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Good Morning, Portland! Good morning, RAIN. We're looking at 100 percent raaaaaaaaain this morning, which will decrease to 60 percent chance by the evening. I tend to measure by percentages (60 percent is like you might get stuck in it, but some of it will be clear), but if you're an inches person, we're looking at a quarter of an inch today and another one tomorrow. 

IN LOCAL NEWS:
Kind of hard to say if yesterday's Portland city council vote to elect a council president was actually a dramatic top story, or if a bunch of people weren't back from vacation yet. But if you weren't watching the play-by-play unfold on Bluesky, the council elected Elana Pirtle-Guiney (D2) after nine rounds of voting. Councilor Mitch Green (D4) was the swing that broke the deadlock, after he switched his vote from Councilor Candace Avalos (D1) to Pirtle-Guiney. The rounds of votes took some by surprise, especially those who considered Steve Novick (D3) a shoo-in for council president. According to the Street Trust's Sarah Iannarone, Novick said "the job of president is to speak for the council as a whole, which is why he did not run. 'I can only speak for myself.'"

Final word? Let's get OPB's news director Anna Griffin in here:

 

Joking aside, I kinda think this is exactly how you want important votes over leadership to go with the new-and-maybe-improved-who-actually-knows-for-sure Portland City Council. Messy but mostly in the open? With the political and philosophical lines clear to everyone paying attention?

— anna griffin (@agopb.bsky.social) January 2, 2025 at 1:52 PM

 

• In local healthcare providers be wildin' news, Aetna has dropped Providence Health & Services in Oregon from its insurance network—just like 'fuck you' to anyone who was seeing a doctor in that network, who will now face steep fees for visiiting an out-of-network provider. TWIST: Providence employee health plans are administered by Aetna! Providence told the Oregonian, the change wouldn't impact its employees benefits "noting that the health system is self-insured and Aetna’s role is limited to plan administration."

• In other is this news? news, Portland Police announced yesterday that they'd arrested a graffiti artist allegedly responsible for the tag GIMER (Graffiti Is Me Escaping Reality). Weird thing, they busted this guy's house in June 2024, seizing "1,500 cans of spray paint totaling more than $10,000." He wasn't home at that time, but they said they were "aware of his location." They arrested him at his home yesterday. SO WHY DO YOU CARE? Well, GIMER gave an interview to local "Portland's news sucks" series Chvostown / Chaostown for an episode called "Portland is losing the graffiti war." So are Chvostown narcs? I will tell you that if you put "Portland's news sucks" in your trailer, you might want to be thick-skinned enough to weather me mentioning it when I run into you—the host was not.

• After 28 years, Democratic congressman Earl Blumenauer has left House politics for collegiate concerns. Mercury reporter Taylor Griggs spoke with him on how Oregon has changed during his tenure and his his plans to knit Portland State University closer to the city in which it is located.

• Want to leave your sweetie a love note? We're giving you a shot here:

 

It's time to submit your FREE Mercury Valentine for your lovers and/or friends! The first 800 valentines will be featured in our upcoming Love & Sex issue in print. But hurry, hurry... deadline for print inclusion is January 15! ❤️🏃‍♀️
www.portlandmercury.com/luv/2025/01/...

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— Portland Mercury (@portlandmercury.bsky.social) January 2, 2025 at 11:19 AM

 

IN NATIONAL / INTERNATIONAL NEWS:
As people continue to reel from the New Year's Eve vehicle-on-pedestrian attack in New Orleans, residents are questioning why safety bollards hadn't been repaired in the section of Bourbon Street where the attack took place. Weirdly, with both the New Orleans attack and the Cybertruck that exploded in Las Vegas the vehicles had been rented from peer-to-peer carsharing service Turo.

 

NEW: Peer-to-peer car rental company Turo confirms that both the truck used in the New Orleans attack and the Tesla Cybertruck that exploded in Las Vegas were rented through its service.
www.nytimes.com/live/2025/01...

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— Mike Baker (@mikebaker.bsky.social) January 1, 2025 at 6:29 PM

 

• Syrian residents say Israeli forces are raiding their homes as part of a potential land grab. NPR reports that Israel has taken more of Syria's Golan Heights area, as part of its military maneuvers, and notes that Israel actually seized much of the Golan Heights area decades ago and never gave it back. Israel, of course, says its protecting itself. 

• Also of purported consequence today, electing a House speaker.

 

The first order of business for the House this year is to elect a speaker but divisions within the GOP are already causing drama for the current speaker, Louisiana Republican Mike Johnson.

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— NPR (@npr.org) January 3, 2025 at 9:14 AM

 

Sending you into the weekend with this unproblematic niche Facebook group fav:

 

I keep getting more niche facebook groups recommended to me. My favorite recently: "this IS an airport, please announce your departure: aeroplane ear posting." which is people posting pictures of cats with airplane ears, and describing the cats as though they are planes.

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— Lillian Karabaic (@anomalily.net) January 2, 2025 at 10:50 AM