PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — The City of Portland’s own rules prohibit camping within 150 feet of Safe Rest Villages. However, neighbors living across from the Menlo Park site claim they have been forced to put up with years of open drug use, trash, and illegal camping just steps away from the shelter — and now, they’re demanding action.
When the site opened in 2022, some landlords told KOIN 6 News they were cautiously optimistic.
At the time, Landlord Karen Alvarez said she lost a tenant at her Ash Street home due to fear of what the shelter might bring. Despite the financial loss, she said the city’s rules might help keep the neighborhood clean.
“I noticed that it did clear out for a little while,” Alvarez said. “So, I almost feel like if the streets and the sidewalks were kept clear, the village might be okay.”
Neighbors who asked to remain anonymous told KOIN 6 News conditions have only deteriorated.
“When we first came here, there was a trailer that came and parked right when we moved in and it set on fire,” one resident said. “There’s no excuse. They’re doing drugs out there in front of kids who don’t get a choice.”
Neighbors told KOIN 6 News their frustration is not with the shelter itself, but with the constant cycle of camping and illegal activity outside its gates.
“I brought a lady back to life the other day; I watched her flail herself onto 122nd avenue, watched a guy pull her body over to the corner,” the neighbor recalled. “By the time I got home and grabbed Narcan and ran up there, he had her laid out on a trash can with her feet in a shopping cart. What is that saying about our city?”
The City’s Impact Reduction Program, which fields requests for camp removals near shelters, told KOIN 6 News they’ve posted notices and sent cleanup crews to the area 15 times in the past two months.
“The high frequency presence of our IRP work crews in the area has kept tent camping to a very low level,” said IRP Communications Coordinator Laura Rude. “IRP can fully remove any camps where no vehicles are present, but we rely on coordination with PBOT to remove lived-in vehicles.”
Rude added, “PBOT has a significant backlog of tow projects on their schedule, and it does take longer for the City to resolve vehicle camps.”
The city said the multi-vehicle camp near the Menlo Park Safe Rest Village is scheduled to be tagged by the end of September, with a full trash removal by October 6.
In a statement, Ann McMullen, Chair of the Hazelwood Neighborhood Association, wrote:
“This should not be happening right outside the SRV – especially since [the city] just expanded the occupancy of that village to 75 people and so far, have refused to expand the so-called buffer/engagement zone to accommodate for adding more people.”
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – A woman from Washington has been sentenced following an investigation into illegal trafficking of black bear parts, authorities announced Monday.
Officials said 54-year-old Skagit County resident Yan Li was sentenced August 25 to 45 days of confinement along with a $1,800 fine after pleading guilty to a Class C felony of unlawful wildlife trafficking.
The case goes back to 2020, when the Skagit County Health Department alerted officers with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife of possible restaurant code violations after several dead waterfowl were found outside of Li’s restaurant, officials said.
WDFW confirmed that Li’s restaurant was not selling the birds and cited Li for possession of wildlife without a statement and required a court fine in December 2020.
However, in late 2021, similar complaints continued to pour into the Skagit County Health Department, leading WDFW police to start an investigation.
Undercover WDFW officers learned that Li illegally bought whole waterfowl and black bear parts – including 13 gall bladders, six livers and 24 paws with claws still attached.
According to WDFW, black market prices for bear gall bladders and other parts can go for $100-$200 locally, or for thousands of dollars overseas.
“The perceived medicinal value creates an increased demand for the species and their body parts, which threaten the long-term survivability of a population by overharvesting,” said Brad Rhoden, WDFW Police Captain. “Beyond being illegal, it’s highly concerning to unethically waste black bears, or any wildlife for that matter, for nothing more than a few body parts being sold on the black market.”
“Buying and selling of bear gall bladder and certain other bear parts is unlawful in Washington state,” added Scott Halloran from the Washington State Attorney General’s Office, who prosecuted the case on behalf of WDFW Police. “There was no doubt a conviction would be given due to the excellent investigation performed by WDFW on this case.”
As punk rock emerged in the 1970s, it was an act of defiance, rebellion, and disobedience. A middle finger to the status quo, scaring the normies. Eventually, like everything else, it got co-opted by capitalism—becoming a lifestyle brand, packaged, and sold to the masses for safe consumption.
But every now and then, a band comes along that truly refuses to comply, reminding us of what punk is all about. Portland’s feminist-punk no wave quartet, Obedient did just that on their ripper new album Rastafarsi.
The band’s origin story begins in Vermont during the COVID years: To pass the time in lockdown, singer Lacey Karbomb and bassist Heidi Hole started teaching themselves Ramones songs, playing “fast, shitty, and loud,” without much thought of what would become of their beating on the brat.
As time marched on, they decided to start a band. They chose the name Obedient as both a “reaction to being American,” and a clever way to introduce themselves onstage: “Hi, we’re Obedient.” After moving west to Portland, they joined forces with local heavy hitters Black “Nigourney Weaver” Shelton—AKA Kaleb Harrison—shredding guitar, and Bim “Patsy Decline” Ditson behind the drums. The quartet cut their teeth during wild practices, intense shows, and recording a handful of albums, EPs, and singles.
Rastafarsi, their third full-length album, rips through 11 songs in just over 22 minutes. This is pure punk rock—jarring, sludgy, dancey, and raw—exactly what this world needs right now. The pummeling chaos unfurling on Rastafarsi is not for everyone… And that’s a part of what makes it so good. Bands making music for everyone ultimately end up making music for no one.
Lacey Karbomb told the Portland Mercury the album title is ultimately just a joke—wordplay taking in her love of weed (Rasta) and her Persian heritage (Farsi, the primary language of Iran). Hence, Rastafarsi. Given the strained history between the United States and Iran, she sees it as a timely nod to the beauty of Iranian culture that often gets ignored in the global West.
Pulling from a vast assortment of musical influences ranging from X, Public Image Ltd., Butthole Surfers, and The Residents, Rastafarsi is the culmination of four very distinct musical approaches exploding into a cacophony of driving, dancey, punk rock thunder.
Dissonant displays of free jazz saxophone burst, twisting their way through the album, in shocks that would impress Frank Zappa & the Mothers of Invention. It’s rare to hear sax on a punk record these days, Kenny G could never.
Lyrically, the songs run the gamut from politics and relationships, to dreams and reflections on the band itself. Karbomb was intentional in keeping the album’s frameworks diverse, rather than sticking to any one particular theme or topic.
