Oregon state capitol building
Oregon Legislature staff are the first in the nation to unionize. powerofforever

The Mercury provides news and fun every single day—but your help is essential. If you believe Portland benefits from smart, local journalism and arts coverage, please consider making a small monthly contribution, because without you, there is no us. Thanks for your support!

TGIF! Have you considered starting off your long weekend by taking our reader survey?

In local news:

• Oregon Legislature employees became the first capitol staff in the nation to unionize when they joined International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 89 today. Union members hope this move will allow legislative aides to have more input in the workplace.

• The Portland Clean Energy Fund rolled out its inaugural round of climate action grants last month, funding $8.6 million in clean energy and workforce development projects that center low income Portlanders and communities of color. Next year, the fund will distribute $60 million in grants.

• Picture this: It’s 10 pm on a breezy summer’s eve in Old Town and you’re ordering something called a Meat Boat at Angelina’s Greek Gyros. Sounds nice, right? Suzette Smith has what you need to turn this dream into a reality in the latest edition of Takeout Club.

• Oregon may remove some math, reading, and writing graduation requirements for high school students if a bill reexamining high school graduation requirements passes the House next week. Currently, students have to pass standardized tests in order to graduate, but supporters of the bill argue students should be allowed to graduate if they’ve passed their classes.

• A local Ross Dress For Less employee got fired after his satirical TikTok about how seriously he takes his loss prevention job went viral. I’m no marketing expert, but I think Ross screwed up this one considering the TikTok has over 1 million likes and actually kind of made me want to go to Ross and wander aimlessly.

In national news:

• A rape case against Danny Masterson, known for playing Steven Hyde in That ‘70s Show, has unexpectedly provided new insight into the inner workings of the Church of Scientology. Three women took the stand and testified that the church officials tried to stop them from reporting Masterson, a Scientologist, to the police.

• The median pay of S&P 500 company CEOs hit $12.7 million during 2020—AKA, the year we experienced a devastating pandemic that gut-punched our economy and left tens of thousands of people unemployed.

• AP has your list of things that did NOT happen this week, including the story that children in Toronto were being vaccinated against their parents’ wishes (it was just your typical anti-vaxxers screaming at children, Canada edition) and Ted Cruz swallowing a fly (it was edited… :( )

• You think you’re smart? Prove it.

• And finally, some tunes for your weekend: