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Good morning Portland, and happy Earth Day! We’ll have sunny skies and a high of 64 degrees today. 🌞 Go soak up some vitamin D. 

First, take in some news. 

In Local News: 

• Predictable delay: Multnomah County’s new sobering center, which was set to open next year, will likely not open until 2027 and will cost nearly double what was initially estimated. The Oregonian reports the new center is projected to cost about $30 million- a far cry from the $18.6 million originally estimated. The county’s announcement about the forthcoming sobering center earlier this year indicated a site on SE Grand Avenue in the central city would house the new center, and would hold up to 50 beds. As planned, people can be dropped off at the center by police for short-term drug and alcohol withdrawal.

• Money talks: The Port of Portland–the agency that operates Portland International Airport– is caving to Trump’s executive order to end its DEI program or risk losing an estimated $145 million in federal funding. The Port of Portland Board of Commissioners voted Monday morning to revoke the Port’s social equity policy. “The Port is dependent on federal and state support to fulfill its mission and vision; therefore, it is critical to ensure the Port is in compliance with state and federal law, regulation and policy,” Monday’s meeting materials state.

• PSR is getting a promotion: Today, Portland City Council’s Community and Public Safety policy committee will convene to talk big plans for Portland Street Response. On the Tuesday afternoon agenda is a resolution to amend city code to include PSR as “a co-equal branch of the first responder system.” The resolution, introduced by Councilors Sameer Kanal, Angelita Morillo, and Candace Avalos, proposes establishing a Portland Street Response committee, to provide recommendations about the program that dispatches social workers and mental health professionals to behavioral health crisis calls. The proposal also calls for classifying PSR workers on the same level as other first responders like firefighters and police and expanding the service to operate 24/7. What a nice surprise!

@robards.little.farm What everybody secretly hopes to find in their Easter eggs. #goatsoftiktok #dairygoats #nigeriandwarfgoats ♬ original sound - Robards’ Little Farm

• In the streets: Thousands of people took to downtown Portland on Saturday, April 19 for a national Unite the Fight rally and march. The march, which started and ended at Pioneer Courthouse Square, was centered on climate action, land rights, and immigration justice. Check out Sarah Risser’s photo gallery from Saturday’s sizable march here. 

@marco_polo111 #jdvance ♬ Seinfeld Theme - Jonathan Wolff

In National/World News:

• Your money’s no good (no, seriously): The value of the US dollar hit the lowest level since March 2022. Investors are nervous after Trump’s recent tariffs on imported goods from just about every country. "The dollar has fallen sharply since President Donald Trump’s inauguration in January," CNBC reports, citing Trump's rollout of tariffs earlier this month and the president's "criticism of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell last week, along with White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett saying the president and his team are exploring whether they can remove the central bank chief."

• No one is safe: Mahmoud Khalil, the Columbia University student and Palestinian activist who was arrested more than a month ago after the Trump administration revoked his green card, was not granted access to witness the birth of his first child. A judge denied Khalil temporary leave from an ICE detention facility where he's been detained for over a month. Khalil, through his lawyer, requested a temporary visitation with his wife as she gave birth to their son. Khalil was legal US citizen completing his masters degree at Columbia University before he was detained. He didn't break any laws, but ICE claims Khalil had ties to Hamas, without any evidence to support that claim. 

I feel like we need to keep saying this because it’s so insane: This is a legal U.S. resident who has been detained for over a month now for his political opinions.

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— Julian Sanchez (@normative.bsky.social) April 21, 2025 at 6:28 PM

• The high cost of a crappy education system: Student loan borrowers who are in default will soon see their wages garnished for non-payment. Starting May 5, the US Department of Education will start sending borrowers in default to collections through the US Treasury Department. NPR reports more than 42.7 million people have unpaid student loans totaling $1.6 trillion. More than 5 million of those people haven't made a payment in the past year. US Education Secretary Linda McMahon says taxpayers "will no longer be forced to serve as collateral for irresponsible student loan policies." Because in her world, it's better for nearly 43 million people to suffer the wrath of bad loan policies, incompetent lending companies, and high interest accruing on sometimes very old debt (pssst...Linda, some of the borrowers who still owe are seniors, like you!) 

@taygags Gayle, be fr🙄😑 #gayleking #gayle #blueorigin #space #launch #katyperry #kattwilliamscomedy #kattwilliams #cbs ♬ original sound - Taylor G

• Nice guys finish last: Speaking of Linda McMahon... Last weekend marked the 41st Wrestlemania. The World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) production–arguably the biggest wrestling event of the year–took place over two days in Las Vegas. This year's Wrestlemania was WWE's highest-grossing and most-watched event, drawing more than 60,000 people each day. Sunday's final match culminated in longtime American hero John Cena winning the Undisputed WWE Championship belt. Cena made a recent (temporary) return to wrestling after years away from the sport that launched him to international fame and kickstarted his acting career. This year marks Cena’s last in the ring, as he prepares to retire from wrestling for good. Other highlights: the return to Becky “The Man” Lynch for a tag-team match, and an appearance from WWE Hall of Famer Stone Cold Steve Austin, who rode out on an ATV, only to quickly accidentally crash it into a barricade where front row fans were, knocking over a woman. 💀 Another mishap that evening happened after the event, when fans rushed a golf cart transporting Dominik Mysterio, only to have ANOTHER WOMAN accidentally get hit by the cart as it careened through a crowd of fans.