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In local news:
• As of September 1, Portland State University police officers will stop carrying guns while patrolling campus. The movement to disarm campus officers began in earnest in 2018 after PSU officers killed Jason Washington, a Black man who was trying to break up a fight outside of a bar.
• Are you unvaccinated and want $100? If you get your first shot of the vaccine today at the Hillsboro Stadium or tomorrow at either the Oregon Convention Center or Portland International Airport you can get a $100 gift card! Governor Brown debuted the new incentive during a press conference today. Brown also announced she is extending the mortgage foreclosure moratorium until the end of September.
Update: $100 gift cards are available to Oregonians receiving their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine today at Hillsboro Stadium and will be available tomorrow at @flypdx and @oregoncc while supplies last. https://t.co/KUIQYsje5R
— Governor Kate Brown (@OregonGovBrown) June 11, 2021
• Expect delays on SE Hawthorne from 24th to Cesar Chavez Blvd. starting on June 14. The Portland Bureau of Transportation will begin repaving 4.7 miles of the street Monday, reducing Hawthorne to one lane of travel in each direction for the next six weeks. The paving project will also include the construction of pedestrian islands and marked crosswalks to improve safety.
• Take this week’s PDX POP QUIZ to find out just how smart you really are! (The newsroom is split on this week’s subjective question and we need the public to weigh in on which band we’d all be fine never hearing again, so seriously… take the quiz!)
Big update:
Kalama methanol plant on lower Columbia River called off by developers
New for @OPB https://t.co/lSt3ttevt4
— Monica Samayoa (@m0nica10) June 11, 2021
• Oregon lawmakers are considering rewarding essential workers who stayed on the job throughout the pandemic with a $2,000 stimulus check. The proposed plan would also pay unemployed frontline workers $1,200 as long as they return to work by mid-September.
• Has your playlist been getting a little stale? Jenni Moore has what you need to refresh it!
Refresh your mind and get ready for the weekend with these three new music releases, recommended by @JenniferKayMo. https://t.co/5SQTApbGwc
— Portland Mercury 🗞 (@portlandmercury) June 11, 2021
In national news:
• The Pulitzer Prize Board started announcing its annual awards for outstanding journalism today. The board issued a special citation for Darnella Frazier, the Minneapolis teenager who recorded the video of George Floyd’s arrest and murder. The video played a key role in informing the public of Floyd’s murder and was a critical piece of evidence in the Derek Chauvin trial.
• Three experts have resigned from the Food and Drug Administration’s advisory committee after the agency approved an Alzheimer’s drug against the committee’s recommendation. The former board members do not believe there is enough proof the drug will actually help Alzheimer’s patients.
Owners of a Texas bakery said they received hate mail and had orders canceled after they posted rainbow cookies to celebrate Pride Month.
Now, the bakery is being inundated with orders and supportive messages.https://t.co/vVDuLhY3x7
— NPR (@NPR) June 11, 2021
• As vaccine demand decreases, vaccine sites and providers are racking up surplus doses across the country. Tennessee and North Carolina have given millions of vaccines back to the federal government due to lack of demand—even though less than half of their populations are vaccinated. In Oregon, over 200,000 doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine are going to expire in 90 days, meaning the state may have to throw out 120,000 vaccines unless demand radically increases in the next three months.
• And finally, I’d like to introduce you to my new favorite Twitter account. This is how I will be keeping track of current events from here on out:
Liza Minnelli has outlived the Keystone pipeline which has been canceled. This is a monumental victory for climate change activists who feared it would speed up global warming.
— LizaMinnelliOutlives (@LiZaOutlives) June 10, 2021
