CALDWELL WENT OUT SMILING

Bob Caldwell, editor of The Oregonian's editorial pages, was in the Tigard apartment of a 23-year-old woman when he went into cardiac arrest Saturday afternoon. 

The woman called 9-1-1 at 4:43 p.m. to report that Caldwell, 63, was coughing and then unresponsive after a sex act. Washington County sheriff's officers and medical personnel responded and transported him to Providence St. Vincent Medical Center, where he later was pronounced dead. 

The woman told deputies she met Caldwell about a year ago at Portland Community College. Caldwell, she said, knew she didn't have much money, so he provided her cash for books and other things for school in exchange for sex acts at her apartment. 

Caldwell had not given her money Saturday, she told deputies. They decided against pursuing prostitution charges. Deputies notified Caldwell's family of his death Saturday evening. 

The Oregonian previously erroneously reported that Caldwell had been found in his parked car on Saturday, based on information from a family friend. 

Caldwell led The Oregonian's editorial board since November 1995 after a long career in Oregon newspapers. Under his direction, the newspaper won a Pulitzer Prize in editorial writing for a series of editorials about abuses at the Oregon State Hospital. 

He was a statewide leader in newspaper professional organizations, including the Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association, whose causes he championed for more than 30 years. 

Comments

[Joelinpdx]

Kind of makes you wonder about the Oregonian E-Board. Caldwell was clearly soliciting prostitution services.Maybe Dave Reinhard was smart to leave when he did with his nice financial package.

I mean, really? Is this what the Oregonian supports. Preying on young women for sexual favors in exchange for school supplies. Kind of gives you a clue why they handled the Neil Goldshit situation the way they did.

[A Facebook User]

Oh Joe, you got out of bed on the grumpy side today. Stoner's headline is perfect and I think many people would like to go this way. Can we not put aside petty political differences for one day?

[Joelinpdx]

First, politics is never petty. Whether you like Obozo or not, you'd better be paying attention to the way he runs the country. If you really believe politics is petty, then you have surrendered your right to gripe. Just take whatever you get. I don't want to hear you complain about taxes being too high or about the poor way the government deals with health care.

Second, would it have made you feel better if I'd said "Kind of gives you a clue why they handled the Bob Packwood fiasco the way they did." If it makes a difference, then it's you who needs to put aside "petty political differences." At any rate, pointing to someone's crass criminal behavior is hardly political.

Third, it's "Joel: not "Joe," thank-you.

[A Facebook User]

Joel, I am happy to call you Joel if you prefer. This new interface messes up my preferred name, but I am happy to answer to SelenesMom or Ma'am, whichever works for you.

Anyway, we are talking about a handjob exchanged between consenting adults. I don't see that it would have been improved by dragging in mention of "Obozo/Obummer", Bob Packwood, Neil Goldschmidt or any other man who has ever received a handjob, but I guess you see a connection.

If you have to stick a label on me, you can call me a lefty-libertarian who favors the Second Amendment and legalization of most drugs, from which it follows that I also think the best thing to do about the sex industry is to legalize it and get the pimps out.