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[In an extremely nurse DanaEvans voice] Good Morning, Portland! Hope you’re doing good and taking formula well. We’re lookin’ at some beautiful weather today (high of 76!) and tomorrow (high of 70) before the rains are back. Frankly, it’s what we deserve, and I welcome it.
IN LOCAL NEWS:
• Last week, a Northeast Portland inpatient drug treatment facility suddenly shuttered, leaving nearly 50 women scrambling for a place to go. Management says it’s just temporary and the move was necessary. Staff call it ethically questionable. News editor Courtney Vaughn has more on what happened at the Volunteers of America (VOA) Oregon run center.
• IDK if you’ve noticed that the Mercury is just plain ol’ hitting stands every month now. You’ve got a new one today—hot on the cafe shelf or perhaps zooming to your mailbox, if you’re a subscriber. April’s issue is all about how it started and how it’s going in Portland transportation! Taylor Griggs edited the issue and wrote like five pieces for it—including news stories about the status of bus lanes on 82nd Avenue and the (expensive) plan to replace the Interstate Bridge connecting Portland and Vancouver. Also in the guide: Taylor thinks it’s okay to prank her coworkers in a (Somewhat) Amazing Race.
• Speaking of transit, the Broadway Bridge finally reopens this weekend—Sunday April 12. I actually tried to take it last weekend, forgetting that it’s been undergoing a deck replacement since October 2025.
• Kind of shocking: Remember that class action lawsuit against PacifiCorp where a jury found the utility company grossly negligent and responsible for failing to turn off power to areas beset by severe winds, which lead to four major wildfires? WELL, the Oregon Court of Appeals reversed that jury’s decision Wednesday, ruling that the judge overseeing the trial gave erroneous instructions to the jury. It’s not over, but it will need to be retried in some fashion. The Oregonian‘s Ted Sickinger reports: “It may have to be retried as four separate actions — one for each fire in question — or if PacifiCorp has its way, as individual trials for each plaintiff. Plaintiffs’ attorneys could also appeal the appellate ruling to the Oregon Supreme Court.”
• Portland Panorama Film Festival kicks off tonight. Read a little about the fest here—we’re very impressed by it. In addition to providing some picks, we also reviewed the documentary Barbara Forever, which screens Friday, and the Thai supernatural rom-com A Useful Ghost, showing on Monday—both part of the festival programming.
•The #1 show Mercury Music Picks recommends this week and David Byrne is in town! Music editor Nolan Parker writes: Other gorgeous gorgeous girls in Portland’s chicken coop this week include the he/him Forty Feet Tall rockers, scratch DJ and Beastie Boys alum Mix Master Mike, Portland’s tallest girlfriend Bijoux Cone, and so many more.”
• E.M. Lewis’ six years as Artists Repertory Theatre’s Playwright-in-Residence concludes with a short, emotionally resonant new work Apple Hunters! which debuted this past weekend. Read our review to learn what apple cultivars have to do with men not going to therapy! Or just go see the play!
IN NATIONAL / INTERNATIONAL NEWS:
• An exclusive report from CBS interviewed a US soldier who was part of a unit in Kuwait that suffered six deaths and over 20 injuries during Operation Epic Fury:
• Two New York Times White Hosue reporters Jonathan Swan and Maggie Haberman have written an analysis of “How Trump Took the U.S. to War With Iran.” It’s going to infuriate you.
• Everyone’s asking: After all that, is the Strait of Hormuz open? The boss of Abu Dhabi’s state-owned oil company say no!
•In total agreement with Alex Baumhardt here. Although the conclusion of this New Yorker piece doesn’t feel like something Hollywood could possibly handle.
• An 18-year-old USC student was shot in the eye by a US agent at a “No Kings” rally in LA last month. She lost the eye. Video shows that she was holding a camera.
• In conclusion, all of our heinous crimes from Q1 washed away as we start fresh in Q2. I’ve got a pretty good feeling that if I don’t hit my KPIs in Q2 I’m a fucking deadman.
