The first lawsuit against Portland police officers for their treatment of protesters in 2020 has reached its day in court. 

The case comes from Erin Wenzel, a care coordinator at Oregon Health and Science University who attended a racial justice protest with her husband on August 14, 2020. Wenzel, who lives in Beaverton, attended the North Portland protest as a volunteer medic, bringing first aid supplies to help any injured demonstrators. She identified this role by wearing a red cross on her helmet.

As with many of 2020's nightly racial justice protests, officers with the Portland Police Bureau (PPB) moved to disperse the protest shortly after dark, as demonstrators marched south. Wenzel said she was following police instructions to leave when an officer ran at her from behind and slammed her to the ground, breaking her arm and smashing her face onto the concrete. After getting up, Wenzel said she was pushed by a protester and fell into another officer, who struck her in the leg with a baton, causing her to fall to the ground. Wenzel suffered a skinned knee from the second fall. 

There are no witnesses that observed these actions, nor is there video taken of them, leaving Wenzel as the sole witness to the alleged crimes.

Wenzel filed a lawsuit against the city of Portland in October 2020 for her assault by PPB officers, requesting $500,000 for physical and emotional damages. Unlike other similar civil lawsuits filed by protesters injured by cops in 2020, Wenzel's case didn't resolve in a settlement agreement with the city, instead heading to trial. 

Weekend plans should be easy breezy. To make sure they're just that, we've rounded up a bunch of events that are low commitment and inflation-friendly, from the 69th Annual Portland Greek Festival to Street Bazaar and from Lardo's 10 Year Anniversary with Quasi and Help to Nancy Wilson of Heart.

FRIDAY

COMEDY

Death Cult: A Fun and Flirty Sketch Show
Go ahead and drink the Kool-Aid—this sketch comedy show will provide answers to all of your burning philosophical questions. You might have to pledge your undying loyalty to them, though. Directed by Dylan Reiff, Death Cult invites audiences to gaze into the void with cult comedy favorites Alex Beeken, Jaren George, Ryan King, Nariko Ott, Tory Ward, and Lauren Sigler.
(21ten Theater, Hosford-Abernethy, $15)

Sierra Pettengill's Riotsville, U.S.A. is a surreal examination of the militarization of the United States police force as a response to the class and social consciousness gained by Black and other marginalized communities in the late 1960s. 

The documentary situates itself in a fake town called Riotsville, which was constructed by the federal government on US military bases and populated with soldiers pretending to be civilians. Or, rather, "rioters." For a keen audience of military members and local police representatives, these "actors" mimicked real moments of uprisings—like the 1965 Watts Rebellion—with the intent to demonstrate to authorities how to mercilessly quell protests "infiltrated" by radical Black "agitators."

Across two different camps—one was built at Fort Belvoir in Virginia and another at Fort Gordon in Georgia—hundreds of soldiers charged at, gas bombed, and physically assaulted fake rioters in front of an applauding crowd. We know all of this because the government and media filmed these exercises and distributed the tapes as training material to police precincts across the country.

As we welcome back the rainy season, the city is starting to feel like its sweet, soggy self again. And nothing says "time to get your hoodie on" like a fall schedule of fantastic music. This week, we’re jazzed about upcoming shows from the Delines, confessional soul singer Moorea Masa opening for Son Little on tour, and Zyah Belle’s smooth self-care / sultry bad bitch album Yam Grier. 

NEW OPENINGS

Maisha
This vegan cart specializing in Kenyan cuisine opened inside the Piknik Park pod on September 1, serving hard-to-find dishes like sukuma wiki (braised kale with tomatoes and cumin), matoke (banana curry), and ugali (a maize flour-based porridge).
Sellwood
Pickup, dine-in

A moment that fans of women’s soccer have been waiting months for is fast approaching: the release of ESPN’s Truth Be Told – The Fight For Women’s Professional Soccer. 

It’s been an unexpectedly long wait to see the documentary, which offers a comprehensive look at the scandals that rocked the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) last fall. Its release was initially slated for July, but was then pushed back to “to allow additional production and reporting time.” It's now set to premiere on October 4 on ESPN.

