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GOOD MORNING, PORTLAND!đ
Don't forget to get yer tix quick for the heeeeee-larious Mercury UNDISPUTABLE GENIUSES OF COMEDY! Portland's top stand-up comics will take the stage to help you laugh your ass off, led by hype man/host extraordinaire Adam Pasi, and super special guest Mohanad Elshieky! Oh, and it's coming up very quick, on Thursday, March 20, so do not dilly or dally! Now let's dilly or dally some morning NEWS.
IN LOCAL NEWS:
â˘Â First things first, don't miss our fantastic Spring Arts Guideâjust now hitting the streets and will be available in more than 500 spots citywideâwhich has everything you need to know to support and be entertained by the creators within Portland's fabulous arts scene. Wanna go deeper? Then listen to this episode of City Cast, featuring our own culture editor Suzette Smith who is both the brains and brawn behind our latest Spring Arts print issue! đĽ
⢠Portland loves the idea of biofuelsâcreated from organic matter like crops, garbage, vegetable oils, and human and animal wasteâand are touted as a great source of renewable energy in our battle against climate change. However, experts and climate advocates are sending up a warning that relying on these alternative fuels could do more harm than good, and so our new city council is putting biofuels under the microscope... especially since Zenith Energy has been given the go-ahead to transport the potentially explosive fuel through Portland. Our Taylor Griggs has the details!
Oregon courts once again rule that law enforcement cannot livestream protests.
â Ryan Haas (@ryanjhaas.bsky.social) March 13, 2025 at 8:19 AM
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⢠Great news in case you missed it: Measure 114âthe voter-approved gun control law that would require folks to undergo a background check and take safety courses to get a permit, while also limiting magazine capacity to under 10 roundsâhas been tied up in court for nearly two years, but was just approved by the Oregon State Court of Appeals who ruled that it is indeed constitutional. đ And while those who sadly oppose the measure will have 30 days to appeal the decision, proponents of the law are just getting started in their efforts to curb gun violence in Oregon.
⢠More good news: After a Woodburn school board initially voted to cave in to Trump's racist immigration demands, after facing the fury of parents and citizens, they have decided to reverse their decision and will accept a resolution that protects the privacy of their immigrant students and makes sure the district will NOT aid the president's cruel federal immigration enforcement efforts. (See? Standing up and speaking out WORKS.)
⢠Remember the state audit of cannabis businesses that eventually led to the resignation of former Secretary of State Shemia Fagan, due to her involvement with La Mota, one of the weed companies that was being audited? Well, new Secretary of State Tobias Read has withdrawn the audit, saying that Fagan's involvement with the reportâhowever smallâwas sketchy and "did not honor this agencyâs responsibility to Oregonians.â Read says the state will revisit the idea of undertaking a new audit in the future.
⢠If you're a fan of the classic 1966 film version of Edward Albeeâs masterpiece Whoâs Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (starring a simply fantastic Liz Taylor and Richard Burton), according to our review from John Rudoff, your socks will be knocked off your feet by the staged version that's currently playing at Portland Center Stage. According to Rudoff, "a work of this magnitude and complexity requires serious acting chops, and PCSâ ensemble cast is breathtaking." SOLD!
It's a golden age for PDX music right now and you're gonna wanna know what's really up... Hear In Portland at it again with new music by Portland artists you should know and the release parties for said new music! â
â Portland Mercury (@portlandmercury.com) March 12, 2025 at 12:20 PM
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IN NATIONAL/WORLD NEWS:
⢠Today in Trump flops: King Fool's foolish nominee for the director of the CDC, former Florida congressman Dave Weldon, has been yanked after it was learned that Weldon is a vaccine skeptic who often promoted the debunked link between vaccines and autismâwhich is not exactly a good look as a measles outbreak is sweeping parts of Texas and New Mexico. The scheduled Senate vote for Weldon was canceled this morning an hour before it was about to start, when the Trumpers realized they wouldn't have the votes to push through their latest woefully unqualified and dangerous nominee, hee-hee-heeee! đ
The Social Security Administration late Wednesday abandoned plans it was considering to end phone service for millions of Americans filing retirement and disability claims after The Post reported that Elon Muskâs U.S. DOGE Service team was weighing the change to root out alleged fraud.
â The Washington Post (@washingtonpost.com) March 13, 2025 at 7:52 AM
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⢠Meanwhile, Trump's completely unnecessary trade war continues to escalate, as King Fool has threatened a retaliatory 200% tariff on European wine after the EU announced a planned 50% tariff on American whiskey, which in turn was in response to Trump's threat of severe aluminum and steel tariffs. đ Too bad for him that public support for his economic plans are at an all time low... once again, hee-hee-heeee! đ
â Raw Story (@rawstory.com) March 13, 2025 at 7:08 AM
⢠Trump's flops just keep on flopping: The Kremlin is giving the cold shoulder to King Fool's ridiculously sad (and craven) attempts to be a "peace maker" in the war between Russia and Ukraine. After Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy agreed to Trump's suggestion for a 30-day ceasefire (in which King Fool threatened to withhold military funding unless Zelenskyy complied), Russian officials want nothing to do with it, once again saying that Ukraine's only option is surrendering its country to Putin. (Not a good sign for Trump's dreams to get a Nobel Peace Prize! Saaaad trommmbone!)
⢠And get ready for the shock of your life: A former member of President Trump's spiritual advisory committee and founder of a Texas megachurch, Robert Morris, has been charged with five counts of lewd or indecent acts with a child. (It's almost as if every single person in Trump's universe is an irredeemably AWFUL monster, if you can believe it.)
⢠And finally... here's the song we've all been waiting to drop: An ode to McDonald's eternally broken ice cream machines.
@ogbopcat I know that ice cream machine works! #catsoftiktok #catlover #fyp #mcdonalds #icecream ⏠original sound - Bop Cat