Rastafarsi bucks right out the gate with “303 rats,” featuring a wild, chaotic riff reminiscent of “Purple Haze,” but more Lydia Lunch than Hendrix. Karbomb told the Mercury the song is one of few on the album completely written in studio.
From there, Rastafarsi is a downhill slalom of brutal truth and clever innuendo, screaming and tearing through rebellious scorchers like avant-noise-jazzer “Shock,” the disco-y dunk track “Animal control,” the caustic-chaos groove of “Free lunch,” and the sludgy, time-warping “Who died?”
Clocking in at a mere 43 seconds, the frantic whirlwind of “Can’t trust” leaves heads spinning, before things slow down a bit on the sax-laced, doo-wop punk ballad “Kenny.” The next two songs, “Old man” and “Welcome to the jungle” are not cover songs. Take a wild guess at which one features monkey screams.
The album closes with “Kicking the table,” a hypnotic drum and bass-heavy groove reminiscent of Morphine. Karbomb repeats the song title—many elocutions of it—in a spell-like chant, as sax swirls down shimmery waterfalls of piano, all fading to silence.
Impressively, Rastafarsi was recorded over the course of five days by producer Mike Vasquez at his home studio in Astoria, OR—the four playing everything live, in the same room. As mentioned above, the band actually wrote some of the album’s songs in-studio in Astoria. The sessions were recorded to 24-track, two-inch tape, as any good punk album should be. All the songs that made the album were single takes, with no auto-tune, no edits, and only minor overdubs (like those delicious saxophone parts).
When asked if they used a click track to keep time during the sessions, Karbomb replied in true punk fashion, “I don’t even know what a click track is.”
President Donald Trump speaks in the Oval Office of the White House, Monday, Sept. 15, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said the U.S. military on Monday again targeted a boat allegedly carrying drugs from Venezuela, killing three aboard the vessel.
“The Strike occurred while these confirmed narcoterrorists from Venezuela were in International Waters transporting illegal narcotics (A DEADLY WEAPON POISONING AMERICANS!) headed to the U.S.,” Trump said in a Truth Social post announcing the strike. “These extremely violent drug trafficking cartels POSE A THREAT to U.S. National Security, Foreign Policy, and vital U.S. Interests.”
The strike was carried out nearly two weeks after another military strike on what the Trump administration said was a drug-carrying speedboat from Venezuela that killed 11.
Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office later on Monday, Trump said he had been shown footage of the latest strike by Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Asked what proof the U.S. has that the vessel was carrying drugs, Trump replied, “We have proof. All you have to do is look at the cargo that was spattered all over the ocean — big bags of cocaine and and fentanyl all over the place.”
The Trump administration has justified the first strike as a necessary escalation to stem the flow of drugs into the United States.
But several senators, Democrats and some Republicans, have indicated their dissatisfaction with the administration’s rationale and questioned the legality of the action. They view it as a potential overreach of executive authority in part because the military was used for law enforcement purposes.
The Trump administration has claimed self-defense as a legal justification for the first strike, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio arguing the drug cartels “pose an immediate threat” to the nation.
U.S. officials said the strike early this month targeted Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan gang designated by the U.S. as a terrorist organization. And they indicated more military strikes on drug targets would be coming as the U.S. looks to “wage war” on cartels.
Trump did not specify whether Tren de Aragua was also the target of Monday’s strike.
The Venezuelan government did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the reported strike.
The Trump administration has railed specifically against Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro for the scourge of illegal drugs in U.S. communities.
Maduro during a press conference earlier on Monday lashed out at the U.S. government, accusing the Trump administration of using drug trafficking accusations as an excuse for a military operation whose intentions are “to intimidate and seek regime change” in the South American country.
Maduro also repudiated what he described as a weekend operation in which 18 Marines raided a Venezuelan fishing boat in the Caribbean.
“What were they looking for? Tuna? What were they looking for? A kilo of snapper? Who gave the order in Washington for a missile destroyer to send 18 armed Marines to raid a tuna fishing vessel?” he said. “They were looking for a military incident. If the tuna fishing boys had any kind of weapons and used weapons while in Venezuelan jurisdiction, it would have been the military incident that the warmongers, extremists who want a war in the Caribbean, are seeking.”
Speaking to Fox News earlier Monday, Rubio reiterated that the U.S. doesn’t see Maduro as the rightful leader of Venezuela but as head of a drug cartel. Rubio has consistently depicted Venezuela as a vestige of communist ideology in the Western Hemisphere.
“We’re not going to have a cartel, operating or masquerading as a government, operating in our own hemisphere,” Rubio said.
Following the first military strike on a boat allegedly carrying drugs from Venezuela, America’s chief diplomat said Trump was “going to use the U.S. military and all the elements of American power to target cartels who are targeting America.”
AP and others have reported that the boat had turned around and was heading back to shore when it was struck. But Rubio on Monday said he didn’t know if that’s accurate.
“What needs to start happening is some of these boats need to get blown up,” Rubio said. “We can’t live in a world where all of a sudden they do a U-turn and so we can’t touch them anymore.”
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Trump has announced the deployment of the National Guard to Memphis to combat crime, testing the limits of presidential power by using military force in cities.
Trump made Monday’s announcement with Tennessee Governor Bill Lee, calling it a “replica” of efforts in Washington.
Last month, Trump deployed National Guard troops to the nation’s capital, claiming it reduced crime.
Despite Memphis police reporting decreases in major crime categories, the White House suggested the city’s crime rate is higher than the national average.
Governor Lee supports the deployment, while Memphis Mayor Paul Young opposes it.
SALEM, Ore. – Oregon Senate Republicans on Monday elected Sen. Bruce Starr, R-Dundee, as their new caucus leader.
Starr succeeds Sen. Daniel Bonham, R-The Dalles, who had served as Minority Leader since 2023. Senator Bonham has announced he’s resigning from the Senate in October.
“Daniel Bonham’s service as caucus leader has been exceptional,” Starr said in a statement. “He has always punched above his weight class, and he leaves huge shoes to fill. Senator Bonham inspires us to keep looking ahead, and I will always treasure his friendship.”
Starr rejoined the Senate in 2025 after previously serving in both the Oregon House and Senate from 1999 to 2014. He currently represents Oregon’s 13th Senate District, which includes parts of Yamhill and Washington counties.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Emmy Awards have seen a ratings boost as the television industry aims to recover from recent disruptions.
About 7.4 million viewers watched the 77th Primetime Emmy Awards on CBS, hosted by Nate Bargatze.
This marks the most-watched Emmys since 2021, showing an 8% increase from the previous year’s ABC telecast.
