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Good morning, Portland! Here's a helpful reminder for anyone who is currently facing an eviction notice, or worries one is coming in the near future:
If you need help paying rent, relief is available. Apply for help through https://t.co/fRAbXZrXir. Once you show proof of your finished application — from the state or with any community-based rent relief partner — to your landlord, you're protected from eviction for 90 days.
— Deborah Kafoury (@dkafoury) September 2, 2021
And here are the headlines!
• A full 10 days after right-wing extremists invaded Portland and brawled with anti-fascists, the Portland Police Bureau (PPB) found time to ask the public for assistance in identifying some individuals suspected of violence on August 22. As this OPB story found, not all city councilors and staffers were happy with police inaction that day.
• The Newberg School Board continues to cling to its ban on LGBTQ+ Pride and Black Lives Matter symbols in schools, despite concerns from some members that the ban is likely illegal. At an emergency board meeting last night, a majority of members voted to table the issue, meaning the ban is still in effect.
• And hey, here's some good news: The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) is threatening to deny a required air quality permit to Zenith Energy—a permit that is essential to keep the oil transport facility operating in Northwest Portland. The denial, which the DEQ proposed Wednesday, could force the long-contested Zenith facility to shut down completely.
• Hurricane Ida struck the East Coast last night, killing 14 people in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. New York City's subway tunnels are entirely flooded.
It's almost comical to say it at this point, but doing nothing is so obviously not an option. Inaction will cost so much more than passing a Green New Deal, creating a climate-resilient and 21st century infrastructure, and ending our dependence on fossil fuels. pic.twitter.com/pfosPKJr6C
— Ryan Hickey (@ryanryan_hi) September 2, 2021
• On Tuesday night, the Supreme Court allowed the Texas six-week abortion ban to go into effect by doing nothing to stop it. On Wednesday, the Court made it official by issuing a 5-4 unsigned opinion refusing to block the law. Chief Justice John Roberts joined the Court's three liberal justices in dissenting.
• I'm not even gonna comment on this one:
Joe Rogan has COVID-19. https://t.co/VNm04hlJV3
— VICE (@VICE) September 2, 2021
• Three police officers and two paramedics have finally been charged in the 2019 death of Elijah McClain, the young Black man who died after officers place him in a chokehold and paramedics forced him to take ketamine while he was being arrested. McClain's crimes: wearing a ski mask, "acting weird," and "waving his arms around."
• An update on Afghanistan: With United States troops now out of the country, the Taliban is working to quell the last group of armed resistance fighters, and has plans to announce its new government soon. Meanwhile, the country's economy is on the edge of collapsing.
• And finally: Which flavor of fall bitch are you?
the two types of people most excited for autumn pic.twitter.com/Ti77nUIm7x
— Emotional Support Himbo (@DoorHinge9) September 2, 2021