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GOOD MORNING, PORTLAND!👋
If those gorgeous sunny skies and 70 degree temps were too much for you yesterday, then rejoice: It’s gonna be cooler and cloudier today and tomorrow with a slight chance of showers here and there, with temperatures hovering around 63 degrees. And now? Let your eyeballs hover around this NEWS.
IN LOCAL NEWS:
• On Friday, hundreds of Central Catholic students walked out of classes to protest the way their high school’s administration had handled a racist incident involving their varsity baseball team. According to the school, a single Central Catholic player chanted the n-word in a pre-game huddle twice last month—however, some students contradict that narrative, saying upperclassmen pressured the freshman into chanting the word, coaches ignored it, and that it was only the latest example of players using the word. The school punished the team by making them forfeit two games, but say they cannot reveal if or how the student who said the word was disciplined. Central Catholic’s Black Student Union and others feel this punishment fell short and are demanding that returning varsity baseball players be kicked off the team, coaching staff must receive mandatory anti-racism training, and that the school’s handbook be revised with student input. Students are also demanding a meeting with the board of directors of the Portland Archdiocese, who oversees the school.
• A rough weekend for our Portland Trail Blazers, who fell not once, but twice to the damnable San Antonio Spurs during the Western Conference Finals. As our Cam Crowell reported, the Blazers suffered a devastating 120-108 loss at home in Game 3 against the Spurs on Friday. Despite Jrue Holiday’s massive effort and Scoot Henderson kicking it into gear, the Blazers couldn’t hold onto their 15 point lead. Then on Sunday in Game 4, the Blazers were once again off to a very strong start, leading the Spurs 58-41 in the first half, but then? The Spurs’ loping giant Victor Wembanyama—returning to the court following a concussion last week—came roaring back, scoring 27 points and along with the Spurs strong defense, defeated our Blazers 114-93 to take a 3-1 series lead. Game 5 will take place in San Antonio, where Portland must win to stay in the finals and force a sixth game in Portland. Fingers crossed!
• A woman gave birth on a Delta flight that was just 30 minutes outside of Portland on Friday night, assisted by a doctor, two nurses, and flight attendants. The flight, which was en route from Georgia, requested an emergency landing, where they were met by medical responders. Both mom and baby are fine.
• After more than two decades of journalism, BikePortland founder and publisher Jonathan Maus is taking a well-deserved hiatus from his site which reports on all things bicycle and transportation related in the city. A staunch advocate for cycling culture and legislation, Maus told OPB that he doesn’t have any immediate plans, and is taking time to reflect on his past work and decide on his future. Find out even more about Maus and his excellent work in this interview with our Taylor Griggs.
• Grab yer drool bucket, because Mercury food editor Katherine Chew Hamilton has another banger of a review, this time featuring the absolutely delectable sounding loukoumades at Yanni’s Greek Donuts, which are made-to-order, and as fresh as it gets. “Our priority is sharing Greek kafenio (coffee shop) culture and the best tasting, most authentic Greek street food we possibly can,” says co-owner Theo Geist, who opened the cart last year with his brother Luke. “We even headbang traditional village music from open to close! We grew up on everything we cook, and it’s our privilege and honor to serve it.” Grab a bucket of these donuts and shovel them into my mouth, please?
• Calling all analog-heads: The album review column of your dreams—AKA Spin Cycle—is back with three new, choice cuts from Portland’s Coyote Wall, Def Jam R&B songstress Jai’Len Josey, and UK’s Snüff rockers. And it’s all courtesy of our resident vinyl expert Ryan J. Prado!
IN NATIONAL/WORLD NEWS:
• Pandemonium broke out at the annual White House correspondents’ dinner on Saturday, when a man armed with a handgun, knife, and shotgun burst through security and fired shots in an attempt to get inside the Washington Hilton ballroom, where Trump and other top administration officials were dining. While the assailant never made it to the ballroom, Secret Service agents whisked Trump and other officials—including Veep JD Vance and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard—off the stage as journalists and guests hit the floor. The suspect has been identified as 31-year-old Cole Tomas Allen of Torrance, California, who in a note to family allegedly wrote that he was “no longer willing” to allow a “traitor to coat my hands with his crimes,” an apparent reference to Trump. Allen is currently being charged with two counts of using a firearm and one count of assault on a federal officer, though he is expected to face further charges when he’s arraigned in a federal courtroom today. And once again, the Secret Service is getting lambasted for providing lax security at the event—especially following two previous attempts on the president’s life. For his part, Trump returned to the ballroom to call for unity, and to explain why the assassination attempt is a great reason for him to build an oversized, ill-designed White House ballroom. (I think, once again, he may be missing the point.)
• King Charles of England is visiting the US today in an attempt to mend relations between his country and monarch-in-training Donald Trump. While Trump always finds a reason to bitch and moan about other countries, he is especially miffed by Britain’s refusal to get involved with his war against Iran. And so, Charles currently has the unenviable role of kissing Trump’s ass while also avoiding the ire of his British subjects, the majority of whom correctly think Trump is a daft cockwamble and an absolute gormless, dodgy minger who should rightly bugger off, guv’nah.
• The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear arguments about “geofencing”—a law enforcement technique that gathers information on suspects (and maybe even you, the ordinary citizen) by digging into their cell phones and mining locations. The case hinges on the Fourth Amendment, which bans unreasonable searches of people or their belongings without a warrant, and critics warn that authorities could use geofencing to target innocent people and perceived enemies of the government. A decision is expected later this summer.
• Well, that’s one way to do it….
• Cue the “saaaad trombone” for Republicans who had their asses handed to them in a Virginia court after they tried to stop Democrats and the state’s voters from approving a redistricting referendum that could allow Dems in Virginia the opportunity to pick up four additional seats in congress. The GOP is screaming that this type of “extreme partisan gerrymandering” could “rip the Commonwealth into pieces,” apparently forgetting (or more likely, ignoring) what their party has been trying to do in every single state until Dems finally got sick of it and is now giving them a dose of their well-deserved medicine, hee-hee-hee-hee-HEE!
• And finally… “me” at the start of the week, and then “me” on Wednesday (when someone pulls the plug).
