Stay up to date on Portland news and politics. Looking for fun? Here are the best Things to Do in Portland today.
Good morning, Portland! I’m writing this morning’s post through the thick fog of a sinus infection, so it seems hell has indeed come to visit me personally.
Here are the headlines!
18 Questions: Twenty-one of the 22 Democrats running for president participated in a New York Times question-and-answer video series, and the results are pretty illuminating. (For one thing, Julian Castro’s the only candidate willing to say that in an ideal world, people wouldn’t own hand guns!) Joe Biden’s the only one who didn’t take part, but c’mon, you weren’t planning to vote for him, were you?
Speaking of Which: I guess Joe Biden’s doing his own question-and-answer session this week, except all the questions are about why he bragged about working with segregationist senators, and all his answers are…. bad.
Happy Pride:
NEW: A lesbian couple was turned away when trying to become foster parents to refugee children because their lifestyle doesn’t “mirror the Holy Family.” https://t.co/kUSssQcLkF
— The Daily Beast (@thedailybeast) June 20, 2019
Reporting for Duty: The Portland Police Bureau (PPB) has a lot of unfilled positions, so yesterday the bureau announced it would lower its hiring standards to allow neck tattoos, beards, and GED recipients. Alex Zielinski reports on the changes, and adds some useful context about PPB’s hiring woes.
Big Dreams:
.@OPALEJOR is today announcing the launch of a new transportation-focused campaign. One of the end goals: an entirely fareless TriMet. Could it be done? Should it be done? I asked a lot of smart people those questions for this week’s Mercury print issue. https://t.co/eZauJHW9FG
— Blair Stenvick 🏳️🌈 (@BlairStenvick) June 19, 2019
Walk Out: Oregon’s Republican legislators are reportedly not quite done walking out of the Capitol this year. This time, the big to-do is about House Bill 2020, the cap-and-trade bill that passed the House earlier this week, and is headed to the Senate floor soon.
My Fair Housing Policies A slate of progressive fair housing rental policies passed a Portland City Council vote yesterday. Here’s Zielinski back in April with a good explainer of what these rules mean, and why they’re needed.
Puttin’ on the Ritz: A Ritz Carlton is coming to downtown Portland. Please do with that information what you will.
