ReportWire

Category: Portland, Oregon Local News

Portland, Oregon Local News | ReportWire publishes the latest breaking U.S. and world news, trending topics and developing stories from around globe.

  • Good Morning, News: California Moves Forward With Redistricting Plan, Vancouver Woman Unearths a War Weapon and Portland, Prepare For a Nasty Heat Wave

    [ad_1]

    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! And happy Friday. It’s going to be a very hot one today, with temperatures likely to hit 100 degrees, and tomorrow is looking to be even hotter than that. Don’t expect a significant cooldown until the middle of next week. 🥵 We’ll have some suggestions for staying cool below, so keep reading. 

    IN LOCAL NEWS:

    • Like we said, it’s going to be very hot today…and the heat is going to stick around well past its welcome. That’s the climate crisis for ya, kid. With nighttime lows expected to remain in the high 60s and early 70s, it’ll be hard to get much overnight relief, especially for people without air conditioning. So, take some precautions, if you can! Try to stay in an air conditioned place, particularly during the hottest hours of the day in the late afternoon and early evening. Multnomah County libraries are available to hang out in, as is the Lloyd Center Mall (and they even have an ice skating rink— double the cooling power). Multnomah County may also open cooling centers, where people would be allowed to bring pets and have access to water and food. The county hasn’t made that announcement yet, but stay tuned for more updates. In the meantime, check out these helpful resources if you’re looking for some extra help staying cool. And remember to check in on your neighbors, especially if they’re older, dealing with health issues, and/or unhoused. <3 

    @katim_20

     

    ♬ LEMONADE – Forrest Frank & The Figs

    • If by some misfortune you encounter someone experiencing heatstroke, Portland Fire & Rescue has a rudimentary, but potentially life-saving solution that, at first glance, looks like some ice bucket challenge revived. 

    • After weighing Commissioner Julia Brim-Edwards’ proposal to index the Preschool for All marginal income tax to inflation (meaning, increasing the minimum income level required to pay the tax) Multnomah County commissioners voted yesterday not to make changes to the program—for now. Brim-Edwards’ plan resulted in a lot of backlash from program supporters, who already spent time this summer defending Preschool for All from Governor Tina Kotek and state legislators who seemingly wanted to gut it. While Brim-Edwards’ proposal wasn’t as extreme as what state legislators proposed earlier, supporters say it still would’ve damaged the program’s ability to serve the community as intended, and they predicted it would be a step in the direction of Preschool For All’s demise. Ultimately, the Board of Commissioners tabled the conversation about the tax until they have more input from county advisors. We’ll have more on this story soon. 

    • A woman in Vancouver, Washington recently unearthed what police bomb squad units say was an undetonated cannonball. While doing yard work and transferring stones in her yard, the woman found a particularly smooth stone, but quickly realized it was perfectly round and resembled a war-time cannonball. Eventually, bomb squad units showed up at her house, then took the weapon and detonated it off site. A military historian said the cannonball could have been from the Civil War era, but likely still had gunpowder inside and could have caused a deadly explosion, had it gone off.

    • Want to test your knowledge on current events and historical trivia? Just want a good laugh over cheeky jabs at shitty politicians? If you haven’t discovered the Mercury’s Pop Quiz segments, you’re in luck, because there’s a brand new quiz this week, complete with facts, hard truths, and the chance to weigh in on who or what should succeed Trump, should he choke on his own bronzer, or ya know, Putin’s boot. 

    Hey smarty pants! It’s time for another super fun edition of POP QUIZ PDX. In this week’s trivia quiz: The Beatles in Portland, the Blazers’ new owner, and who would make a better president: Donald Trump or six farts in a paper bag? (See how well YOU score!)

    [image or embed]

    — Portland Mercury (@portlandmercury.com) August 21, 2025 at 10:02 AM

    IN NATIONAL/WORLD NEWS: 

    I hope you’re still reading, because today’s national news is—for once—not horrible. It’s a Friday miracle! Here’s more. 

    • Democratic lawmakers in California voted yesterday to move ahead with a plan to redraw the state’s congressional map ahead of the 2026 primary election, in an effort to secure more seats for liberal representatives in US Congress. The fate of the redistricting proposal will now be in the hands of California voters in a special election this fall. Kinda nice to have the fate of our nation in the hands of Californians instead of undecided voters in Wisconsin and Michigan, huh? But wait, you may be asking—isn’t gerrymandering wrong? Well, theoretically, it’s not very democratic. But the fascists running this country certainly don’t give a shit about that, so nice words about “doing the right thing” don’t really mean much anymore. Republicans in Texas just voted to reconfigure their congressional map to gin up more red seats, and Missouri’s legislators look to be headed down the same path. To Trump, this is an exciting step toward the ultimate goal of ending “the crooked game of politics,” AKA making sure the US remains a fascist authoritarian state for generations to come. We won’t let it happen. 

    I went on Truth Social for the first time to find this post, and let me tell you—it’s a fucking horrible website. Every other post is an ad from the Epoch Times. Don’t go there if you can avoid it. 

    Will the nice liberals in California vote to rejigger their state’s map? We better hope so. One thing that might help is the green light from none other than Barack Obama, who has largely refrained from getting involved in American politics since he left office in 2017. Hopefully, Obama’s approval will encourage Democrats nationwide to get into the “when they go low, we go LOWER” mentality. Let’s get some blue maps drawn up in Illinois, New York, and Washington STAT. 

    We’re grateful to President Obama (@barackobama.bsky.social) for being in this fight with us and supporting our mission. 

    California is advancing a process that gives voters the final say on implementing new maps. 

    This is a fair and responsible response to Trump’s unprecedented power grab.

    [image or embed]

    — National Democratic Redistricting Committee (@democraticredistricting.com) August 20, 2025 at 2:24 PM

    • James Dobson, the evangelical lunatic who founded the Christian hate organization Focus on the Family, died yesterday at the age of 89. (Once again, I’m going to be a bit uncivil here, so click away if you’re not into that kind of thing.) Dobson dedicated his life to dehumanizing gay people and belittling women. He is one of the founding “thinkers” behind “purity culture,” the movement that aims to create docile wives out of every woman through a lifetime of guilt and sexual repression. In fact, the sick tradition of “purity balls”—in which young girls and their creepy fathers attend a depraved dance ceremony, where the daughters promise their dads that they’ll remain virgins until marriage—started out of Dobson’s organization. Dobson was also a staunch opponent of treating AIDS, a huge fan of abusive gay conversion therapy, a Ted Bundy apologist, and a proponent of corporal punishment, among many, many other things—all bad. Goodbye, James Dobson. I hope it’s hot down there. 

    • In a preliminary injunction issued yesterday, a federal judge ordered construction on Florida’s “Alligator Alcatraz” immigration detention center/inhumane concentration camp to stop, and called for the facility’s operations to wind down. The decision comes after environmental groups and a Native American tribe sued the state of Florida and the feds, saying the facility’s construction and operations violate environmental protection laws in the Florida Everglades. The Everglades are a natural wonder in a hopeless place (Florida), but Governor Ron DeSantis clearly doesn’t give a shit about the state he is supposed to be taking care of. He’s too busy trying to get Donald Trump to tell him he’s a good boy by any means necessary. Sucks to suck, Ron. The state government filed an appeal against the ruling, with a spokesperson issuing this vom-worthy statement: “The deportations will continue until morale improves.” No consequences in the afterlife could be as bad as the miserable existence these people have created for themselves. Unfortunately, they’re trying to drag everyone down with them, too. This ruling is one sign that ain’t gonna happen, at least not without a good deal of kicking and screaming.  

    Have a good weekend, everyone.

     

    Conservative Man Proudly Frightened Of Everything theonion.com/conserv…

    [image or embed]

    — The Onion (@theonion.com) August 18, 2025 at 1:00 PM

     

    [ad_2]

    Courtney Vaughn

    Source link

  • Early Morning Brush Fire In North Portland – KXL

    [ad_1]

    Fire creeps up the bluff next to N. Greeley Ave.

    Portland, Ore. – Portland Fire and Rescue battled a brush fire off Greeley Avenue, early Friday. Crews were dispatched just before 3:30 a.m. Firefighters reported burning debris rolling down the bluff as they worked to extinguish the flames in thick vegetation in rough terrain.

    Additional engines responded to the Overlook neighborhood above the fire.

     

    This is a developing story.

    More about:

    [ad_2]

    Heather Roberts

    Source link

  • Feelings

    [ad_1]

    You’ve made me wait over a year to get our cat checked out by the vet. The lump on his leg has grown from pea size to golf ball size. Now we need to wait longer because you’re stressed out from work and life and all the other things. It’s not going to get any less stressful. You’re losing my trust. I’m trying to give you space for your feelings but it’s coming at the cost of my own and maybe a lot more. This sucks.

    [ad_2]

    Anonymous

    Source link

  • I keep having nightmares

    [ad_1]

    Every night I can only sleep for a few hours at a time because I’m overwhelmed by nightmares where an unseen, uncaring force is trying to kill me. Tonight I dreamt I was trapped in a building surrounded by automated machines that would shoot me if I walked outside. In my dream I knew that the operators of the machines didn’t have strong feelings about killing me, they just couldn’t be bothered to turn off the machine. Last night I awoke moments before I was to be run over by a train heading nowhere and carrying nothing but with such a tight schedule to keep that they couldn’t apply the brakes even for a moment. I think I need to stop reading the news.

    [ad_2]

    Anonymous

    Source link

  • Evergreen Public Schools support staff union votes in favor of strike

    [ad_1]

    PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — In a historic move, support staff at Evergreen Public Schools officially voted to go on strike, starting Tuesday, which is the first day of school.

    The vote by the Evergreen Chapter of Public School Employees of Washington SEIU Local 1948 (PSE) resulted in 92.5% in favor of the strike. That means the strike will proceed unless a contract agreement is reached before August 26.

    Support staff includes para-educators, bus drivers, maintenance staff and more. The union said employees are struggling after six months without a contract and are demanding better pay to keep up with the cost of living.

    The district said it’s currently facing significant budget challenges and that it presented staff raises last week.

    The teachers union has also agreed to show their support and said they will not cross the picket lines if the strike begins on Tuesday.

    [ad_2]

    Danny Peterson

    Source link

  • Board Denies Parole For Erik Menendez Despite Reduced Sentence For His Parents’ 1989 Murders – KXL

    [ad_1]

    LOS ANGELES (AP) — Erik Menendez was denied parole Thursday after serving decades in prison for murdering his parents with his older brother in 1989.

    A panel of California commissioners denied Menendez parole for three years, after which he will be eligible again, in a case that continues to fascinate the public. A parole hearing for his brother Lyle Menendez, who is being held at the same prison in San Diego, is scheduled for Friday morning.

    The two commissioners determined that Menendez should not be freed after an all-day hearing during which they questioned him about why he committed the crime and violated prison rules.

    The brothers became eligible for parole after a judge reduced their sentences in May from life without parole to 50 years to life.

    The parole hearings marked the closest they’ve been to winning freedom from prison since their convictions almost 30 years ago for murdering their parents.

    The brothers were sentenced to life in prison in 1996 for fatally shooting their father, Jose Menendez, and mother, Kitty Menendez, in their Beverly Hills mansion in 1989. While defense attorneys argued that the brothers acted out of self-defense after years of sexual abuse by their father, prosecutors said the brothers sought a multimillion-dollar inheritance.

    A judge reduced their sentences in May, and they became immediately eligible for parole.

    Erik Menendez made his case to two parole commissioners, offering his most detailed account in years of how he was raised, why he made the choices he did, and how he transformed in prison. He noted the hearing fell almost exactly 36 years after he killed his parents — on Aug. 20, 1989.

    “Today is August 21st. Today is the day that all of my victims learned my parents were dead. So today is the anniversary of their trauma journey,” he said, referring to his family members.

    The state corrections department chose a single reporter to watch the videoconference and share details with the rest of the press.

    Erik Menendez’s prison record
    Menendez, gray-haired and spectacled, sat in front of a computer screen wearing a blue T-shirt over a white long-sleeve shirt in a photo shared by officials.

    The panel of commissioners scrutinized every rules violation and fight on his lengthy prison record, including allegations that he worked with a prison gang, bought drugs, used cellphones and helped with a tax scam.

    He told commissioners that since he had no hope of ever getting out then, he prioritized protecting himself over following the rules. Then last fall, LA prosecutors asked a judge to resentence him and his brother — opening the door to parole.

    “In November of 2024, now the consequences mattered,” Menendez said. “Now the consequences meant I was destroying my life.”

    A particular sticking point for the commissioners was his use of cellphones.

    “What I got in terms of the phone and my connection with the outside world was far greater than the consequences of me getting caught with the phone,” Menendez said.

    The board also brought up his earliest encounters with the law, when he committed two burglaries in high school.

    “I was not raised with a moral foundation,” he said. “I was raised to lie, to cheat, to steal in the sense, an abstract way.”

    The panel asked about details like why he used a fake ID to purchase the guns he and Lyle Menendez used to kill their parents, who acted first and why they killed their mother if their father was the main abuser.

    Commissioner Robert Barton asked: “You do see that there were other choices at that point?”

    “When I look back at the person I was then and what I believed about the world and my parents, running away was inconceivable,” Menendez said. “Running away meant death.”

    His transformation behind bars
    Erik Menendez’s parole attorney, Heidi Rummel, emphasized 2013 as the turning point for her client.

    “He found his faith. He became accountable to his higher power. He found sobriety and made a promise to his mother on her birthday,” Rummel said. “Has he been perfect since 2013? No. But he has been remarkable.”

    Commissioner Rachel Stern also applauded him for starting a group to take care of older and disabled inmates.

    Since the brothers reunited, they have been “serious accountability partners” for each other. At the same time, he said he’s become better at setting boundaries with Lyle Menendez, and they tend to do different programming.

    More than a dozen of their relatives, who have advocated for the brothers’ release for months, delivered emotional statements at Thursday’s hearing via videoconference.

    “Seeing my crimes through my family’s eyes has been a huge part of my evolution and my growth,” Menendez said. “Just seeing the pain and the suffering. Understanding the magnitude of what I’ve done, the generational impact.”

    His aunt Teresita Menendez-Baralt, who is Jose Menendez’s sister, said she has fully forgiven him. She noted that she is dying from Stage 4 cancer and wishes to welcome him into her home.

    “Erik carries himself with kindness, integrity and strength that comes from patience and grace,” she said.

    One relative promised to the parole board that she would house him in Colorado, where he can spend time with his family and enjoying nature.

    The board brushed off prosecutor’s questions
    LA County District Attorney Nathan Hochman said ahead of the parole hearings that he opposes parole for the brothers because of their lack of insight, comparing them to Sirhan Sirhan, who assassinated presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy in 1968. Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom denied him parole in January 2022 because of his “deficient insight.”

    During the hearing, LA prosecutor Habib Balian asked Menendez about his and his brothers’ attempts to ask witnesses to lie in court on their behalf, and if the brothers staged the killings as a mafia hit. Commissioners largely dismissed the questions, saying they were not retrying the case.

    In closing statements, Balian questioned whether Menendez was “truly reformed” or saying what commissioners wanted to hear.

    “When one continues to diminish their responsibility for a crime and continues to make the same false excuses that they’ve made for 30-plus years, one is still that same dangerous person that they were when they shotgunned their parents,” Balian said.

    What happens next
    Lyle Menendez is set to appear over videoconference Friday for his parole hearing from the same prison in San Diego.

    The case has captured the attention of true crime enthusiasts for decades and spawned documentaries, television specials and dramatizations. The Netflix drama “ Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story ” and a documentary released in 2024 have been credited for bringing new attention to the brothers.

    Greater recognition of the brothers as victims of sexual abuse has also helped mobilize support for their release. Some supporters have flown to Los Angeles to hold rallies and attend court hearings.

    [ad_2]

    Jordan Vawter

    Source link

  • 'Can't keep our staff safe': Meals on Wheels closes downtown Portland site due to safety, funding concerns

    [ad_1]

    PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — As Portland continues to bring people back downtown, Meals on Wheels People says they have had enough.

    The non-profit organization that provides food to homebound seniors recently closed two of its facilities, including its Elm Court location downtown.

    “It’s been a long time coming,” said Meals on Wheels Chief Executive Officer Suzanne Washington.

    The site stopped offering congregate dining after the COVID-19 pandemic shut down in-person dining options. Even after restaurants were able to reopen their seating areas, the Elm Court location never resumed in-person dining.

    Instead, the location served as a delivery hub for volunteers to pick up and deliver meals to home-bound recipients. But even that has been problematic, Washington said.

    Meals on Wheels People downtown location on Aug. 21, 2025 (KOIN)

    “I can’t keep our staff safe and our volunteers safe because there’s always something happening,” she said. “We’ve been threatened with knives, and fires have been set. It was time to close.”

    It’s been so bad that they’ve struggled to keep volunteers.

    “Every day, they’re stepping over feces, and there’s needles and drug dealing and deaths,” she said.

    Once, there was even a body that staffers had to step over to get into the building, she said.

    Meals on Wheels had been at the Elm Court location since the early 2000s, but it wasn’t always such a tough neighborhood. Washington said the trouble started with COVID, and the rise in fentanyl use.

    She said that things have gotten better, but downtown still hasn’t recovered and it was time to try something new.

    Meals on Wheels People downtown location on Aug. 21, 2025 (KOIN)

    Washington said they considered finding a new location, but due to funding uncertainty it made more sense to spend the money elsewhere.

    “Instead of paying for someplace else, we want to keep people fed,” she said.

    As KOIN 6 News previously reported, Meals on Wheels had to cut its budget significantly in April due to federal cuts.

    Meals on Wheels is still providing its recipients with meals, just not out of the downtown location, or the other site that it also closed in Hillsboro.

    Even with the funding cuts and the on-site challenges that staff and volunteers have faced, along with increased demand for services, Washington said there is still no waitlist.

    Still, Meals on Wheels needs help. The organization relies on volunteers to help chop vegetables, deliver food and more. For more information or to sign up to help, visit mowp.org.

    [ad_2]

    Amanda Rhoades

    Source link

  • Villanova Says Report Of A Campus Shooter Was A ‘Cruel Hoax’ – KXL

    [ad_1]

    A general view of St. Thomas of Villanova Church on the Villanova University campus is seen, Thursday, May 8, 2025 in Villanova, Pa. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

    VILLANOVA, Pa. (AP) — False reports of active shooters at Villanova University and the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga on Thursday led to panic and temporary lockdowns at the two campuses as they kicked off their fall semesters.

    In Pennsylvania someone called 911 at about 4:30 p.m. reporting a shooter in a Villanova law school building with at least one wounded victim. Students received texts from the school’s alert system saying “ACTIVE SHOOTER on VU campus. Move to secure location. Lock/barricade doors.”

    The school’s president later said it was a hoax.

    “Today, as we are celebrating Orientation Mass to welcome our newest Villanovans and their families to our community, panic and terror ensued,” the Rev. Peter M. Donohue said in a statement. “Mercifully, no one was injured and we now know it was a cruel hoax.”

    About four hours earlier, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga locked down its campus, telling students: “Possible active shooter in the University Center or Library. Run. Hide. Fight. More info forthcoming.”

    After multiple law enforcement agencies including the FBI responded alongside local fire and emergency crews, the lockdown was lifted less than an hour later. School officials said there was no evidence of any threat.

    At Villanova, where new student orientation was underway and classes begin next week, the initial report sent police scouring the campus and even had some law enforcement officials suggesting they believed there was a shooter.

    ““He’s in one of these buildings. Law enforcement for the entire tri-state area is here. And we are going door to door, room to room if we have to, to take this situation under control and to make this campus safe,” Delaware County District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer told WPVI-TV.

    At a news conference later, Stollsteimer said authorities will conduct a full investigation.

    “If this was indeed a cruel hoax, this is a crime,” he said.

    “This is every parent’s nightmare, right? You’re sending your kid off to college, sometimes for their first day, and you get an alert that there could be a shooter on the campus,” he said.

    Courtenay Harris Bond was walking near the law school with her husband and son, a freshman, when word spread of the supposed shooting.

    “Really tough way to start freshman year at college,” she said shortly after getting the all-clear to leave the bookstore where the family spent the lockdown.

    Villanova is a private Catholic university in the Philadelphia suburbs. It borders Lower Merion Township and Radnor Township at the center of the city’s wealthy Main Line neighborhoods.

    The Augustinian school got extra attention this year as the alma mater of new Pope Leo XIV.

    More about:

    [ad_2]

    Jordan Vawter

    Source link

  • Mother avoids prison after 2-year-old daughter's fentanyl overdose

    [ad_1]

    PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – A Washington County judge sentenced a mother to five years of supervised probation for the overdose of her child, the district attorney’s office announced Thursday.

    The sentencing on Aug. 20 came after Megan Elizabeth Meek was found guilty of second-degree assault for her role in her 2-year-old daughter’s overdose after she swallowed several fentanyl pills.

    The case stems from March 13, 2023, when Meek and her fiancé, Bret Hollmann, started the day smoking fentanyl pills purchased by Hollmann, according to the Washington County District Attorney’s Office, noting their 2-year-old daughter was with them at the time.

    Later in the day, Hollmann and Meek planned to take their daughter to a babysitter so they could go shopping, and stopped at a business on the way, officials said.

    Meek went inside the store, and when she returned to the car, she put her bag – with multiple fentanyl pills and other drug paraphernalia – in the backseat within reach of the toddler.

    According to the Washington County District Attorney’s Office, the 2-year-old ended up swallowing several fentanyl pills.

    After they arrived at their destination, Meek and Hollman noticed the child was overdosing, and when Beaverton police responded to the scene, she was unconscious, not breathing and had no detectable pulse, authorities said, noting officers told the parents their child needed her stomach pumped because she swallowed the pills.

    Officers were able to administer two doses of Narcan, a medication used to reverse opioid overdoses, and “saved her life,” the District Attorney’s Office said, noting she overdosed again at the hospital because of the “sheer amount of fentanyl in her system.”

    Officials said hospital staff had to keep the child on a Narcan drip for a full day to keep her alive.

    Hollmann admitted to officers that he bought the pills and was later caught smoking fentanyl at the hospital while his daughter was undergoing treatment and had to be removed from the facility, officials added.

    Hollman was sentenced to four years in prison after pleading guilty to third-degree assault and unlawful possession of a schedule II controlled substance – substantial quantities.

    However, Judge Theodore Sims chose to not impose a 70-month sentence required under Measure 11, though the DA’s office said it disagreed with the decision.

    “While we respect the authority of the court to issue a sentence in this case, we strongly disagree with it,” said Stephen Mayer with the DA’s office. “Parents and caregivers who risk the death of children by exposing them to dangerous drugs like fentanyl should be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law. Were it not for the heroic actions of the Beaverton police officers and first responders from Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue, this child would not be alive today. We intend to seek an appeal of this sentencing decision.”

    [ad_2]

    Aimee Plante

    Source link

  • 'Don't Shop Roth's' campaign launches as Canadian-owned grocer bargains with Oregon union

    [ad_1]

    PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Employees of an Oregon-founded, Canadian-owned grocer are calling on customers to stop shopping from the business amid contract negotiations.

    The “Don’t Shop Roth’s” campaign, spearheaded by United Food and Commercial Workers Local 555, urges people to boycott Roth’s Fresh Markets. UFCW Local 555 is currently pushing the chain to pay meat and deli department employees wages that are comparable to what similar workers are earning in nearby chains like Fred Meyer, Safeway and Albertsons, according to the organization’s Communications Director Miles Eshaia.

    Roth’s debuted its first store in Silverton in 1962, and the business has since expanded to nine locations statewide. Pattison Food Group, a grocery and drug giant based in British Columbia, acquired the business in 2021.

    According to UFCW Local 555, new ownership charges customers more for products that are priced lower at other stores while “refusing to match the wage increases of nearby competitors.”

    In a statement, the Roth’s Communication Team said the grocer is still bargaining with workers “in good faith” — after reaching several tentative agreements.

    “We have a strong track record of reaching mutually beneficial agreements with our union partners and are confident we will do so again as negotiations continue,” Roth’s added in an email. “Roth’s remains committed to delivering quality groceries at competitive prices to our customers.”

    Several billboards in support of the union’s campaign have popped up in Salem. They state “Roth’s Caught Underpaying Americans,” “Canadian-Owned Roth’s Won’t Pay American Workers” and “Lower Pay Higher Prices.”

    • “Don’t Shop Roth’s” campaign billboard (Courtesy UFCW Local 555)
    • "Don't Shop Roth's" campaign billboard
      “Don’t Shop Roth’s” campaign billboard (Courtesy UFCW Local 555)
    • "Don't Shop Roth's" campaign billboard
      “Don’t Shop Roth’s” campaign billboard (Courtesy UFCW Local 555)

    “We cannot have another store in the area that is represented under the same contract, receiving the same benefits — just being paid less,” Eshaia said. “That doesn’t make any sense.”

    He told KOIN 6 that workers have unanimously authorized a strike, but union leaders have yet to launch one.

    Employees at several New Seasons Market locations throughout Portland were the last Oregon grocery workers to launch a strike.

    [ad_2]

    Jashayla Pettigrew

    Source link

  • Trump Meets With DC Cops – KXL

    [ad_1]

    Acquired Through MGN Online on 08/15/2025

    WASHINGTON, DC – President Trump is meeting with law enforcement in Washington, DC.  Mr. Trump thanked officers for cooperating with the federal takeover of the city’s police as part of his crackdown on crime.

    “Some incredible results have come out, and it’s like a different place,” the president told the law enforcement officials.

    He says crime is down significantly since the operation began. In an interview earlier today, Trump hinted he was planning to join law enforcement in patrolling the streets of DC tonight.

    The president also says tourists to the city will see a big difference.

    “When people come in from the airport all the way to the Capitol or the White House or anyplace else, they’re going to see this place is spotless.”

    More about:

    [ad_2]

    Tim Lantz

    Source link

  • $15,000 Reward Offered In Killing Of 13-Year-Old Liam Spahnle-Bailey – KXL

    [ad_1]

    Photo of Liam, provided by the Gresham Police Department

    Gresham, OR – Authorities are now offering a $15,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of three suspects connected to the tragic killing of 13-year-old Liam Spahnle-Bailey, who was fatally struck by a stray bullet while he slept on April 27.

    The Gresham Police Department, Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office, and the U.S. Marshals Service are seeking the public’s help in locating Anthony Hunter Jr., Xavier Hirsch, and Terrell Coy. All three are wanted in connection with the shooting.

    Investigators believe the suspects may have fled the Portland area. Hunter and Hirsch reportedly have ties to the Dallas/Fort Worth region in Texas, while Coy is believed to have connections in Phoenix and Tucson, Arizona.

    “This was a senseless and heartbreaking act of violence,” said a spokesperson for Gresham Police. “We are urging anyone with information to come forward.”

    How to Help

    Anyone with tips can contact the Gresham Police Department tip line at 503-618-2719 or toll-free at 1-888-989-3505. You can also email detectives directly at:

    Anonymous information can be submitted through Crime Stoppers at www.CrimeStoppersUSA.org.

    More about:

    [ad_2]

    Jordan Vawter

    Source link

  • Ten thousand days

    [ad_1]

    Experiencing a lot of low days lately. When I get depressed like this, it ends up feeling like this is how it’s always been and how it always will be. I know that’s probably not true. I hope I’m on the right path. Right now it doesn’t feel like it. It feels like I need to be prepared to leave my family and never look back. Maybe I let myself believe this is as something it wasn’t. If I’m not allowed to talk, why am I even here? Is this a real relationship or are we both just imagining good partners and faking the rest when reality doesn’t match? I felt like this a lot back when I was out on my own. Sleeping in my car, looking for work and a place to stay. Felt like I never really had any meaningful connections. Felt like I should just get arrested and go some time without trying to fill out applications and pay bills. Just not doing that well right now and trying to get a few more days ahead. Maybe I’ll feel better.

    [ad_2]

    Anonymous

    Source link

  • Theater Review: ‘Them’ Portrays the Everyday in the Midst of War

    [ad_1]

    People in war zones hang out. They smoke; they gossip. They make up funny dances. To forget this is to deny the real people in these dire situations their humanity and to risk seeing them only through the eyes of charity—helpless, desperate, and without pride. Them, the 2019 play by Samah Sabawi, opens promisingly with a down-to-earth scene: Three young men—two with rifles—stand at a makeshift check point and shoot the shit. 

    The three are heartbreakingly young, and the two with rifles are wearing their ballistic vests far too low to do much good. Their innocence speaks volumes because they’re exactly the people who run checkpoints in the real world, neighborhood guys with some training. 

    Mohamed (Trevor Tarantino) holds his rifle securely for about half the time; Majid (Manny Meza) never does, but it works for their characters as two armed resistance fighters in their unnamed hometown. The third man is Omar (Akash Dhruva), a young father, who claims that he could defend his home—if it were really necessary—even as his friends and family tease him for being unable to kill a lamb for dinner.

    The trio’s interaction begins in the 10 minutes before curtain and is initially inaudible, mumbling beneath live music: folk horns, drums, and accordion played by Eugene duo Acoustic Pilgrims. It’s the most successful scene in the entire production, which continues for another 90 minutes of increasing melodrama and heavy-handed allegory.

