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GOOD MORNING, PORTLAND!👋
Before we start, I'd like to direct your attention to a VERY SPECIAL PUBLICATION that the Mercury has produced in conjunction with writer/racial justice advocate Donovan Scribes that's live and online right now, and will be out in print this Wednesday. It's called BlackOut: A Five-Year Retrospective on Portland’s Racial Justice Movement—written exclusively by Black Portlanders, and its purpose is to remember and reflect on the May 25, 2020 murder of George Floyd at the hands of police, and the 100+ days of protests in Portland that same year. You can find BlackOut in print at more than 500 locales citywide, and inserted inside the Mercury's Food Issue starting this Wednesday—and I gotta tell you, it's one of the most powerful publications I've ever read. We all need to take time to remember and reflect, so do not miss it! And now let's peek in on today's NEWS.
IN LOCAL NEWS
• Despite the state's promises to curtail harmful diesel emissions, Oregon officials are backtracking on their previous vow and allowing the DEQ to wait until 2027 to implement new regulations that would force truck manufacturers to make a certain number of zero-emission electric vehicles each year. Facing bipartisan pushback, Governor Kotek is asking the DEQ to find a way to accommodate the truck manufacturers' concerns with the rule while “maintaining the integrity” of the policy for those who are able to comply. Our Taylor Griggs has the details.
• In other transportation news, almost 10 years ago, Portland's City Council first adopted a Vision Zero resolution, which was intended to eliminate traffic deaths. Unfortunately, as our Taylor Griggs reports, the city seems to be further from that goal than we were a decade ago. This week Councilor Tiffany Koyama Lane is set to bring a resolution in front of council to bring attention to the faults of the program, and reaffirm Portland's commitment to stopping senseless traffic deaths. Read more here.
“Vehicles with higher, more vertical front ends pose greater risk to pedestrians. Vehicles with especially tall front ends are most dangerous to pedestrians, but a blunt profile makes medium-height vehicles deadly too.”
Deadly by design. And they know it.
www.iihs.org/news/detail/...
— Brent Toderian (@brenttoderian.bsky.social) May 18, 2025 at 8:31 AM
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• It's time to play... PICK THAT LOG LADY! As we reported last week, the World Forestry Center is currently holding a pop-up art exhibition called What the Log Saw: Honoring the Legacy of Catherine “The Log Lady” Coulson, which honors the actress who played the "Log Lady" on TV's Twin Peaks. However, this weekend they also held a Log Lady look-alike contest, and so of course we sent photographer Elana Yussen to snap pics of the contestants. So who won? Well, everyone who witnessed it, of course! However, if you want to be particular about it, check out our photo essay and see!
• While major cuts to various service programs are a big part of Mayor Wilson's new city budget, Portland City Council has made it clear that, while they may go along with parts of the plan, we can also expect some cantankerous (and necessary) pushback. For example, Councilor Candace Avalos is calling for $1.9 million to be redirected from police staffing to go to park maintenance, and while some of Portland's conniving conservatives may try to label that move as "defunding the police," let's not forget that the cops' budget was actually increased in the years following the murder of George Floyd. (For more on that, don't miss this 🔥 of an article from Mac Smiff from BlackOut: A Five-Year Retrospective on Portland’s Racial Justice Movement, which is a thoughtful reminder that we shouldn't be overfunding a system that works against the people who are funding it.)
It is WILD to watch a supposedly public agency spread disinformation to get a whole community worked up and protect their own bottom line.
Prosper Portland is sitting on a $50m slush fund that they did not earn and want Portland to cut parks maintenance and permitting staff.
Wild.
— Portland City Councilor Jamie Dunphy (@councilordunphy.bsky.social) May 18, 2025 at 10:01 AM
• Yesterday marked the 45th anniversary of the eruption of Mount St. Helens which blew its lid on May 18, 1980. The eruption killed 57 people, knocked down acres of forest, and covered much of the Pacific Northwest (including Portland) in ash. For a peek at what those fateful days looked like, KGW dug up some old footage of the explosion.
It's all love for Portland's Alien Boy and Grails but why oh why did they have to have the release parties for their respective new albums on the same night 😭
— Portland Mercury (@portlandmercury.com) May 16, 2025 at 3:01 PM
Check out photos from both shindigs and dispel that FOMO forever ⤵️
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IN NATIONAL/WORLD NEWS:
• Former President Joe Biden has been diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer that has spread to his bones, according to a statement from his office. And while his doctors say this particular kind of cancer is very aggressive, "the cancer appears to be hormone-sensitive which allows for effective management.” The 82-year-old president and his family are currently considering various forms of treatment, and experts say that men with similar diagnosis “can live five, seven, 10 or more years.”
Donald Trump Jr. and MAGAworld quickly pounced on the news of Joe Biden’s cancer diagnosis with rampant speculation about a “cover-up” of the true state of the former president’s health.
— The Daily Beast (@thedailybeast.bsky.social) May 18, 2025 at 6:01 PM
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• Today in political theater, Trump says he's going to speak with best bud puppet master Russian president Vladimir Putin today in his further attempts to make himself seem like he's not part of this whole scheme to annex Ukraine broker a truce between Russia and Ukraine. To put a finer point on it, former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink (who stepped down from her position last month) wrote an opinion piece correctly stating that “the policy since the beginning of the Trump administration has been to put pressure on the victim, Ukraine, rather than on the aggressor, Russia.”
• And the political theater continues! Trump is also threatening to call for a "major investigation" 🙄 into the artists who performed at a number of star-studded events for then-candidate Kamala Harris. King Fool is alleging (in all capital letters, 'natch) that celebs such as Bruce Springsteen, Beyoncé, Bono, and more were illegally paid for their endorsements under the guise of performance fees 🙄. (Look, Trump... stop trying to get the attention of celebrities. No one likes you.)
“Sesame Street” has signed a new distribution deal with Netflix, as well as a separate deal with PBS, the show announced on Monday. This gives the children’s show a much needed-boost as it battles a financial crisis. nyti.ms/3Zswh7l
— The New York Times (@nytimes.com) May 19, 2025 at 8:23 AM
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• The sex trafficking trial of Sean "Diddy" Combs continues this week, with singer Dawn Richards testifying that Combs threatened to kill her if she ever told anyone about his many attempts to hit former girlfriend Casandra “Cassie” Ventura with a skillet, after which he allegedly beat her. Richards went on to recount several horrifying instances where he witnessed Combs being violent toward Ventura, sometimes at random and other times when she was simply disagreeing with her. The defense is currently cross-examining Richards.
JD Vance's efforts to schmooze were rebuffed by Pope Leo XIV Sunday — as the pontiff shook him off to meet with other world leaders.
— Raw Story (@rawstory.com) May 18, 2025 at 3:05 PM
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• And finally... if you want to get caught up on the Sean "Diddy" Combs sex trafficking trial, but the thought of reading all those sordid details sickens you, then check out this slow jam R&B recap. (I need to get all my news this way.)
@8bitpaulshow this P. Diddy case yal 😮💨...we only in week one! this too freaky for me ✌🏾 I'm turning my notifications off. #pdiddy #puffdaddycase #pdiddytrial #seancombs #babyboy #takethattakethat ♬ original sound - 8bitpaul8