Sunday’s show was up more than 70% from the -time low of 4.3 million from the Fox telecast of January 2024, which was delayed by months because of Hollywood’s writers and actors strikes.
The Emmys last attracted over 10 million viewers in 2018, and nearly 22 million in 2000.
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Over the last two weeks, Portland police said they have seized nearly $2 million worth of drugs.
Over several operations, police said they used information learned during an overdose investigation to seize narcotics as well as identify and arrest people involved with drug trafficking.
In total, authorities said they seized 29 pounds of fentanyl, 55.5 pounds of methamphetamine, 6.6 pounds of heroin, 2.2 pounds of cocaine, two guns and $30,000.
The estimated price of the narcotics is approximately $1.9 million, officials said.
All of the suspects who were taken into custody currently face federal drug trafficking charges.
I don’t want to alarm you, but autumn is almost here, people. September 15-21 is the last week before the equinox, and fortunately for us, Portland has plenty of creative and apparently candlelit events planned. On the docket are astral jazz, Sasha Fishman’s slime sculptures, and vampire baseball set to a live orchestra. Plus, you’ll find the latest from some locals, including novelist Leni Zumas, certified baddie Wynne, and Gaia lovers Making Earth Cool. Here’s what not to miss.
Monday, September 15
Magic Luscious Spirit Sounds
Envisioned as an evolving collective fostering collaborative music-making among those with and without disabilities, Magic Luscious Spirit Sounds (MLSS) posts up at Turn! Turn! Turn! two Monday afternoons a month for heavy jam sessions. In any given MLSS performance, you might spy a saxophonist, a xylophonist, or a melodica player; their mood is dynamic creative freedom, their guiding light is Octavia Butler (“The only lasting truth is change”). (Turn! Turn! Turn!, 8 NE Killingsworth, first and third Mon of the month, 2 pm, FREE, more info, all ages)LINDSAY COSTELLO
Twilight in Concert
Look, I hate starting off this blurb in a defensive manner, but apparently some of you haven’t gotten the memo that the Twilight film series (at least the first three) is an absolute DELIGHT. Whether you’re Team Jacob, Edward, or Bella (I’m Team Jacob, because I am correct), you will flip ass over teakettle for Twilight in Concert, featuring a live orchestra on stage synced up with the film—which will be projected on a huge screen. Apparently, there will also be lighted candles in the theater to add to the ambience, though you won’t notice because you’ll be too distracted by Jacob’s abs. Come for the live music, stay for the vampire baseball game. (Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, 1037 SW Broadway, 7:30 pm, $50.40-$116.95, more info, all ages) WM. STEVEN HUMPHREY
Tuesday, September 16
Cosmic Tones Research Trio
Cosmic Tones Research Trio—AKA alto sax/composer Roman Norfleet, multi-instrumentalist Harlan Silverman, and pianist Kennedy Verrett—conjure unclassifiable astral jazz and healing tones with a bluesy, gospel flavor. Following the spiritual graces of Alice Coltrane, Sun Ra, and Laraaji, the sonic channelers also host a restorative NTS show of New Age twinkling and jazz fusion. It’s a soothing lavender balm for the soul. The trio will celebrate the release of their new LP with a performance bookended by episodes of Coltrane’s consciousness-expanding public access show Eternity’s Pillar and a short documentary, Gratitude to the Mystery, which digs into their practice. (Hollywood Theatre, 4122 NE Sandy, 8 pm, $14, more info, all ages)LC
Crumbling Empires
If you should find yourself living within the clutches of a fascist state, you may take comfort in the fact that all empires fall. Clinton Street’s September programming explores this idea with its Crumbling Empires series, trotting out irreverent comedies, like The Death of Stalin (2018) and disquieting dramas, like La Ciénaga (2001). On September 19, audiences have a chance to see Spaces of Exception, a powerful 2019 documentary that draws a line between Native American reservations and Palestinian refugee camps. On September 20, the theater premieres The World’s Greatest Enemy, by documentarian Abby Martin. Everyone deserves a redemption arc, but it’s still worth pointing out that Martin was, at one time, a passionate 9/11 Truther. Never forget. (Clinton Street Theater, 2522 SE Clinton, through Tues Sept 30, various times and prices, more info)SUZETTE SMITH
Wolf Bells book release
Leni Zumas’ 2018 speculative novel Red Clocks hit at a time when the story’s dystopic setting—a United States of America where the practice of abortion had been criminalized—was boiling over the not-too-distant horizon. Her new book Wolf Bells is less speculative about society and more about our empathetic potential. This time Zumas’ speculation is a nice idea about a house, an intentional community where young and old live together in a grand, three-story historic home. It’s not hard to imagine the novel’s characters leading quiet lives together, leaning on one another to fill in the gaps society does not. All might have continued quietly had the house not received two runaways. Read our full review here. Zumas discusses Wolf Bells with Lidia Yuknavitch. (Powell’s City of Books, 1001 W Burnside, 7 pm, FREE, more info, all ages) SS
Wednesday, September 17
Black Matter
This traveling exhibition features Black Oregonian perspectives you should make time to engage with—works by heavy hitters like Intisar Abioto, Jeremy Okai Davis, Sadé Duboise, and Master Artist Michael Bernard Stevens Jr. appear together, culminating in a diversity of perspectives that “challenge the expectation that Black art must be political.” Curated by Tammy Jo Wilson (who also curated this summer’s Terrain: A Land Art Experience), Black Matter’s programming includes an opening night sculptural sound performance by Sapata and Santigie Fofana-Dura, and spoken word by MOsley WOtta on September 18. (Patricia Reser Center for the Arts, 12625 SW Crescent, Beaverton, Weds-Sat 12-6 pm through Fri Nov 7, FREE, more info, all ages)LC
Kyle Kinane
Portland should be proud that hilarious, top-notch comedian Kyle Kinane has made this city his own. Hailing originally from Illinois, his side-splitting hot takes cannot and will not stop, cracking wise on everything from drinking beer in the shower to his deep thoughts on Jimmy Buffett’s “Margaritaville.” Charming audiences across the nation, he’s also been seen on The Tonight Show, Drunk History, has his own standup special on Hulu (Dirt Nap), and was also featured in the Mercury’s Geniuses of Comedy showcase. So it may surprise you to see this big name appearing in the intimate confines of Revolution Hall’s Show Bar—but it will give you the rare opportunity to witness his sharp hilarity up close and personal. Friendly warning: Get those tix quick! (The Show Bar at Revolution Hall, 1300 SE Stark, 7:30 pm, $26.05, more info, 21+)WSH