    Currently playing as a special event in Portland Center Stage’s Ellyn Bye Studio, this staging of Them is a co-production of University of Oregon and Student Production Association of Lane Community College. It’s directed by UO theatre professor Malek Najjar. If you’re going into a show with that much academic underwriting, you should expect college-level acting, and that’s mostly what we get from this production of Them.

    The two who stand apart are the wry and world-weary Dhruva and Dré Slaman, who plays Omar’s fiery sister Salma. Portlanders saw Slaman last spring in Portland Center Stage’s Coriolanus and her flex of weighty stage presence helps end Them on a powerful note. Dhruva’s quick-flowing sarcasm and resilient immaturity give Omar a comedic demeanor that is unshakably Woody Allen. While that’s a loaded description, it’s just too apt to avoid. The fact that Omar is written as a sex pest to his new wife compounds the portrait. It’s still an interesting choice for a character in a play that everyone assumes is about Palestine.

    Because Sabawi is a Palestinian playwright, it would be easy to assume that the setting for Them is Gaza, but Sabawi keeps the larger forces bombing apartment buildings and forming resistances anonymous. In a manner that reminded us of Caryl Churchill’s “Far Away,” characters discuss “the resistance” and “the resistance to the resistance,” along with the guard who might invade, and the rebels who the guard wants to bomb.

    There are several messages on the wing in Sabawi’s play. In particular, a scene where men with guns stand around complaining about the villainy of women struck us as very apt. It’s too bad that the narrative advances mostly through circuitous bickering. Practically everyone in the cast is guilty of nagging, and since they’re all so unlikable the story’s eventual dramatic reveals felt anticlimactic. 

    Them is a prescient play, but is it good? This production makes me wonder. Whatever you do, just don’t confuse the worth of an artwork with the cause that inspired it. Those who go to see this staging because they’re thinking about Israel’s callous, destructive, and genocidal military campaign in Gaza, will come out with those views still firm—but perhaps wishing they’d done something else with their evening.

    Them plays in Portland Center Stage’s Ellyn Bye Studio, 128 NW 11th, through Sat Aug 23, $15-$30, tickets at pcs.org, recommended for ages 13+

    [ad_2]

    Suzette Smith

    Source link

  • Oregon City residents on the hook for sidewalk repairs seek rule changes

    [ad_1]

    PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Some Oregon City residents have complained of costly sidewalk repairs, causing public officials to consider updating their permitting processes.

    Under the city’s municipal code, homeowners are responsible for maintaining the public sidewalks near their property. The cost of grinding or replacing a sidewalk currently sits at $207 for a single panel or $413 for a group of at least three, while the Sidewalk Replacement Assistance Grant Program drops those costs to $103 for a single job and $206 for a group.

    The program covers properties near sidewalks within the public right-of-way in which street trees have lifted or are “negatively impacting” the sidewalk grade.

    Earlier this month, a McLoughlin neighborhood resident, Tyson Brown, told the Oregon City Commission the community has paid thousands of dollars to repair sidewalks that were damaged not by trees — but by “decades of wear and tear by joggers and neighbors walking their dogs.”

    Waiving permitting fees or “incrementally” assisting property owners by paying for just a portion of sidewalk repairs were among the changes Public Works Director Dana Webb proposed during Wednesday evening’s commission meeting.

    But Commissioner Rocky Smith raised concerns that waiving fees could upset the homeowners who have already covered costs.

    “Every time another neighborhood has a sidewalk problem, we’re trying to fix it, but in fixing it, we have to also then go back and make sure it’s consistent and fair with everything else we’ve done — which is so hard to do,” Smith said.

    Although the reimbursement program was first launched just a few years ago in 2022, community members are arguing that sidewalk permitting processes should still be updated due to recent changes in the economy

    “We are facing unprecedented inflation and cost of living and I think that justifies action on the part of the city in a variety of ways, but in particular on this issue,” McLoughlin neighborhood resident Michael Sugar told the commission. “We want Oregon City to be a place that families feel secure coming to secure buying homes in and raising their families in without substantial unplanned unexpected expenses coming along.”

    Local code requires homeowners to obtain permits within 60 days of sidewalk repair notices, and to complete the project within another 90 days.

    There are currently 89 properties in code enforcement across the city, according to Webb. The public works director said 27 of those have obtained a permit, while a majority of properties have received a first notice and five of them have already received a second notice.

    Commissioners are weighing code amendments that would increase the project deadline to 180 days instead of 90 days. They are also considering a 60-day pause on sidewalk permit fees.

    [ad_2]

    Jashayla Pettigrew

    Source link

  • FREE TICKETS THURSDAY: Enter to Win Free Tix to See The Psychedelic Furs, Mac Sabbath, Timothy Snyder, and MORE!

    [ad_1]

    Who’s ready to have some fun? Well, the Mercury is here to help with FREE TICKETS to see some of Portland’s best concerts and events—our way of saying thanks to our great readers and spread the word about some fantastic upcoming performances! (Psst… if you want to say thanks to the Mercury, please consider making a small monthly contribution to keep us alive and kickin’!) And oh boy, do we have some fun events coming at ya this week! CHECK IT OUT!

    • Enter to WIN FREE TICKETS to see Bright Eyes on August 28 OR Tennis + Real Estate on August 29 at McMenamins Grand Lodge!

    Will you enjoy the alternative indie of Bright Eyes, or attend the final show of indie pop duo Tennis? Both shows are happening next week under the stars and oak grove at McMenamins Grand Lodge. Get your tickets now or enter to win a free pair!

    McMenamins Grand Lodge, 3505 Pacific Ave., Forest Grove, OR, Bright Eyes – Thurs August 28, 6:30 pm, $44.75-$73.75, all ages; Tennis + Real Estate – Fri August 29, 6:30pm, $47.25-61.25, all ages

    • Enter to WIN FREE TICKETS to see Summer of ’99 at Tomorrow Theater!

    Welcome to the SUMMER OF ’99—a launching pad for today’s biggest filmmakers, a breakout year for indie film, and a cultural turning point that echoes today. Join us for the final weeks of celebrating this incredible year in film! Get your tickets now or enter to win a free pair!

    Tomorrow Theater, 3530 SE Division St, through August 31, times vary, $15, All Ages

    • Enter to WIN FREE TICKETS to see Gregory Alan Isakov on September 7 at McMenamins Edgefield Amphitheater!

    Gregory Alan Isakov returns to the Edgefield stage for one night only this September. Get your tickets now or enter to win a free pair!

    McMenamins Edgefield Amphitheater, 2126 SW Halsey St. Troutdale, OR, Sun September 7, 6:30 pm, $65.50, all ages

    • Enter to WIN FREE TICKETS to see Mac Sabbath on September 12 at Aladdin Theater!

    Mixing raucous comedy with borderline-horrific theatrics, Mac Sabbath delivers a multimedia stage show complete with a smoking grill, laser-eyed clowns, bouncing burgers and many more magical surprises! Don’t miss their riotous return to the Aladdin stage, as they celebrate their 11th Anniversary! Get your tickets now or enter to win a free pair!

    Aladdin Theater, 3017 SE Milwaukie, Fri September 12, 8 pm, $38.08, all ages

    • Enter to WIN FREE TICKETS to see The Psychedelic Furs on September 16 at Crystal Ballroom! 

    The Psychedelic Furs may not have invented rock & roll per se, but their influence since arriving on the post-punk scorched-earth landscape four decades ago has reverberated and resonated among all those who cherish the sweet-and-sour spot where rawness and romanticism meet. Get your tickets now, or enter to win a free pair here!

    Crystal Ballroom, 1332 W Burnside, Tues September 16, 8 pm, $83.02-$136.60, all ages

    • Enter to WIN FREE TICKETS to see Timothy Snyder on October 28 at Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall!

    Literary Arts is thrilled to present Timothy Snyder, bestselling author of On Tyranny. Literary Arts’ Executive Director Andrew Proctor will be in conversation with Snyder about his latest work, On Freedom, at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall. Get your tickets now or enter to win a free pair!

    Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, 1037 SW Broadway, Tues October 28, 8 pm, $30-$95, all ages

    GOOD LUCK! Winners will be notified on Monday, and check back next week for more FREE TIX from the Mercury!

    [ad_2]

    Mercury Promotions

    Source link

  • Average Rate On A 30-Year Mortgage Holds Steady At Lowest Level In Nearly 10 Months – KXL

    [ad_1]

    (Associated Press) – The average rate on a 30-year U.S. mortgage held steady this week at its lowest level in nearly 10 months, an encouraging sign for prospective homebuyers who have been held back by stubbornly high home financing costs.

    The long-term rate was unchanged from last week at 6.58%, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday.

    A year ago, the rate averaged 6.46%.

    Borrowing costs on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages declined, with the average rate now at 5.69%.

    Elevated mortgage rates have kept the U.S. housing market in a slump since early 2022, when rates began climbing from pandemic lows.

    More about:

    [ad_2]

    Grant McHill

    Source link

  • POP QUIZ PDX: The Beatles in Portland, the Blazers’ New Owner, and the Biggest Loser (Donald Trump)

    [ad_1]

    HEY THERE, SMARTY BUTT! It’s time once again to put your 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 on the Beatles in Portland, the Blazers’ potential new owner, and DONALD TRUMP (the blithering idiot who happens to be running the country right now, in case you didn’t know). 💩

    But first! How did you do on our last quiz? Oooooh, I love how your brain works! And I also liked your most popular choice for what should be Portland’s “official food”! (Though are you SURE you don’t want to change your vote to “pot brownie”?) 🤤

    Anywaaaaaay… READY TO START? 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!

    Create your own user feedback survey

    Did you enjoy that? Take our past Pop Quizzes HERE!

    [ad_2]

    Wm. Steven Humphrey

    Source link

  • Good Morning, News: Controversial County Employee Fired, the Texas/California Gerrymandering Wars, and MAGA Melts Down Over Cracker Barrel

    [ad_1]

    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!👋

    In weather-ville, it’s gonna be hot today (with the temps topping out at 89 degrees), but HOLY JEEEE-ZUS, it’s gonna be a blast furnace for the next couple of days as temperatures hit a predicted dangerous level of 101 tomorrow, 99 on Saturday, followed by 97 on Sunday! So prep your plan to keep cool now and keep an eye out for your neighbors. And now, watch out… because here comes a blast furnace of NEWS.

    IN LOCAL NEWS:

    • Today in “SPICY”: The Mercury reported yesterday that a communications manager who worked for Multnomah County Commissioner Julia Brim-Edwards was fired earlier this month. Vikki Payne, who was brought on as a staffer in the commissioner’s office when she won in 2023, was terminated for what Brim-Edwards’ chief of staff called “potential conflicts of interest,” 👀 as well as performance issues. While working for the county commissioner, Payne led the Future Portland PAC (yet another sad People for Portland wannabe 🙄), which was frequently critical of county leadership and progressive leaders—while also boosting Brim-Edwards’ policy proposals. (In other words, just the kind of pro-cop, pro-prosecutor political advocacy one might expect from a conservative group funded by rich people.) In May, critics pointed out that Payne appeared to be organizing and participating in a Future Portland press conference during working hours—but that’s just the start of Payne and Future Portland’s verrrrry problematic, eye-popping behavior. Check out Courtney Vaughn’s banger of a report for more dirt.

    A staffer for County Commissioner Julia Brim-Edwards simultaneously led the political action group Future Portland while managing communications for the commissioner. She was fired recently over concerns about potential conflicts of interest after organizing an event for the PAC during work hours.

