A fiery work session Tuesday was just the latest example of rifts between Portland city commissioners and the mayor’s office over plans for Portland’s phased-in approach to government transition.

“I have some strong critiques of the way the mayor’s team rolled this out over the last two weeks,” Commissioner Gonzalez said of recent government transition moves afoot.

The charter transition work session was meant to brief Portland City Council on a new budget process, as well as costs and logistics associated with a forthcoming City Hall remodel, but complaints over a perceived lack of transparency and communication from the mayor’s office permeated the meeting.

The discord came as Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler has been eager to start implementing elements of a sweeping charter reform measure approved by voters in 2022.

Happy October, witches! This week, when we’re not sobbing along to Dame D.O.L.L.A.’s “Farewell” to Blazers fans, we’re digging into an upcoming installment of the local producer showcase A Beat Happening at OMSI for Black Community Science Night. We’re also geeked about the new music and film podcast Revolutions Per Movie from Chris Slusarenko. Dig into the new music developments that are making waves, right Hear in Portland!

MUST SEE: 

Upcoming local event(s) featuring local artist(s). 

A Beat Happening at Black Community Science Night

In collaboration with the Oregon Alliance of Black School Educators, OMSI will host a second annual Black Community Science Night—this time on Friday the 13th! Producer-focused hip-hop showcase A Beat Happening will provide the evenings sounds, against which the all ages event offers planetarium shows like Laser Beyonce, Laser Prince, and Laser Lizzo. Alongside its regular food and drink offerings, the museum will also host vendors like Erica’s Soul Food and Beats and Eats Food Truck. But about A Beat Happening: Expect beat sets by producers and DJs, including Sir Nai, (who will no-doubt be performing tracks from his 2023 project Hermit Crab, Vol.3), eclectic electronic producer Love & Bass, multidisciplinary artist Phase (AKA Phil Johnson), rapper [E]mpress, and of course, hosts/resident DJs Lee Tillman and Luvjones. (OMSI, 1945 SE Water, Fri Oct 13, 6 pm, $10 adults, $8 kids, tickets here, all ages)

The Mercury provides news and fun every single day—but your help is essential. If you believe Portland benefits from smart, local journalism and arts coverage, please consider making a small monthly contribution, because without you, there is no us. Thanks for your support!

GOOD MORNING, PORTLAND! It's here, it's here: The abso-frickin'-lutely delicious Mercury WING WEEK is currently in full swing at more than 60 (!) restaurants around town, and guess what... it's only $8 for a plate of these one-of-a-kind wing-dings! But hurry, hurry—the fun ends this coming Sunday! Now let's wing-ding some NEWS.

IN LOCAL NEWS:

• Hot labor rights summer continues! Up to 4,000 Kaiser Permanente workers in Oregon and Southwest Washington (and thousands more across the country) began their three-day strike today over (you guessed it) low wages and lack of staffing. KP is one of the country's largest healthcare and insurance companies, and while thousands will be rightly walking off the job, doctors are continuing their work and emergency rooms will remain open.

THE STRIKE IS ON! @kpthrive workers are clocking out and stepping out for patient care and an end to the Kaiser short staffing crisis. Kaiser executives, do you hear us yet??#Unions4All #SolidaritySeason pic.twitter.com/M581TSoYWa

— SEIU Local 49 (@seiu49) October 4, 2023

• Eugene Democratic State Rep. Paul Holvey has been rescued by voters (and in a resounding fashion) from a recall effort launched by the UFCW labor union, which accused him of standing in the way of legislation that would have helped workers. And while a lot of money was spent by the union on the recall effort, Holvey's longtime supporters weren't having it, and shot the campaign down by a wide margin.

• Huh. Weird.

Yet again some more evidence that housing ends homelessness. https://t.co/YmcP5V1LDY

— Some Woke PSU Professor (@DrMarisaZapata1) October 4, 2023

Cis bisexual guy here in his 20s. In the entire time I’ve been sexually active, I’ve pretty much been able to finish whenever I’d like. I’ve literally never once finished too quickly. That said, the idea of being unable to hold back my orgasm and coming too quickly has always been a big turn on for me. So much so, that in more than a few past relationships/hookups, I’ve found myself inducing a premature ejaculation. Some partners are kind and supportive about it, some seem a little annoyed or bothered. Both reactions are equally hot to me! It doesn’t happen every time I have sex, and I’m always down to take care of my partner’s orgasm in other ways either before or after the penetrative sex has come to its brief conclusion.

I’m not so much worried about if my kink is normal, but is it ethical? I haven’t told any of my hookups or long-term partners this about myself and am worried that doing so might lessen the turn on. But I do feel a little guilty that I could prolong the thrusting before I get to the busting and am pretending that I can’t for my own selfish ends. Do I owe it to them to let them know?

Finished And Secretly Thrilled

First, a pet peeve: don’t use the passive voice when talking about things you choose to do during sex...

