Stay up to date on Portland news and politics. Looking for fun? Here are the best Things to Do in Portland today.
Good morning, Portland! Well, the impeachment trial is officially over... so is that all there is to a fire? Is that all there is to a circus?
Point: Mormons: Senator Mitt Romney, citing his strong religious convictions, was the only Republican to vote to convict Trump on one of the two articles of impeachment. As Christopher Frizzelle from our sister paper put it, "If the long list of Trump's crimes ever comes out clearly, if Republicans ever acknowledge honestly the destruction Trump has created, this move also sets up Romney to be the guy who can say he had courage when no one else did."
"They Signed Their Own Death Warrant": Yesterday saw another day of testimony in the Jeremy Christian trial, this time from a police officer who interviewed Christian soon after the murders. Unsurprisingly, the officer's account of Christian paints him as completely indignant and not remorseful about his actions.
Dirty:
The disastrous rollout of American Dirt exposed the publishing industry’s many cracks when it comes to telling authentic Latino stories. The problems extend to journalism. This week, I spoke to three Oregonians who have experienced it all first-hand. https://t.co/LVPvStxSwp
— Eder Campuzano 🇲🇽🇺🇸🍎✏️🎒 (@edercampuzano) February 6, 2020
Math Is Hard: The full results of the Iowa caucus still aren't in—but with 97 percent of the votes in, Bernie Sanders and Pete Buttigieg are essentially tied. Conspiracy theories abound about why these results are taking so long, but I prefer to chalk this one up to the fatal hubris of technocrats.
Happy Belated: For those who need a refresher, here's Trayvon's story.
Trayvon Martin would have turned 25 years old today. Remember him. Say his name. pic.twitter.com/1DGOrZZ09L
— Sam Sanders (@samsanders) February 5, 2020
Prison Is Hell: After an uptick in the number of inmate deaths in Mississippi prisons, the Department of Justice is planning to investigate. Since a December riot in one of the state's prisons, 15 men detained there have died.
The Price of Transparency: A recent lawsuit revealed that the city of Portland is overcharging members of the public who seek public records—but City Council needs clarification before it takes steps to improve the process, so they're appealing the ruling.
ICYMI: Feel free to send me your favorite fun non-alcoholic drink recs at blair@portlandmercury.com.
I was a little nervous to write this piece about zero-proof beverages—I know it's not what you're expecting to read in a craft beer issue—but I've gotten some cool responses from people who seem excited to have this topic covered.https://t.co/DwEyUfcvaO
— Blair Stenvick (@BlairStenvick) February 4, 2020
