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Good morning, Portland! Letâs jump right into the latest happenings.
In local news:
â˘Â Seaside has started sweeping homeless campers, despite the actionâs questionable legality. The beach town doesnât have any shelters for homeless people, which means that legal precedent prohibits the city from forcing homeless people to move because the city isnât providing any alternatives. But, a new city ordinance skirts that issue by allowing people to camp at a nearby natural area nightly as long as they are gone by 8 am the following morning. Residents are calling the sweeps a success, but it appears that the homeless people formerly in Seaside have just moved to other beachside towns that also donât have any supportive services or affordable housing.
â˘Â Big bummer: Due to an ongoing driver shortage, TriMet will cancel two bus lines and reduce service on eight more starting in September. The agency is struggling with a historic driver shortage thatâs already caused service reductions and hundreds of spontaneously canceled buses and MAX trains.
â˘Â Anybody in the market for a derelict Boeing 747?
Abandoned 747, parked outside Evergreen air museum, to be sold at foreclosure auction https://t.co/gHo1bIrlp4
â The Oregonian (@Oregonian) June 22, 2022
â˘Â Itâs going to be freaking hot this weekend, with highs projected in the upper 90s. While Portlanders may flock to rivers and swimming holes to cool off, health officials are urging people to use caution, especially when it comes to âcold water shock.â Jumping from nearly 100 degree heat into 50 degree water can shock a personâs system significantly and, in some cases, may be fatal. Be careful and swim with a buddy.
â˘Â Whether contrarian or just comfortable with seeming contradiction, Logan Lynn is an artist interested in turning ideas on their heads. Check out Andrew Jankowskiâs convo with Lynn about designer fashion, gentrification, and addiction recovery here.
â˘Â ALERT! There are only four days left to enjoy the Mercuryâs Sandwich Week. Through Sunday, June 26, get deeeeelicious $8 sammies from 30 (!) local restaurants, including several vegan and vegetarian options.
Now in its fourth year, Dundee Lodge Campout's 2022 music bill aims to closely recreate a killer, two night line-up that organizers were forced to abandon in 2020âand they're adding Chicago composer Circuit Des Yeux and Michigan noise rockers Wolf Eyes.https://t.co/4SgIFtTxm6
â Portland Mercury đ (@portlandmercury) June 22, 2022
In national and international news:
â˘Â The Uvalde school districtâs police chief was placed on leave Wednesday following allegations that the police response to the mass school shooting was an âabject failure.â According to state officials, there was a sufficient number of armed law enforcement officers present to stop the gunman within three minutes of him entering the school. However, officers with rifles waited in the hallway for more than an hour while the gunman massacred children in a classroom. There is no indication that the officers tried to open the classroom door while the gunman was inside.
â˘Â At least 1,000 people are dead after a 6.1-magnitude earthquake in Afghanistan early Wednesday morning. An additional 1,500 people reported injuries following the quake, which was determined to be the deadliest earthquake the country has seen in two decades. Recovery from the natural disaster is hindered by the Talibanâs takeover of the country which caused international financiers to shun the Taliban government.
As the American artistic swimmer Anita Alvarez fainted and sank toward the bottom of the pool at the world championships, her coach Andrea Fuentes made a split-second decision: She dove in to save her.
Alvarez is doing "fine" now, her coach said. https://t.co/ptsESwZoIw
â The New York Times (@nytimes) June 23, 2022
â˘Â The Supreme Court struck down a New York gun control law Thursday. The law required people to demonstrate a particular need for carrying a gun in order to get a license to carry in public. The justices determined in a 6-3 vote that the law violated the Second Amendment. Six states have similar laws that are expected to be challenged following the SCOTUS ruling.
â˘Â The National Labor Relations Board is currently hearing Amazonâs objections to the union election in Staten Island to determine whether the election was fair or not. The hearing, which is being held on Zoom, has been a bit of a hot messâpeople muting and unmuting at the wrong times, someone taking over the screen and using the draw feature to write âUNIONâ over an Amazon video, and hundreds of people joining the Zoom room after the link was tweeted out. The case could last for months while Amazon calls dozens of witnesses in an attempt to prove that union organizers threatened people to vote in favor of the union and otherwise did not allow for a fair election.
â˘Â And finally, congratulations to Trumpet!
The smell of success: A bloodhound named Trumpet won the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, marking the first time the breed has ever snared U.S. dogdomâs most coveted best in show prize. https://t.co/j4RJyI1qBp pic.twitter.com/2j6ceoyaaL
â The Associated Press (@AP) June 23, 2022