PPB Chief Chuck Lovell at a 2020 press conference. Credit: City of Portland

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PPB Chief Chuck Lovell at a 2020 press conference.
PPB Chief Chuck Lovell at a 2020 press conference. City of Portland

Good morning, Portland! Happy summer solstice—and happy oh-my-god-how-is-it-already-this-hot first day of summer. If you’re wondering if there’s a name for this heatwave we’ve been stricken with, let me introduce you to the “heat dome.”

-Oregon members of Congress are urging the Oregon Department of Transportation to expand I-5 in the Rose Quarter, but only if the project includes freeway overpasses that connect the neighborhood it cuts through. ODOT, unsurprisingly, says it’s not that simple.

-PPB Chief Chuck Lovell talked to the Oregonian about his first year at the helm of the police bureau: “It’s tough to move forward when you’re really dealing with a lot of setbacks.”

-Travel Portland bought a full-page ad in the Sunday New York Times (and other national publications) to publish what could be described as “damage control fridge poetry” :

-It’s been five months since Oregon’s new law decriminalizing small amounts of hard drugs went into effect, and its implementation continues to polarize the recovery community, raising concerns about the proposal’s sweeping promises. Get caught up on the divisive law here.

-Ryan Crouser (hometown: “unincorporated Boring”) made history during the US Olympic Track & Field Trials Friday night in Eugene by throwing a shot put over 75 feet.

-State-level efforts across the US to increase COVID-19 vaccination rates through lotteries and other financial awards haven’t been as successful as previously hoped. The vaccine pace in states that used cash prizes to incentivize vaccinations—including Oregon—hasn’t taken off as expected, data finds.

-As vaccination rates slow across the US, researchers are raising alarms about the spread of the Delta variant of COVID, which is more transmissible than the common virus. The new variant, which was first detected in India, leaves unvaccinated pockets of the country at high risk.

-A true rollercoaster of a headline, brought to you by CNN: “A tiny dinosaur trapped in amber turned out to be a ‘really weird animal’ instead”

-A police officer in Flint, Michigan fatally shot a 19-year-old woman during a Juneteenth parade. The officer alleged they were shot at first.

-RIP Champ.

Alex Zielinski is a former News Editor for the Portland Mercury. She's here to tell stories about economic inequities, cops, civil rights, and weird city politics that you should probably be paying attention...

One reply on “Good Morning, News: Chief Lovell Reflects on the Past Year, Shot Put History Made in Eugene, and Delta Variant Threatens US”

  1. Non-vaccinated Americans are at risk of an aggressive and more dangerous Covid-19 variant.

    So the hundreds of thousands dead haven’t convinced people to get vaccinated.

    So the cash money and prizes haven’t convinced people to get vaccinated.

    So the prospect of opening up the state for business 100% hasn’t convinced people to get vaccinated.

    Can’t fix stupid. Those who are not vaccinated will continue to spread the disease (and hopefully all die, too, since they’re fucking selfish, stupid assholes). The rest of us have to hope that if we’re infected by these motherfuckers that we don’t die (which we should not since we’re vaccinated – but there are a LOT of children out there and they can’t be vaccinated yet) and continue to wear masks and take precautions around all people because there is no way to no if they are fucking asshole who wants to get other people sick and kill them (unless they have a tell, like a MAGA hat or are running around saying “it’s all fake, you know)!

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