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Good morning, Portland! Local weather is looking to be in the low 80s for the next week—high of 82 today. No rain in sight. That’s the weather, let’s get to the news. 📰
IN LOCAL NEWS:
• A man riding an e-bike was shot and seriously injured in downtown Portland yesterday. The shooting took place around 3:30 pm, and Portland police, whose central precinct is six blocks away, are searching for the suspect. The rider is expected to survive, and is at a local hospital with serious injuries. Few details are available at this time, but it certainly is concerning for anyone who is opposed to senseless gun and/or traffic violence—something PPB Chief Bob Day acknowledged, in part. “It’s not lost on me the concern the community would have about a shooting downtown, in the middle of the day,” Day said. Read more in the Oregonian here.
• Multnomah County Chair Jessica Vega Pederson is defending her hiring decision for the county’s Moda Center negotiations. Vega Pederson last week said she hired Chris Oxley to work on behalf of the county, despite Oxley being the board president of Sport Oregon, a nonprofit that has been lobbying the county to hand over money to the Trail Blazers for the renovation. Some people with the gift of perception say it could be a conflict of interest, but Vega Pederson tried to explain her position to the Oregonian on Monday. While Oxley does have unique experience, county commissioners want assurances, or some other qualified person who doesn’t work on both sides of the bargaining table to do the job. Surely unrelated: Vega Pederson is not running for reelection this year and will conceivably be looking for a new job.
• Before the game even began, the Portland Fire’s July 31 WNBA game against the Indiana Fever was shrouded in controversy. Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham has gained national attention for transphobic comments she made during a recent interview with ESPN. Before the July 31 game, Fire fans gathered outside the Moda Center to counter-protest a group rallying in support of Cunningham. One local fan wore shirt that read “F*ck Transphobia” (censorship courtesy of the shirt, not this newspaper) to the game inside Moda Center. But security asked them to leave the arena after they refused to change the shirt. The Mercury spoke with the people who got kicked out of the game for standing against transphobia. Read the full story by Stephanie Kaloi here.
• The best events calendar in town is up now. The Mercury‘s Do This, Do That has a bunch of good recommendations for you this week, including the Comedy Bang! Bang! improv show tonight, Cat Power on Wednesday (both at Rev Hall), and The War and Treaty at Topaz Farm on Thursday. Check out the full listings here!
IN NATIONAL AND WORLD NEWS:
• Rescue workers are searching for survivors after a 7.4 magnitude earthquake rocked the western Colombia on Monday. More than 200 people are confirmed dead, and at least 3,000 are still missing. Scenes of the quake and its aftermath are horrifying and disorienting. Rescue workers and civilians are pulling survivors from the rubble, but the race is on. The deadliest quake in Colombia since 1999 has left local hospitals overwhelmed, and officials scrambling. Colombia’s new president—the far-right populist with no political experience, Abelardo de la Espriella—was sworn into office last Friday, and one of his big moves was to call in 1,000 troops to avoid disturbances and deter looting. On the other hand, as Mr. Rogers says, “Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.” More here in the Guardian.
• News came yesterday that US President and man who created the sun Donald Trump left journalists aboard Air Force One after secretly switching planes in Turkey last month. Leaving a NATO summit, Trump reportedly boarded his plane as usual, then hid out in a catering truck before boarding a smaller plane, due to a credible threat that Iran would fire a missile at Air Force One. The journalists left on board were reportedly unaware that the president was no longer on the plane—a plane that could have been hit with a missile had Iran followed through on the alleged threat. Trump, an alleged “sleazebag” in his own right, was reportedly asked why reporters were told to lower the window shades, and Trump replied, “Because you’re probably on a dangerous flight because of the sleazebags we have to deal with.” More from the BBC on this here.
• Trump issued an executive order on Monday that reduced the number of required vaccines for children from 18 to 11. The move appears to be part of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s efforts to overhaul the nation’s health agencies by eschewing science and claiming the unscientific aims are the interest of public health. While the order does not prohibit people from getting vaccines if they want to, the lack of universal vaccine mandates could create public health disasters. Trump’s order attempted to link vaccines to autism, despite there being no evidence after decades of research associating vaccines and autism. Experts are annoyed to say the least. Read more here.