Also worth it: HAIM, McMenamins Edgefield,more info
Thursday, September 18
Wynne: Tour Next Door
Buckle up, Portland hip-hop fans! It’s been almost two years since hometown hero, rapper, and certified baddie Wynne packed Wonder Ballroom at the finale of her Hot On Their Heels Tour, and the artist announced six new September shows—all of them in Portland! Dubbed the “Tour Next Door,” the prolific Rose City rapper will headline a slew of dope local venues, starting at Speck’s Records on September 18 and closing out the local run at Alberta Street Pub on September 27. (Various dates and venues, more info) JENNI MOORE
Also worth it: Ricardo Nagaoka: Surrogates, Nationale, more info Normal Gossip (sold out), Revolution Hall,more info
Friday, September 19
Ricky Bearghost: Rug Farm
Strung with pony beads and painted thread spools, Ricky Bearghost’s weavings are exuberant and unyielding— the eye dances across them, never quite sure where to pause. His solo show Rug Farm feels much like that blissful, elusive flow state of creating: Super-colorful collages of butterflies and textural elements pair with striped weavings that stretch across walls and slouch with unexpected ephemera. Bearghost’s works are available for purchase at Elbow Room, starting at $10-$20 a pop; drop by on Friday afternoons to familiarize yourself with the nonprofit studio, which supports artists with intellectual and developmental disabilities. (Elbow Room, 318 SE Main Ste 125, Fri 3-5 pm through Fri Oct 3, FREE, more info, all ages) LC
A close-up of Ricky Bearghost’s weavings. LINDSAY COSTELLO
Also worth it: She’s Like the Wind, Siren Theater,more info
Saturday, September 20
The Elixir of Love
Nicknamed POGO, Portland Opera’s “to go” company travels around the state—with portable scenery and costumes—performing 50-minute opera productions for students in school gyms and neighborhood community centers. The shows are created to be approachable to youthful audiences, which also makes them perfect for anyone dipping their toe into opera for the first time and worldly fanciers looking for an opera snack. On an educational level, The Elixir of Love by Italian composer Gaetano Donizetti is a textbook example of the bel canto style he was influential in popularizing; on a theatrical one, it’s a messy little drama about snake oil salesmen and the strongest romantic love potion: affected indifference. (Winningstad Theatre, 1111 SW Broadway, Sept 19-20, various times, $15, more info, all ages) SS
Sasha Fishman: Shad Mode
For Sasha Fishman, the extraction of marine biomaterials is both a research-driven investigation and a sculptural gesture, an inquiry shaped by the sea itself. The fittingly surnamed artist is a Columbia sculpture grad who has collaborated with laboratories on “salmon, fountains, and carbon capture materials.” She’ll show for the first time at ILY2; expect a slick, watery sensibility in Fishman’s Shad Mode, whose material explorations include hagfish slime, algae, and cicada shells. (ILY2, 925 NW Flanders, Wed-Sat 11 am-5 pm through Sat Dec 20, FREE, more info, all ages) LC
Also worth it: Nonsense Books pop-up with Fonograph Editions, Music History, Endless Wonders Books, and Paper Hours, While on Earth, more info
Sunday, September 21
Anna Buckner & Meredith Morrison: As Above, So Below
Side by side, Anna Buckner and Meredith Morrison’s artworks are visual ASMR: Buckner’s mounted textile pieces transform applique and log cabin quilt techniques into painterly compositions, while Morrison’s sculptural forms embody a synthetic, iridescent nostalgia. The title of this exhibition nods to a familiar phrase and charts the “slippages,” investigating “points where logic breaks down, where systems fail to contain emotion, and where abstraction begins to feel personal.” If you tend to get lost in the vocabulary of exhibition statements, this one’s still worth it for the elegant material exploration. (Well Well Projects, 8371 N Interstate #1, Sat-Sun 12-5 pm through Sun Sept 28, FREE, more info, all ages) LC
Son of the White Mare
Academy Theater’s monthly international series will screen a hallucinogenic swirl of Eurasian folklore and mythic archetypes with Son of the White Mare, Hungarian animator-director Marcell Jankovics’ cult masterpiece. The film (presented in a 4K restoration) draws from ancient steppe poetry and Freudian dream logic to illustrate a dark night of the soul, complete with a quest to the underworld and a hero who suckles a horse. Steadied by a cosmic oak, it’s eye-poetry with a primordial sensibility; plus, stoned people online often proclaim the film to be the greatest they’ve ever seen. Who are we to doubt them? Read more of our repertory film recommendations here. (Academy Theater, 7818 SE Stark, Sept 19-25, various times, $6.50-$9.50, more info, not rated) LC
Sun Day
Not to be confused with any preexisting “Sun Day,” environmental organizations 350 and Third Act dreamed up this day of action to celebrate wind and solar power. In response, local chapters and grassroots groups across the globe will hold climate-focused events and gatherings. But how many of them will have performances by Navouny Divine and Sophaura the Aura? Or hot tracks from DJ Lapushi, Plant DDJ, and Blue Horse Grandmother? Like anything Making Earth Cool is part of, Portland’s Sun Day aims to support climate-believers and serve up a side of fun. Speeches and a parade get going at noon, Sun Ball’s sick beats shine from 2-6 pm. Good costumes and ‘fits throughout. (Tom McCall Waterfront Park, Battleship Oregon Memorial, SW Pine and SW Naito, 12-6 pm, FREE, more info, all ages)SS
Looking for even more events happening this week? Head on over to EverOut!
SEATTLE (AP) — A man accused of breaking into the homes of Seattle-area celebrities, including baseball Hall of Famer Ichiro Suzuki and hip-hop artist Macklemore, and pepper-spraying people he encountered inside pleaded not guilty Monday to multiple charges.
Patrick Maisonet, 29, was arrested at his home in on Aug. 21 in connection with another burglary, to which he has pleaded not guilty, and has been held on bail totaling more than $2 million.
Investigators say surveillance images and cellphone data helped link him to the break-ins, and that some of the precious items taken during the heists — including Macklemore’s Seattle Seahawks and Seattle Sounders championship rings — were later recovered from a south Seattle jewelry store.
The break-ins mirrored a slew of burglaries at the homes of well-known professional athletes across the U.S. in recent months. The players have been targeted because of the high-end products believed to be in their homes and sometimes the thefts happen when they are away with their teams for road games.
The FBI has warned sports leagues about crime organizations targeting professional athletes. The NFL and NBA have also issued security alerts after burglaries at the homes of such star athletes as Kansas City Chiefs stars Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce. Seven people were charged in connection with those burglaries in February.
