No telling when Uber and its ilk are coming back to Portland. City council last night heard the recommendations of a citizen task force charged with crafting rules for so-called Transportation Network Companies. And after a six-hour hearing, everyone agreed to pump the brakes. Rather than a rushed approval of new rules next week, as had been mulled, commissioners are planning a work session later this month to tweak new regulations—with an eye toward things like insurance, “surge pricing,” and forcing TNC drivers to register with the city. Not all Uber drivers, who’ve been waiting months to re-enter Portland, were excited.
Congressman Earl Blumenauer’s been preaching the gospel of pot legalization for years. Now he—along with Oregon voters’ convincing approval of legal weed last year—has senior US Senator Ron Wyden on board, too. Wyden and Blumenauer announced yesterday they’re launching companion bills in the house and senate that will eliminate what amount to stiff tax penalties on people who operate legal marijuana businesses. Absolutely no telling what chance that legislation has in a useless Congress.
Related: Hey, every recreational pot shop I’ve ever read about, stop talking about how you’re “going for an Apple Store vibe”. It’s tiresome. Anyway, the O has this story about a Colorado pot chain that’s eyeing Oregon. It’ll have to figure out what residency requirements we land on for marijuana business owners, first.
Hmm. I’m not sure what to make of this story about an apartment complex in one of Gresham’s most economically disadvantaged neighborhoods. Are they predatory slumlords or conscientious business owners? Somehow both?
New information on an old-ass story. We know more about the bribes former Portland Parking Manager Ellis McCoy accepted to steer contracts to his friends. Golf and trips and money. No ponies, though.
Sad. A 74-year-old Alzheimer’s patient who wandered away from her Gresham home weeks ago has been found dead. No word on cause of death.
We’ve got another vantage of the Walter Scott shooting in South Carolina. Not the actual cold-blooded killing, but the dash cam of the traffic stop. Scott’s brake light was out, so you know it was vital to pull him over.
Also, if you want to feel deeply unsettled, read what news coverage of the shooting looked like before video footage came out.
President Obama, continuing what looks like a Cuban love affair compared to decades of icy relations, is considering taking our island neighbor off a list of countries that sponsor terrorism.
A shooting at the US Census Bureau on Thursday had nothing to do with a targeted attack. Instead, as was the case at the NSA not that long ago, the chaos of Greater DC spilled onto federal property.
Least newsy “news” of the day. Hillary Clinton’s gonna run for president.
Your weekend. And your depressing early next week. Illustrated.
Something for you to think about.
You can’t take Cuba off the list of terrorism supporters! They have a KNOWN CAMP for threats to the United States on their southern tip!