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Good Morning, Portland! We're looking at a warmish rainyish weekend, with temps hitting mid-50s during the day and keeping up mid-40s at night. Temperatures above 45 help everyone hold onto their humanity, and so I'm grateful for that. Mind the sun setting at 4:30 pm like a goddamn psychopath.
IN LOCAL NEWS:
⢠A Multnomah County Circuit Court judge has put a temporary injunction on Portland City Council's camping ban until a lawsuit against it can be settled. In a way, this is a favor to Mayor Wheeler and the rest of the City Council who never seemed to know how on earth such a policy would be enforced. Street Roots reports that the county's tally of 2,000 shelter beds offers overnight shelter to fewer than 30 percent of homeless Portlanders.
⢠New developments in the ongoing Portland Public Schools teachers' strike: Hundreds of electricians, pipe fitters, sheet metal workers, and other construction workers working on the remodel of Benson High School walked off their jobs this week, as a show of support. "We're trying to get our message to PPS. It costs them a lot of money every day to run this job site, especially if we're not there," an electrician told the Mercury. "The hope for every worker on the job site is that [walking off] will put pressure on the district, and that PPS is listening to us honoring the teachers' picket."Â
Construction workers building the new Benson HS have a message for Portland Public Schools during the teachers' strike:
â Taylor Griggs (@taylorjgriggs) November 9, 2023
"We arenât gonna build this thing if [PPS] doesn't meet their demands." https://t.co/ZjFhKI7hC8
⢠Mercury News Editor Courtney Vaughn went on City Cast Portland Wednesday to discuss the future of Oregon's drug decriminalization Measure 110, whether a new drug detox center in Portland is a sign that the measure is finally having a positive impact, and if lawmakers will get rid of the measure before we can actually see it work.
⢠If I worked at the Oregon Capital Chronicle, I would try to popularize the phrase "Who's ready to get CHRONky with the ORChron?" But I do not (call me). ORChron reports that Gov. Tina Kotek has ordered the Oregon Department of Corrections to address issues at Wilsonville's Coffee Creek prison, where a former nurse sexually assaulted incarcerated women, and a corrections sergeant has also been charged with sexual misconduct. Kotek said the department must make improvements to the care incarcerated women receive there and submit a report on their improvements to her office within 60 days.
⢠OPB reports that veterinarians in the Willamette Valley are warning pet owners of an unknown respiratory illness they've seen sickening dogs in the area (it's currently unclear if dogs are becoming sick outside our area). A laboratory director at OSU advised dog owners to "make sure their dog is vaccinated for all sorts of canine pathogens, stay attuned to how their dog is behaving, and reach out to their veterinarian.â
⢠The day has finally come; long-prophesied Green Day at Providence Park tickets go on sale this morningâalthough, with the presale stuff, they really went on sage two days ago, but I digress. Swoop in there to see if any are left, or peruse our calendar team's list of ticket drops for other notable shows, such as pop power trio Bailen or insightful Finnish comedian Ismo Leikola. Read the whole list here.
IN NATIONAL / INTERNATIONAL NEWS:
⢠It feels like whoever mailed letters laced with fentanyl (and other substances) to election offices in Lane County, Oregon; King County, Washington; Fulton County, Georgia, and offices in Los Angeles and Sacramento was under the impression that someone can just touch fentanyl and overdose? You can't. It could also be interpreted as an I'll show them move, but when you've resorted to sending fentanyl through the mail you've essentially lost the rhetorical argument.
⢠In response to President Joe Biden's request for a multi-day stoppage in Israel's assault on northern Gaza, Israel's government announced it would create four-hour daily humanitarian pauses, which it will announce three hours in advance. Israel says it will also open a second corridor for civilian flightâthough since Egypt isn't accepting refugees where are they even running to? The situation in refugee shelters sounds apocalyptic.
⢠Tens of thousands of displaced people were sheltering at Gaza City's largest hospital complex, Al Shifa Hospital, when an Israeli airstrike exploded near its entrance. The Israeli military claimed an ambulance was âbeing used by a Hamas terrorist cell.â Of Gaza's 36 hospitals, 20 are no longer able to function, the WHO said.
⢠G/O Media announced yesterday that, after trying unsuccessfully to sell the site, they were shuttering Jezebel and laying off the site's reporting staff. The parent company's chief executive Jim Spanfelder explained that the company was weathering "economic headwinds" and shifting audience priorities. G/O Media also owns Gizmodo, Quartz, and Deadspin. It has a fine history of being a total shitshow and a death knell for any news publication it purchases. Here's you reminder that newspapers are profitable and hedge funds intentionally destroy them because cities without good news sources are easier to do corrupt shit in.
Jezebel was a good website. Our statement: pic.twitter.com/ORWDOY8IXG
â GMG Union (@gmgunion) November 9, 2023
⢠Jill Stein back at it again! Yesterday her campaign announced she will seek the Green Party's nomination to run as a third candidate in the 2024 US presidential election. Stein has run and lost beforeâin 2016, she won approximately 1.4 million votes, and people blamed her for pulling votes away from Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, who lost to Donald Trump (although Clinton won the popular vote by 2.9 million ballots).
⢠West Virginia senator Joe Manchin announced yesterday that he will not seek re-election for his seat, leading to rumors that he could also mount a bid for president.
⢠In our list of Favorite Books from 2022, we noted the paradox of cartoonist Tessa Brunton living with chronic fatigue syndrome when the comics she makes show tremendous amounts of detail and effort. Take that context for this recent GIF by the artist, but its sentiments apply to us all. NO. No, I say!
More health chores, yes? pic.twitter.com/UlFDuAMe4t
â Tessa Brunton (@tessabrunton) November 8, 2023