In the Seattle area, another man, Earl Henderson Riley IV, was previously arrested in some of the same break-ins Maisonet has been charged in. Police said Maisonet sometimes carried digital frequency jammers to disable cellphone calls — including to 911.
The athletes targeted included Seattle Mariners pitcher Luis Castillo, whose home was hit twice; Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Blake Snell, who is from Washington; and former Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman. Snell had two Rolex watches stolen, each worth $75,000. Sherman also had a Rolex taken.
Sherman posted camera images of three people breaking into his house on his birthday in March, at least one armed with a pistol.
“House being robbed at gun point with my family in it isn’t what anyone wants for a birthday gift. Scary situation that my Wife handled masterfully and kept my kids safe,” he wrote in a statement on X at the time.
Prosecutors said Maisonet broke into Suzuki’s home on Feb. 9 while the baseball player’s wife was in her bedroom. He tried to force his way though the bedroom door as she pushed back, according to court documents, and then reached through the opening and pepper-sprayed her. She managed to bar the door before the assailant was able to enter the room, police said.
Macklemore’s home was burglarized on June 7, a day after Riley was charged. Police say Maisonet and another man broke in and used pepper spray on a 22-year-old nanny, who eventually managed to flee to a neighbor’s house for help.
Macklemore, a Seattle native, is a fan and investor in many area sports teams. He featured the two championship rings in his 2022 music video for the song “Chant.”
Phone location records traced Maisonet from his home and grandmother’s house to the homes of robbery victims, according to court documents. They also connected him to a Seattle jewelry store where police said they recovered some of the stolen items.
Hello, Trash Pandas! I’m Elinor Jones. Welcome to this very special Trash Report for our extremely special Fall Arts Guide. Did you know that gossipping about celebrities and current events counts as “art?” It’s true! As such, this is basically art school. Congratulations on following your dreams. I’m your professor, Bob Ross, and we’re about to turn this dumpster fire we call reality into a bunch of happy little trees.
Jewelry is Art
The biggest news of the season is obviously the engagement of Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce. Are you sick of hearing about it? Too bad! I have opinions! People are talking about what trends Taylor is setting with her ginormous engagement ring—as if the only thing preventing a normal human from wearing a five million dollar rock is because a celebrity hadn’t suggested it yet. It’s the Kris Jenner facelift of jewelry—pretty on Instagram, but yikes out in the real world. The conservative manosphere is excited about the engagement because they think Taylor will stop supporting Democrats for political office once she settles down and has babies. This just shows how much they don’t talk to women, because every mom I know (myself included) has only become more rabidly leftist with every passing day of existence in a society that treats children and families the way that it does ours. These manosphere dummies are also calling her “the future Mrs. Kelce,” like it’s a given that she’ll change her name but he won’t. Listen, it’s a lot easier to change the name on a few football jerseys than replace a billion posters hung in girls’ bedrooms all over the world.
And that’s what I have to say about that. (For now.)
Speaking of jewelry, Jordan Hudson, the 24-year-old fiance of the famed football coach Bill Belichick (age 73), has filed to trademark the term “gold digger” so she can sell jewelry and keychains. If she is successful, would Kanye West have to split his Spotify money from people listening to the song “Gold Digger”? More importantly, would this mean that prospectors have to start cutting her a check whenever they want to talk about what to do about the gold “up in them thar hills”? I am keeping my eye on this and I’ll get in on the ground floor; I can’t get my hands on a Labubu and I need something stupid and overpriced to clip to my purse.
The Economy is Not Art
President Trash has been on one lately, kind of becoming a Midas, in that everything he touches literally turns to gold because he has tacky taste. However, everything he touches metaphorically turns to shit, because he is evil and bad at his job. His disastrous tariffs have got us on the brink of a new recession, and as a millennial, whatever. Having been through a few of these already, we are grizzled and cynical and none of us actually believe that we’ll retire in any semblance of financial security anyway—so I say let that whole stock market piss itself away into oblivion and let us spend our last $12 on avocado toast in peace.
Mrs. Trash, Melania Trump, was recently in consideration to land the coveted cover of Vanity Fair, which reportedly had at least one editor blow up, saying “I will walk out that motherfucking door, and half my staff will follow me.” This has the MAGA crowd all worked up, because they love getting worked up. Melania responded to the controversy by saying that she was too busy for a magazine cover anyway. After all, we are nearing the holiday season, and she needs to start working on this year’s White House Christmas decor; this year’s theme is reportedly “Winter Woodland” and she’s got meetings set with Cruella de Vil and Kristi Noem on how to work adorable little critters into the arrangement.
Nostalgia is Art
This time of year also marks the beginning of “Fancy Movie Season,” when studios release their Oscar bait for consideration in the winter awards shows. If this is not your scene, fear not: the first of the Twilightfilm series is also being rereleased in theaters this year in honor of the 20th anniversary of the first book’s release, which makes no damn sense! I hate telling shameless capitalists how to do their cash grabs better, but they really should be rereleasing the book now, and then the movie in three years! They’re missing a whole medium to exploit. Swear to god, the idiots in charge have no idea how to properly separate millennials from their meager savings. I already said, we have pretty much no hope for our economic future! Shut up and take our money!!
If you can’t make it to the movies, the longer nights and cooler temperatures are perfect for settling into your favorite comfort cooking show, Great British Baking Show, which has a new season out. Not only that, but former contestant Ruby Tandoh (the soft-spoken, curly-haired goddess from season four) is coming out with a new book called All-Consuming: Why We Eat the Way We Eat. Not only that, she released an essay in the New Yorker about her time on the program, saying that producers goaded the contestants on the canonically-kind show. I’m both extremely interested in reading it and fearful of any further revelations.What if it’s all a front? What if they aren’t actually nice? What if they dub in all those bird chips and lamb baaaas to mask abusive producers and vicious screaming matches? I recently read You Wanna Be on Top by former America’s Next Top Model contestant Sarah Hartshorne, and while I was not surprised about how those hungry young women were treated, it still made me feel gross about having watched and enjoyed the show. The inherent goodness of Great British Baking Show is doing a lot of heavy lifting for us in these tumultuous times, and I don’t know what I’d do if all that is blown up.
Beautiful Bald Heads are Definitely Art
In other good news, the city of Chicago just hosted its first annual “Bald Off” competition, where dozens of hairless hotties competed for the title of “Baddest Baldie” and the honor of donning a crown on their otherwise unadorned domes. The winner was dressed as Mister Clean, but there were several other creative costumes, including Charlie Brown, Squidward, and even a few blue Tobias Funkes. I commend them all for their bravery in braving their bald heads on a sunny summer day. Maybe next year, instead of a crown, the winner could get a large sun hat?
