To the dismay of many, Tim Kaine’s eyebrows did not win last night’s vice presidential debates. George Sheldon / Shutterstock.com If you’re checking recaps because you didn’t watch last night’s debate between Gov. Mike Pence and Sen. Tim Kaine, then rest in the comfort of knowing you did the right thing. You can hardly be […]
Election 2014
Posted inFood and Drink
GMO Labeling Supporters Concede Defeat
The most-expensive ballot race in Oregon’s history is officially over. Wikimedia The last time you’ll see this corn picture for a long while. Backers of Measure 92, the effort to mandate labeling of food that contains genetically modified organisms, just issued a release that it’s stopping the battle over this year’s election—but not the larger […]
Posted inFood and Drink
Congressman Earl Blumenauer is Really Upping his Dessert-Bribery Game
Yep, that’s a poster for Fast Five. 🙁 Sure, we all like to complain about the twee and offbeat image of this city so often beamed to the rest of the country. When that image descends on your place of business on a lackluster Monday afternoon, though, you’ve no choice but to embrace it. And […]
Posted inFood and Drink
Umm… Remember How Everyone Called the Defeat of Measure 92? A Recount Might Be Looming.
wikimedia That same picture of corn we always run. Corny! The “no” side in the fight over Measure 92—which would have required GMO labeling on most foodstuffs in Oregon—has held an enduring if tiny lead ever since Election Night. That lead, some 16,000 votes, was sizable enough, even with a bunch of ballots left to […]
Posted inNews
GMO Labeling Fails. Barely.
Wikimedia After razor thin margins last night left it up in the air, the most expensive measure in Oregon’s history has failed. The Oregonian‘s number crunchers have called Measure 92 dead, and the various campaigns appear to have concurred. The initiative would have required food producers to label products that contain GMOs, some 70 percent […]
Posted inNews
Oregon Legalizes Marijuana, Re-Elects John Kitzhaber, and Makes Other Questionable Decisions: Read Our Live Blog!
Welcome to the Blogtown Election Vulture’s Lair! In this post? Everything you need to know—and a bunch of stuff you didn’t—about tonight’s election results. Will marijuana prohibition die in Oregon—saving people trips across the Columbia to pay stupidly exorbitant prices for legal weed? Will we put labels lacking context on our food? How tightly will […]
Posted inElection 2014
Follow the Election Tonight… with the Mercury Live Blog!
Rest assured, dearies: Tonight is gonna be one crazy election night! So be sure to follow all the fun as we undertake our Election Night Live Blog—featuring up-to-the-second reports from all the campaigns and all the election night parties (including one we were “disinvited” from… more on that tonight as well!) Results will start pouring […]
Posted inNews
Vote, Damn You: Let’s Talk About the Oregon Equal Rights Amendment, AKA Measure 89
If you’ve waited this long to vote, there’s a good chance you’re probably not going to vote at all. And why would you? Up until this weekend, all you had to do was mark your ballot, find a stamp, and stick the thing in the closest mailbox—and you could feel okay knowing it would make […]
Posted inNews
Vote, Damn You: The Time to Mail Has Ceased, but You Can Still Fill Out a Ballot (We Like Merkley for Senate)
You still haven’t filled out your ballot? This is insane. Today was the last day to safely stick the thing in the mail, so if the postman doesn’t ring twice in your ‘hood, it might be time to bring your ballot to one of the many drop-off sites. And, hey, take a look at this […]
Posted inNews
Vote, Damn You: Why You Should Vote to Keep Funding Portland’s Precious Parks
If you haven’t already placed your ballot in a mailbox, stamped and ready to be counted by the kind people at Multnomah County, maybe you shouldn’t bother. It very likely won’t make it to the elections office in time. But don’t lose hope! County officials sprinkled several official “ballot drop” sites among us, all open […]
Posted inElection 2014
Talkin’ GMOs with KBOO
ASHLYAK AT ML.WIKIPEDIA Everyone knows the Mercury‘s not the only local paper to endorse a “no” vote on Measure 92, the GMO-labeling initiative, right? Most of Portland’s editorial boards have said it’s a bad idea (see here, here, and here). But for whatever reason, this paper seems to have gotten outsize attention for our stance. […]
Posted inElection 2014
Vote, Damn You: Here’s Why the Mercury Likes Measure 86
There’s less than a week left until the election, and only 23.8 percent of the state’s eligible voters have cast ballots. Here in Multnomah County, we’re doing worse than that (22.3 percent), and Washington County’s got the second-worst turnout in the state right now, at 20.1 percent. You know who’s doing pretty good, though? Clackamas […]