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Good morning, Portland! And a very happy new year to you all. It’s going to be chilly and wet today. Snow levels are set to dip later this week, meaning we could see some flakes at lower elevations. Probably not in Portland, though. But who knows??
Let’s get to the news.
IN LOCAL NEWS:
• Facing a $300 million budget gap, Portland transit service TriMet just announced another round of service cuts coming in August. TriMet already made smaller cuts to transit service in November, but the agency’s budget deficit is significant and growing, without any new money coming in from the state for the foreseeable future. The agency is asking riders to weigh in on proposed cuts, with options including slashing MAX Green Line service (except between Gateway Transit Center and the Clackamas Town Center), eliminating bus lines, and/or reducing frequency on high-ridership lines, including the 72 (Killingsworth/82nd Ave) bus—Portland’s most-used bus line. The cuts will make life harder for everyone who relies on public transit to get around. You can weigh in on TriMet’s proposals before January 31.
Portland: In the absence of leadership on the transit funding crisis, @trimet.org now proposes VERY serious service cuts, with possibly more to come. These are a mixture of some restructuring ideas from our previous work, and some bad losses of frequency. 1/n
— Jarrett Walker (@humantransit.bsky.social) January 5, 2026 at 1:53 PM
• Four members of an eastern Oregonian family were killed in an Arizona helicopter crash late last week. The crash came after their aircraft collided with a tightrope strung high across the Arizona mountains, sending the helicopter down 600 feet. While the tightrope presented an admittedly unusual situation (and it’s unclear exactly why it was there), it was one that shouldn’t have come as a surprise to the pilot, as federal aviation authorities had warned helicopter operators about the potential obstacle. Clearly, something was lost in translation. The pilot was 59-year-old David McCarty, who was killed in the crash along with his three nieces, Rachel McCarty, 23, Faith McCarty, 21, and Katelyn Heideman, 21. David McCarty owned a helicopter company based in La Grande. The National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the tragic incident, as their loved ones grieve a devastating loss.
• Leaf blowers are officially banned in Portland—well, gas powered ones at least. And there are some caveats. The ban went into place on January 1 after being approved by Portland’s City Council almost two years ago. For the first two years of the ban, gas-powered leaf blowers will be banned only between January and September, AKA the months of the year when nobody really needs to use leaf blowers. Starting January 1, 2028, their use will be banned year-round. The city will determine violations using a complaint-based system, and consequences will be levied at property owners, not landscaping crews. Despite their size, gas-powered leaf-blowers emit a sizable amount of pollution, so the ban is a good first step in the right direction. Next step? Stop blowing leaves into bike lanes. (Even if you’re doing it with an electric leaf-blower.)
• The Portland Trail Blazers are on a winning streak! (I am literally knocking on wood as I type this.) Last night, the Blazers won pretty big against the Utah Jazz, finishing the fourth quarter with 137 points (to the Jazz’s 117). They’ll play three more home games this week, so catch ’em if you can! Deni Avdija is clearly the Blazers’ MVP at the moment, with so many of his teammates out on the bench with injuries. But the whole team has been playing entertaining—if not always “good”—basketball this season. If you’re not already a fan, BECOME ONE! 2026 is Portland’s basketball year.
NBA Players of the Week for Week 11.
West: Deni Avdija (Trail Blazers)
East: Tyrese Maxey (76ers)— NBA (@nba.com) January 5, 2026 at 12:30 PM
IN NATIONAL/WORLD NEWS:
• It’s the fifth anniversary of the January 6 insurrection—boy, time really flies when you’re having fun! Luckily, we’ve moved past all that after dealing with the criminals who tried to overthrow the US government on that famous January day in 2021. Oops, I guess I got momentarily trapped in the alternate reality I sometimes visit to keep myself from going insane! Ha-ha-ha! In our timeline, the insurrectionists are back in office, and have done everything possible to erase the harms of that day from public memory—including, it seems, by hiding a plaque dedicated to law enforcement who defended the Capitol on January 6. More than 140 law enforcement officers were wounded that day, and some died, including several who died by suicide following the events of the day. A Trump supporter was also shot and killed while participating in the insurrection. Let’s not let January 6 get memory-holed, despite all the other craziness that has ensued in the years following, and all that is yet to come.
Meet the operatives who profited from January 6
— Mother Jones (@motherjones.com) January 6, 2026 at 6:00 AM
• US health officials, under the horrible and misguided leadership of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., have decided to reduce the number of recommended vaccines for children, restricting access to rotavirus, hepatitis A and B, meningitis and seasonal flu vaccines. The decision comes amid a record-breaking flu season that has already killed thousands, including a handful of children. The new guidelines are not scientifically sound and shouldn’t be taken seriously, but will likely lead to far too many unnecessary deaths. On a related note: It really is staggering to think about how much rebuilding we’re going to have to do after these people are kicked out of office.
What in the Gestapo is going on in Grand Rapids?
Watch this activist get arrested *mid-interview* for speaking out against U.S. action in Venezuela.
— Brandon Friedman (@brandonfriedman.bsky.social) January 5, 2026 at 8:12 AM
• Hmm…someone won $400,000 on Polymarket by predicting the exact date that Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro would be captured, hours before Trump even ordered the operation. The Polymarket user in question hasn’t been identified, but the account popped up just a few weeks ago, and the whole thing is shady. However, as sick as these online betting schemes are, it’s nothing compared to the cronyism taking place within the Trump administration. This whole coup is a flagrant attempt to line the pockets of US oil companies, continuing the toxic American tradition of treating the Global South as pawns in our game of Monopoly. (My metaphors are getting a little mixed here, but you get what I mean.) Potential insider trading on Polymarket? Very bad. Also very bad? Exploiting Latin American countries for their resources so the oil industry can burn us all to death faster and make a few more bucks in the process.
Nicolás Maduro Charged With Felony Oil Possession
— The Onion (@theonion.com) January 5, 2026 at 11:00 AM
• The Pentagon, under Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s leadership, will “review” the “effectiveness” of women soldiers in ground combat. The decision comes after months of insanity (and discrimination) at the “Department of War,” with the deranged Hegseth making it clear that his ideal soldiers are cis, straight men with 0% body fat who live and breathe nothing but WAR! In my opinion, nobody should be conducting “lethal ground operations” on behalf of the US. We don’t need more female drone operators, or whatever. But this “review” of female soldiers isn’t happening in a vacuum—the whole Trump administration is doing its best to send us back to the dark ages. So, not good!
GOP lawmaker Doug LaMalfa dies at 65
— Phil Lewis (@phillewis.bsky.social) January 6, 2026 at 6:43 AM
• Finally, here’s your regularly scheduled reminder that the Monterey Bay Aquarium runs a jellyfish live feed. Let the Jelly Cam sooth you. And have a wonderful Tuesday!
Taylor Griggs
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