It's gonna be a while before we see this again. Credit: CRAIG MITCHELLDYER/PORTLAND TIMBERS
Its gonna be a while before we see this again.
It’s gonna be a while before we see this again. CRAIG MITCHELLDYER/PORTLAND TIMBERS

Good morning, Portland! Have you heard about our sexy new Mercury summer T-shirt line?

Here are the headlines.

• A concrete overpass in Mexico City collapsed last night, derailing a Metro train that was crossing the overpass. At least 23 people died in the crash, and dozens more were injured.

• A new report from the New York Times reveals a very American problem: We have enough COVID-19 vaccines, but not enough people are willing to get them to reach true herd immunity. That means COVID is likely here to stay as a low-level threat, but don’t worry—as long as enough vulnerable people get vaccinated, we’ll be able to return to some semblance of normal soon.

• Pour one out for Yahoo Answers:

• The Oregon Legislature has passed a bill that, once signed into law, willrequire cities to approve new homeless shelters if they meet certain uniform standards—and can’t deny them based solely on zoning or planning concerns. This will likely make it easier to build new homeless shelters and other forms of transitional housing in Oregon, something that is sorely needed.

• Multnomah County is currently in the “extreme risk” zone for COVID regulations, meaning sports venues are prohibited from having fans in the stands. The Portland Timbers and Thorns asked Gov. Kate Brown for an exception, asking to allow 15 percent capacity (with no concession service) during this weekend’s scheduled home matches at Providence Park. Brown denied the request, citing Oregon’s recent spike in new cases.

• Swastikas and other anti-Semitic messages were spray-painted onto the Oregon Holocaust Memorial last weekend, causing anxiety and grief among Portland’s Jewish leaders. There’s currently no info on who is behind the hateful graffiti.

• Bill and Melinda are getting divorced, and besides just being mildly interesting celebrity gossip, this news could also spell chaos for the nonprofit world, particularly when it comes to healthcare and vaccine-related organizations. Maybe this means we shouldn’t let absurdly wealthy individuals decide where all the money goes?

• Looking for a good book to sink into? The winners of the 2021 Oregon Book Awards were announced over the weekend, and they include cross-generational poetry, a novel in which a family takes a road trip into the ocean, kids’ books about healing from trauma, and more.

• And finally: Please enjoy the size of one First Couple in relation to another First Couple in this truly unsettling photo.

Blair Stenvick is a former news reporter and culture writer for the Portland Mercury.