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Good morning, Portland! It’s Tuesday again, so here I am. Today is set to be slightly warmer than usual for this time of year, with temperatures in the low 60s, but the warmth may be overpowered by the rain. Precipitation is expected throughout the day, so be prepared.
Another way to be prepared? By reading the news, which you can do starting right now.
IN LOCAL NEWS:
• Roughly 800 city workers with the City of Portland Professional Workers (CPPW) labor union began a strike yesterday, after failing to come to an agreement with their bosses at the city on the terms of their next labor contract. CPPW staff work in positions across the city, from revenue collection and payroll to the Bureau of Emergency Management. At picket lines yesterday morning, CPPW members called on the city to increase their compensation to accommodate higher living costs. The city says the workers’ demands are too high. One pithy quote from Kari Koch, CPPW president: “It feels like this contract is about Mayor Wilson trying to do union busting at the city of Portland.” Read more here, in Jeremiah Hayden’s latest.
• Last month, Portland Public Schools announced a plan to close up to 14 schools across the district before the beginning of next school year. This was alarming to many students, parents, and others in Portland, for many reasons—losing so many schools in such a short period of time would require major life changes for many people. The Mercury talked to several parents who are particularly concerned about the impacts of the district’s plan on commutes to and from school. While PPS leaders have said they want to ensure the plan they implement minimizes transportation disruptions, many parents don’t see that reflected in the proposals, and fear the closures will halt efforts to ensure kids are able to walk and bike to school safely, forcing parents to resort to the car pickup and drop-off lines. The district’s plan could have particularly dramatic impacts on families with children enrolled in a language immersion program, with PPS proposing to consolidate dual language immersion (DLI) at “hubs” across the district. This could leave DLI students with especially long commutes that, some parents say, would make it impossible to keep their children enrolled. With enrollment declining precipitously, the district says it has to act to ensure all kids have access to quality education, but many parents request PPS leaders slow down and fully consider the impacts. Read the full story here.
• Many Democrats are calling for leadership changes in the US Congress, and it looks like there’s an effort to shake things up in Salem, too. Several Democrats in Oregon’s House of Representatives are considering challenging current Speaker Julie Fahey, who represents parts of Eugene, for the role. Fahey, who has led the House since 2024, was criticized for her disorganized rollout of the disastrous transportation funding bill in 2025. Now, with the Oregon House of Representatives set to have its largest-ever Democratic majority, some people want change. Potential replacements include Ben Bowman (Tigard), Rep. Daniel Nguyễn (Southwest Portland and Lake Oswego), and Rep. Thủy Trần (Portland). House Democrats will met in private next week to nominate candidates for speaker, with an election taking place in January.
• It’s time to make plans for the week, folks. But what is there to do? As always, the Mercury’s got you covered. On the “do this, do that” roster this week: A World Vegan Month celebration AND a cheese and meat festival (two separate events, obviously), Japanese pop culture convention Kumoricon, The Big Trans Comedy Show, Analog Fest (a celebration of all things physical media), and more. To find out details of all these exciting goings-on, you’ll have to click right here.
IN NATIONAL/WORLD NEWS:
• Kentucky US Rep. Thomas Massie, a Republican, brought an impeachment resolution against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to the House floor yesterday. Massie, who has been critical of President Trump’s administration for the war in Iran and their handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files, lost his primary to a Trump-backed challenger earlier this year. Massie argued Hegseth has committed “high crimes and misdemeanors”—not only through his conduct in Iran, but also military actions in Yemen, Venezuela, and the extrajudicial killings of suspected drug traffickers in the Caribbean. It’s quite something. Massie’s efforts have found support from Democrats in the House and Senate. If the effort to impeach doesn’t succeed, it will at least force Republicans to publicly defend Hegseth, which would be embarrassing for them, considering how plainly awful this warmonger is.
• Environmentalists and clean energy advocates are in deep disagreement over the Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs act (BAAJA), also referred to as the “permitting reform bill,” currently moving through the US Congress. BAAJA is supposed to help speed up permitting reviews for infrastructure projects of all kind, from the good (clean energy developments) to the bad (fossil fuel pipelines). The bill, as it currently stands, would roll back certain environmental protections and weaken the government’s obligation to involve Native American tribes on projects impacting them. Opponents also say the bill would make it easier to build data centers and ICE detention facilities. Trump and his Republican cronies all support the bill. And yet, dozens of Democratic senators also voted to advance the bill yesterday (not Oregon’s senators, though), and some self-proclaimed environmentalist advocates are in favor of it. What gives? Well, there appears to be the notion that this is the best the US is going to get, as far as permitting reform is concerned. Arduous permitting processes have hampered clean energy development in the US, and enabled bad-faith NIMBYs to kill beneficial projects. Not everything needs extensive public engagement processes. But it’s understandable to be wary of attempts to roll back regulations right now, especially since Trump has vowed to use this policy to advance fossil fuel projects. It also strikes many people as nonsensical to give Trump and the Republicans a win right now, since Democrats just utterly swept Congress and may have an opportunity to pass a better deal soon.
• As everyone knows by now, last week’s midterm elections were a massive rebuke of the GOP, beyond what many Democrats could dare even hope. But in California, some Democrats (*cough* Gavin Newsom) were busy this election season trying to take down a billionaire tax proposal, which would’ve been the nation’s first wealth tax if it had passed. California voters ended up rejecting the tax following a very well-funded opposition campaign, with Google co-founder Sergey Brin and Governor Newsom among its chief critics. The measure would’ve imposed a one-time, 5 percent tax on Californians with a net worth above $1 billion, with much of the money going toward healthcare, which will take a huge hit due to Republican-approved federal tax cuts. Still, the idea of a wealth tax is catching on—last year, a petitioner tried to make it happen in Oregon, and advocates hope to bring it back in 2028.
• Yesterday, the US Supreme Court gave the Trump administration the green light to continue building a wall and other border infrastructure in southwestern Texas, including in part of the beloved and pristine Big Bend National Park. The administration was sued by the Center for Biological Diversity over the construction, with the environmental advocacy group arguing the plan was unconstitutional and would cause irreparable harm to Big Bend residents, including wild animals. A federal judge in El Paso ordered construction paused, but the Supreme Court said federal law allows the Department of Homeland Security to waive environmental protections in order to build the wall, negating the El Paso judge’s previous injunction. Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson was the lone dissenting voice in the ruling.
• I hope everyone can get as cozy as this lamb today. Happy Tuesday! XOXO.
