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Good Afternoon, Portland! All silvery cats are actually the same cat at different moments in time / space! Let's hit the news!

IN LOCAL NEWS:

• Multnomah County sealed a time capsule into the wall of the Multnomah County Central Courthouse recently, sending people 98 years in the future a portrait of Portland in the summer and fall of 2020. The most interesting part of the capsule may be the letters from county judges—which included candid opinions on the 2020 protests, a brief but fiery rant about the old courthouse parking structure, and a knock knock joke.

• On Wednesday TriMet board members voted to expand the definition of “serious offenses,” a term encompassing all rider actions that can lead to temporary or lifetime bans from the public transit system. The changes ease the organization's ability to ban riders from the city's transit system if they chronically violate TriMet’s conduct rules—like smoking, littering, excessive noise, and non-transit use of the system (like when a homeless person uses TriMet as a form of shelter). Isabella Garcia reports. 

• Oregon State Senator Dallas Heard dropped a hot resignation letter yesterday afternoon, which he only lightly expanded upon in a statement that followed today, provided by the Senate Republican Caucus. Heard wrote that he's retiring from public service "until my children are at an age where they are more ready to face the world on their own"—a statement far tamer than his March resignation as chair of the Oregon Republican Party, where he  blamed "communist psychological warfare tactics" and a "wickedness within" the Republican Party. His term was not set to end until 2025, but he will vacate his office, starting Jan 1, 2023. 

• 'Tis the time of year for snacking and the Mercury's Food News round-up has some brand new suggestions for the weekend: Dance your last snack at Diane Lam's beloved Sunshine Noodles, which closes after service this Sunday. Scottie's Pizza Parlor opened a new shop in Nob Hill. And the team behind Mestizo has a new vegan pan-Asian spot. Sounds delish.

• It's flippin' Friday. Maybe you'd enjoy a quick quiz about the week's events before you log off? Also acceptable to just log off—but these quizzes are super funny.

IN NATIONAL / INTERNATIONAL NEWS:

• Last night the Twitter "space" (chat room) at the end of the world reconvened. That's what I call it when technology reporter Katie Notopoulos creates a space and 16,000 people tune to hear her moderate discussions—in this instance, related to several journalists being unceremoniously booted from Twitter without explanation. Despite Twitter owner Elon Musk's statements about free speech and jokes returning, he booted an account that tracked his private jet (this exists for many celebrities), citing concerns that people will see he singlehandedly negates Tesla's environmental offset about his family's safety. He then booted several well known journalists who dared to report the story. He then booted people who reported on the banning of those journalists. But Notopoulos noticed that she could still invite the suspended Twitter journalists onto the enormous call, due to a weird glitch. Elon Musk himself showed up in the chat for a glorious two minutes and forty seconds. In the aftermath, Notopoulos is banned from creating Twitter "spaces."

• The European Union approved a ninth round of sanctions against Russia today. The sanctions include: a ban on drone exports to the country, cutting off three Russian banks from access to EU markets, and restricting the export of chemicals and nerve agents to Russia. The New York Times also reports that a near-total embargo on the import of Russian oil went into effect this month.

• Today Brittney Griner left the Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, where she has remained for the past eight days ever since she was released from a Russian penal colony. NYT describes the center as "a place the U.S. government has sent people who need to be debriefed or who require sensitive medical care." On social media she announced that she plans to return to the WNBA in May.

• Here is your energy for the weekend:

@becbecmolka oops 🤷🏼‍♀️ #thewhitelotus ♬ Renaissance (Main Title Theme) [from "The White Lotus: Season 2"] - Cristobal Tapia De Veer