If you’re reading this, you probably know the value of the Mercury’s news reporting, arts and culture coverage, event calendar, and the bevy of events we host throughout the year. The work we do helps our city shine, but we can’t do it without your support. 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 Thursday (the day before Friday), the weather is set to be balmy with a bit of sun (perfect September weather, maybe), and well, hopefully things are going well in your personal lives. Regardless of your inner turmoil or lack thereof, I urge you to check on today’s NEWS.
In Local News:
• Portland commissioner and mayoral race frontrunner Carmen Rubio’s driving woes continue. The Oregonian released a story yesterday detailing how Rubio hit a parked car in a parking lot. That might not sound like that big of a deal, except that it happened last Friday—right as Rubio was under some pretty major fire for her history of parking and traffic violations. Also, the mayoral candidate didn’t leave a note after dinging the parked car, which everyone knows is just bad manners.
In case you need a quick refresher on the background: Last Monday, the Oregonian revealed Rubio’s (quite remarkable) history of unpaid parking tickets, which stacked up so high that her license was suspended six times over 20 years. Rubio expressed remorse for the hundreds of parking tickets and traffic citations she’d received over the years, saying “in [her] younger years,” she prioritized family and career obligations ahead of paying off the tickets. Kind of a cop out response, but ok. Rubio lost one major endorsement due to the news of her parking and traffic history, with LiUNA Local 737 (which represents more than 3,000 laborers in Portland) pulling its endorsement last week. But The Street Trust Action Fund, among the top transportation-centered endorsing groups in the city, maintained support for Rubio as of earlier this week…but there are rumors it might pull out, too.
Rubio seems to be aware of how the parking lot incident will impact her campaign. According to the Oregonian, Rubio told the people whose car she hit that she is “humiliated” and “feel[s] worthless.” She also said she would “just rather drop out of the race” and vowed not to drive for the foreseeable future.
As we pointed out last week, Rubio is not applying to be an Amazon delivery driver, and it’s important we don’t lose sight of the danger posed by Rene Gonzalez, her top competitor in the mayoral race. However, this news is concerning to me. Rubio should’ve been on her best behavior amid the PR crisis about her driving and parking skills, and it’s weird that she wasn’t. Also, while her actions while driving have (so far) not been shown to cause any physical harm to other road users, I believe as members of a car-brained society, we are too quick to ignore the inherent power there is in being behind the wheel of a car. And, y’know, with great power comes great responsibility—or at least it should, but in the case of driving a car, it often doesn’t.
In the USA, many of us think it’s impossible to extract yourself from the omnipresent car culture…but it’s not! And I’d like to see Rubio make a better attempt to do so. In my opinion, that would show a greater ability to take accountability and responsibility, qualities that are important for a mayor of a major city.
Okay, rambling over. We shall see how this all shakes out for Rubio and her campaign. In the meantime, I would encourage her put her car keys in ice.
• Have you been interested in trying out a new artistic hobby? Pottery has long been the go-to recommendation for the art class curious, and ceramics is definitely an option, but it’s not the only choice. If you’re stuck on what to try, the Mercury has the perfect guide for what artistic practice to check out, based on what you do for work. (For example, if you make enough money to buy fancy equipment, you might give photography a chance.) Read all about it right here in our fall arts guide.
• The World Naked Bike Ride is happening in Portland on Saturday, but there’s been some conflict in organizing the ride, which will be hosted by a different group this year than in the past. Drama between two competing naked bike ride groups? Only in Portland.
• Feeling lucky? Enter here to win an amazing Lego set of a TriMet FX bendy bus and bus station, like the ones you can see on SE Division and hopefully more corridors SOON. There are only five of these Lego sets and I covet them. You have until September 30 to enter this extremely competitive race. If you win, please email me a photo of the completed set. I will be envious but happy for you.
• Advocates for psychedelic drug use are looking to get an initiative on the Portland ballot in 2026 to protect people using plant-or-mushroom-based psychedelic drugs from arrest. The draft initiative states that psychedelics have been used for millennia for “individual and community healing, creative expression, spiritual insight and personal growth” and “supports the autonomy to explore one’s consciousness and connection to a higher power.”
