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Good morning, Portland! Time to shake off the three-day weekend haze, walk from your bed to your couch, and get to work!
Here are the headlines.
• Clackamas County was allowed to start reopening this weekend. For businesses in the county, demand for their services was mixed.
• Meanwhile, there's been a spike in COVID-19 cases in Central Oregon. Local public health officials say the increase can be traced back to before Deschutes County entered Phase 1 of the state's reopening plan.
Camping in downtown Portland has proliferated as access points like coffee shops, libraries and shelters closed down to battle the coronavirus. There's concern camp sweeps will resume before the shutdown is over. https://t.co/grDIAwSAlM
— OPB (@OPB) May 24, 2020
• Joe Biden made his first public appearance since COVID-19 hit (and since he became the presumptive Democratic nominee for president) for Memorial Day. Both he and wife Jill Biden wore face coverings, as Donald Trump continued to not wear one.
• The headline says it all here: "A Black Man Bird-Watching in Central Park Asked a White Woman to Leash Her Dog. She Called the Cops.
• Most public school systems receive about half their funding from their state government—but with sales and income tax taking a nosedive across the country, schools all over the United States are facing a devastating drop in funds.
• Processing plants for factory farmed meat are starting to reopen, after many were shuttered because they were sites of COVID-19 outbreaks. But these meatpacking facilities aren't being transparent about how many employees currently have the coronavirus. That number is estimated to be over 5,000 across the country.
• You've gotta see it to believe it:
In addition to believing in dangerous conspiracy theory QAnon, Oregon Senate candidate Jo Rae Perkins also sells some very.... interesting jewelry online.https://t.co/E0i4BYJydK
— Portland Mercury 🗞 (@portlandmercury) May 22, 2020
• Sitting Portland City Council Commissioner Chloe Eudaly faces a runoff with former professor Mingus Mapps in her bid for reelection. Both candidates are trying to claim the votes that went to former Portland mayor Sam Adams in the primary—our Alex Zielinski has all the details.
• As artists of all stripes continue to adjust to the reality of this pandemic and the impact it has had on their ability to create and earn a living from their work, two local arts organizations are stepping up with offers of financial help.
• "In these unprecedented times," indeed:
Obsessed with this image. pic.twitter.com/tJ6RuVNL88
— Laura (@_SaturnReturn) May 24, 2020