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Good morning, Portland! Today is going to be hot and kinda muggy. It looks like rain and cooler temperatures are on the way next week, which I am quite enthused about. In the meantime…enjoy the waning days of summer.
IN LOCAL NEWS:
• Yesterday morning, it seemed like the Oregon Senate would take up the long-awaited transportation funding bill today, potentially allowing for a relatively hasty end to the special legislative session. But the Oregon Legislature doesn’t make things so easy. The lawmakers’ work is now on pause pending the return of Democrat Senator Chris Gorsek, who is apparently experiencing unanticipated health issues and is unable to make it to Salem to help pass the bill. Democratic senators need all the votes they can get to pass the controversial bill, so the work will have to wait. The Senate is now expected to take up the vote on September 17. (You can find out more about the transportation funding bill in this story, which has now been updated twice.)
• Visiting an Oregon state park? You might have to pay a little more than you’re used to. The Oregon Parks and Recreation Department will begin charging day-use parking fees and increasing camping/RV hook-up fees at some of the busiest state parks. The charges are meant to help fill a department budget deficit and help maintain Oregon’s beautiful outdoor spaces. The new, $10 parking fees will apply at 21 state parks, including a few beaches (like Beverly Beach and Bullards Beach), as well as Lewis and Clark State Recreation Site, Tryon Creek State Natural Area, and others. Camping fee increases will apply at 29 of the busiest state parks, resulting in charges of $29 a night for tent camping and $52 for RV hook-ups. Although it sucks that the world seems to constantly get more expensive, it’s worth coughing up a few extra bucks to keep our state parks in good shape. Plus, these fees are only being implemented at a fraction of Oregon’s hundreds of state parks. And, if you walk, bike, or take public transportation to the great outdoors (which I highly recommend), you’ll save on parking. (Those with valid Oregon State Parks parking permits also won’t have to pay the day-use parking fees.)
• The Lake Oswego City Council voted yesterday to reduce speed limits on all residential streets to 20 miles per hour, so slow down on your way to the (now) public lake! Oregon cities are permitted to slightly reduce speed limits on roadways within their jurisdiction thanks to a somewhat recent law passed by the Oregon Legislature. But so far, only a few cities (including Portland—as we all know, 20 is plenty) have taken up the program. When the City Council voted to approve the plan yesterday evening, many pointed out the real impact a 5 mph speed limit reduction can have on improving safety for all road users, and particularly those walking or biking. It’s a nice sign of progress in a Portland suburb not always known for its progressive actions.
• Cider fans, assemble. There’s a new cider house, Alchemy Cider, in Portland, and you should check it out. On tap? Strawberry hibiscus yuzu, blackberry lemon verbena, and tropical pineapple-passionfruit-key lime ciders, as well as more standard varieties. Autumn is for cider, hard or not, but let’s be honest, we kinda need the hard stuff these days. I look forward to sippin’ some Alchemy brews.
Alert! 🚨 There’s a new player in the local cider scene. Alchemy Cider has opened in the Buckman neighborhood, bringing a dark magic, metal-inspired aesthetic to the former Brewery 26 space. 🍻
www.portlandmercury.com/food-and-dri…— Portland Mercury (@portlandmercury.com) September 2, 2025 at 2:05 PM
IN NATIONAL/WORLD NEWS:
• The rumors of Donald Trump’s death have, apparently, been greatly exaggerated. The president made his first public appearance in a week yesterday, following several days containing fewer Trump sightings than usual, which prompted, ahem, speculation about his health. But it seems like he’s okay (relatively speaking). At a news conference yesterday afternoon, Trump characterized the online speculation as people asking if he was okay and how he’s feeling. That’s not how I would describe it, but either way, he said it was “fake news” and didn’t seem too amused by the chatter.
• The press conference wasn’t all about Trump’s health, though. He used the opportunity to announce that the US Space Command will have a long-term home in Alabama, moving away from its temporary HQ in Colorado. Alabama and Colorado both want the Space Command center, as it would apparently be helpful to their economies. As he is wont to do, Trump made his decision based solely on politics and getting one over on his perceived enemies, in this case being the blue state of Colorado. He also did it to spite Colorado specifically for its mail-in voting system, which Trump called “very corrupt.” (It’s not.)
• Most importantly was Trump’s announcement confirming his plans to move federal troops into Chicago and Baltimore, which he believes require the assistance of masses of intimidating, armed federal authorities to solve the city’s alleged crime problems. Trump didn’t say when he would send the National Guard into the cities. But he did acknowledge the fact that local leaders in these cities and states do not want them there. Their strong objections only seem to egg him on, because he has the emotional intelligence of a two-year-old. (Sorry to two-year-olds, who can actually be sweet and considerate.)
• In other news about our completely unhinged and destructive federal regime, the US military carried out a strike on a ship coming from Venezuela yesterday, killing 11 people. Trump said the boat was carrying illegal drugs (specifically cocaine), but it’s unclear how his administration knew that. Even if the boat was carrying drugs, the decision to blow up the vessel, killing those on board, was unusual and highly escalatory. Normally, law enforcement agents would apprehend the ship and its crew before its contents could enter the country. As The Stranger‘s Vivian McCall pointed out in her helpful Slog AM post yesterday, the US has “not presented any conclusive evidence that [Venezuelan President] Maduro is trafficking cocaine,” and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime doesn’t even list Venezuela as a notable supplier of cocaine. So, as usual, Trump’s impulses are wrong and carry serious consequences. Bro…we literally don’t need to be at war with Venezuela right now. There are, like, so many other things we could be doing.
• Irish TV writer Graham Linehan (who you may know better as one of the worst people on the internet) was arrested Monday by London police officers, allegedly because of tweets he’s posted threatening and encouraging violence against trans women. Linehan says five police officers intercepted him at Heathrow Airport and took him in for questioning over his violent posts, at which point his blood pressure became so high that he needed to go “to hospital,” as the Brits say. (The police confirmed Linehan’s basic story, but said his medical condition “is neither life-threatening nor life-changing,” which is one of the funniest takedowns I’ve ever heard.) Linehan, who has essentially dedicated his life to being a vile transphobe over the last few years, received an outpouring of support from conservative British politicians and fellow obsessive transphobe JK Rowling, who said the arrest was a sign of totalitarianism. (Elon Musk agreed with her.) The reason I think this is important is because people like Linehan and Rowling and Musk love to be in positions where they can play the victim, even as they are inciting violence against people who have less power than they do and are doing nothing to hurt them or anyone else. Don’t buy into it! They don’t deserve an inch.
• Timeline refresh: Watch people booing their Republican representatives.
The last week of the August recess brought jeers, laughs, and unanswered questions.
At town halls across the country, attendees booed and demanded answers as their GOP representatives tried to defend President Donald Trump’s agenda.
Read more about the rowdy town halls here: https://bit.ly/4n4kHbS
— Mother Jones (@motherjones.com) September 2, 2025 at 3:18 PM
• Here’s something that’s pissing me off: When I go onto Instagram to look for cute animal videos nowadays, most of them are FAKE!!! They look bad and emit rancid vibes (like all AI “art” and everything else created by those horrible robots). Luckily, the Oregon Zoo still posts videos of real animals, like this cute beaver munchin’ on some leaves. Thank you, Oregon Zoo.
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Taylor Griggs
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