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Good morning, Portland! It’s going to be cooler out today, compared to yesterday’s heat. (We’re looking at a very temperate 70 degrees.) Rain is expected later this week.
Onto the news…
IN LOCAL NEWS:
• Birds are (unintentionally) the theme of today’s local news roundup. First bird-related story: The Portland City Council is set to vote on a banning foie gras this week, and it appears they have the votes to pass it. For those not in the know, foie gras=fatty duck or goose liver, created by force-feeding the animals to enlarge their livers. The animals suffer during this process, which pro-animal activists have a problem with. But a few local restaurant owners say the dish is vital to their establishments’ success, and have even claimed that Portland’s entire restaurant and tourism industries will suffer as a result of the ban. (Knowing just about nobody who has taken a trip to Portland specifically to eat this French fine dining staple, I find this hard to believe.) Get some background on the ban (and the reactions to it) in the Mercury‘s story from last month, and stay tuned for more.
• Here’s some more optimistic bird news: a California condor flew into Oregon this spring for the first time in more than a century. The condor was released by the Yurok Tribe, which has been working to revive the critically endangered condor species since 2022. The fact that one of these birds flew into Oregon as part of a lengthy West Coast journey is something to be excited about!
• My last bird story shows that the animals are capable of fighting back, so watch out. Crows are apparently taking over the area surrounding Legacy Emanuel hospital, sending some into a state of fear. It’s baby crow season, and the mama crows are trying to protect their little birdies…sometimes, it seems, by going after innocent people who just happened to be in the area. A Bird Alliance spokesperson recommended people in the area “not draw attention to [themselves] or honestly even look at them.”
The KOIN article about this situation includes this amazing line: “Officials also advise not harassing the crows as they have long memories, hold grudges, and seem to know they have legal protection.” The last part is referring to the fact that people are legally (as well as ethically, of course) prohibited from messing with crows and their habitats, so back off! I, for one, welcome our new crow overlords. (But I’m sorry to anyone who has been attacked.)
• Enough about birds, onto dragons:
• In other news, there’s a new sheriff at the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) . New interim director Chris Warner, who had a stint leading the Portland Bureau of Transportation, is coming to the top ODOT job after three years in Governor Tina Kotek’s office. Warner is unlikely to be described as a transportation visionary, but at this point, nobody would reasonably expect that of ODOT’s leaders. The department is dealing with a big mess, though, so visionary thinking would be pretty nice right about now—just don’t hold your breath. (For more on the mess ODOT is facing, and how state leaders are—or aren’t—dealing with it, check out this story about Kotek’s transportation funding workgroup. Seems like they’re not really getting it!)
IN NATIONAL/WORLD NEWS:
• Several states had their primary elections yesterday. California’s was the most high-profile, of course, with the governor’s race up for grabs in a jungle primary election (meaning candidates from all parties are on all ballots, with the top two advancing to the general, regardless of their party). Though there were concerns leading up to the race that two Republicans could advance to the general election, that doesn’t seem to be the result. However, it’s still unclear exactly how things will pan out. The top three candidates (Democrats Xavier Becerra and Tom Steyer, and Republican Steve Hilton) are all still capable of making it to November, though Steyer’s numbers have been down compared to the other two candidates. We’ll see what happens…
• The US Supreme Court says it’s chill if Alabama and other southern states deprive their Black residents of the right to representation in Congress. Is that exactly what their ruling said? Well, no, but it’ll have that effect. Because Republicans are so unpopular they can’t win without cheating, they’re desperate to gerrymander their voting maps in a way that benefits them and disenfranchises Black voters. Yesterday, the Supreme Court ruled to overturn a district court’s injunction preventing Alabama from going ahead with its racially-motivated redistricting plan Under the new map, Alabama will only have one majority-Black district, even though the state’s population is more than one-quarter Black. This will also likely result in a Democrat losing their congressional seat. The Supreme Court’s order was okay’d by all six conservative judges. It is very bad.
• CBS News, with Bari Weiss at the helm, is continuing down a path that will likely destroy all the network’s journalistic credibility. Yesterday, the network fired one of its best-known and most accomplished journalists, Scott Pelley, seemingly after a clash with CBS News’ new leadership. (Pelley wants to do good journalism, his new bosses don’t.)
• Oh yeah, the Trump administration is trying to destroy scientific research. I mean, it has been trying to do that for a long time, and has had moderate success, but federal money is still going toward important scientific advancements…and TRUMP CAN’T HAVE THAT! The administration is seeking a bureaucratic rule change that would give them more influence over billions of dollars in federal research grants, with the biggest impact on health and science funding. One opponent to the proposal called it “the end of American science as we know it.” The editor of Science magazine also weighed in with an informative editorial, pointing out that this policy change is out of step with what the American people want. It’s just one complete disaster after another, isn’t it?
• We’ll end on a happy, bird-themed note. Happy Wednesday, everyone.
