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Good morning, Portland! Have you treated yourself to a plate of nachos this week? The Mercuryâs NACHO WEEKâ$6 nachos from your fav local eateriesâlasts through Sunday, so snag some body fuel before itâs too late! Now, on to the brain fuel.Â
In local news:
⢠After a mixed year of public scrutiny and praise, the Portland Clean Energy Fund is asking city council to approve $107 million in green energy-related grants next week. These grants are a major increase from the $8.6 million in funding the program distributed during its first year and are the first grants to go through the programâs addition vetting process.Â
⢠Climate change is making the Pacific Northwest an increasingly attractive home for mosquitoes. According to Multnomah County officials, the region is seeing tens of thousands more mosquitoes than normal thanks to our wet spring and hot summerâconditions that will only increase with climate change.Â
The latest in the Don't Shoot PDX lawsuit: A judge believes there aren't enough commonalities between people hit by tear gas and munitions during the 2020 racial justice protests to place them in a specific class.https://t.co/eR4IdSAtg7
â Portland Mercury đ (@portlandmercury) July 13, 2022
⢠An investigation by Portland Police Bureau concluded that one of its own officers did not violate professional conduct standards by joining the Oath Keepers, an anti-government militia, in 2018. According to the report obtained by OPB, PPB found that the officerâs membership to the group did not affect PPB operations or erode public trust.Â
⢠My favorite excerpt from Suzette Smithâs conversation with poet Matthew Dickman: "I'll tell you my biggest fear," Dickman says, regarding his reading style. "My biggest fear is that someone will finally figure out that these booksâHusbandry, Wonderland, and Mayakofsky's Revolverâare just Dickman talking. And people will be like: 'That's not art. That's just this guy, like, talking out loud.â"
⢠Weed sales have hit a three-year low in Portland despite the price of cannabis flower being the lowest itâs been since April 2019. Growers and sellers have some theories, including the end of âwork from stonedâ and inflation cutting into Portlanders' discretionary weed budget.
⢠This weekâs Best Contributing Member of Society award goes to Michael, who answered my call for editing the Jurassic Park music over this video of baby flamingos at the Oregon Zoo:
@portlandmercury @isabellaaliciaa pic.twitter.com/djRr9I4LCv
â MichĂŚl Buchino (@buchino) July 13, 2022
In national news:
⢠In the past 12 months, average food prices increased by 10.4 percentâthe largest annual increase since 1981. Grocery staples like eggs and flour have spiked the most, increasing in cost by 33 and 19 percent respectively. Some financial analysts believe weâre currently at peak food inflation (thank goodness) but estimate it will take six to nine months for prices to actually start falling.Â
⢠The city of Detroit will pay a $7.5 million settlement to a man who claims police switched bullets in a murder case to pin it on him, leading to 25 years in prison for a crime he didnât commit. The man was convicted of fatally shooting a friend in 1992 after police seized a gun that belonged to the manâs mother and claimed it was the murder weapon. Police testified that the bullets from the gun matched the bullets in the victim, but they were actually two different sizes.Â
Pharmacists refusing to fill prescriptions for medications used for abortion could be violating civil rights law.
â NPR (@NPR) July 13, 2022
The meds are also used to treat miscarriages, arthritis and ulcers. https://t.co/cweLSmtJQP
⢠Subway can be sued over its claim that its tuna is â100% tuna,â a federal judge ruled Wednesday. A woman is suing the sandwich chain, claiming that 19 of 20 samples from Subway tuna sandwiches contained âno detectable tuna DNAâ during an unofficial analysis by a marine biologist. Subway tried to get the case dismissed, claiming that tuna routinely contains other ingredients like mayonnaise (uhhh okay⌠but WHEREâS THE TUNA, SUBWAY?)
⢠More than 40 people are missing after severe flooding in western Virginia on Tuesday, according to local authorities. A series of storms dropped four to six inches of rain over a few hours, closing roads and causing landslides.
⢠Have you ever seen a bear pant?
A black bear in Massachusetts was caught on camera trying to cool off in a backyard fishpond until a koi carp scared it away. pic.twitter.com/O7X1qimEDL
â The Associated Press (@AP) July 14, 2022