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Good afternoon, Portland! Here’s the latest on local news, national news, and a little bit of fun.
In local news:
• During a press conference announcing the reinstatement of the statewide indoor mask mandate this morning, Governor Kate Brown stressed that the purpose of the mask requirement is to avoid exceeding statewide hospital capacity, and keeping COVID-19 cases low enough to allow students to attend school full time in-person this fall. When asked if she regretted lifting statewide mask and distancing requirements in June, Brown said the state did not reopen too soon and that the “Delta variant changed everything.” The Delta variant was present in Oregon—and known to be more transmissible—when Brown lifted the state’s COVID safety requirements.
• We’re now entering yet another brutal heatwave, with temperatures expected to climb to somewhere around 105 degrees tomorrow. Stay safe, visit cooling centers if you need to, and check on your neighbors!
• The campaign to recall Mayor Ted Wheeler is waaaay behind on collecting enough signatures to get the recall on the ballot later this year. Organizers with the campaign blame the hot weather and the COVID Delta variant, both of which have made traditional signature-gathering difficult.
• A number of women public defense attorneys in Oregon are accusing the the Office of Public Defense Services (OPDS)—the agency that manages the state’s public defense program—of retaliation and pay discrimination based on their gender. “It is extremely concerning that attorneys who are versed in the law and vigorous advocates for their clients are expressing significant levels of fear about sharing OPDS-related concerns,” reads a letter from ACLU of Oregon, which is working with the women public defense attorneys.
In national news:
• California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced today that he’s requiring all K-12 teachers and school staff in the state to either get a COVID vaccine, or get tested weekly for the virus. California will be the first state in the nation to have such a requirement.
• In other news related to COVID and kids: More kids are getting severely sick from COVID than ever before, with a record-breaking 1,600 kids hospitalized with the virus last week. Experts say this spike in child hospitalizations is likely related to both the Delta variant, and more kids going back to in-person school (and not always being required to wear masks at those schools).
• Thinking of making “higher than previously thought but still quite low” my new response when people ask how I’m doing:
Scientists say the odds of the asteroid Bennu smacking into Earth in the next century are higher than previously thought but still quite low.https://t.co/X3ndre8tdg
— AP Health & Science (@APHealthScience) August 11, 2021
• Clue: Mike Richards and Mayim Bialik. Answer: Who are the new Jeopardy! hosts, who are inexplicably not LeVar Burton?
And just for fun:
• This year, Burger Week is bigger and better than ever—but maybe you’re too busy to go eat at a restaurant, or maybe you’re just a little nervous about being around other people right now. Don’t worry; here’s a list of restaurants offering takeout and delivery for Burger Week!
• And finally, a nice little laugh from Clickhole:
Cringe Overload: This 83-Year-Old Still Thinks He’s Hip Enough To Know What 75-Year-Olds Consider Coolhttps://t.co/99cfeqx78u
— ClickHole (@ClickHole) August 9, 2021
Apparently Sam Adams is getting the old band together. This time it’s the return of disgraced former Adams hitman Tom Miller to City Hall.
After Adams rewarded him with a six-figure job running PBOT, Miller had the rare distinction of being called out by name by all of the major candidates running to replace Adams. When Charlie Hales won, he fired Miller on his first day.
This is what Ted Wheeler’s Portland looks like.