GOOD MORNING, SUNDAY! It's the perfect time to catch up on some of the great reporting and stories the Mercury churned out this week! (PRO TIP: If you despise being "the last to know," then be one of the first to know by signing up for Mercury newsletters! All the latest stories shipped directly to your email's in-box... and then... YOUR HEAD.)
• A Guided Tour Through the Mercury's Hot-Shit New Website!
"Oooooo-weeeeee, new Mercury website! You're lookin' gooooood." Take a guided tour of our sweet new mansion with editor-in-chief Wm. Steven Humphrey!
The removal of one northeast Portland homeless camp helps illustrate how the city's accelerated homeless camp sweeps undermine the efforts of people seeking permanent housing.
• POP QUIZ PDX: Sassy-Ass Fun and Trivia!
Put on those smarty trousers! It's time to play POP QUIZ PDX—this week featuring quizzical trivia Qs about visiting blimps, the films of Gus Van Sant, and the Northwest's infamous turd, Patriot Prayer's Joey Gibson! LET'S GET BRAINY. 🤓
• THE TRASH REPORT: Goodbye Boris, Hello Gentleminions!
Calling all trash connoisseurs! It's time for another edition of THE TRASH REPORT! This week: Bye, bye, Boris (Johnson), hello new annoying Minions trend, and did actor John Goodman terrorize Portlanders? 🤯
• Judge Rejects Don't Shoot Portland's Request for Class Action Lawsuit
The latest in the Don't Shoot PDX lawsuit: A judge believes there aren't enough commonalities between people hit by tear gas and munitions during the 2020 racial justice protests to place them in a specific class.
Air-rivederci discovered air guitar as a college student, and found a whole new way of life. Now can he make it to the Air Guitar US Nationals? The Mercury profiled this Portland up-and-shredder.
• Portland Politicians and Transportation Leaders Approve Early I-5 Bridge Design
Despite pushback from environmental advocates, the Interstate 5 bridge project is advancing to a federal environmental review process—a major milestone in the revived effort to replace the bridge connecting Portland and Vancouver.
• City Council Considers $107 Million in Clean Energy Grants
The Portland Clean Energy Fund is asking city council to approve $107 million in green energy grants. City commissioners interrogated the fund’s new grant vetting process Wednesday, but indicated their support for the program overall.
• Dragging a Grand Piano Through Rural Oregon with Pink Martini's Hunter Noack
Hunter Noack founded "In A Landscape" with the purpose of bringing classical music shows to remote Oregon locations as grand as his piano.
• HEAR IN PORTLAND: The Latest Shows and Music to Put in Your Ears!
Must-see shows from Sávila, Blossom, and Maita, must-listen music from Zyah Belle, and the must-plan-for return of PDX Pop Now! It's the must-read edition of Jenni Moore's HEAR IN PORTLAND!
• Portland Poet Matthew Dickman Airs His Cleanly Folded Laundry
There are some juicy, sad bits in Matthew Dickman's new book "Husbandry," but the heartbreak is exposed in an accessible way that gives the impression the collection could cross from devoted poetry detanglers to a more general readership.
She requires dick — can she say so on dating apps? And a poly straight man's wife thinks he's a bigot for requiring dicklessness from his other sex partners. It's all in the new SAVAGE LOVE!
WOW, THAT IS A LOT OF GOOD READIN'. I hope you didn't have any other plans this weekend! Dig in, and remember: Producing all this hard work costs moolah—so please consider contributing to the Mercury to keep it all coming! Thanks!