Gossip is Art
Check out the Mercury‘s Fall Arts issue (in print and on the streets) in which I have an interview with the brilliant minds behind the hit podcast Normal Gossip! While you may not believe that gossip is art, cultivating community and relationships is art, and what are friends for if not whispering secrets about bitches you hate? You have to admit, I’ve got you there! Thank you for reading, for caring, for loving, and most of all, for talking shit.
Toward the end of Tahni Holt and Emma Lutz-Higgins’ Time-Based Art Festival performance Horizon, something clicked. Eurythmics’ “Love is a Stranger” swelled from the warehouse speakers at Portland Institute for Contemporary Art as Holt scooted across the stage, hidden beneath a hollow sculpture of a boulder. (Imagine a rock crawling across the ground in slow-motion.) She tugged at a metallic space blanket, revealing Lutz-Higgins curled beneath.
The scene brought the ever-shifting work into focus. It felt earthy yet synthetic, high-gloss yet grounded in tenderness. Eurythmics’ lyrics echoed like a secret thesis statement: “And I want you so/It’s an obsession…”
Horizon was a performance obsessed with transformation. Directed by local dance artist Holt in collaboration with Lutz-Higgins, the piece was a collective effort: Costumer Kim Smith Claudel sewed the dancers’ airy, neon orange-accented outfits, and dramaturg Kate Bredeson (a Reed College theater professor) helped shape the work’s conceptual terrain. Horizon’s porosity manifested in motion and material. Rocks, it turned out, weren’t just rocks, but symbols of change.
Tahni Holt and Emma Lutz-Higgins opened Horizon at rest on boulder sculptures. JEREMY SEITH
The performance opened with Holt and Lutz-Higgins at rest atop artist Jess Perlitz’s boulder sculptures. Composer Luke Wyland’s live ambient soundscape emerged from gentle field recordings layered over a glassy synth drone. Lapping waves and wind chimes mingled with the rustle of the audience settling. Holt and Lutz-Higgins peeled themselves from the boulders and stumbled onto the stage, like newborns learning the terrain for the first time.
Energetic and glistening, the dancers then mirrored each others’ movements in loose, spiraling phrases. Spotlit by lighting designers Al Knight Blaine and James Mapes, their long shadows stretched across the warehouse walls. They smiled naturally and often, the expressions more open and tender than what one might expect from dancers engaged in intricate technique. Midway through, Holt and Lutz-Higgins’ seated embrace—arms and legs entwined, chins against each other’s shoulders—felt sacred.
Holt and Lutz-Higgins embrace. JEREMY SEITH
Throughout the performance, Perlitz’s rock sculptures acted as choreography partners and shelters, reminding me of wombs or cocoons. Textured like concrete, the forms were surprisingly hollow, light enough for Holt and Lutz-Higgins to lift, roll, and hide inside. Holt revealed a shiny, crumpled space blanket from within one form and used it to send watery shadows dancing across the walls.
Later, Wyland’s twinkling score faded into silence. All that remained was a single spotlight and the sound of the dancers’ breath, their limbs swinging in unison, arms slapping against torsos. Then, Holt and Lutz-Higgins climbed atop their rocks again. I looked at the pair balancing on the forms and thought of stones forming over millennia.
In Horizon, Holt and Lutz-Higgins moved with a caring attentiveness, echoing each other’s gestures and resting in a long hug. These choices suggested a willingness to change in response to someone else. Their horizon wasn’t a fixed point in space, but something more observant, responsive, and constantly in flux.
Holt and Lutz-Higgins echo each other’s movements. JEREMY SEITH
That intentionality made their choice to use “Love Is a Stranger” interesting and more than a little funny. Its glossy synth-pop broke from the work’s terrestrial quality, pointing toward the porous nature of the whole piece. Horizon refused to hold a single tone or meaning.
As “Love is a Stranger” faded, Holt and Lutz-Higgins once more pulled focus toward the most basic elements of the work: light, breath, and body. I recognized these as core materials of presence. Maybe one takeaway from Horizon was that the most transformative things rarely announce themselves; they’re already here.
If you’re reading this, you probably know the value of the Mercury’s newsreporting, 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!👋
After a sweet l’il downpour yesterday morning, you can expect sunny skies throughout the week with temps in the low 70s and popping up (and popping off) to 85 by Wednesday. Now let’s pop off with some NEWS.
IN LOCAL NEWS:
• Portland’s Sunday Parkways program—in which neighborhoods shut down streets so they can solely be used by cyclists, skaters, and pedestrians—is AWESOME, and follows in the footsteps of other countries with similar programs. The big difference? Rather than closing a few streets for a few weekend days during the summer, our Latin American neighbors continue the program for weeks. Our Taylor Griggs knows this from experience, and in her latest and always excellent Street View column, she breaks down why creating a more balanced car-to-pedestrian ecosystem will benefit everyone.
Comic book conventions have come a long way since their start in dark basements, and are now exploding in popularity. So what’s different? Photojournalist @corbinsmith.bsky.social attended the Rose City Comic Con, and came back with a great story and pics! 📸 www.portlandmercury.com/photo-essay/…
• Thanks to the state legislature—who in turn are blaming Trump’s federal cuts—Oregon homeless services providers and tenant advocacy groups are being forced to lay off sizable portions of their staffs, after state officials reduced their funding to the tune of roughly $1 billion over the next two years. So while the housing plan does include a substantial amount of money for houseless shelters, the money to prevent evictions—which goes to groups like the Community Alliance of Tenants, who had to let go almost their entire staff—has been decimated. And unless the community steps in to save these organizations, don’t expect things to improve soon: Thanks to the effects from Trump’s tariffs, forecasters predict the state will have “hundreds of millions of dollars less to spend than anticipated for the state’s next budget.” Check out the eye-opening report from OPB.
• Just a reminder that the reason that American flags across Oregon were flying at half-staff yesterday is due to an order from Governor Tina Kotek, in order to pay tribute to the recently assassinated Charlie Kirk, a hateful individual who spent much of his young life spreading and encouraging transphobia, racism, homophobia, and antisemitism, while helping Trump dismantle democracy. Wonder which horrible person Gov. Kotek will choose to honor next?