Click here to read the rest of this week's Mini Savage Love (free-to-all).

The Mercury provides news and fun every single day—but your help is essential. If you believe Portland benefits from smart, local journalism and arts coverage, please consider making a small monthly contribution, because without you, there is no us. Thanks for your support!

GOOD MORNING, PORTLAND! It’s “Hell” day, AKA the release date of Sleater-Kinney’s new single. The longtime Portland band just dropped a new video, featuring former Rose City resident, writer and filmmaker, Miranda July. The band is set to release a new album, Little Rope, in January. 

For Dr. Julian Saporiti, No-No Boy is an ongoing research project, an adventurous sound experiment, and an outlet for his brainy and bright folk songs. While it began as a path to a PhD in American studies and ethnomusicology it has since become so much more.

“It’s a place-making project for myself,” he told the Mercury. “It’s like a cartography of the soul, if you want to be really pretentious about it.”

Saporiti is self-deprecating by nature, but there's nothing pretentious about No-No Boy, the musical project he started while attending Brown University in Rhode Island. Originally a vehicle for his doctoral dissertation, Saporiti has now produced around 100 songs and three albums under the moniker, including Empire Electric, released September 29 by Smithsonian Folkways Recordings.

Are you looking for a hilarious, live comedy show where YOU can walk away with a fabulous PRIZE (or two)?

Well, you're in luck, because Mercury Geniuses of Comedy, Arlo Weierhauser and Kate Murphy, are your hosts for the most diabolical, hilarious, and EVIL live game show in town… TWO EVILS! Join Arlo and Kate as they ask a series of truly evil questions, and it’s up to our special guest contestant and the audience (who will vote on their phones) to decide which is the lesser of TWO VERY EVIL ANSWERS. Are there prizes? You bet your butt! Is there comedy? Oh, absolutely!

Plus, this episode will be Halloween-themed, and we'll be welcoming a super special guest star: the famous and hilarious KYLE KINANE! 😍

This one is predicted to sell out, SO GET THOSE TIX QUICK NOW AND HERE!

Don’t miss the most delightful and morally corrupt comedy game show of the century… TWO EVILS with Arlo & Kate!

WHEN: Wednesday, October 11, doors 7 PM / 7:30 pm show

WHERE: The Siren Theater, 3913 NE Mississippi

TICKETS: $15 advance, $20 door

Presented by your pals at the Portland Mercury!

Wake up babe, new event picks for the week have dropped, from Taylor Tomlinson: The Have It All Tour to Portland Mercury's Wing Week and from Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis to HAIR. For a look ahead at what's in store this month, check out our October event guide.

MONDAY

FILM

Portland Latin American Film Festival
Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month and support Latin cinema in one fell swoop at the Portland Latin American Film Festival, which will return again this year with seven feature flicks that can be enjoyed by Spanish, Portuguese, and English speakers. PDXLAFF continues on October 2 with Las Hijas, which sees teen sisters travel from Costa Rica to Panama to search for their absentee dad. Films will continue to screen through November 30. LINDSAY COSTELLO
(Hollywood Theatre, Hollywood District)

Yoohoo! Welcome to the Trash Report. I'm Elinor Jones (AKA Mother Trash Panda) here with the latest of some stuff I found that I want to write about because nothing makes me happier than seeing (sensing) you happy. There's a lot of nonsense out there, and I want to make fun of it! Get in, girls; we're going to read quietly.

Shutting Down the Shutdown

Anyone else remember that episode of The West Wing when there was a government shutdown and President Bartlet looked so impossibly cool when he said "shut it down" and all the lights went off and it was for a noble cause and eventually served a purpose? Yeah, this is not that. In fact, that episode of television—while awesome—may have planted a terrible seed in the heads of many aspiring politicians who think a shutdown will be cool when it's actually just a stressful pain in the ass for everyone, as well as a losing political position. Anyway, the government didn't shut down yesterday, like it was threatening to do. Way to go, fuckheads. 

Sen. John Fetterman: "Pushing the snooze button solves nothing, because these same losers will try to pull the same shit in 45 days.

"I voted yes tonight to keep the government open, but I'm done normalizing this dysfunction."

— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) October 1, 2023

Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz is seizing the annoying moment to announce his plan to oust Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. Like, you want your face on this mess? Your tiny, tiny face, that is poorly served by how big you always make your hair? You wanna own this? Take it, buddy. You can have it. Have stupid faces, win stupid prizes. 

What, dear reader, was the greatest week of your life?

Think back on that moment. Treasure its beautiful memory. Then THROW IT IN THE TRASH, because the Portland Mercury’s Wing Week is about to make every other week you’ve ever experienced look like GARBAGE.

That’s right: From Monday, October 2 to Sunday, October 8, the Portland Mercury’s Wing Week returns—with creative, one-of-a-kind chicken wings available at 62 Portland locations! Even better? Each order of wings will only cost you a mere $8! Yes, it will be amazing—because the Mercury and our Wing Week partners at Jim Beam (thanks, Jim!) wouldn’t have it any other way!

