Portland filmmaker Dawn Jones Redstone. Courtesy of Dawn Jones Redstone In Portland filmmaker Dawn Jones Redstone’s in-progress film Mother of Color, protagonist Noelia is a single mother trying to balance career ambitions with caring for her children in a society that doesn’t make things easy for working parents. In one scene, as she is faced […]
Blair Stenvick
Blair Stenvick is a former news reporter and culture writer for the Portland Mercury.
Posted inTheater & Performance
Portland Slam Poet Jordan Wolmut on Trauma, Performance, and Her Poem Trigger Warning
<img src="https://media2.fdncms.com/portmerc/imager/u/large/33379936/1620931250-screen_shot_2021-05-13_at_11.35.55_am.png" alt="Jordan Wolmut performing Trigger Warning.” title=”Jordan Wolmut performing Trigger Warning. “> Jordan Wolmut performing Trigger Warning. Virtualandia! recording screen grab, via Literary Arts. In Trigger Warning, her award-winning poem, Portland poet Jordan Wolmut dissects the concept of a slam poetry competition while taking part in one. In the poem, Benson High School senior […]
Posted inNews
Good Morning, News: Oregon Okays Vaccines for 12-15 Year Olds, McDonald’s Forced to Raise Wages, and a New Oregon Trail
Absolutely cursed image. Eugene Gologursky / Getty images Good morning, Portland! The weather’s great—here are some patios where you can enjoy the sunshine this weekend. Here are the headlines. • The Western States Scientific Safety Review Workgroup—which includes both Oregon and Washington—officially approved the use of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for 12-15 year-olds yesterday, shortly […]
Posted inNews
Good Afternoon, News: Relief for Oregon Renters, CDC Recommends 12-15 Year Olds Get Vaxed, and the Used Car Price Surge
Cavan Images / Getty images Here’s your daily roundup of all the latest local and national news. (Like our coverage? Please consider making a recurring contribution to the Mercury to keep it comin’!) In local news: • The Oregon Legislature has advanced a bill that would lessen the expected impact of the looming June 30 […]
Posted inMovies & TV
Live Music & Films Slated for South Waterfront this Summer
A rendering of the Lot at Zidell Yards courtesy of Zidell yards The Lot at Zidell Yards—a new outdoor event space that neighbors OHSU’s buildings on the South waterfront—announced a full lineup of summer concerts and film screenings this morning. Planned musical acts include Ural Thomas & The Pain, Y La Bamba, and Federale, and […]
Posted inNews
Good Morning, News: Disagreements Over Homeless Services Funds, Atrocities Against Palestinians, and the GOP Still Loves Trump
Relatives of Palestinian Ahmed Al-Shenbari, who was killed during an Israeli raid in Beit Hanoun city on the northern Gaza Strip, mourn during his funeral on May 11, 2021 in Gaza City, Gaza. Fatima Shbair /getty images Good morning, Portland! Head’s up: You have one week left to vote in the May 18 election. Here […]
Posted inOpinion
The 50-Foot-Tall Murderous Aliens That Invaded Earth Last Year Are Starting to Retreat. Can We Please Get Back to Normal Now?
Mikkel William / Getty images Good news, Oregon: The fourth-wave spike of giant murderous aliens plaguing the state in the last couple months is finally starting to recede, and today the Portland area is moving from “extreme murderous alien” to simply “high murderous alien” on Gov. Kate Brown’s alien risk chart. Thousands of Oregonians are […]
Posted inNews
Campaign to Overturn Split-Jury Convictions Keeps Pressure on Oregon Legal System
GETTY IMAGES A new coalition of more than 40 organizations is calling for progress on Oregon’s long history with non-unanimous jury convictions. Between 1934 until 2020, split-jury convictions—in which only 10 out of 12 jurors’ “guilty” vote is required to convict someone of a felony, rather than a unanimous vote—were permissible in Oregon courtrooms. That […]
Posted inMovies & TV
Shrill Finds Its Footing in Third and Final Season
Allyson Riggs/Hulu There were a lot of things to like about the first two seasons of Shrill. From the start, the show had a winning and diverse cast led by Aidy Bryant, and funny dialogue peppered with zingers in the tone of Lindy West, the writer who penned the memoir Shrill and co-created the show. […]
Posted inNews
Good Morning, News: Outside Attorney Reviews Gresham Police Killing, US Sees COVID-19 Drop, and Florida’s Shitty New Voting Law
Gresham police department Good morning, Portland! Have you gotten your vaccine yet? Here are the headlines. • Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt announced yesterday that he’s hiring an outside prosecutor to review the death investigation of Israel Berry, who was killed by a Gresham police officer last year. Schmidt told the Mercury that because […]
Posted inNews
Good Afternoon, News: Possible Political Arson in Portland, Biden Supports Lifting Vaccine Patents, and Fans Allowed at Blazers Games
The Moda Center will soon be empty no more. Abbie parr / Getty images Here’s your daily roundup of all the latest local and national news. (Like our coverage? Please consider making a recurring contribution to the Mercury to keep it comin’!) In local news: • A string of fires lit in Portland’s Piedmont neighborhood […]
Posted inNews
Good Morning, News: Herd Immunity Out of Reach, No Portland Soccer Spectators, and Now We’ll Never Know How Babby Is Formed
It’s gonna be a while before we see this again. CRAIG MITCHELLDYER/PORTLAND TIMBERS Good morning, Portland! Have you heard about our sexy new Mercury summer T-shirt line? Here are the headlines. • A concrete overpass in Mexico City collapsed last night, derailing a Metro train that was crossing the overpass. At least 23 people died […]