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Good morning, Portland! Hopefully you enjoyed yesterday’s rain shower. Prepare to dry out again. The weather wizards predict Thursday and Friday could bring us back to the mid to high 90s and maybe, just maaaaybe, we could hit triple digits again. 

In Local News:

• The Mercury has new ownership. Index Media, the company that owns the Portland Mercury, its Seattle-based sister paper The Stranger, Everout, and Bold Type Tickets, was sold to a new venture called Noisy Creek, owned by former Washington state Democratic lawmaker, Brady Piñero Walkinshaw. Walkinshaw also previously ran the environmental and solutions journalism news site Grist.

Even as murmurs circulated among Portland's and Seattle’s media landscapes that left staffers with no more fingernails to bite off, management stayed tight-lipped about the deal to its staff. Employees were later informed about details of the sale’s impact on operations and staff roles Tuesday morning. What does this mean for you, beloved reader? Hopefully nothing. What’s it mean for employees? Also hopefully nothing. Walkinshaw has indicated no intentions of layoffs, which is great because my feet aren’t cute enough to fetch money on OnlyFans. The purchase came with the addition of at least three new staffers at The Stranger, including author and Rolling Stone alum Hannah Murphy Winter, the new editor in chief.

 

• The city of Portland’s promise to fine or jail unhoused people who sleep outside, but decline a shelter bed, appears to be a flop so far. Willamette Week reports the Multnomah County Jail declined to book the first person arrested for violating Portland’s new homeless camping ordinance. The county sheriff’s office says it doesn’t book people into jail whose only crime is breaking a city ordinance. Someone please tell the city’s attorneys and elected leaders.

• Even hospitals fuck up. Providence Health faces a class-action lawsuit after previously notifying patients who received anesthesia that they may have been exposed to HIV and/or Hepatitis. The patients behind the lawsuit say they were treated by a contracted physician who didn’t adhere to protocols for infection prevention.

• It’s last call for the Mercury’s Summer of Slushies. The month-long offering of boozy, frozen cocktail drinks at a plethora of bars across the city is coming to an end on July 31.

 

In National/World News:

• Israel’s military is investigating reports of “serious abuse” of a Palestinian military detainee by IDF reservists. The move is apparently causing outrage among Israel’s far-right. Right-wing protesters tried to storm the Israeli military base where the detainees are kept.

• Monday marked a concerted effort among #White Dudes for Harris. A massive Zoom call featured comedians, actors and speakers–all targeting other progressive white “dudes” to build support for Vice President Kamala Harris’s presidential election campaign. Nearly $4 million was raised in one day, and the web was filled with so many virtual fist bumps, it began to feel like a frat party for middle-age dads.

• Whoopsie! Canada's national women's soccer team was recently caught spying on opponents using a drone at the Paris Olympics. ESPN reports a staffer of the Canadian team used a drone to film the New Zealand women's soccer team's closed practice. French police were notified and traced the aircraft back to one of the team's staffers. The drone operator, along with an assistant coach, were sent home. The Canadian team's head coach voluntarily removed herself from the coaching staff for Canada's game against New Zealand on Thursday. Canada beat New Zealand 2-1. Apparently, this isn't the first time the national team has surreptitiously filmed their opponents to gain advantage and counter their strategies.

 
 
 
 
 
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