Hiob / Getty images When Terrence Hayes was released from prison in 2016, he felt like he had lost more than time. “I watched my kids grow up from behind the bars,” Hayes said. “There is not an aspect of my life today that is not a byproduct of that decision.” Because of his felony […]
Blair Stenvick
Blair Stenvick is a former news reporter and culture writer for the Portland Mercury.
Posted inNews
Good Morning, News: State Republicans Push Shitty Anti-Voting and Anti-Trans Bills, and Jury Selection for the Man Who Killed George Floyd
We need your help. The economic fallout of the coronavirus crisis is threatening our ability to keep producing the quality reporting you’ve come to love. If you’re able, please consider making a monthly contribution to the Mercury. Republicans in Georgia and Arizona are pushing shitty anti-voting laws. Stacey Abrams has some suggestions for how you […]
Posted inOpinion
The Oregonian, the Fake Hardesty Hit-and-Run, and the Price of a Big Scoop
blair Stenvick There’s a paragraph in an Oregonian article published last Thursday morning that just doesn’t sit right with me. The paragraph is from an article suggesting Portland City Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty was a suspect in a Wednesday hit-and-run in Southeast Portland. The piece quickly gained widespread attention, amplifying allegations which until that point […]
Posted inNews
Good Afternoon, News: Schools Reopening, Democrats Self-Destruct on Minimum Wage, and Apes Get Vaxed
GEO PIATT / 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: • Oregon Gov. Kate Brown announced today that she is ordering all school districts to resume in-person classes for […]
Posted inNews
Oregon Lawmakers Have a Chance to Ban Problematic LGBTQ+ Panic Defense
4NADIA / GETTY IMAGES The Oregon Legislature will have the chance to outlaw a homophobic and transphobic legal defense strategy during the 2021 session. Senate Bill 704 would ban the LGBTQ+ panic defense—also known as the gay panic defense or trans panic defense—from being used in Oregon courts. The panic defense is a legal strategy […]
Posted inPortland International Film Festival 2021
PIFF Review: A Machine to Live In is a Trippy Architecture Documentary Dream
A Machine to Live In courtesy of piff [This review is part of the Mercury’s 2021 Portland International Film Festival (PIFF) guide. You can check out all our PIFF reviews here.] Brasilia is a planned city. Constructed in the late 1950s as part of a Brazilian government plan to make a capital city that was […]
Posted inNews
Good Morning, News: One Million Vaccine Doses, Portland Police Did Absolutely Nothing Wrong (Whew!) and Extremist Threat Cancels Congress
We need your help. The economic fallout of the coronavirus crisis is threatening our ability to keep producing the quality reporting you’ve come to love. If you’re able, please consider making a monthly contribution to the Mercury. WIN MCNAMEE / GETTY IMAGES Good morning, Portland! Here are your weekend plans: The Portland International Film Festival, […]
Posted inNews
Good Afternoon, News: Biden Waters Down Stimulus (Again), J&J Vaccine Approved by Western States, and Cat on a Train
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’!) SEAN RAYFORD / GETTY IMAGES In local news: • The Western States Scientific Safety Review Workgroup—that includes Oregon, California, Washington, and Nevada—has officially authorized the Johnson & […]
Posted inPortland International Film Festival 2021
PIFF Review: Nostalgia, Puberty, and Earthquakes in Death of Nintendo
If you were a kid during the 1990s, it’s going to be hard for you not to enjoy Death of Nintendo, a coming-of-age tale set in early 1990s Manila, the capital city of the Philippines. As its title suggests, this movie is heavy on 90s nostalgia, with Reebok Pumps, idolization of the Chicago Bulls, and […]
Posted inPortland International Film Festival 2021
PIFF Review: Everything in the End Is an Introspective End-Times Flick
If you knew that the end of the world was imminent, how would you spend your final days? Personally, I’d probably spend them taking edibles, listening to my favorite music, and eating my weight in Girl Scout cookies. But Everything in the End, part of this year’s Portland International Film Festival lineup, provides a slightly […]
Posted inPortland International Film Festival 2021
PIFF Review: A Machine to Live In is a Trippy Architecture Documentary Dream
Brasilia is a planned city. Constructed in the late 1950s as part of a Brazilian government plan to make a capital city that was more central than former capital Rio de Janeiro, the city was intended to be a modern architectural utopia, all curved walls and triangles and blindingly white monuments hovering in the cityscape […]
Posted inNews
Good Morning, News: J&J Vaccine Coming to Oregon, Alabama Amazon Unionization Heats Up, and Legalize Human Composting!
We need your help. The economic fallout of the coronavirus crisis is threatening our ability to keep producing the quality reporting you’ve come to love. If you’re able, please consider making a monthly contribution to the Mercury. An employee with the McKesson Corporation scans a box of the Johnson and Johnson COVID vaccine as she […]