    [image or embed]

    — Portland Mercury (@portlandmercury.com) August 20, 2025 at 4:53 PM

    • Speaking of rich people screwing up a good thing: Yesterday, citizens turned out in droves to support the voter-approved Preschool for All program, which provides universal preschool for 3- and 4-year-olds, and helps keep their parents out of poverty. Unfortunately the rollout has been a bit bumpy—as are most big, new, and inventive programs—leading local wealthy conservatives (here they come again) to already declare it a failure and torpedo it before allowing it an opportunity to be successful. (Shades of Measure 110, which these conservatives have also been proven wrong about, no?) Anyway, Commissioner Julia Brim-Edwards is proposing a “tax indexing” plan which supporters of Preschool for All say will kneecap the program before it’s even had a chance to get on its feet, and—here’s the important part—is designed to give a tax break to the whining rich crybabies who keep threatening to leave Portland (but sadly never do). The vote to decide the future for Preschool for All happens next Thursday.

    Bike. Two generators. Chair. Table. Bike, wheelchair. Walker. Crutches, cooler, baby stroller.

    These are a few of the items taken during recent sweeps of homeless encampments in Portland, according to the city’s latest data.

    [image or embed]

    — Jeremiah Hayden (@jeremiahhayden.bsky.social) August 20, 2025 at 5:26 PM

    • After royally blowing their opportunity to fund a transportation package earlier this summer, state Dems are hoping for a special session re-do next week to (hopefully) finally get the job done. Governor Tina Kotek is offering up her own tweaked version of the package, which would throw a tiny bone to environmentalists, a big, meaty bone to the historically belly-aching trucking industry, and would come in at roughly half the price of the original bill. If the legislature is still unable to pass a funding package, the state transportation department says they’ll be forced to enact layoffs and cut basic services. Want to dig into the deets? Check out this report from OPB.

    • The city’s funnest annual event (for my money), the Portland Adult Soapbox Derby, took place last weekend! Celebrating its 26th year of fun, the derby features hilarious and clever homemade art cars racing down the winding track at Mount Tabor—and photo essayist Corbin Smith was there to take pics and interview these creative drivers and garage engineers. These people are the Portlanders who truly make our city great, so give them their props!

    Fred Cole’s heavy-truckin’, boogie-ready, fret-shrieking band Zipper put out one self-titled album in 1975 and that’s it. If you haven’t heard it yet you’re in for a real treat: Throw it on in your bitchin’ Camaro, roll the windows down, and cruise the gut 😎

    [image or embed]

    — Portland Mercury (@portlandmercury.com) August 20, 2025 at 11:44 AM

    IN NATIONAL/WORLD NEWS:

    • True to their word, the corrupt Republicans of Texas have approved their redrawn congressional maps which will now award the GOP an additional five seats in their already overwhelmingly red state. And in response, today California is racing to pass their own tit-for-tat new congressional maps that would favor Democrats—who hilariously have been given the okay to proceed by a California Supreme Court judge after Republicans tried to stop them from doing exactly what they did.

    The adviser to Mayor Eric Adams blamed cultural differences for why she slipped a reporter cash hidden inside the bag of chips.

    [image or embed]

    — The Daily Beast (@thedailybeast.bsky.social) August 21, 2025 at 7:45 AM

    • Despite increasing pressure from the global community and their own citizens, Israel’s military is actually ramping up their genocide of the Palestinian people, carrying out massive overnight strikes in Gaza City as well as the cities of Khan Younisin and Deir al-Balah. Meanwhile, the surviving Palestinians are being forced to run for their lives—even though there’s nowhere to successfully escape—while trying not to starve to death.

    • Sooooo… what are the MAGAts melting down about today?

    They got rid of the cracker and the barrel

    [image or embed]

    — Kristi Yamaguccimane (@wapplehouse.bsky.social) August 20, 2025 at 2:08 PM

    • While agreeing that president/convicted felon Donald Trump definitely committed fraud against the people of New York, a state appeals court has voided the nearly $500 million verdict against him, claiming the fine was too “excessive” for the billionaire who continues to make himself richer through self-serving government contracts and payola schemes. 

    • Here’s some news to brighten up your day: James Dobson, founder of the extreme right conservative Christian group, Focus on the Family, is DEAD-DEAD-DEAD. 🎉 A staunch critic of abortion and the LGBTQ+ community, Dobson was partially responsible for the rise in anti-democratic Christian nationalism in America which laid the groundwork for Trump and the right’s push for a dictatorship. May Dobson spend eternity where he belongs (and we all know where that is). 🔥

    • And finally… meet the Mercury‘s News Drone™—coming to a city council meeting near you.

    @rossmandrone flying head drone mod 💀 #fpvdrone #drone #scary ♬ original sound – Rossman Drone

    [ad_2]

    Wm. Steven Humphrey

    Source link

  • Portland-area farm known for apple picking permanently closes

    [ad_1]

    PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Ahead of apple-picking season, a Portland-area farm has said farewell to guests for good.

    In a post shared on Sunday, the long-running Oregon Heritage Farms announced fall 2024 was its last in business. There is no singular reason behind the closure, according to owners.

    “For 28 years, from August through the second weekend in November, Oregon Heritage Farms has been fortunate enough to open our small apple stand in Scholls to share our love of farming, apples, and family,” the farm wrote on Instagram. “We loved seeing generations form fall traditions, watching kids enjoy a freshly baked apple cider donut, and hearing how much everyone loves apples.”

    The family-owned business is hosting a barn sale on Friday, Aug. 22 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Owners also urged customers to visit other local farms.

    Smith Berry Barn and Hoffman Farms are both a short commute away from the spot on 22801 SW Scholls Ferry Rd.

    Although fall has yet to commence, Smith Berry Barn is already offering some early-season apples. The business grows more than 20 types of apples during the peak of fall. Hoffman Farms’ fall season, which includes a pumpkin patch and corn maze, typically launches in mid-September.

    Gov. Tina Kotek recently paused a rulemaking process that some Oregon farmers claimed could hinder their ability to host events. The proposal would have clarified the difference between businesses that operate as farm stands and those that are part of the agritourism industry.

    The Department of Land Conservation and Development hasn’t yet announced when the pause will end.

    [ad_2]

    Jashayla Pettigrew

    Source link