After marching through Eugene and holding a candlelight vigil in honor of slain conservative activist Charlie Kirk, the crowd lifted an enormous American flag into the air. Organizers said it was the same one that hung off the side of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
• The sale of the Portland Trail Blazers to Tom Dundon—owner of the NHL’s Carolina Hurricanes and pickleball fanatic—reportedly became official on Friday, when Dundon also announced he would be purchasing the team with help from the owners of a couple of venture capitalist firms, as well as the Cherng Family Trust, which famously owns… [*checks notes*] Panda Express? Panda Express! (Look, if it will keep the Blazers in Portland, I don’t care if they’re owned by Arby’s!)
• If you noticed that gas prices took a big leap lately—surpassing $4.50 per gallon, or an average of 16 cents more than you’ve been paying—you are not crazy. The culprit? Not Trump (this time), but a major pipeline outage which stopped the flow of gas to the state for 10 days. While the outage was reportedly repaired and gas is flowing again, prices are expected to stay high through this week, and potentially longer.
• The final album from Portland’s beloved and late musician, Michael Hurley (who died in April), came out on No Quarter Records this past Friday. Ben Salmon reviewed Broken Homes and Gardensfor the Mercury, to celebrate the “conclusion of one of the great recording careers of the past century.”
Yippee! It’s time for another super fun edition of POP QUIZ PDX. In this week’s brainy trivia quiz: a Powell’s Books controversy, the spider that’s watching you as you sleep, and what chores should we give the invading National Guard? 🤔 See how well YOU score!
• After months of threats to “shut ‘er down” by the Trump administration, there is reportedly a “framework of a deal” to keep TikTok alive in the United States. In the past year, Trump has set multiple deadlines (which he has consistently backpedaled on) to ban TikTok due to national security concerns, and this newest deal with the Chinese government would allow the app to continue operating in the US. The deal reportedly hinges on two undisclosed “private parties” who agreed to take control of the site’s algorithm, which dictates what users see on TikTok—which is not, like, suspicious and creepy at all, is it?
• Tyler Robinson—a 22-year-old white Utah resident—has been arrested on suspicion of murdering transphobe/racist/antisemite Charlie Kirk while he was speaking on a college campus last week. According to Republican Utah Governor Spencer Cox—SO PLEASE TAKE THIS WITH THE APPROPRIATE GRAIN OF SALT—the suspected murderer was “left-leaning” and spent a lot of time in “the dark places of the internet” where he may have been radicalized. FBI Director Kash Patel also had some theories about the incident, but since he is well regarded as a lying buffoon who has already impeded the investigation once before, I cannot with good conscience repeat anything he says.
• A necessary reminder:
• Meanwhile, Donald Trump’s revenge tour continues: King Fool is once again threatening Washington, DC, after the city’s mayor, Muriel Bowser, said that local police would cease assisting ICE now that Trump’s 30-day “emergency” declaration has expired. This naturally infuriated the always deeply insecure Trump, who squealed on Truth Social, “I’ll call a National Emergency, and Federalize, if necessary!!!” (Okay, Susan… calm down.) Trump is also itching to get his tiny, bruised hands on Memphis, Tennessee (another blue city), threatening to send in the “National Guard and anybody else we need. And by the way, we’ll bring in the military too, if we need it.” (Can someone please tell this dipshit that the National Guard IS the military?)
• At last night’s Primetime Emmy Awards, the big winners were HBO’s The Pitt (a more gruesome carbon copy of ER with cuss words), and Apple TV’s The Studio (a fitfully funny and often cringey satire of the Hollywood studio system). However, it was Stephen Colbert who won the longest standing ovation of the night after he was unfairly fired by the Trump butt-licking CBS network, while several award recipients had plenty to say at the mic, including Hacks‘ star Hannah Einbinder who correctly shouted out “go Birds [the Philadelphia Eagles], fuck ICE, and free Palestine.”
• And finally… as you now know from reading today’s news, HORROR COMES IN MANY FORMS. Here’s another one!
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Fire crews in Deschutes County battled an RV camper fire at a homeless camping-designated area north of Bend on Sunday morning.
Bend Fire & Rescue say the RV fire happened just before noon as Deschutes County 911 received multiple calls reporting the RV fire at the Juniper Ridge Temporary Short Stay Area, just south of Wiley Circle and east of Hwy 97.
Two people lost their RV along with a dog, and a cat is still missing, according to officials. Outreach efforts are underway to help those who were displaced.
The exact cause of the fire could not be immediately determined with an initial investigation, according to officials, but the fire is believed to be accidental in nature.
The fire grew to nearby vegetation and other materials, but officials with Bend Fire & Rescue say the spread was limited thanks to efforts to create defensible space by reducing fuel earlier this year.
Bend Fire & Rescue crews were able to knock down the fire with help from the U.S. Forest Service, Cloverdale Fire District, Oregon State Police and the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office.
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Lanes on Highway 99W in Newberg are being reopened to traffic as crews mop up from battling a commercial fire in the vicinity on Sunday evening, according to officials.
Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue told KOIN 6 News that crews responded to reports of heavy black smoke coming from a building in the 400th block of West 1st Street in Newberg just before 5:30 p.m., with Dundee fire crews assisting.
TVF&R said that crews at the scene found pressurized smoke on all four sides of the building, which reportedly made the roof start to sag. Crews got water on the main fire spot while staying away from downed power lines.
Newberg-Dundee Police helped with traffic at the scene while Portland Western closed the nearby railroad as crews responded to the scene, according to TVF&R.
Hey Sellwood! Enjoying the traffic? It’s exactly what you asked for. See, 30 years or so ago there was a plan,a balanced plan to route traffic through Sellwood into Johnson Creek Blvd. It included a four lane Sellwood Bridge, an efficient Tacoma Street with dedicated pedestrian and bike paths. But Oh No, you wanted to keep your two lane street, which was a hundred years out of date then. You even had it made more narrow. Oh No, you didn’t want your street widened. Have you seen the ramshackle buildings along there now? But you’re perfectly willing to let the MAX line destroy old buildings anyway. So what have you got? Cut through traffic along your side streets. An impossible crossing. Impossible access to your one wildly overpriced grocery story. Impossible access to your once-affordable, once working- class houses. TriMet buses which are incredibly late because of the congestion you asked for. Fumes from stopped traffic that could have moved through your burg at 25 MPH in 25 seconds. Now you can watch them sit, and smell the exhaust. Enjoy your wish. You won’t live long enough to see it corrected.
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Although Downtown Portland has been struggling for years since the pandemic to get people to dine and shop, on Sunday, tens of thousands of people spent the day riding and strolling through the area during the return of the Portland Sunday Parkways event.
