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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.
  • 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. 

  • 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. 

  • 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.

 

In National/World News:

  • 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.