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GOOD MORNING, PORTLAND! There's a quite lot going on in our fair city. Let's dive into the headlines.
IN LOCAL NEWS:
- The Portland teachers' strike has rolled into its second week with few signs of progress in negotiations between PPS and the Portland Association of Teachers, and a number of state lawmakers are placing the blame squarely at the feet of the school district. Taylor Griggs has the latest.
Frustrated with claims from PPS leaders that the state is failing to fund schools, members of the Oregon legislature have strengthened their alliance with Portland teachers during their second week on strike.https://t.co/t8GGI2qroX
— Portland Mercury 🗞 (@portlandmercury) November 7, 2023
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Despite his history of sexist tweets and a warning from supporters, the Portland Timbers made their hire of 46-year-old Phil Neville as the club's new manager official yesterday. The Englishman is the Timbers' fourth permanent MLS manager, and, by far, their most controversial. Here's more on Neville.
- Some good news on the housing front! Multnomah County officials announced yesterday that 99 percent of the people placed into permanent supportive housing between the summers of 2021 and 2022 remain stably housed today. Of the 532 people housed using funds from the homelessness services tax, just five are currently houseless again.
Portland's police union prez on recriminalizing small amts of drugs: “If you want to give police back [the ability to arrest people for possession], I think it’s really, really important to recognize the significant cultural shift that will happen there.”https://t.co/rUw2xcXbLS
— Alex Zielinski (@alex_zee) November 7, 2023
- A number of local law enforcement officials are begging the state legislature to recriminalize possession of small amounts of drugs. It is not clear why they think this approach to would work to cut down on drug use now when it has never worked before... but okay!
- Donald “Doc” Slyter, Chief of the Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw Indians (CTCLUSI), died over the weekend. Slyter, who was active in the fight to restore federal recognition for the tribes in the 1980s, was 72 years old.
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Do you want to WIN FREE TICKETS to see this Wednesday's hilarious "Two Evils" live comedy game show (guest-starring Kirsten Kuppenbender from Lez Stand Up)? Enter to win here! 🤑https://t.co/IlTKtfqpIY
— Portland Mercury 🗞 (@portlandmercury) November 6, 2023
IN NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL NEWS:
- The death toll from Israel's military bombardment of Gaza has already exceeded 10,000 people, with a further 25,000 people injured and hundreds of thousands more homeless and no real end in sight. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in an interview Monday that Israel will continue to oversee security in the Gaza strip once the fighting ends.
Several weeks ago, we published a dispatch from Khalil Abu Yahia on life in Gaza as the bombing started and his political vision. We learned last week he had been killed. Here is a beautiful remembrance from two of his friends and colleagues: https://t.co/5UusDu4zUq
— Mari Cohen (@maricohen95) November 7, 2023
- Democrats are beginning to panic about the electoral viability of old man Joe Biden, whose poll numbers have taken a nose-dive in the month since he's steadfastly aligned himself with Israel's campaign in Gaza and alienated a significant swath of his base. "It's a five-alarm fire," one senior Democratic aide told NBC News.
- Of course, Biden's likely 2024 opponent has his own issues—which, this week, include berating the judge of a trial he's the defendant in. Donald Trump testified in his civil fraud trial in New York on Monday, going so far with his rhetoric that at one point Judge Arthur Engoron told his lawyer to control him. Fun times!
NEW: @TeenVogue's RED TIDE package explores life in Florida under Ron DeSantis.
— Lex McMenamin (they/them) is on Bsky :) (@leximcmenamin) November 7, 2023
I drove from Tampa to Tallahassee to Sarasota to speak with members of the Tampa Five, organizers on repro and LGBTQ+ rights, and marginalized youth about their survival. ⬇️ https://t.co/Agr0e97GkR
- Muslim and Jewish organizations are denouncing a rise in Islamophobia and antisemitism on American college campuses across the country in the wake of the Hamas attack against Israel on October 7 that have seen students doxxed, harassed, and otherwise intimidated because of their identities or political activities.
- It's Election Day! Not here in Portland, mind you, but plenty of states are making fateful decisions today. Ohio can enshrine abortion rights in its constitution, Virginia is electing a new legislature, and Kentucky and Mississippi have competitive gubernatorial races worth watching.
- Finally...
A kinetic , musical sculpture by artist Étienne Krähenbühl. This is called ``State of the Soul''pic.twitter.com/gJu03ayfpp
— Science girl (@gunsnrosesgirl3) November 7, 2023