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GOOD MORNING, PORTLAND! Today is set to be another sunny and pleasant one in the Portland area, and it looks like the trend of not-too-hot weather will remain at least through the weekend. Alright, enough about the weather. Ready for some news?
IN LOCAL NEWS:
• Last weekend, a gunman threatened staff at Legacy Good Sam Hospital in Portland, before shooting and killing a security guard and fleeing. Three Portland police officers later shot and killed the suspect, but we don't know which officers were involved, and we likely won't for a while. Here's a rundown of what we know and won't know about last weekend's tragic hospital shooting.
• Portland auditors found that company the city hired to board up burglarized businesses was charging business owners too much, skirting its city contract. Our Courtney Vaughn has the story.
• What can be done about Oregon's housing shortage? A new OPB report digs deep into our state's housing crisis, getting into the wonky nitty-gritty of state zoning laws, NIMBYism, and more.
The weather is pleasantly mild, but the music news from Hear in Portland is HOT!
— Portland Mercury 🗞 (@portlandmercury) July 26, 2023
SPA HOT: Greaterkind graces a steamy concert series
SONG HOT: with a collab from Mal London and JxJury
SAD HOT: as Dame D.O.L.L.A. drops a music video for "The Way It Goes"https://t.co/SbQkwpO7hc
• Better bus service on 82nd Ave? It's one step closer to reality, thanks to a 650k federal grant awarded to the city last week. Bus rapid transit on 82nd Ave would be huge for the many people who use the corridor to get around by bus, but we probably can't expect to see any big changes for quite some time. Still, more money is a good thing.
• The Portland salary commission has finalized pay rates for city council members under the new charter, meaning everyone on council will get a raise starting in 2025.
IN NATIONAL/WORLD NEWS:
• The legendary Irish singer/outspoken activist Sinéad O'Connor has died much too young at age 56: a terrible tragedy for so many people around the world who admired her. Rest in peace, Sinéad.
• In scary marine life news that makes me fear even more for our world (the animals know something bad is happening):
A pod of nearly 100 pilot whales huddled together for nearly a day off a remote beach in Western Australia, at times making the shape of a circle, a line and even a heart, before beaching themselves. More than 50 have died, the authorities said.https://t.co/x18yO5hhxS
— The New York Times (@nytimes) July 27, 2023
• But hey, here's some good eco-news from Brazil, where a massive landfill has been replaced by a mangrove forest:
Latin America’s once-largest landfill has now been replaced by a mangrove forest. It has been a decade since the landfill was shut down and Rio de Janeiro redoubled its efforts to recover the ecosystem. pic.twitter.com/3F8k6CN9NM
— The Associated Press (@AP) July 26, 2023
• Finally, take a look at this pile of otters, courtesy of the Oregon Zoo:
Hi
— Oregon Zoo (@OregonZoo) July 25, 2023
hi
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