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!
Today’s “World Press Freedom Day”—which, honestly, should be every day. Currently, the United States ranks 45 in countries with the freest press, according to Reporters Without Borders (an organization you should throw money at).
Take a minute to learn about the 82 journalists who were killed in 2017.
Targeted attacks left at least 10 journalists dead in Afghanistan, just days before #WorldPressFreedomDay.https://t.co/S03f1Upyz1 pic.twitter.com/lxHyzwAaIQ
— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) May 3, 2018
Today’s Day’s Day: Portland Police Bureau will officially swear in its first deputy chief today. In his new position, PPB veteran Bob Day will act as second in command to Chief Danielle Outlaw. On the eve of his appointment, Day spoke with teen activists—and provided a peek into his policing mindset.
Warehousing Homeless… Items: Portland is needing a larger space to store the abundance of items confiscated during homeless camp cleanups. Yesterday, city council gave staffers a green light to purchase a warehouse four times the size of the current facility to store these belongings. We’re not entirely sure if this is the best solution.
Good News About Bad Things: A state audit has determined the Oregon State Police is on course to clear its backlog of untested rape kits by 2019. Fingers crossed.
Victim Victory: The Oregon Supreme Court has ruled that sitting Multnomah County Circuit Judge Kenneth Walker violated the constitution when he cut off a crime victim’s testimony in court. Walker asked a victim of domestic violence to stop talking in the middle of reading her victim impact statement during her abuser’s January sentencing hearing. This ruling gives the victim a second chance to real the entirety of her statement in court.
You Do You, Tigard: Tigard High School students joined in a national “Stand for the Second” school walkout yesterday to rally in support of the Second Amendment. It’s a direct response to recent student walkouts that have protested gun violence and called for gun control in the wake of February’s Parkland, Florida school shooting. Huh.
Rudy “Wildcard” Giuliani: Fun new member of Donald Trump’s legal squad Rudy Giuliani has announced that yes, Trump definitely reimbursed his former lawyer for the $130,000 in hush money used to pay off Stormy Daniels. This directly contradicts what Trump has said in the past, and could mean the president violated campaign finance laws. Giuliani, comin’ in hot!
Dustbowl: A deadly blend of dust storms and heavy rains have left more than 70 people dead in northern India. Eerie photos capture the thick wave of orange dust that’s swept the northern states of Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan.
Intense dust storm across Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttarakhand have left a trail of destruction. Death toll has touched almost 100 people. If this is not a sign of extreme event, then what else is? A detailed coverage is coming your way. pic.twitter.com/45OtZ0UrCl
— Down To Earth (@down2earthindia) May 3, 2018
Right On: The two African American men arrested for “loitering” for ten minutes at a Philadelphia Starbucks have reached a settlement of $1 each with the city over the incident. The symbolic agreement comes with a demand: the city must fund a $200,000 grant program for entrepreneurial high school students. How’d that one day of implicit bias training go, Starbucks?
Cringe Candidate: Willamette Week released a video clip from their endorsement interview with candidates running to fill Dan Saltzman’s seat at city council, and it makes candidate Felicia Williams look… not great. Williams, a white woman in a contest against one white man and three women of color, blamed her lack of institutional endorsements on the racial dynamics of the race. A tip, from one white woman to another, Felicia: Check your privilege.
Rudy Giuliani has started to wear make up?