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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!👋
Rain lovers, rejoice… after a dry morning, you can expect scattered showers later in the day, while temps will remain high-ish, around the 77 mark. So if you love muggy weather, this should also make you happy! (JK, nobody loves muggy weather.) Now, let’s learn to love some partly muggy NEWS.
IN LOCAL NEWS:
• Because he’s incapable of stopping the verbal diarrhea streaming from his mouth, last Friday President Trump—who is visibly rotting from the inside out—called our indisputably beautiful and fun city “a hell hole,” threatening to send troops into Portland to “wipe us out.” 🙄 I could go on, but since he’s also been threatening to do the same thing to so many other blue cities (Chicago, Boston, New Orleans, etc), he’ll most likely be buried under a pile of lawsuits before getting anywhere near us. Besides, Portland—which has hosted a Trump federal invasion before—is more than prepared for any embarrassing bullshit he might cook up, and the National Guard will probably just end up picking up garbage and doing landscaping. (My hedges need a trim, in case anyone is interested!)
• Our new town slogan should be “Keep our Hell Hole Weird.”
@pnw.bmill It’s like…. Living in Hell 🥴 #portland #portlandia ♬ original sound – The Oregonian
• The loooong road to passing a transportation bill got longer last week for Democrats, who now have to wait another 10 days for the recovery and return of another Dem in order to have enough votes for their largely unloved version to pass—all while the Republicans bitch and moan as the GOP always does. So while we wait, if you need to get caught up on what’s in this new, “compromise” of a bill, check out this smart breakdown from our Taylor Griggs in her newest edition of Street View!
The Oregon transportation funding bill is being slammed by Republicans as the height of liberal excess— even after Democrats whittled it down to a shell of its former self.
www.portlandmercury.com/street-view/…
— Taylor Griggs (@taylorgriggs.bsky.social) September 5, 2025 at 3:51 PM
• Portland State University recently shocked their Research and Graduate Studies employees (many of whom are remote workers) by ordering them all back to the office by this November instead of a year from now as they originally suggested. And too bad, so sad if those employees don’t have child care or live outside the area (as many do)! According to PSU prez Ann Cudd, the sudden switch is absolutely necessary for the university to achieve… *checks notes*…. “campus vibrancy.” 🤔 (And here I thought employee morale was the biggest contributor to vibrancy!) Kevin Foster has the story.
• Congratulations to the long-running, self-managed shelter for houseless people, Dignity Village, which celebrated its 25th anniversary yesterday! 🎉 While there was food, live music, and fun activities on hand for supporters, the party also doubled as a fundraiser to keep the successful example of how to run a shelter going strong for another 25 years… or whenever houselessness in Portland is eradicated, whichever comes first. Funding for staff members and essential services has been cut by Multnomah County, who also discontinued bus passes, laundry services, and hygiene supplies. You can help to keep Dignity Village going by donating here.
Second Run Portland scoured the city’s screening calendars again—this month, things get weird, watery, and mind-bendy with Gakuryū Ishii’s moody August in the Water and Nobuhiko Obayashi’s surrealist films (no, *not* House). Plus, Hungarian psychedelia hits the screen. Expand your consciousness.
— Portland Mercury (@portlandmercury.com) September 5, 2025 at 3:19 PM
IN NATIONAL/WORLD NEWS:
• When he wasn’t threatening Portland (and other blue cities), King Fool was busy this weekend asking the Supreme Court to allow his administration to withhold $4 billion of spending on foreign aid—that was already approved by Congress. Trump turned to his mostly hand-picked Supremes after a federal judge ruled last week that he has to spend the money that Congress approved, and in the way they approved it. If the Supremes agree, it could set the precedent where Trump (or any future sitting president) is able to overrule the wishes of Congress, which is called… what… a monarchy? An authoritarian government? A dictatorship? You make the call.
Appeals court upholds $88M verdict against Trump as it rejects immunity claim
— Raw Story (@rawstory.com) September 8, 2025 at 7:46 AM
• South Korea’s foreign minister is arriving in the US today to secure the release and make travel arrangements for the hundreds of South Koreans who had been kidnapped and detained by ICE agents at a Hyundai plant in Georgia. To the surprise of no one, our South Korean (probably former) allies were furious about their people being handcuffed and shackled by ICE, leading one lawmaker to rightly ask “If U.S. authorities detain hundreds of Koreans in this manner, almost like a military operation, how can South Korean companies investing in the U.S. continue to invest properly in the future?” HOW INDEED.
• Lots of paying fans missed seeing their fave tennis stars play in the US Open yesterday thanks to King Fool’s arrival at the court, which resulted in a delay of the game, tons of empty seats, and lots of BOOOOOOOOs directed at the president. (Is it any wonder that he has a terrible 57 percent disapproval rating according to the latest polls?)
Breaking News: Rick Davies, the lead singer of the British rock band Supertramp, died at 81. He wrote hits like “Goodbye Stranger.”
— The New York Times (@nytimes.com) September 8, 2025 at 6:46 AM
• Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande were the big winners at last night’s Video Music Awards, with Gaga taking home four trophies (including “Artist of the Year”) while Grande won “Best Video” for “Brighter Days Ahead.” Sabrina Carpenter took home the prize for “Best Pop Artist,” while Doechii won “Best Hip-Hop” song for her banger, “Anxiety.”
• And finally… while some may say it’s “TOO SOON”… is it really too soon to watch supercuts of kids getting the crap scared out of them at Spirit Halloween? 👻
@winford.pethouse Funny Spirit Halloween #spirithalloween #halloween #scareprank #scard #sceream ♬ original sound – Winford Pethouse
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Wm. Steven Humphrey
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