There’s a Purple reign in Portland tonight. Morrison Bridge tribute to #PrinceRIP #LiveOnK2 pic.twitter.com/7t4Q9eyxE2
— Mike Warner (@MikeKATU) April 22, 2016
“Kaitlyn Powell, 17, saw him riding bikes with a companion around a strip mall as she waited for her 3 p.m. shift to start at the local Office Max.” Still no cause of death for Prince, but the NYT details the signs of failing health (and strip mall vigor) in his final days.
The state’s Environmental Quality Commission, which has authority over the Department of Environmental Quality, easily passed new restrictions yesterday on state glass factories it says will prevent pollution scares like those Portland’s seen in the last two months. One EQC commissioner voted against the rules, saying they’ll overly hamper business and citing the DEQ’s newfound authority to regulate glassmakers without new laws.
“It means that we beat the police.” Teressa Raiford, a mainstay of the Black Lives Matter/Don’t Shoot PDX movements here in town, was acquitted Thursday on a charge of obstructing traffic, stemming from a demonstration last year.
Good on the Metro Council for okaying new mountain biking trails in a swath of the North Tualatin Mountains (the west hills, north of Forest Park) and refusing to bow to the nasty NIMBYism that dominates so often dominates those discussions here in town.
Can the family of a cyclist run down on a dangerous section of NE Lombard sue the city and state for a gap in the bike lane? We’ll find out.
Rather than fight drivers in California and Maryland who insist they shouldn’t be treated as independent contractors, Uber’s opted to settle a lawsuit—for up to $100 million. It means there won’t be legal precedent making drivers employees (which would be way more expensive than $100 million for the ride-hailing giant), but it doesn’t have any effect on suits in other states.
The US suicide rate is the highest it’s been in three decades.
Will today’s mass shooting be in Ohio? Details are still emerging, but there are reports of seven dead and multiple crime scenes.
He’s still terrible, of course, but at least Donald Trump’s not as full-blown homophobic as every other Republican candidate?
That unsettling sound beneath the floors of your houseboat is not a squealing spirit, but a wayward pig.
It’s basically hurricaning outside my window right now. Don’t know about you guys. Happy Friday, Portland!
