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Good morning, Portland! It was a windy one last night, wasn’t it? Well, it’s supposed to calm down a bit, but we’re looking at rain, rain, rain for a bit today before things clear up over the course of the weekend. Let’s get to the news 📰
IN LOCAL NEWS:
It isn’t uncommon for big business interests to throw cash at elections in hopes of moving the electorate—and not just at the federal level. Amid growing wealth inequality and ongoing affordability crises, some Portland City Council candidates are also facing an onslaught of vicious election tactics from groups who appear motivated to take out progressive incumbents vying for a second term. One tactic they’re employing is billboard messaging. Thus far, the billboards have attacked District 4 incumbent candidate Mitch Green, and supported “pro-labor progressive” Julia Brim-Edwards, which some might call a bit of a stretch. Local political activist Kyle Prosen—also known as the drag queen comedian Poly Poptart—is behind three committees associated with the campaign, according to state records. United for Portland Action Fund—a Portland Metro Chamber-aligned political action committee—is listed as the campaign’s top funder, but it’s a bit unclear who is really running the ship. The wealthy, organized opposition comes from a familiar, but largely opaque place. You know: Capital-D Democracy. Read more here.
The Portland Clean Energy Fund (PCEF) has raised about $200 million annually since voters enacted the climate-friendly measure and it started collecting funds in 2019. Now, Oregon’s second-largest city is on track to create a fund of its own. The Eugene Clean Energy Fund (ECEF) launched earlier this year as a local petition, and it got on the November ballot. If approved, ECEF would enact a 2 percent surcharge on gross profits from local sales at businesses earning more than $1 billion in national profits. One of the opponents is Portland Metro Chamber President and CEO Andrew Hoan, who spoke at a Eugene Chamber of Commerce policy breakfast in August about his opposition to PCEF in 2018. But the Metro Chamber’s spokesperson totally swears Hoan isn’t involved in any anti-ECEF campaign. Read more on ECEF from the Mercury‘s Taylor Griggs.
Yesterday afternoon, the Portland Police Bureau (PPB) and/or US Marshals shot and killed a suspect in a Gresham homicide at a hotel in Southeast Portland, and a PPB K9 named Kylo was also shot and died later at a hospital. It’s unclear who fired the shots that killed Kylo, and to be clear, the PPB press release says officers were passively “involved” in the shooting of the person and that shots simply “were fired” during the incident. It is heartbreaking, and everyone deserved better—including the, you know, human being and the people who loved him despite it potentially being complicated. Kylo was reportedly on his last shift before retiring. PPB Chief Bob Day—who is currently facing scrutiny for allegedly illegally using his position to influence an election and unseat a councilor who criticized police violence online in 2020 by tweeting that “cops are simply incompatible with peaceful society”—broke down in tears in a press conference Thursday when speaking about Kylo, who was killed in the incident by gunfire. Day said like all Portlanders’ relationships with their pets, the K9s and the officers who spend time with them share a special bond. “All dogs go to heaven” means all dogs.
It’s also the last few days of the Mercury‘s Wing Week, a celebration of all flying insects, birds, angels, aeroplanes, and Red Bull. Wait… the Mercury‘s marketing department is telling me you can get special chicken wings all around town for just $10, including some vegan wings, and it has nothing to do with the aforementioned stuff. Enjoy!
IN NATIONAL / WORLD NEWS:
On Thursday, China’s top leader Xi Jinping joined US President Donald Trump at the White House. In what was described by some as “diplotainment” rather than diplomacy or a productive meeting, Trump pulled out the red carpet for Xi, who arrived in D.C. on Wednesday. Reports on the meetings are harsh, saying the two leaders achieved nothing of substance, and despite the low expectations, Trump still somehow fell short of expectations. Xi’s three-day visit saw a tour of Trump’s helipad and helicopter, and Trump is pretty excited that Xi “has great interest in granite.” Oh, we’ve got a couple of geologists in the house! Is it a sincere appreciation of Earth, or is Trump simply playing to his MAGMA base? Many people are asking. Read more on US/China talks here.
Dr. Heidi Overton, Trump’s pick to lead the FDA, told senators on Thursday that she’d follow the law and science when it comes to vaccine recommendations for Americans, despite pressure from Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and Trump to push quack pseudo-science and fear around childhood vaccinations. Overton is currently a White House adviser who worked on a series of Trump health initiatives recently, “including an executive order last month that called for splitting up and spacing out decades-old childhood vaccinations,” the AP reports. Overton didn’t challenge Trump when she stood next to him as he falsely claimed the childhood vaccines were dangerous and “quite lethal.” She tried to reassure lawmakers, including Senate Health Committee Chairman Bill Cassidy, a physician from Louisiana, that she believes the current vaccines on the market are safe and the science behind them is sound, even as she declined to answer questions about whether Trump was wrong. Overton failed to win over reproductive rights advocates though and has previously demonized the abortion pill mifepristone. She danced around questions about her feelings on the drug Thursday, simply reiterating its approval by the FDA. COURTNEY VAUGHN
Susan Sarandon and Hannah Einbinder were arrested in New York at a Jewish Voice for Peace demonstration Thursday, protesting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s arrival to the United Nations. There, protestors reportedly held signs reading “Stop Arming Israel,” and “Stop the Genocide.” Inside, dozens of international envoys walked out as Netanyahu began speaking, in a show of solidarity with Palestine and in opposition to what they call Israeli colonialism. And Netanyahu labeled THEM “moral cowards?” ⬇️
Mark Zuckerberg is an obnoxious dweeb with too much money and power, but luckily, someone made an app to ward off his invasive spy glasses (or at least alert you when someone in your proximity is using them). A software developer in Poland created an app called ZuckOff that uses Bluetooth to tell you whether someone in the same room as you is using a pair of Meta Glasses. For the unacquainted, smart glasses typically have a camera built in and are often integrated with AI that can identify objects in the wearer’s sight. The technology has increasingly led to privacy concerns. While ZuckOff doesn’t tell you exactly who in the room is using the smart glasses, it can at least alert you when a pair is active. CV
Have a good weekend, and hug a reporter (if they’re cool with it):
