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Plans are solidifying for a new I-5 bridge with light rail and more lanes.
Plans are solidifying for a new I-5 bridge with light rail and more lanes. OREGON DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

GOOD MORNING, PORTLAND! Congratulations, you've made it to Friday. Expect a cloudy day with heavy rain tonight, showers tomorrow, cloudy Sunday, rinse and repeat. Now let's forage around for some NEWS!

IN LOCAL NEWS:

• Next week, elected officials and transpo officials from Oregon and Washington will vote on a finalized plan for the I-5 bridge makeover, one that will include light rail (yay!) and more lanes for cars (boooooooo!). If it passes, it then goes to regional and city governments for their comments, and THEN will go before an environmental review—and we'll see how they feel about all those extra lanes.

• Speaking of transpo, yesterday city council officially signed off on the transfer of management of 82nd Avenue from the Oregon Department of Transportation to the Portland Bureau of Transportation, who vows to make the historically deadly stretch of road safer for pedestrians.

• Want to learn more about the two centrist challengers being propped up by the city's rich developers and the police union to unseat the first Black woman on city council, Jo Ann Hardesty? Check out this thorough report from OPB before voting on either of those two puppets.

• Another good reason NOT to vote for Vadim Mozyrsky in May: "Mingus Mapps Endorses Vadim Mozyrsky for Portland City Council Over Incumbent Jo Ann Hardesty."

• Our Jenni Moore has all the latest happs in her latest HEAR IN PORTLAND column, including: This weekend's One Moto Show has a great music line-up, Sotaé headlines May’s edition of The Thesis, AND... wait, what? Lizzo ticket go on sale TODAY?? Let's GOOOOOOO!

IN NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL NEWS:

• So far Russia's big push into the eastern part of Ukraine is yielding only marginal results, while Putin's military continues to bomb the shit out of Kyiv.

• Here we go again: The Oklahoma legislature has passed a six-week anti-abortion law (verrrry similar to the shitty one in Texas), which will go into effect immediately if their governor signs it.

• You've had COVID. Now who's ready for... the BIRD FLU?? "U.S. records first case of highly contagious bird flu in human, health officials say."

• Calling all Ozark fans: Your weekend is officially booked up.

• In order to get the bank loans necessary to buy Twitter, Elon Musk is reported to have told lenders he will make deep cuts to executive pay and monetize ordinary tweets. (You know, I think my tweets are good... but maybe not $$$$$$$ good?)

• And finally... if this were a series, I'd watch EVERY SINGLE EPISODE.