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Good morning, Portland! Grab your coffee, weave past a presidential hopeful to get some ranch, and take a seat, because…
Here are the headlines!
Candidate Chaos: The list of 2020 Democratic candidates now includes Bernie Sanders, a self-help author, and your mom (congrats to your mom!). Listen to today’s episode of the Daily if you feel like you need to get caught up.
Shitty in Salem: Two former legislative interns to former Republican state representative and noted creep Jeff Kruse filed a lawsuit yesterday alleging sexual harassment. OPB’s got the details, including these haunting lines:
She stopped wearing makeup. She put on baggy clothes. She trained herself to listen for his footsteps so she could prepare and try to make herself difficult to touch.
She told other lawmakers. https://t.co/1PZQsyyHHD #orleg #orpol #metoo
— Lauren Dake (@LaurenDake) February 19, 2019
Police Priorities: Mayor Ted Wheeler is standing by his criticism of Lt. Jeff Niiya and Portland Police Bureau (PPB) after Willamette Week and the Mercury revealed texts that suggested a protective relationship between the bureau and Patriot Prayer’s own Joey Gibson. Both the Portland Police Association and the Portland Police Commanding Officers Association object to how Wheeler characterized Niiya, claiming that he was unnecessarily harsh and may have damaged Niiya’s career.
There’s Oil In Them There Trains: Wheeler announced at a press conference yesterday that he’s looking to limit the growth of a North Portland train terminal that unloads oil cars. Such an expansion would double the number of oil trains passing through town.
In PERS News: Gov Kate Brown is toying with the idea of selling Oregon’s workers compensation insurance corporation, the Oregonian reports. Such a move could help offset rising Public Employees Retirement System (PERS) costs, but could also potentially upset the business community by raising private-sector workers’ comp costs.
ICYMI: Here’s the latest on the aftermath of the Portland police shooting of Andre Gladen. Our own Alex Zielinski dropped this article the same day she also reported on the now notorious PPB-Gibson texts, so you may have missed it at first—I know I did!
Hill of Beans: If you’ve been following along with our coverage of Nancy Rommelmann’s questionable views on the #MeToo movement, then you know the fallout has been affecting her husband’s coffee company, Ristretto Roasters. Rommelmann reveals more in an op-ed for Quillette titled “The Internet Locusts Descend on Ristretto Roasters.” I’m not going to link to it, because Quillette doesn’t need the clicks. Google it if you want, but the title really tells you everything you need to know about Rommelmann’s mindset.
Very Pinteresting: Pinterest, of all websites, is taking real steps to stop misinformation about vaccines from spreading on its platform. That’s news I want to Pin!!! (Is that how Pinterest works???)
Hmmmmmm: I wonder if the Streisand Effect will take hold here?
In his press release Gibson asks reporters to stop using the following labels to describe Patriot Prayer: alt-right, extreme right, far-right, or white supremecists.
Also he disavows being called a “violent gang,” white supremacists or nazis.
— Katie Shepherd (@katemshepherd) February 20, 2019
Oh and ICYMI, the White House has been FORGING NOMINATIONS FOR THE NOBEL PEACE PRIZE trying to, what?, stuff the ballot box?, to get Dump the award he believes he deserves, for what? Playing golf?
I don’t see any problem with the PPD telling Joey Gipson to keep that “Tiny” idiot away from these rallies. Even if they did us the warrant reminder in an attempt to do so. Especially with how disruptive and active Tiny is in these things, that is no environment to be serving warrants in. Better to try and keep him away from the rally, and get him at some other point.