Marking its 18th year in 2025, Portland Sunday Parkways allows people to get to know different parts of city with bikeable routes. Portland Bureau of Transportation estimates around 20,000 came out on Sunday.
Sunday also marks the first Kaiser Permanente Portland Sunday Parkways event in downtown since 2019.
People at the event told KOIN 6 News they had been avoiding the area for a few years after the pandemic, but are starting to see changes. Furthermore, events like these help them explore the area beyond the downtown core.
Bike riders on Portland’s Eastside enjoying Portland Sunday Parkways on Sunday, Sept. 14, 2025. (Credit: KOIN)
Bike riders on Portland’s Eastside enjoying Portland Sunday Parkways on Sunday, Sept. 14, 2025. (Credit: KOIN)
“I have noticed a significant uptrend in the last couple of years, which is fantastic. It’s important that we all take care of downtown,” Portland resident Brad Hall said. “Obviously, a lot has gone on in the last few years, and it’s always finding a balance between how do we treat people humanely and keep downtown clean and safe as well. I appreciate that Portland is trying to find that balance.”
This weekend the Portland Metro Chamber has been encouraging locals to stay the night in downtown, even launching the Portland Staycation Weekend event, which was inviting Portlanders to rediscover downtown with events and hotel packages.
“The US could learn a lot from our locker room. I think the people in this world could learn a lot from our locker room. You walk in that locker room, you’ve got guys of different races, guys of different backgrounds, different religions, and you’ve got a team that loves each other,” Lanning said. “Like, tons of differences, tons of differences — where they come from, what they deal with, and ultimately you have a team that loves each other. And I think we’re missing some of that in our country.”
Lanning went on to mention how Kirk was an Oregon Ducks fan, and how his heart hurts for Kirk’s widow and his children, adding, “that sort of evil should never exist in our country, and that’s what it is: evil.
“I remember having to sit down with my kids and explain what happened. They were talking about people talking about it at school and it’s just sad,” he continued, adding. “But it’s just as sad, you know, everyday it seems like we deal with some sort of violence that’s going on in our country, whether it’s school kids in Colorado or kids in Minnesota in churches. I mean, life matters, you know, and I think we’ve lost sight of that.”
Lanning went on to call for common sense in the debate about solutions to gun violence, but added, “the reality is, is there is just not a lot of common sense on both sides.”
“Like common sense says ‘oh it’s mental health,’ right? Common sense is ‘oh it’s guns.’ You know what? It’s both. Like, let’s have some common sense. Our kids should be the most protected thing in the world, right? They should have armed guards at every school, ’cause there’s sick people, there’s sick people in this world, right? and on top of that, sick people need help. It should be really hard for a sick person to have a gun. It should be really hard, right? And if people can’t see that from both sides, how disappointing [sic] is that?”
Lanning continued to speak about how the Oregon Ducks football team has come together and found common ground.
“We need to look at sports, because what our football team has is that it has people on both sides of the fence. Right, and there’s fans that love our team that have a lot of different opinions and the truth is, there’s a lot of things that Charlie said that I did not agree with at all. There’s a lot things that he said that I did agree with,” he said. “But what’s disappointing is that I can respect those differences and somebody else couldn’t.”
A transcript of Lanning’s comments on Saturday is below:
The US could learn a lot from our locker room. I think the people in this world could learn a lot from our locker room. You walk in that locker room, you’ve got guys of different races, guys of different backgrounds, different religions, and you’ve got a team that loves each other,” Lanning said. “Like, tons of differences, tons of differences — where they come from, what they deal with, and ultimately you have a team that loves each other. And I think we’re missing some of that in our country.
You know you talk about how Charlie Kirk was an Oregon fan, right? I didn’t know that. I hurt for his wife Erika and their kids, like that sort of evil should never exist in our country, and that’s what it is, evil . Like, I remember having to explain that to my family. I remember having to sit down with my kids and explain what happened. They were talking about people talking about it at school and it’s just sad, right?
But it’s just as sad, you know, everyday it seems like we deal with some sort of violence that’s going on in our country, whether it’s school kids in Colorado or kids in Minnesota in churches. I mean, life matters, you know, and I think we’ve lost sight of that, you know, but I wish the world could learn a little bit of something from our locker room, ’cause we’ve got a bunch of people with differences and what you’ve got in there is a bunch of people who love there. And there is some people who would be disappointed in how much I said about this, right? There will be some people who I didn’t say enough. Right? And I really don’t care.
Right, what I do care about is that if you disagree with me, if you hate me, if you don’t like me, just know this: I love you. I absolutely love you, right? And life matters. And that’s no way that Charlie should have experienced that, his family should have experienced that, there’s no way that that evil should exist in this world and we have to continue to identify it and point it out and make sure that it’s absolute evil, that there’s no reason in the world that our kids .. that we should be worried about sending our kids to school. It’s our most valuable commodity in the world, they should be protected. And the reality is, is there is just not a lot of common sense on both sides.
Like common sense says ‘oh it’s mental health,’ right? Common sense is, ‘oh it’s guns.’ You know what? It’s both. Like, let’s have some common sense. Our kids should be the most protected thing in the world, right? They should have armed guards at every school, ’cause there’s sick people, there’s sick people in this world, right? And on top of that, sick people need help. It should be really hard for a sick person to have a gun. It should be really hard, right? And if people can’t see that from both sides, how disappointing [sic] is that?
But I just know that you see moments like that that exist right now in our country, and I just think about my kids. And I hope… I remember I saw that video, and it’s disgusting, and I just go like ‘man, I hope my kids don’t see that video.’ Like how much does that suck? I hope Charlie’s kids never see that video. Like, disgusting, right?
We glorify it, we praise it, you know people are internet warriors and those are sick people, and at some point, we need to look at sports, because what our football team has is that it has people on both sides of the fence. Right, and there’s fans that love our team that have a lot of different opinions and the truth is, there’s a lot of things that Charlie said that I did not agree with at all. There’s a lot things that he said that I did agree with.
But what’s disappointing is that I can respect those differences and somebody else couldn’t. And they thought that they deserved to be God in that moment and they didn’t, right? And nobody should have to experience that, so, I’ve got a lot of disappointment.
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We had… at bible study with the team, we talked about it with our team and I think our team feels the same way, regardless of views, I don’t think they ever feel that anybody deserves to experience what some people in our country are experiencing right now and it’s super disappointing.
The Oregon Ducks face Oregon State on Saturday, Sept. 20 at Autzen in Eugene.
