In this Clever episode, Lisa Donohoe and Brynn Gelbard discuss how Londubh Studio's bold maximalist surface art transforms unique interiors.

Set in the hills of Echo Park, a bungalow, designed by OWIU, is a serene yet versatile space that integrates natural beauty with modern living.

Step inside Marianna Tomlenovich’s dream home, where Italian influences and modern design combine to create a grand yet calming retreat.

Maison Perron redefines the studio's ethos by transforming a historic Quebec building into a vibrant space that celebrates Perron’s blend of artistry and functionality.

In Narrative Arc: Volume II, MOUS crafts a collection that merges ancient architectural influences with celestial inspiration in new, unexpected ways.

First Reported: Wednesday, 13 Nov 2024 23:28:00
Status: GOING
Region: 1

Nourishing Heart Yoga Studio
582 E Hillside Drive in Bloomington, Indiana
Saturday, December 14, 2024, 7 – 8:30pm

Do you have a fear of singing or find singing to be intimidating? Here’s one for you: Join us Saturday, December 14, 7-8:30 PM at Nourishing Heart in Bloomington for an illuminating evening of 'Yoga of the Voice.’ Immerse yourself in a transformative experience blending deep relaxation and meditative-style singing to reduce your anxiety. If you're interested in sound healing or the expressive arts, you’ll love this! Bring a yoga mat and dress comfortably. Drop-ins welcome!

Presenter: Stephanie Heidemann
Contact: Stephanie Heidemann
Cost: $22
Ticket Web Link: nourishingheartyoga.com…
Communities: Bedford, Bloomington, Brown County, Columbus, Franklin, French Lick/West Baden, Greencastle, Greene County, Greensburg, Greenwood, Indianapolis, Kokomo, Martinsville, Seymour, Spencer, Statewide, Terre Haute
More info: nourishingheartyoga.com…

Auer Hall, Simon Music Center
Thursday, December 5, 2024, 8 – 10pm

Repertoire
Mason Bates: The Rise of Exotic Computing (2013)
Corey Chang: What’s Next? (2024, premiere)*
Sean Shepherd: Simple Machines (2024)

*New Music Ensemble Commission

More info: events.iu.edu…

Musical Arts Center
Thursday, December 5, 2024, 7:30 – 9:30pm

Premiering just last year, Jacobs faculty choreographer Sasha Janes’ updated, stereotype- shattering version of this most popular ballet tells the story from the perspective of curious young Marie.

With the help of her Aunt Drosselmeyer, Marie learns to unleash the power of her imagination to take the audience with her on a wild adventure.

This fresh take on a fantastical story still features the incomparable score by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.

“It was hands down the most magical version of The Nutcracker I have ever seen.” – Pointe Magazine 2023 Readers’ Choice

Cost: $25-$45
Ticket Web Link: operaballet.indiana.edu…
More info: operaballet.indiana.edu…

Gayle Karch Cook Center Grand Hall, Maxwell Hall
Thursday, December 5, 2024, 7:30 – 9pm

More info: events.iu.edu…

Ford-Crawford Hall, Simon Music Center
Wednesday, December 4, 2024, 5 – 6:30pm

More info: events.iu.edu…

Boeing Avenue 2 Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, 1119 PB Schiphol-Rijk, Netherlands
Wednesday, November 27, 2024, 9am – 5pm

Analytical Techniques 2024's Organizing Committee invites all participants to attend 14th World Congress on Analytical and Bioanalytical Techniques (Analytical Techniques 2024) is scheduled during November 27-28, 2024 at Amsterdam, Netherlands. This Analytical techniques 2024 is based on the theme Challenges and Future Directions in Analytical Bioanalytical Techniques High-profile keynote speakers from around the globe, several concurrent oral and poster presentations, a forum for young researchers, and delegates to exchange ideas and discuss mass spectrometry and analytical techniques are all proud to be a part of Analytical Techniques 2024.

The Analytical Techniques 2024 is focused on sessions covering nearly all mass spectrometry and analytical techniques ones such as mass spectrometry, applications of mass spectrometry, new approaches in mass spectrometry, mass spectrometry imaging, principles of mass spectrometry, mass spectrometry in proteomics, fragmentation in mass spectrometry, separation techniques, ionization techniques, analytical techniques, Chromatography, applications of chromatography, techniques of chromatography, hyphenated techniques, electrophoresis, analytical chemistry & instrumentation, analytical techniques in pharmacology, Pharmaceutical analysis, chemometrics and chemical analysis, thermal and surface analysis, mass spectrometry in environmental analysis, nuclear magnetic resonance(NMR) spectroscopy.

