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Courtney Vaughn

Courtney Vaughn is the news editor at the Portland Mercury. She appreciates your news tips and musings. Reach out at cvaughn@portlandmercury.com or find her on Bluesky @courtneyvaughn.
Posted inNews

Portland Elections Office Investigating Rene Gonzalez For Using Taxpayer Funds on Wikipedia Edits

Records show Auditor’s Office received three complaints over a $6,400 expenditure by the city commissioner’s office to alter his Wikipedia page in the thick of campaign season.
Avatar photo Courtney Vaughn

Portland’s Elections Office is investigating potential campaign finance violations by City Commissioner Rene Gonzalez. The Auditor’s Office, which houses the Elections Office, confirmed the investigation to the Mercury Friday, after receiving three complaints about the commissioner’s expenditure of $6,400 in city funds to edit his Wikipedia page.  Gonzalez, who was elected to Portland City Council […]

Posted inGood Morning, News!

Good Morning, News: Grifols Doesn’t Want Your Gay Blood, Portland Kids Get Free School Lunch, and Harris and Trump Both Want You To Keep All Your Tips

Avatar photo Courtney Vaughn

If you’re reading this, you probably know the value of the Mercury’s news reporting, arts and culture coverage, event calendar, our fun and sometimes spicy news roundups, and the bevy of events we host throughout the year. The work we do helps our city shine, but we can’t do it without your support. If you […]

Posted inNews

Attorneys Claim Plasma Donation Centers Illegally Discriminate Against Gay and Bisexual Men

Grifols USA, which operates two centers in Portland, faces a class-action lawsuit after an Oregon man was denied donation.
Avatar photo Courtney Vaughn

A chain of Oregon-based plasma donation centers faces a class-action lawsuit for its policies prohibiting donations from gay men. A lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Oregon on behalf of John Cavanaugh claims Cavanaugh tried to donate plasma at a Grifols USA donation center in Eugene, but was turned away because […]

Posted inGood Morning, News!

Good Morning, News: The Fight For Renter Protections in Portland, How a Pro-Trump PAC is Stealing Personal Data, and Harris’s VP Pick Is In!

Avatar photo Courtney Vaughn

If you’re reading this, you probably know the value of the Mercury’s news reporting, arts and culture coverage, event calendar, our fun and sometimes spicy news roundups, and the bevy of events we host throughout the year. The work we do helps our city shine, but we can’t do it without your support. If you […]

Posted inGood Morning, News!

Good Morning, News: White Dudes Raise Nearly $4 Million for Kamala, Multnomah County Won’t Jail the Homeless, and Yes, the Mercury’s Got a New Owner

Avatar photo Courtney Vaughn

If you’re reading this, you probably know the value of the Mercury’s news reporting, arts and culture coverage, jam-packed event calendars, our spicy news roundups, and the bevy of events we host throughout the year. The work we do helps our city shine, but we can’t do it without your support. If you believe Portland […]

Posted inNews

How Rene Gonzalez Found Common Ground With a Right-Wing Provocateur

Over the span of 24 hours, the Portland commissioner and mayoral candidate managed to anger his most conservative supporters, while inflaming progressives over a recent nod to Andy Ngo.
Avatar photo Courtney Vaughn

For some voters, Rene Gonzalez’s recent nod to a right-wing media personality and provocateur seemed on brand, as his disdain for anti-fascist protesters and police critics sometimes echoes the rhetoric heard on Fox News. To others, the Portland city commissioner and mayoral candidate’s “appreciation” for a divisive figure who’s previously aligned himself with far-right militia […]

Posted inGood Morning, News!

Good Morning, News: Oregon is Burning, Gonzalez Shows Love For Andy Ngo, and Harris Comes Out Swinging

Avatar photo Courtney Vaughn

If you’re reading this, you probably know the value of the Mercury’s news reporting, arts and culture coverage, event calendar, and the bevy of events we host throughout the year. The work we do helps our city shine, but we can’t do it without your support. If you believe Portland benefits from smart, local journalism […]

Posted inNews

Portland Emergency Dispatch System Impacted by Global IT Outage

City says 911 is taking calls manually, as other businesses and a local hospital report disruptions from the massive software outage
Avatar photo Courtney Vaughn

Dispatchers at Portland’s Bureau of Emergency Communications had to switch to taking calls manually Friday, after a global IT outage impacted some of the city’s computer systems. An emergency declaration was declared early Friday morning, after an outage affecting Microsoft’s CrowdStrike cybersecurity software was reported Thursday evening.  Mayor Ted Wheeler’s office announced just after 10 […]

Posted inCity Council Race 2024

Here’s Who’s Running for Portland City Council in 2024

As the city gears up for a new government structure and a 12-person council, candidates are in the thick of campaign season for a pivotal November election.
Avatar photoAvatar photo Courtney Vaughn and Taylor Griggs

Come November, Portlanders will be asked to choose among a crowded field of City Council candidates.  The 2024 general election will see Portland elect a new 12-person council—more than doubling the current size of five—with voters using a ranked choice system to select candidates in order of preference. Three people from each of four districts […]

Posted inGood Morning, News!

Good Morning, News: Portland Mourns a Beloved Chef, Someone Wants a Ghost-Free Park, and Trump Picks a Running Mate While Others Pick Up Gas Station Heroin

Avatar photo Courtney Vaughn

If you’re reading this, you probably know the value of the Mercury’s reporting, arts and culture coverage, event calendars, our fun and sometimes spicy news roundups, and the bevy of events we host throughout the year. The work we do helps our city shine, but we can’t do it without your support. If you believe […]

Posted inNews

Another Suspected Heat-Related Death Pushes Oregon’s Tally into Double Digits

During a wave of excessive temperatures, medical examiners across the state are investigating at least 16 deaths that may have been caused by the heat.
Avatar photo Courtney Vaughn

Originally published: Monday, July 8 Updated: Friday, July 12 The Multnomah County Medical Examiner’s Office is now investigating another death that occurred around the time of an excessive heat in the Portland region. The county reports seven people died during the heat, whose deaths may have been caused by heat-related illness. Another nine deaths are […]

Posted inNews

Commissioner Rene Gonzalez Wants City to Rein in Public Comments Criticizing Police During Council Meetings

The city commissioner and candidate for mayor insists the city should no longer “platform abolitionists” by allowing comments about police brutality during council votes on legal matters.
Avatar photo Courtney Vaughn

A Portland city commissioner and current candidate for mayor has repeated calls for the city to limit or even prohibit public input that’s critical of police during city council meetings.  Before approving an $11,500 legal settlement Wednesday for the plaintiff in a bodily injury lawsuit stemming from a 2020 protest, the Portland City Council heard […]

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