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Good Morning, Portland! Expect sunny skies today, but don’t let the sunshine fool you. Tonight we’ll see temps drop into the low 30s, then plunge into the 20s before sunrise Wednesday. If you or someone you know needs shelter, here’s an updated list of emergency warming shelter availability.

In Local News: 

• Portland City Council is kicking off meetings for its brand new policy committees this week. For local political geeks, this is a big deal. Committee meetings, much like Congressional committees, will be formative for new city policy proposals and in-depth discussions before proposals hit the City Council agenda. For those of you normies who don’t religiously read local government agendas, don’t fret. The Mercury nerds will be popping in and spitting out CliffsNotes on any important business (or hot gossip) that takes place. 

 

• This week’s forecast calls for a decent chance of snow. Good thing we recently named these city snow plows, or Plowy McPlowface and its crew might not show up to work when called. 

“Mother, the ice storm in Portland continues unabated, and we’re not sure how much longer we can continue. The MAX lines, which work twelve days a year, are shut down. The city’s lone snow plow clears only the street in front of the new Four Seasons. We have not been to a New Seasons in eight days.”

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— Valarie Smith (@valarie.bsky.social) January 18, 2024 at 3:59 PM

• Officials at the city of Portland are looking to a Senate bill to help the city stave off legal challenges and snags from land-use regulations for the $2 billion Bull Run water treatment plant. The Oregonian reports SB 936 would allow the city to circumvent the typical land use appeals process. Oregon's Land Use Board of Appeals recently invalidated part of a land use permit for the costly project.

 

• Portland is still a hot bed of music. Need proof? Check out this perfect amalgamation of just a handful of shows happening this weekend. Catch progenitors of punk Bow Wow Wow on Friday and stick around to take in the nostalgic new wave of The Motels at the Bossanova Ballroom. Need something a little more mellow and modern? Portland’s own Charlie Brown Quartet (Charlie Brown III) performs free at the Interstate Firehouse Cultural Center this Saturday and still, if none of that tickles yer fancy, there’s always a show to shake your ass at.

 

• Plan now for the return of one of the funniest events of the year in Portland, the Geniuses of Comedy. For one night in March, a gaggle of comedians will descend on Revolution Hall to showcase their best material. It doesn’t get much better than this. Don’t sleep on tickets!

You need big laughs, so don't miss the comedy event of the year: the Mercury's 2025 Undisputable Geniuses of Comedy! Featuring Portland's best stand-ups, host Adam Pasi, and special guest Mohanad Elshieky. Get them tix, babies!

www.portlandmercury.com/comedy/2025/...

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— Portland Mercury (@portlandmercury.bsky.social) February 10, 2025 at 12:00 PM

You might be hip, but you’ll never be as cool as Kendrick Lamar in some bootcut jeans straight from your middle school closet.

@amyseder Honestly… I’m not hating it. #flarejeans #halftimeshow ♬ original sound - NFL

In National/World News:

• As we mentioned yesterday, possibly the only idea Donald Trump has floated to save the government money that doesn’t involve laying off the whole government, is ceasing production of pennies. This sounds weird, but it might be the first move he’s made that actually makes cents. 🥁 Apparently, a penny costs the government around 3.7 cents to manufacture, needlessly using up energy and materials for a coin that the Treasury Department loses money on to produce. Similarly, it costs nearly 14 cents to produce a nickel. The Washington Post notes Canada phased out production of the penny in 2012, and adjusted by rounding the cash price of goods up or down to the nearest five-cent increment. 

 

• In a broad push to displace immigrants living in the US, the US Department of Homeland Security wants to deputize certain IRS agents to enforce immigration laws. The proposal was announced by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. Reuters reports Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem “sent a letter on February 7 to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to request agents to help dig in to human trafficking networks, find businesses hiring workers in the U.S. illegally, and assist with other immigration-related tasks.”

 

• In an ongoing, delicate cease-fire deal between Israel and Hamas, Hamas says Israel isn’t abiding by the terms of the agreement. Hamas is apparently reneging on its promise to release Israeli hostages. Donald Trump, never one to shy away from a terrible idea, suggested Hamas needs to free all Israeli hostages by Saturday, or “let hell break out.” Trump is also advocating for the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians from Gaza, and reportedly wants to force Egypt to take in displaced refugees. 

 

And finally, the best part of your day (sound on)!

@anika_vz Bing Bob Boom💥 #lamb #sheep #sheepoftiktok #orphanlambs #funnyanimals #animals #fypp #farm ♬ original sound - Justin Rosenthal