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Good Morning, Portland! It’s August. It’s hot. It’s also a little muggy, so brace yourself, but be thankful you’re not stuck in Arizona, where high temps recently made the pavement so hot, it left people with serious burns, or Texas, where residents are seeing skyrocketing energy bills due to constant air conditioning use.
In Local News:
- Portland Police Bureau finally released the names of the three officers who shot and killed the Legacy Good Sam shooting suspect last month. It’s the second fatal officer-involved shooting this year. All three officers remain on paid leave while an investigation takes place. What’s notable is not that the names were released, but just how long it took to do so.
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Portland again made national headlines recently after OHSU’s Richmond Clinic in Southeast Portland barred a patient who apparently has nothing better to do than complain about the clinic’s display of a transgender flag. OHSU clinic staff claim Marlene Barbera made hurtful and hateful comments about transgender people while criticizing a flag at the building. In response, they told Barbera to find another health care provider. Listen Marlene, I suspect you’d get the same response if you came in spouting Nazi support. Health care clinics are filled with diverse staff, including trans and nonbinary folks who have a gazillion patients to treat and better things to do than assuage your homophobic/transphobic ass.
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In other health-related news, an Oregon woman deserves a special prize for being the biggest donor of breast milk. Aloha resident Elisabeth Anderson-Sierra now holds the Guinness World Record for donating just over 54,000 ounces of breast milk, most of which helps feed premature babies. Anderson-Sierra has hyperlactation syndrome. While she awaits treatment, she’s using her body’s milk production for good.
For the last nine years, Elisabeth Anderson-Sierra has produced around two gallons of milk each day. Much of it has been used to keep premature babies alive. https://t.co/U67O12GGI5
— Katherine Cook (@KCookKGW) August 8, 2023
- Finally, in case you forgot, Portland has raccoons. Lately, some of those trash pandas have been quite rude to the people and pets they’ve encountered. Residents in Portland’s Alphabet District have reported raccoon attacks to their pets that required emergency vet visits.
Alphabet District residents have begun to place signs around their neighborhood to warn others about the aggressive family of raccoons, and to be careful after dark. https://t.co/idn5kYv3kB
— KOIN News (@KOINNews) August 8, 2023
In National/World News:
- Thousands of city workers in Los Angeles are on strike for 24 hours, alleging unfair labor practices. More than 11,000 employees are taking part, alleging the city hasn’t made a good faith effort to negotiate a fair labor contract. The news out of L.A. is just the latest in what feels like a collective uprising of the masses (holds fist in the air.) ICYMI: Employees at Portland’s Powell’s Books are also considering a strike.
- Attorneys for Donald Trump, the man who used to live in the White House, but now basically lives in court, argued his First Amendment rights would be violated by a protective order seeking to keep discovery evidence secret in the case against Trump for his role in working to overturn the 2020 election and frankly, overthrow democracy.
- In bummer news, Alaska’s glaciers are melting and causing alarm about the potential for more catastrophic flooding in the future. The recent burst of a glacial dam destroyed homes in Juneau.
Raging waters from a glacier-dammed lake destroyed this home over the weekend in Alaska’s capital city of Juneau. The city says it is now working to assess damages. There are no reports of any deaths or injuries. pic.twitter.com/DZ1k6XV3j6
— The Associated Press (@AP) August 7, 2023
- The U.S. is concerned about militant mercenary group, Wagner, In Niger, Africa, where a coup recently took place. Here’s a helpful guide on how to make sense of what’s happening, and why it’s significant.
You take a wrong door and step into the middle of this business meeting. What's currently on the agenda? pic.twitter.com/xjrT2ck07A
— cats with jobs 🛠 (@CatWorkers) August 6, 2023