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Hello and good morning, Portland. It's rainy, as I'm sure you know. The weather is notable enough today to get its own bullet point below, so read on if you're curious.
IN LOCAL NEWS:
• The second week of December has brought something of a tropical weather pattern to the Pacific Northwest, resulting in unseasonably high temperatures and a lot of rain. (Though you might not be able to tell how warm it is because of the rain and high winds.) We could get several inches of rain in the next few days, with the storm expected to taper off by Thursday. Flooding is possible, so be careful! Drive slowly to avoid hydroplaning. And pray for snow when the weather pattern changes. Right now, the lack of snowpack in the Cascades means less potential for river flooding during this atmospheric river, but let's hope things turn around quickly.
Also, if you see a huge puddle in the curb near your house, consider grabbing a rake and fishing around for debris in the storm drain. It's satisfying to watch the water go down the drain and you'll be doing your fellow residents a major solid, particularly those who use wheelchairs or are riding their bikes through the storm. These types of weather events really make it clear how much we need green infrastructure in the city. Those rain gardens and bioswales you see in medians and along sidewalks aren't just there to look pretty. They help soak up rain and prevent flooding! Pavement literally could never.
• If you feel like venturing out in the rain this week, we've got a list of stuff you should do while you're out there. Included in this week's Do This, Do That: Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair at the Hollywood Theatre (daily through December 23), the comedy show Topic Thunder, featuring "wild, hilarious takes on national/local news" from some of Portland's best comedians (Wednesday at the Siren Theater), and the Great Figgy Pudding Caroling Competition (Friday at Pioneer Square). If you still have a lot of holiday shopping to do, consider attending ScanFair—short for Scandinavian—or the Crafty Wonderland market, both taking place throughout the weekend at the Oregon Convention Center. (You can also do holiday high tea at the Heathman Hotel this weekend, which truly sounds delightful.) All that and more, available if you click here now.
• Advanced practice providers at Portland's Legacy Health medical centers have been on strike for a week now. They say they'll keep the strike going until they reach a labor contract agreement they deem fair. For now, union members (represented by the Oregon Nurses Association) are pushing back against wages, which they say are low compared to other Portland hospitals. The workers also say they're often made to do work off the clock, and allege disrespect at the bargaining table. Abe Asher has the full story.
• Hundreds of Beaverton School District students walked out yesterday to protest immigration enforcement crackdowns in Washington County. Many immigration advocates have called on the district to do more to protect and alert the school communities from the increase in ICE activity. ICE officers aren't allowed on campuses themselves but they have been terrorizing people in the neighborhoods surrounding schools. Here's a heartbreaking quote from one student at Southridge High School, emphasizing that it's not enough to protect students at school: “I feel like as students, we’re scared that we’ll go home one day and there will be no one there...Maybe we were safe at school. But what if we have no one at home?” These kids should be learning, not on the front lines of the fight against our fascist government.
• Other ICE news to be aware of:
ICE is using "live targeting" in and around Portland, signing warrants only after arrests, submitting false reports to justify arrests, and using Spanish language as the basis for their arrests. How many constitutional violations can ICE commit in each arrest?
www.oregonlive.com/crime/2025/1...
— Elliott Young (@elliottyoung.bsky.social) December 9, 2025 at 9:07 AM
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• A very helpful list for Portland-area fans of the Mountain Goats.
IN NATIONAL/WORLD NEWS:
• In case you didn't already know it, we severely live in hell. Why? Well, let me count the ways. But what I'm talking about right now is the ongoing consolidation of mass media companies. Last week, Netflix seemed poised to purchase Warner Brothers Discovery, a move that would be very bad for the film industry and all of us who enjoy its fruits. But another—possibly worse—scenario is now on the table, with Paramount offering a bigger check to Warner to take over the company, which includes Warner Brothers Studios, HBO, and CNN. If you'll recall, Paramount is the company now owned by Larry Ellison and his son David, who have shown an interest in using their new media conglomerate to advance right-wing interests and capitulate to the current presidential administration. (They hired conservative darling Bari Weiss up to take over CBS's news division, among other poor decisions.) So the prospect of CNN entering their fold is, um, not great! On the other hand, the Ellisons might end up with CNN even if Netflix acquires Warner, so it seems like both possibilities are bad. The robber barons never left.
• Yesterday, the Trump administration announced a plan to send $12 billion in one-time payments to farmers across the country, who have been hit hard by the administration's tariffs. Trump offered a typically nonsensical and narcissistic explanation, saying the administration would be taking a "relatively small portion" of the tariff revenue, and "giving and providing it to the farmers in economic assistance."
"And we love our farmers. And as you know, the farmers like me, because, you know, based on, based on voting trends, you could call it voting trends or anything else, but they're great people." Alright.
The program has been dubbed the Farm Bridge Assistance program, and is supposedly intended as a way to bridge the gap between the current period of hardship for farmers and the future of prosperity he says they'll have when his economic policies truly take hold. I'll believe it when I see it. And farmers, don't let him buy you off!!
This $12 billion aid package for farmers is a fraction of the $40 billion Trump handed to Argentina just months ago.
Trump’s own tariff war wrecked farm incomes, and now he’s showing up with a short term band aid for a crisis he manufactured.
— Rep. Ilhan Omar (@repilhan.bsky.social) December 9, 2025 at 9:20 AM
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• Rising political star Jasmine Crockett, currently a US House member representing North Texas, has officially announced plans to unseat Texas Republican Senator John Cornyn in the 2026 midterms. Crockett has become well-known beyond her district since taking office in 2023. She doesn't shy away from criticizing her Republican colleagues, both in the House chambers and online, which has been refreshing to many in this age of insanity. It'll be tough to unseat an incumbent who has served in his seat since 2002, but Cornyn is also 73 (too old!) and serves as an emblem of the far-right, which is quickly becoming unpopular across the country. So maybe Crockett has a chance. Fingers crossed.
• The Supreme Court is set to deal yet another blow to American democracy, with justices appearing open to overruling the precedent that prevents presidents from unilaterally removing members of independent agencies. Trump wants to fire a member of the Federal Trade Commission without cause, and if he's allowed to do it, it'll set a frightening precedent for how much power is granted to the executive branch of the US government. But Trump's Supreme Court is just here to do his bidding.
• Meanwhile, as atmospheric rivers pummel the Pacific Northwest, and other extreme weather hits the East Coast:
The National Weather Service is hiring again, but very slowly, causing many forecast offices to continue to cope with staff shortages. www.cnn.com/2025/12/09/w...
— Andrew Freedman (@afreedma.bsky.social) December 9, 2025 at 9:15 AM
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• But put all your negative feelings aside and look at these babies. <3 Happy Tuesday, everyone!!
