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Good morning, Portland! It’s going to be unseasonably cool today, and we’re set to get some rain this morning! This is great news. 😍 Back to the heat next week, and then summer will (hopefully, blessedly) be over soon.
But the news is just getting started. Let’s read more now.
IN LOCAL NEWS:
• Multnomah County is planning to test its emergency alert system next week, so don’t be alarmed when you get a text and alarm next Thursday (August 14) afternoon around 2 pm. But do try to avoid scheduling an important meeting for that time, unless you want it to be interrupted, in which case you should do just that. Boy, wouldn’t it be a bad look for the county if the Cascadia Subduction Zone fault line happens to go off at the same time? (Do fault lines “go off”? Probably not the best terminology.)
• Wanna pick up booze at Fred Meyer? Some folks are trying to make that possible, and their efforts are gathering steam. Currently, Oregon’s liquor sales are regulated through the Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission. But two Portland residents are leading the charge to privatize the state’s liquor sales, and want to put the matter up for a vote in the 2026 election. That’ll require their initiative to get enough signatures to make it on the ballot. It’s unclear who supports this effort. Currently, none of the traditional industry groups are backing it. But it appears to be moving ahead in the process, so stay tuned.
• Tomorrow, Portland City Council is slated to consider and vote on a $3.75 million settlement to the family of Immanueal Clark-Johnson, who was shot and killed by a Portland police officer in 2022, after he was mistaken for a burglary suspect. His family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the city in 2024. Clark-Johnson (known to family as Manny Clark), a Black man who was unarmed, was shot with an AR-15 as he ran from police. Police were responding to a report of a burglary at the Super Deluxe burger drive-thru on SE Powell Boulevard. They had a description of the suspect vehicle, but not a physical description of the suspects. Turns out the suspects were white. The wrongful death settlement, if approved, will add to the more than $18.8 million paid out to settle nearly 900 legal claims involving the Portland Police Bureau over the past five years. It will come from the city’s insurance and claims fund. Here’s our previous reporting on the fatal police shooting and lawsuit.
• Good book review alert:
As book titles go, ‘God and Sex’ is pretty provocative, but it’s also honest advertising. The new novel from prolific screenwriter and Kelly Reichardt-collaborator Jon Raymond links the existential and the erotic. via Martha Daghlian
— Suzette Smith (@suzettesmith.bsky.social) August 4, 2025 at 12:29 PM
IN NATIONAL/WORLD NEWS:
• If you read our fabulous sister paper in Seattle, The Stranger, you know there was a primary election in Washington yesterday. Early results look bad for moderate incumbents and good for progressive candidates, including Katie Wilson, the frontrunner among current Mayor Bruce Harrell’s challengers. Dionne Foster, who ran against current Seattle City Council President Sara Nelson, is also in the lead. I’ll let my Seattle colleagues take it from here:
It’s Primary Election Night, and we’re gonna be crashing election parties all over town!
Follow along for fun, mischief, and maybe some crying.
— The Stranger (@thestranger.com) August 5, 2025 at 6:43 PM
• Scientific work on mRNA vaccines has been miraculous. You may be familiar with these vaccines from the good ol’ Covid jab, which has been overwhelmingly beneficial to those who have taken it, but mRNA vaccines show promise in fighting other diseases, too. There’s even evidence they could be used as a universal cancer treatment in the future. Unfortunately, the United States is no longer a place for such ridiculous activities as “research” and “treating deadly diseases.” Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. won’t tolerate it! He wants Americans to be HEALTHY again, remember? That’s why he’s cancelled $500 million in mRNA vaccine development grants, including an award funding the development of a bird flu vaccine. And the reviews (all positive, I’m sure) from actual public health experts are rolling in! One University of Minnesota infectious diseases expert said, and I quote, “I don’t think I’ve seen a more dangerous decision in public health in my 50 years in the business.” Wow! Remember, folks, experts don’t really know anything.
• A new study shows ChatGPT is giving its teenage users extremely harmful advice on the reg. The research shows the AI chatbot will instruct 13-year-olds (or people posing as 13-year-olds) about how to get drunk and high, give them eating disorder tips, and even help them write a suicide note to their parents. Really grim stuff. Apparently, ChatGPT will couch its advice in warnings against such risky activity—but that doesn’t really matter when it’s giving “startling detailed and personalized plans for drug use, calorie-restricted diets or self-injury.”
Sure, teens have been trading bad and toxic advice on Internet forums since the dawn of time (AKA the 1990s). But this is different. AI cannot get tired and log off, providing a constant “companion” for venting and, apparently, receiving some really alarming tips. And there’s nobody on the other side of the screen to hold accountable. (But there are the tech CEOs who thrust this upon us. In this case, it’s Sam Altman. 🤬)
• There remains some peace on earth, and it’s happening inside this barn. Have a good Wednesday, everyone!