Fans of the Portland Thorns will find few revelations, but plenty worth watching. Much of the first half of the documentary focuses on Paul Riley, the former Thorns manager who was accused by multiple former players of sexual misconduct and coercion in an article in The Athletic that jumpstarted a league-wide reckoning into the power structures putting players at risk. 

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! Screw off, autumn! Because we can once again expect sunny skies and the objectively perfect temperature of 85 this weekend. (Apologies to your cable-knit sweaters.) Now let's cable-knit some NEWS!

IN LOCAL NEWS:

• Last night supporters and opponents of the upcoming Charter Reform ballot measure that YOU will vote on in November came together for a debate—and it was co-moderated by the Mercury's own Alex Zielinski and the O's Shane Kavanaugh! Want to be the smartest person in the room when it comes to Charter Reform? THEN WATCH THIS.

Billionaire Nike co-founder Phil Knight has spent $2 million to help Oregon Republicans retake state Legislature. https://t.co/fXtNOlr3pf

— OPB (@OPB) September 29, 2022

• Bad news for City Council candidate Rene Gonzalez: The city elections office told the candidate that, actually, he DID clearly violate small donor election laws after accepting—and failing to report—a whopping 96 percent discounted rental rate for a campaign office offered by local moneybags Jordan Schnitzer, and (saaaad trommmbone) will have to pay his historic fine. Man, it SUCKS when rules also apply to you!

Cathedral Coffee
Just a stone's throw from Cathedral Park, this charming coffee shop offers specialty coffee from the local roastery Proud Mary alongside a selection of sweet and savory pastries from their in-house bakery, with gluten-free and vegan-friendly options.
Cathedral Park
Pickup, dine-in

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 AFTERNOON, PORTLAND! First of all... calling all wing lovers! The Mercury's absolutely delicious WING WEEK returns this Monday, October 3—and get this—you can go to your fave restaurants and get six creative wings for only SIX BUCKS a plate! (Better start stretching out your tummy!) But first... the NEWS.

IN LOCAL NEWS:

• Bad news for City Council candidate Rene Gonzalez: The city elections office told the candidate that, actually, he DID clearly violate small donor election laws after accepting—and failing to report—a whopping 96 percent discounted rental rate for a campaign office in offered up by local moneybags Jordan Schnitzer, and will have to pay his historic fine. Stay tuned for our story on Gonzalez's eventual appeal, and then the follow-up story when his appeal is DENIED. (We can play this game all day! 😀)

• Oh, and if you give a crap about various local moneybags who are attempting to take over the city, you're gonna wanna watch THIS:

Tonight at 5:30 pm, it's a Charter Reform debate featuring campaign leaders from both sides and co-moderated by the Mercury's own Alex Zielinski and the O's Shane Kavanaugh! More info:https://t.co/UOBrgD0Giq pic.twitter.com/DVQZtz84KI

— Portland Mercury 🗞 (@portlandmercury) September 29, 2022

• Workers at the Old Town location of Voodoo Doughnuts have decided to join other service workers across the city (such as New Seasons and Burgerville) and unionize, becoming members of the Doughnut Workers United—which is a federally recognized union!

Renowned funnyman (and half of The Wayans Bros.) Marlon Wayans will stop by Ridgefield on a stand-up tour this December. Country singer-songwriter Morgan Wade will embark on her No Signs Of Slowing Down tour, stopping in Portland next spring. Plus, the New Year's Eve calendar is beginning to take shape with Polyrhythmics and DJ Anjali & The Incredible Kid both announcing holiday dance parties. Read on for details on those and other newly announced events, plus some news you can use.

Tickets go on sale at 10 am unless otherwise noted.

ON SALE FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 30

MUSIC

Black Violin
Keller Auditorium (March 26, 2023)

Best of Both Worlds: Van Halen Tribute
Aladdin Theater (Sat Nov 19)

The Bridgetown Boogie with Polyrhythmics
Aladdin Theater (Sat Dec 31)

The day that André Burgos invited me to listen to records on his porch turned out to be the day vinyl pressings for his solo project arrived in the mail.