While psilocybin (the potent ingredient in magic mushrooms) was legalized for therapeutic use in Oregon in 2020, recent rollbacks on drug decriminalization Measure 110 may put people using psychedelic drugs at risk of criminal charges. Though mushrooms and other plant-based psychedelics are likely not the highest priority for cops looking to criminalize drug use, the ballot initiative would enshrine that into city policy, officially designating psychedelics as police officers’ “lowest priority for enforcement.” The draft initiative would also require the city not to expend funds/time/personnel/etc on criminalizing anyone who possesses, grows, forages for, or uses states plant-or-mushroom-based psychedelics. (Side note: I always forget mushrooms aren’t plants. I know they’re not technically plants, but I mean, they’re kinda plants, right?)
Since the days of Ken Kesey and his Merry Band of Pranksters, Oregonians have been pretty dedicated to their psychedelic drugs. Could the anti-drug backlash to Measure 110 threaten our state’s deeply-rooted subculture? If so, it seems like there are some people on the case.
In National/World News:
• The U.N. General Assembly overwhelmingly voted to support a Palestinian resolution calling on Israel to end its occupation of Gaza and the West Bank within a year. Palestinian leaders called the U.N.’s support for the resolution historic and urged other countries to pressure Israel to adhere to it. The resolution is non-binding and will be difficult or impossible to enforce without support from powerful countries who have long been allies of Israel…the United States chief among them. And guess which country was among the minority nations to oppose the resolution? That’s right, the USA.
U.S. leaders say they support a cease-fire in Israel’s ongoing, horrifically deadly war in Gaza. They also say they want to help broker an agreement for a two-state solution for Palestinians and Israelis. But the United States, using money, weapons, and political power, continues to support Israeli’s violent occupation of the small (and diminishing) land Palestinians still have access to. Until they change their actions, their words ring hollow.
• For the first time in decades, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters union will abstain from endorsing a candidate in the presidential election. The Teamsters is one of the country’s largest unions, representing well over a million workers, mostly freight and warehouse workers. And although Teamsters President Sean O’Brien made the very controversial decision to speak at the Republican National Convention in July, it was up in the air what the union would decide when it came to endorsements.
Turns out, internal polling showed Teamsters rank-and-file voted about 60 percent for the union to back Donald Trump in the November election. This is pretty surprising from a union that, like the vast majority of other labor unions, has supported every Democratic presidential candidate for decades. But instead of endorsing Trump, union leadership decided to sit this election out. Apparently, neither Trump nor Kamala Harris showed strong commitment to “top Teamsters issues.”
What does this all mean? Well, I think there should be two big takeaways. Number one: Despite having no evidence to back this up, Trump and his supporters have been successful with their (FALSE) narrative that their ideology and policies will be good for working class people. They weren’t the first time Trump was in office, and a second term would not bring better results. Number two: Democrats—and Harris in particular—haven’t done enough to counter this narrative. In an ideal world, the Teamsters non-endorsement would be a wakeup call to the Democratic Party to center working people in their policies. But, although it’s important to clarify that a Harris presidency will be better for working class Americans than a Trump presidency, I’m still not holding my breath.
• Here’s a good example of how a second Trump presidency would be a disaster. Trump’s idiotic and evil new sidekick, JD Vance, continued his intensely racist and xenophobic tirade against immigrants in America at a speech yesterday. As of the past couple weeks, Vance has been specifically focused on spreading racist lies about Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio. In his speech last night, Vance called Haitian immigrants “illegal aliens” and said under a Trump-Vance presidency, they’d be deported. This is despite the fact that Haitian immigrants have legally protected status in the United States. But Vance is not concerned about spreading lies, as is clear from the baseless rumor that Haitian immigrants in Ohio have been stealing cats and dogs and eating them. Now, Haitians in Springfield are afraid to leave their homes, and the entire city has been sent into turmoil. In conclusion: JD Vance is fucking terrible (as is his running mate, obviously) and we should all hope he has effectively sowed the seeds of his own destruction with this pathetic line of propaganda.
• One more example of how delusional the current GOP camp is: At a rally in Long Island yesterday, Trump insisted he can win New York. LOL. LMAO, even.
• Finally, as usual, I’m gonna end with some cuteness from the Oregon Zoo. Happy Thursday! XOXO
