TGIF! Here are the headlines to take you into the weekend. (Like our coverage? Please consider making a recurring contribution to the Mercury to keep it comin’!)
In local news:
• ODOT is lowering the speed limit on a stretch of 82nd Ave after two pedestrians were hit and killed by cars. PBOT requested the speed change one year ago.
• The union representing Powell’s Books workers has filed several grievances against the store after management announced it was hiring new workers, not re-hiring workers laid off during the pandemic.
• The Oregon Cares Fund will resume paying out grants to Black Oregonians after settling a lawsuit that alleged the fund was “unconstitutional” because it distributed government benefits based on race.
• Ugh, like, I totally get that thousands of people have died and we’ve gone through the collective trauma of a life-altering event, but can y’all stop being so cautious? I mean, I’m ready for the pandemic alien invasion to be over, so why aren’t you?
Opinion: The 50-Foot-Tall Murderous Aliens That Invaded Earth Last Year Are Starting to Retreat. Can We Please Get Back to Normal Now?https://t.co/2sXq5fMWxc
— Portland Mercury 🗞 (@portlandmercury) May 7, 2021
In national news:
• Uber and Lyft are seeing a shortage of drivers as vaccinated customers return to the app. While the ride-share companies say they are paying “record wages” to lure drivers back to the service, many drivers say that the time away from the gig made them realize the pay wasn’t worth the mental and physical toll of the work.
A Georgia judge has scheduled an October trial for three white men charged with murder in the slaying of Ahmaud Arbery, a 25-year-old Black man who was chased and shot while jogging in February 2020. https://t.co/yU8SRIhUKq
— The Associated Press (@AP) May 7, 2021
• Another reminder that workers outnumber CEOs: Washingtonian magazine writers refused to work today after their CEO wrote an op-ed about how employees who want to continue working from home may be less valuable to the office. The CEO indirectly threatened to take away her employees’ healthcare during a pandemic by suggesting CEOs turn WFH employees into contractors.
What does NASA’s little helicopter on Mars sound like? Listen here:https://t.co/ZC6NpoxeKb
— AP Health & Science (@APHealthScience) May 7, 2021
• Biden just closed a Trump-era loophole that allowed money for COVID-19 relief to be used for defense projects. Under Trump, the Department of Defense was given $1 billion under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act because… of course it was.
• If you need some tunes to take you into the weekend, check out Jenni Moore’s Refresh Playlist!
• You want to look GOOD, true or false? If “true,” you’ll want to purchase a new, wicked awesome Mercury T-shirt… just in time for tee season!
• HUMP! HUMP! HUMP! If you enjoy sexy stuff (and I know you do), get your tickets NOW for HUMP’s Greatest Hits, Volume 3—THIS WEEKEND—featuring some of the best short sex flicks from 15 years of HUMP! HUMP! HUMP!
• The people are desperate for a hot vaxxed summer:
A shot at love: Your vaccination status is the latest Covid-era compatibility test.
Reporting by @KalhanR.https://t.co/Q0VKek7yWy
— NBC News (@NBCNews) May 7, 2021
