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Good morning and good news, Portland! If you’ve been stalking the meteorologists, or just hovering over the weather app on your phone each day to see if we’re going to break 60, nay, 70 degrees, get ready for a ride that will last until Sunday. Today’s forecast calls for a high of 78 with a low of 53. The temperature could reach 86 (this feels like a prank, but whatever) on Friday, and 81 on Saturday, so buckle up! 😎

IN LOCAL NEWS:

• Two companies are competing for a contract with the city of Portland to provide gunshot detection technology. 

The city will likely launch a year-long pilot program focusing on neighborhoods with the highest rates of gun violence. One company, SoundThinking, (formerly known as ShotSpotter) has already been heavily scrutinized. 

The company claims a high degree of accuracy on its acoustic sensors, but several cities already using ShotSpotter note the technology has done little, if anything, to reduce gun violence. You may remember the same company was eagerly courting police before any public review process, in an effort to win a city contract. 

• In case you forgot, there’s an election coming up. On May 16, Multnomah County voters will choose among candidates for local school board races, the county board of commissioners and a proposed tax measure to fund lawyers in eviction cases, among other races. If you’re wondering why you haven’t gotten a ballot yet, it’s because of a printing error. The county says ballots will be mailed to registered voters by May 2.

• Several notable bills are making the rounds through the current legislative session, but one has environmental activists freaked out.

Citing a rise in political extremism, Oregon lawmakers are considering HB 2572, which would impose hefty fines and prison time for anyone blocking or disrupting public services like utilities, substations, roadways or government buildings. The bill would classify protests that block or disrupt those areas as “unlawful paramilitary activity.”

Local advocacy groups and legal experts say the bill creates a slippery slope.

• There are several things Portland still does better than most other cities. Coffee is one of them. Portland coffee roaster Andrew Coe took top honors in a roasting championship. Boom! 

• In a recent homicide case in Portland’s Cully neighborhood, the wife of a man shot and killed last week was arrested, telling investigators she was reaching for a bag of chips in a cupboard when she found a loaded gun. The woman said the gun went off by accident, killing her husband. 

IDK, maybe it’s just me, but I feel like this is a horrible reminder of why it’s morally wrong and dangerous to put the snacks out of reach. 

IN NATIONAL/WORLD NEWS:

• Jerry Springer, the trash TV talk show host and former Cincinnati mayor who rose to fame in the 1990s, has died. Springer simultaneously repulsed and captivated audiences with his daytime talk show that was never short on fights, shit talking, and outrageous guests. 

• If you think Portland’s weather is gloriously out of whack this week, just be glad we’re not in Texas or Florida, where baseball-sized hail pummeled the South. 

• If you needed a palate cleanser, here it is: A school in Virginia was visited by a family of ducks that needed escorting out of the halls. This is the second time ducks have tried to come to school, which is pretty impressive if you ask me.