Burgos is well known to Portlanders as one half of the post-soul / space-jazz duo Brown Calculus and the keyboardist in the band Tribe Mars. However, he also performs and records under the moniker Brown Calvin: a persona that represents his solo ventures, which have been described as “contemporary cosmic jazz."

Brown Calvin emits ethereal production, similar to his previous work, but sans vocals and with unconventional rhythmic structures. On his latest solo endeavor Dimension / Perspective, we get a front row seat to Burgos' expansive concept, which juxtaposes condensed consciousness and Universe-encompassing thought. It’s free-form jazz that's hard to quantify, which is a common thread between AKP Recording artists like Arthur King, Space Between Clouds, and East Portal to name a few.

As mentioned, our interview began with the arrival of Burgos' records, which seemed auspicious as they were the reason for my visit. It turned out the porch was similarly important.

The city elections office remains convinced that city council candidate Rene Gonzalez did violate small donor election laws when he accepted—and failed to report—a heavily discounted rental rate for a campaign office in downtown Portland offered up by a monied campaign donor.

While Gonzalez urged the city to reconsider its $77,140 fine levied against his campaign earlier this week, Small Donor Elections Director Susan Mottet informed the campaign Thursday that the fine still stands. 

"The [Small Donor Elections] program has determined that the initial penalty imposed is justified," wrote Mottet in a letter sent to the campaign Thursday.

Gonzalez had previously argued that accepting a $250 monthly rate for an office rental in downtown Portland that normally goes for a monthly rate of $6,900 was not an in-kind contribution from property owner Jordan Schnitzer. According to Gonzalez, that's because vacancy rates are so high in downtown Portland that the rental would have gone unrented if his campaign hadn't occupied the space, essentially making the space worth $0.

BUENOS DIAS, BIG BRAIN! It's time once again to put that brainy-brain to the test with this week's edition of POP QUIZ PDX—our weekly, local, sassy-ass trivia quiz. And this week, we'll be testing your knowledge about local candidate shenanigans, blood-lusting robots, and why autumn won't stop being so frikkin' ANNOYING. (Ugh, right?)

Also, guess what? You can enter to win FREE PIZZA from our friends at the always delicious Atlas Pizza, just for taking the quiz and signing up for our brainy newsletters during the last question!

But before we continue... HOW DID YOU DO ON THE PREVIOUS QUIZ? Ooooh, much MUCH better than the previous week, and you NAILED IT in the "subjective question" by letting Portland's tycoons that they could do a little less "bitching and moaning," and a little MORE building temporary and permanent housing for the homeless! (Ha! Like they would ever.)

OKAY, TIME FOR A NEW QUIZ! Take this week's quiz below, take our previous pop quizzes here, and come back next week for a brand spankin' new quiz! (Having a tough time answering this quiz? It's probably because you aren't getting Mercury newsletters! HINT! HINT!) Now crank up that cerebellum, because it's time to get BRAINY!

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! Ahhh, wasn’t that rain delightful? There’s more where that came from today, but don’t you fall haters *cough Wm. Steven Humphrey cough* worry—80 degree weather is expected to return this weekend. Now, onto the news!

In local news:

• Three Oregon hospital systems are suing the Oregon Health Authority over an alleged failure to provide care to mentally ill patients. The hospitals—Providence, Legacy, and PeaceHealth— allege that they have been forced to care for patients who should be committed to psychiatric institutions like the Oregon State Hospital, which currently has a capacity crisis.

• A check in on the governor’s race: A new poll places Democratic nominee Tina Kotek and Republican nominee Christine Drazan “neck and neck.” A poll of 600 Oregon voters indicated that 32 percent would vote for Drazan and 31 percent would vote for Kotek if the election was today, with a 4 percent margin of error. Unaffiliated candidate Betsy Johnson came in with 18 percent of the theoretical vote.

• Speaking of the governor’s race:

so Oregon had a gubernatorial debate in the city of Bend last night, the word "Bend" is trending in Oregon as a result, but when you click over to it fully half the results are people bending over and showing their assholes

democracy is truly a great system

— Robert Evans (The Only Robert Evans) (@IwriteOK) September 28, 2022