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Good morning, Portland! Winter has arrived with a vengeance. It's dark, cold, and wet out there most of the time nowadays, and today will be no different. In fact, there's a "bomb cyclone" on the way, meaning an (EXTRA) lot of rain is on the forecast starting tonight, potentially resulting in some flooding, so be careful! The weather system should also bring some needed snow to the mountains and make Mt. Hood all pretty and stuff, if the clouds ever part so we can see it again.
That's enough of the weather report. Let's get to some other news.
IN LOCAL NEWS:
• The city of Portland is expected to pay $400,000 to settle an excessive force civil suit brought against Portland police by resident Dustin Ferreira. Ferreira, who uses a wheelchair, says former police Sgt. Justin Damerville used excessive force against him during a 2020 protest, pushing his wheelchair and grabbing him. This is the largest settlement yet for a single plaintiff regarding use of excessive force by Portland police during the 2020 protests.
Facing inherited budget woes, unfamiliar bureaucratic systems, and voters eager for a new direction, expectations are high for Portland's brand-new city councilors.
Here's how some of the new electeds — and the people who helped propel them into office — are thinking about the task.
— Alex Zielinski (@alexzee.bsky.social) November 19, 2024 at 8:18 AM
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• The public comment period for the Interstate Bridge Replacement (IBR) project ended last night, so hopefully those aggrieved (or happy with) the project got a chance to share their opinions. We covered this issue last week and it already got a Good Morning, News blurb yesterday, but I wanted to promote some more coverage of a group that is especially riled up about the current plan to replace the I-5 bridge connecting Portland to Vancouver: Hayden Island residents. An OPB article digs deep into I-5 bridge replacement concerns from people who live on the island in the Columbia River, which is well-known as the home of the Jantzen Beach Center but also has about 3,000 residents. Those who live on Hayden Island are worried about the long-term impacts of construction for this massive project, potential residential and commercial property displacement, the impact of tolling, and more.
IBR program administrator Greg Johnson is quoted in the OPB article weighing the project's priorities: “We have to look out for the local interest, but we also have to look at the bigger picture of what’s happening regionally and nationally with this corridor." But Hayden Island residents feel project leaders haven't been responsive to their needs.
• About 1,000 graduate students at Oregon State University have been on strike for a week now, with no sign of an end in sight. The graduate workers are demanding a 40 percent raise for the lowest-paid union members, who take home only about $1,400 monthly after taxes—not a living wage! The university hasn't been receptive to these demands, and the strike will continue until OSU's leaders step up.
• New Critical Energy Infrastructure hub news:
Multnomah County is advancing an ordinance to require owners of fossil fuels & hazardous materials facilities to provide financial assurance for damages caused by catastrophic spills at the Critical Energy Infrastructure Hub in NW Portland.
New from @jeremiahhayden.bsky.social
— Nick Caleb (@ecosozialismus.bsky.social) November 19, 2024 at 8:54 AM
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• There are now more than 100,000 registered electric cars in Oregon, marking a new milestone for the state–and solidifying our place as a top national adopter of electric vehicles. Only 10 years ago, Oregon had just over 5,000 EV registrations, and about 27,000 five years ago, so this new record marks big growth. It's due in large part to the combined state and federal tax credits for purchasing electric cars—the latter of which will likely be going away under the future Trump administration. It's unclear what Oregon leaders will do to combat the impact that could have on local EV adoption.
IN NATIONAL/WORLD NEWS:
• Pope Francis has called for an investigation about whether or not Israel's attacks on Gaza constitute a genocide, and suggested in a new book he believes it does. This is the first time he's suggested publicly that Israel is engaged in a genocide, a claim many people have made over the last year as the country's military has killed more than 40,000 Palestinians, many of them children, in supposed pursuit of Hamas leaders. Will the pope's words mean anything to those justifying these killings? That's not clear, but it's notable that he is speaking out.
• Oh, great. I was spending the last couple weeks so worried about the climate crisis, I couldn't even start to worry about nuclear war. But the brain is capable of doing multiple things at once, especially after this recent development:
President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday lowered Russia’s threshold for the use of nuclear weapons. The timing appeared designed to show the country could respond aggressively to Ukrainian strikes on their territory with U.S. long-range missiles.
— The New York Times (@nytimes.com) November 19, 2024 at 8:49 AM
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• Who will be Pete Buttigieg's successor as the secretary of the US Department of Transportation? If Trump gets his way, it'll be former Wisconsin Congressman/reality TV show personality/current Fox News contributor Sean Duffy. Trump announced his intention to nominate Duffy yesterday, in a move that didn't get quite as much attention as some of his more high-profile nominations in the past couple weeks. Duffy seemingly has very little experience with in the transportation world, which doesn't matter much when your job mainly revolves around shilling for Elon Musk and Tesla.
• Good news! A judge in Wyoming struck down the state’s abortion ban and ban on medication-induced abortions. The state laws were challenged in court by four women, including two doctors and two nonprofit leaders—and they won! It’s unclear if the case will be challenged in a higher court, but it’s good to see these draconian bans challenged even in Republican strongholds (and that’s putting it lightly) like Wyoming.
• Finally...may your day today be as relaxed as this 140-year-old tortoise at the San Diego Zoo. BYE!
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