DOMA DOOMED: Another federal appeals court rules the Defense of Marriage Act unconstitutional, paving its path to the Supreme Court. Meanwhile, same-sex marriage is a surprisingly popular issue among Latino voters. Blowing It: The FBI foils a young student’s apparent plot to blow up a car bomb at the Federal Reserve. RIP Dead Tree Edition: […]
Sarah Shay Mirk
Sarah Shay Mirk reported on transportation, sex and gender issues, and politics at the Mercury from 2008-2013. They have gone on to make many things, including countless comics and several books.
Posted inNews
Trouble in the Road
Depressing Data Shows Crashes Have Spiked at “Bike Box” Intersections
Crashes have doubled overall at “bike box” intersections.
Posted inHistory
Four Portland Mayors Who Are Worse than Charlie Hales or Jefferson Smith
Our election endorsements are out today and, really, I’ll be glad when this election is over. Like the 30 percent of Portland voters who are still undecided in the mayoral race, I’m not that excited about either candidate. But! On the other hand, neither Charlie Hales nor Jefferson Smith will be that bad. Portland has […]
Posted inPolitics
Psyched for Romney’s Free Birth Control Plan!
via This meme will be unfunny by the time I post this Last night’s presidential debate was far-and-away better than the first round. Not because the conversation was any less of a political circus, but because the conversation was actually about relevant issues—funny how when you open up questions to an audience, rather than just […]
Posted inTransportation
Racist Pro-Israel Ad to Run on TrIMet
This is coming to TriMet: The ad is being run by a group called the American Freedom Defense Initiative (please take a moment to laugh at their logo), a far-right group affiliated with Stop Islamization of America, who have also bought bus ads in New York telling Islamic Americans to reject their religion. The current […]
Posted inElection 2012
Kiss That Casino Goodbye: Wood Village Casino Measure Calls off Campaign
Well, that was $5 million down the drain. The backers of the plan to build “The Grange” casino/movie theater/hella big water slide in Wood Village are “suspending campaign operations,” according to a statement from now-former campaign manager Stacey Dycus. The campaign, backed by Canadian firm Clarivest, spent more than $5.2 million selling voters on the […]
Posted inNews
Good Morning News!
Vote, Vote, Vote! Today’s the last day to register to vote in Oregon! Good thing you can do it online. Fight, Fight, Fight! Tuesday, Tuesday, Tuesday! The night Obama takes on Romney for yet another debate! The Mercury is sponsoring the screening at the Back Stage Bar. Don’t Blame Obama: Hillary Clinton heaps blame on […]
Posted inBikes
City Finds Bike Boxes May Actually Increase Crashes
One of the biggest safety problems for bikes and cars sharing the road is right hooks—drivers turning right crashing into cyclists, especially at busy intersections. Since 2008, Portland has tried to stop right hooks by painting green “bike boxes” at 11 problem intersections. But do the boxes actually make cyclists safer? Just this year, Portlander […]
Posted inSexual Politics
Avenge Us, Uterus!
Portland political cartoonist Matt Bors runs comics in the back of the Mercury every week and now he’s put together this fun little video about a superhero uterus. Bonus: the ladypart is voiced by Backfence PDX producer Frayn Masters. .
Posted inPolitics
Misleading Anti-Marijuana Measure Billboard Forced Down
Opponents of the Measure 80 campaign to legalize marijuana in Oregon put up this billboard on SE 122nd and Division. Which pissed off marijuana advocates because… um… that’s clearly not a photo of someone who’s high on pot. Maybe they’ve spiked their mountain of meth with an appetizer of hash. Also, there’s a lot that’s […]
Posted inNews
Masked “Mob” Gets All Smashy-Smashy on Hawthorne
Anarchy in the USA! As mentioned in Good Morning News, some kind of roving group smashed bank windows up and down Hawthorne last night. The police describe the group as a “mob vandalizing businesses” who broke the windows of Wells Fargo, Chase Bank, US Bank, and Umpqua Bank, but who also “were throwing bottles at […]
Posted inNews
Good Morning News!
Tonight! Second-Tier Politicians Bicker With One Another! It’s the VP debate, with Biden and Ryan facing off. The Mercury hosting a screening at the Back Stage Bar. Romney vs. The Women: Mitt’s wriggling on abortion issues and still way behind in polls of female voters. Meanwhile, some people think he’s a good leader. And Just […]