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Good morning, Portland! Brrrrr. Today’s shaping up to be another chilly spring day, with a high of just 49 degrees. We could see rain this afternoon, and winds ranging from 10 to 15 miles an hour.
It’s a good excuse to grab a warm beverage and catch up on the news.
IN LOCAL NEWS:
• A few years ago, a former homeless services outreach employee who worked for the city of Gresham faced criminal charges for identity theft and fraud, after it was alleged he was purchasing personal items like groceries using a city card, and claiming it was for unhoused clients. He also used his personal grocery rewards accounts when making the purchases, which city employees aren’t allowed to do. The employee, Kevin Dahlgren, took a plea deal in the criminal case, but the case also spurred a state ethics investigation. As the Mercury’s Jeremiah Hayden reported, last week, the Oregon Government Ethics Commission voted unanimously to fine Dahlgren $3,000 for his actions during his time as a homeless services employee, noting he used his city position for personal gain. Dahlgren no longer works for the city of Gresham, but he has a prolific online following through his social media accounts where he often roams the streets interviewing unhoused people. His accounts also feature lurid videos of unhoused people in distress, in what he calls an unfiltered view of conditions on Portland’s streets. You know what else his IG account features? A Venmo link.😑
• In more uplifting news, the Blazers are going to the playoffs, baybeeee!! Last night, the team beat the Phoenix Suns to clinch a spot in the first round of the NBA playoffs. In a season with power player Damian Lillard sidelined due to a prolonged injury and coach Chauncey Billups ousted (he’s on unpaid administrative leave) following an arrest in an organized crime case tied to alleged illegal gambling, it’s somewhat remarkable that the team has pushed past the hurdles and into the playoffs. The last time they made the playoffs was 2021. The Blazers will face the San Antonio Spurs this Sunday.
• We need to talk about AI. No, not the “innovative” ways it can streamline our processes or make our lives easier, but the very flawed nature of using AI software and AI-backed search engines that frequently hallucinate information. It’s bitten several local attorneys in the ass, and in one high-stakes property case involving an ownership dispute of a vineyard, the case was thrown out over massive AI errors that weren’t caught by a woman’s legal team. The judge fined the attorneys $110,000 over the mishap.
• Here in the prolific second act of his career, director Steven Soderbergh (Logan Lucky, Magic Mike, Presence) brings us a new tight masterwork on a nearly annual basis. The Christophers hits small theater big screens this weekend with a boast-worthy pairing of similarly masterclass actors Michaela Coel and Ian McKellen. If you love this stuff, get it while it lasts because Soderbergh says his next two movies will be made with AI.
IN NATIONAL/WORLD NEWS:
• Immigrant detainees at Alligator Alcatraz, the concentration camp set up last year in Florida by the Trump administration, have been beaten by the site’s contracted guards, pepper sprayed, and had their phone access cut off at one point, leaving them without access to legal counsel or their families, attorneys say. Attorneys with the ACLU, as well as other civil rights groups wrote in federal court documents that despite a judge’s recent order, their clients were on several occasions severely beaten by guards and an entire cage holding about 32 men was pepper sprayed during an incident. When detainees grew frustrated at the phones being cut off without warning, tension bubbled and a guard punched one of them. An attorney wrote that detainees tried to defend themselves by barricading the door to the cage where they’re housed. The reports come after a Florida lawmaker made a surprise visit to the site recently and described men being packed into urine-soaked holding containers, living in squalor with inadequate meals.
• The EPA is considering relaxed standards for recycling plants that break down plastic via a chemical method. The potential move has environmental advocates worried that unless chemical plastic recycling centers are held to the same inspection standards as those that use incinerators, dangerous chemicals could spew into the environment with little detection. While advocates have tried to urge caps on plastic manufacturing, the plastics industry has instead argued for recycling.
• It’s Tax Day, meaning today is the deadline to file your state and federal taxes. Pssst…it’s also the deadline to file your city of Portland Arts Tax. While Republicans and Trump touted huge tax savings for Americans this year, so far, that hasn’t panned out. For most, their refunds aren’t substantially different from last year’s amounts. Since the passage of Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill last summer, NPR reports “the average refund has totaled about $350 more than last year. By early April, the average tax refund sat at $3,462.” That’s about 11 percent higher than this time last year, according to the IRS. Wealthier payers with large mortgage payments are more likely to see larger refunds due to increased caps on deductions for things like property, and sales and income tax paid to local governments.
• Aaaaand, how’s that effort to weaponize the US Postal Service against mail-in voting going? Oop!
And finally, if you’re ready to exhale after doing your taxes (or just reading this news roundup), you know what to do.
