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In local news:
â˘Â Letâs start with the shitty news: Omicron is here and is probably going to overwhelm our already overwhelmed hospital system. A new report from the Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) shows that Omicron is significantly more transmissible than the Delta variant and Oregon is expected to see a sharp surge in COVID-19 cases with a peak of 3,000 hospitalizations in early February (thatâs almost double the peak hospitalization caused by the Delta variant, by the way). Oregon health officials are urging everyone to get a booster shot and creating three more high-capacity vaccination site throughout the state in the next couple weeks to get help get needles into arms.
â˘Â Fred Meyer and QFC workers started a weeklong strike this morning, alleging unfair labor practices against mega-retailer Kroger. Workers are asking for wage increases to keep pace with cost-of-living increases. The strike will end at 12:01 am on December 24, so shop at Winco or Trader Joes or Safeway or New Seasons or ANYWHERE ELSE until then!
Oregon lawmakers will again try restoring prisonersâ voting rights https://t.co/JuaPndEvw9 pic.twitter.com/uBgoza2Bfy
â The Oregonian (@Oregonian) December 17, 2021
â˘Â Portlandâs public housing authority, Home Forward, received 476 emergency housing vouchers in June. The vouchers are intended to be distributed to Portlanderâs experiencing homelessness or housing insecurity and could be used to cover rent costs. So far, the housing authority has distributed just 15 of those vouchers, or 3 percent. Home Forward says the delay is due to the speed of housing referrals and they are working to sped up the process.
â˘Â A wonky long-read for your weekend: For several years, a Boeing manufacturing plant in Portland reported to the Environmental Protections Agency (EPA) that it was emitting extraordinarily high levels of hexavalent chromium, a highly toxic metal that can cause cancer and various diseases. Turns out, the emissions reports Boeing submitted were severely overestimated and the company retroactively corrected them. However, while Boeing had been reporting to the EPA that it was poisoning Portlandâs air for four years, the EPA never did anything about it. ProPublica tried to figure out why.
Oregon health officials and disability advocates have reached an agreement on a long-running dispute over admission to the stateâs psychiatric hospital.
https://t.co/aiYJAxd5Fj
â OPB (@OPB) December 17, 2021
In national news:
â˘Â Pfizer is expanding clinical trials for its COVID-19 vaccine for children as young as 6 months old. The vaccine-maker said Friday that a two-dose vaccine series did not create a ârobust immune responseâ in children ages 2 to 5, so it will now test a three-dose series.
â˘Â The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) endorsed the âtest to stayâ program for unvaccinated students. The program allows unvaccinated students to stay in school after being exposed to COVID as long as they repeatedly test negative for the virus. (The Oregon Department of Education started using this method last month).
All the former hostages from a U.S.-based missionary group kidnapped in Haiti in October have been flown out of the country and are âdoing reasonably well.â https://t.co/7JoE69B6cH
â The Associated Press (@AP) December 18, 2021
â˘Â A Florida man who participated in the January 6 Capitol attack was sentenced to more than five years in prison Friday, the longest sentence for anyone involved in the insurrection so far. The man was filmed attacking a police officer with a pole during the insurrection.
â˘Â Wildfiresâyes, wildfires in Decemberâhave burned hundreds of thousands of acres across Kansas this week, killing two people. The fires are fueled by dry conditions and winds up to 90 mph.
Offensive place names dot the American landscape. Efforts to change them are about to get a lot faster. https://t.co/kSA3lJUSTa
â The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) December 17, 2021
Fun stuff:
â˘Â Gee whiz, itâs getting pretty close to Christmas! To make sure your gifts arrive in time, shop local! The Mercuryâs Holiday Gift Guide features only the coolest gifts and where to find them... locally!
â˘Â Letâs end today with a classic: a video of zoo animals.
2021: the year in rascality pic.twitter.com/0NSWyh6QF1
â Oregon Zoo (@OregonZoo) December 17, 2021