Stay up to date on Portland news and politics. Looking for fun? Here are the best Things to Do in Portland today.

ChrisBoswell.jpg
ChrisBoswell / Getty images

Good morning, Portland! A quick reminder before we head into the weekend: It’s not about how far you trot. It’s about putting one hoof in front of the other and trusting that you’ll get there.

Here are the headlines!

Extremely Stupid and Incredibly Petty: Trump plans on imposing a five percent tariff on all imported goods from Mexico, he announced yesterday. The reason: racism.

Are You Okay, New Mexico? I had no idea until this morning that this was a thing, but apparently a privately funded border wall is almost complete in the state of New Mexico. “We do have agility, and speed and determination, and that’s what I hope you see on display when you look at this wall,” said one leader of this wall-building effort. Sorry, but that’s not what I see when I look at that wall!

Hey Lady, Your Gray Roots Are Showing: The New York Times ran an article this morning about the fight to decriminalize sex workโ€”but don’t read that. Instead, read this thread breaking down the inaccuracies that can arise when reporters fail to prioritize the actual people they are writing about.

A Fair Fight: Two ordinances that would add new fair housing protections to city code are making their way through Portland City Councilโ€”and while some individual landlords support the changes, industry groups are rramping up their campaign against them.

PERS Update: Yesterday the Oregon House passed a bill that should ease the financial pressure the Public Employees Retirement System (PERS) is putting on school districts and other public agencies. It took some closed-door negotiating on the part of House Speaker Tina Kotek to make the vote happen.

The Business of Politics: Remember when Oregon lawmakers passed a major business tax/school funding bill a few weeks ago? Well, this may come as a bit of a shock, but it turns out state business leaders don’t love it. In fact, they don’t love it so much that they’re turning to Oregon voters to repeal it.

Everything Old is New Again: The Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) named a new director yesterday. It’s the same guy who’s served as interim director for almost a year now.

Abortion Rights Update: The last abortion clinic in the state of Missouri might soon be shut down by the state’s Department of Health and Senior Services. Planned Parenthood is suing to keep the clinic openโ€”but it’s worth spending some time familiarizing yourself with how it got to this point.

Oh Look, the Times Fucked Up Twice In One Day:

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