Read on for a complete list of this year’s wings—and once you stop drooling, keep a few things in mind:

The Mercury provides news and fun every single day—but your help is essential. If you believe Portland benefits from smart, local journalism and arts coverage, please consider making a small monthly contribution, because without you, there is no us. Thanks for your support!

GOOD MORNING, PORTLAND! If you love your tummy, don't sleep on the abso-frickin'-lutely delicious Mercury WING WEEK which starts today at more than 60 restaurants around town! And it gets better, because a plate of these beauties will only set you back $8. But hurry, hurry—the fun ends this coming Sunday! Now let's chow down on a plate of NEWS.

IN LOCAL NEWS:

• ICYMI: A group of houseless Portlanders is suing the city over its cruel, draconian anti-homeless camping ordinance. (All together now: "GOOD!") The class-action lawsuit rightly points out that the rules the city came up with are impossible to follow, and also violate state laws designed to prevent the criminalization of homelessness. (Would you like to help, too? Start with voting out every single member of the current city council, because they've proven they aren't worthy of holding important government positions.) Our Courtney Vaughn has the story!

• Speaking of those who have lost our trust in their abilities:

As a financial crisis looms, opaque plans to yank bike lane protections have deepened distrust in Portland's transportation bureau. https://t.co/h2bsWyaZRC

— Portland Mercury 🗞 (@portlandmercury) September 30, 2023

• Good news: Providence Park will start a summer concert series in 2024, with the Foo Fighters kicking it all off on August 16 of next year. This will be the first such concert held in the park since 2005, which used to welcome music stars on a regular basis, including Elvis Presley and David Bowie.

It goes without saying that October is dominated by Halloween events—Portland takes the season of ghouls and gourds very seriously—but it's also filled with concerts, festivals, food & drink events, and tons more. As we do every month, we've compiled the biggest events you need to know about in every genre, from Wu-Tang Clan & Nas: NY State Of Mind Tour with De La Soul to HAIR and from Adam Sandler to the Portland Greek Festival.

COMEDY

Adam Sandler: The I Missed You Tour
Your dad's favorite basketball-shorted comedian is back on the road for The I Missed You Tour, and I have questions. Aside from outliers like Punch-Drunk Love, Uncut Gems, and Funny People, Sandler's cinematic track record is well-known to skew toward the comedically questionable. What will his stand-up be like? Personally, I'm hoping it harkens back to his '90s stint on SNL, but I'm not plunking down over 100 bones to find out. You should, though, and report back to me afterward. For what it's worth, his YouTube clips seem promising. I'm rooting for you, Adam!! LINDSAY COSTELLO
Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Lloyd District (Sat Oct 14)

GOOD MORNING, SUNDAY! It's the perfect time to catch up on some of the great reporting and stories the Mercury churned out this week! (PRO TIP: If you despise being "the last to know," then be one of the first to know by signing up for Mercury newsletters! All the latest stories shipped directly to your email's in-box... and then... YOUR HEAD.)

• New Research Finds No Link Between Measure 110 and Overdose Deaths

A study published this week found no evidence of a correlation between Oregon's Measure 110 and overdose deaths. Researchers note that fatal overdoses are on the rise nationally, due to fentanyl, but not because of public policy changes.

• POP QUIZ PDX!

See if you can correctly answer this week's sassy-ass trivia Qs about Dame's exit, sketchy police chiefs, and co-worker robots (stealing your sandwich out of the break room fridge).

• Facing a $32 Million Shortfall, PBOT Leaders Issue Grim Forecast for Portland’s Transportation Future

Budget issues that have long plagued Portland’s transportation bureau (PBOT) are catching up to it. Without immediate help from City Council, hundreds of jobs are at stake, as well as beloved community programming and basic maintenance operations.

Last week, leaked emails revealed Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) director Millicent Williams planned to spend half a million dollars to reverse safety elements on a downtown protected bike lane on Northwest and Southwest Broadway. Williams expressed urgency in her plans, while appearing to keep them obscured from the public, and asking if the changes could be made overnight. 

The proposed changes—which were met with “shock and disbelief,” both from PBOT staff and community advocates—have since been reversed. But a feeling of distrust lingers. Commissioner Mingus Mapps, who oversees PBOT, maintains he hadn’t been briefed on the plan, but advocates are skeptical. 

The controversy came at an inopportune time for PBOT, which is dealing with a $32.6 million budget shortfall that could result in massive service cuts and hundreds of job losses in the next fiscal year. 

The community temperature was made evident at a Sept. 26 budget work session, where Williams sat in front of protest signs demanding her resignation while she asked City Council to better fund Portland’s transportation system. The protesters joined the budget work session to ask for accountability from Williams and Mapps.