len Bergstein

8:15 Statewide races; Kate Brown starts with a lead as expected...Novick and Kroger have early lead -- that would be an indication that "change voter" has moved down the ballot
Len Bergstein

8:10 First returns - In Portland Sam Adams at 52%; Nick Fish with a commanding lead; Amanda Fritz leading as expected and several others clustered at 12/13%;
Len Bergstein

7:45 Fifteen minutes before polls close -- Oregon Primaries have had a jolt of energy from the Presidential contest -- but it's unclear how new voters will perform down ballot and what "change" means for Oregon voters-- most analysts expect close races for Democrats in the US Senate, AG, Republicans in the 5th Congressional District and the nonpartisan raaces for Portland City Council and Multnomah County Commissioner

Len Bergstein

by Jack Bogdanski

11:31 p.m.

Broadcast news is starting to wind down -- stay tuned for Leno -- but not everything's been decided by the voters, Portland City Commission No. 1 is still awfully close. The Eugene mayor's race is still tight. And although Measure 53, the civil forfeiture deal, is ahead, the lead is not commanding.

This place is definitely in the "strike the set" mode, and in a moment, my KGW blogging privileges will expire. Maybe there will be another time. I hope so.

11:15 p.m.

In the Multnomah County Commission races, it looks as though the runoffs will be Shiprack vs. Delman, and Piluso vs. McKeel. Debiorah Kafoury wins outright, as expected.

11:03 p.m.

Some fireworks down in Eugene.

11:00 p.m.

The editorial boards of the newspapers aren't too fond of David Wu, but the voters in his district have no problem with him.


10:26 p.m.

What's the future hold for Steve Novick? He came from out of nowhere and ran a brilliant race, and he revealed himself to be a mensch. As a Democrat (most of the time), I hope I get to vote for him again for something.

10:09 p.m.

It looks like they're going to be calling Merkley here momentarily.

10:06 p.m.

In Portland Commission Race No. 1, there are only 800 votes separating Charles Lewis, John Branam, and Jeff Bissonnette. The top vote-getter among those three goes head-to-head with Amanda Fritz in the runoff.

10:00 p.m.

Lelo of NoPo is here(!), with camera in hand. Apparently she's meta-blogging our blogging on her site.

9:41 p.m.

With result totals in local races slowing down a bit, this is a good time to reflect on some of the outcomes we know about so far. Oregon has a new attorney general -- a relatively young, outspoken, prosecutorial type. There will be two, not three, new faces on the Portland City Council. Kate Brown will be the new Oregon secretary of state. Erickson survived... for now.

9:22 p.m.

Novick would have carved Smitty up, but Mild Merkley will lose big.

I agree that Steve Novick would give Senator Smith a much more difficult summer than Jeff Merkley would. But up against all the incumbent's money, either would be a longshot.

9:20 p.m.

Jack, what's it like blogging at KGW? paint the scene for us would ya?

Everyone here is prettier than I. And almost as smart.

8c)

Actually, the hardest part is being introduced to the on-air personalities and remembering that although I may think I know them well because they're with me in my den every night, they don't know me from Adam.

9:12 p.m.

Over in my neck of the woods in Northeast Portland, the results so far show Michael Dembrow (Mr. Direct Mail) as the winner for the House seat, and Jackie Dingfelder as the new state senator.

9:07 p.m.

It looks like a changing of the guard in Beaverton.

9:00 p.m.

A couple of years ago, only a few of us had heard of John Kroger. But those of us who did knew he was exceedingly smart, a gifted orator, and capable of building an exceedingly strong case for any cause that he believed in. Many more Oregonians had heard of Greg Macpherson, with a long family history in Oregon politics, incredible smarts, and political courage. So how did Kroger get ahead of Macpherson to become the next state attorney general? Two words: killer instinct.

8:50 p.m.

The crime victims' ballot measures are passing handily; the civil forfeitures measure is winning, but just narrowly.

8:46 p.m.

The Sho is over. Was it worth it, for him and for Portland?

8:38 p.m.

Multnomah County Commission: Gresham Police Chief Carla Piluso is way ahead, but so far shy of the 50% she'll need to avoid a runoff. She'll be giving Sheriff Bernie Giusto a hard time, if he's still around.

In another county commission race, Judy Shiprack has a nice lead, but her runoff opponent is not yet identified.

8:35 pm.

"Change" winners so far: Kroger, Fish. "No change" winners: Adams, Brown.

8:33 p.m.

KGW is calling Kroger.

8:22 p.m.

The news overlords here at KGW are calling Adams the outright winner in the Portland mayor's race. No runoff, they tell me.

8:17 p.m.

John Kroger is way ahead of Greg Macpherson for Oregon attorney general -- but that's probably just Multnomah County talking. My earliest instincts in this one were that Kroger would win Portland, but that Macpherson would make up for it elsewhere in the state. That race could be a barnburner.

8:07 p.m.

Fish kill! Nick Fish with more than 60% in the Portland City Council race so far. Runoff opponent against Fritz is too close to call.

8:05 p.m.

With more than 100,000 votes posted, Adams has 52% in the Portland mayor's race.

8:02 p.m.

The election results main page is here.

7:59 p.m.

The polls are closing. How much "change" do Oregonians really want? We are about to find out.

7:55 p.m.

The calm before the storm has descended on us. The newsroom is still a hotbed of activity, but people are hunkering down with a quiet intensity.

7:36 p.m.

We have checked into KGW Election Night headquarters and are getting ready to blog through the evening. Man, this place is humming. It is going to be a very interesting night. Stay here and follow along with Len Bergstein and me as we comment on the outcomes and their implications. And join in the conversation!

Oregon Matters!
How else to explain repeated trips by all three Presidential candidates over the past weeks.
So this is what some states with early primaries experience EVERY election cycle?!
Obviously, Oregonians are excited. 75,000 turned out for Obama's waterfront rally, a record turnout for a rally this year.
Even in the KGW newsroom there's an extra level of excitement, knowing that Oregon's votes could determine the Democratic nominee for President.
Beginning at 8 p.m., KGW.com will have continuously updated election results, live video streaming of election coverage, and both Len Bergstein and Jack Bogdanski will be blogging live from our studios, analyzing the results. We have also created a "Your Turn" area where our online and on-air audience can express their views, comment on the coverage, and submit questions for our analysts.
It should be an exciting night in Oregon political history.

With gas prices soaring, spending a little time on the internet before you head out to shop can save you real time - and some real money.

These web-friendly shopping tips come from CNN's Gerri Willis, the personal finance editor for CNN Business News.

Her first tip is simple. Get online and set up online bill pay. You can even set up automatic payments for recurring bills, like utilities. Not only will that save you from any late payments, you'll also save yourself a 42-cent stamp on every bill you pay online instead of through the mail.

The internet also has plenty of places to find coupons and deals before you head out to the grocery store.

Coolsavings.com allows you to pick out specific grocery items on its site, then print out the coupon for use in the store.

Sign up for thegrocerygame.com and it'll email you weekly lists of the lowest-priced items at grocery stores, plus some coupons. This one will cost you $10 a month after a $1 trial period of 30 days.

But you can find deals on more than groceries. You'll also find an end to driving from mall to mall looking for clothes your size that are on sale.

Sound good? Then check out shopittome.com. You go to the site and set up a profile indicating the brands you like, your sizes, and how often you'd like to hear about sales. The site then scours the internet to find deals on clothing in your size of the brands you choose, helping you stretch your dollar without ever leaving home.

Do you have a stretching your dollar tip you'd like to share? Click below on "comment" and let your fellow readers in on your secret.