Presenter: Conference Series
Contact: Aimee Berry
Age Range: All Ages
Cost: $499
Ticket Phone: 2045861247
Ticket Web Link: analyticaltechniques.annualcongress.com…
Communities: Martinsville

Nourishing Heart Yoga Studio
582 E Hillside Drive in Bloomington, Indiana
Saturday, November 23, 2024, 7 – 8:30pm

Do you have a fear of singing or find singing to be intimidating? Here’s one for you: Join us Saturday, November 23, 7-8:30 PM at Nourishing Heart in Bloomington for an illuminating evening of 'Yoga of the Voice.’ Immerse yourself in a transformative experience blending deep relaxation and meditative-style singing to reduce your anxiety. If you're interested in sound healing or the expressive arts, you’ll love this! Bring a yoga mat and dress comfortably. Drop-ins welcome!

Presenter: Stephanie Heidemann
Contact: Stephanie Heidemann
Cost: $22
Ticket Web Link: nourishingheartyoga.com…
Communities: Bedford, Bloomington, Brown County, Columbus, Franklin, French Lick/West Baden, Greencastle, Greene County, Greensburg, Greenwood, Indianapolis, Kokomo, Martinsville, Seymour, Spencer, Statewide, Terre Haute
More info: nourishingheartyoga.com…

Buskirk-Chumley Theater
Sunday, November 17, 2024, 3 – 5pm

Join these five fabulous friends as they embark on a journey through their past, savor the present, and peer into the future on a night out that's wild, hilarious, and utterly unforgettable. You'll discover a piece of yourself in each of their stories!

Critics have hailed it as “Desperate Housewives meets Mamma Mia” (Applause Magazine), “A boisterous, bust-out, bawdy musical revue” (Wisconsin State Journal), “An intoxicating, pulse-pounding experience" (Hollywood Reporter), and “As funny and outrageous as Sex and the City!” (The Advocate).

GIRLS NIGHT is an explosion of energy and a treasure trove of chart-toppers like “Lady Marmalade,” “It’s Raining Men,” “Man I Feel Like A Woman,” “I Will Survive,” “We are Family,” and many more. Prepare to be blown away!

Presenter: Entertainment Events
Contact: BCT Box Office, boxoffice@buskirkchumley.org
Cost: $49 - $69
Ticket Phone: 812-323-3020
Ticket Web Link: buskirkchumley.org…
Communities: Bloomington

Bloomington Yoga Collective
116 W. 6th Street, Suite 110,
Bloomington, Indiana 47404
Saturday, November 16, 2024, 12:30 – 2pm

Do you have a fear of singing or find singing to be intimidating? Here’s one for you: Join us Saturday, November 16, 12:30-2PM at Bloomington Yoga Collective for an illuminating experience of 'Yoga of the Voice.’ Immerse yourself in a transformative experience blending deep relaxation and meditative-style singing to reduce your anxiety. If you're interested in sound healing or the expressive arts, you’ll love this! Bring a yoga mat and dress comfortably. Drop-ins welcome!

Presenter: Stephanie Heidemann
Contact: Stephanie Heidemann
Cost: $22
Ticket Web Link: www.bloomingtonyogaco.com…
Communities: Bedford, Bloomington, Brown County, Columbus, Franklin, French Lick/West Baden, Greencastle, Greene County, Greensburg, Greenwood, Indianapolis, Kokomo, Martinsville, Seymour, Spencer, Statewide, Terre Haute
More info: www.bloomingtonyogaco.com…

Waldron Firebay Theatre
Thursday, November 14, 7pm – Sunday, November 24, 2024, 2pm

Hello! I believe I submitted an event previously for this production. The dates have been changed. The new dates are November 14th-24th. Please reach out to me if you do not have a previous submission for Closer by Patrick Marber presented by Eclipse Productions Company on the calendar, or if you have any questions. Thank you!

Presenter: Eclipse Productions Company
Contact: Konnor Graber
Written By: Patrick Marber
Directed By: Kate Weber
Cast: Konnor Graber, Jeremy Weber, Patricia Francis, Shayna Survil
Ticket Web Link: www.eclipseproductionscompany.com…

Waldron Firebay
Thursday, November 14, 7pm – Sunday, November 24, 2024, 7pm

Eclipse Productions presents their 4th show! Closer is an intimate story following 4 individuals seeking love and meaning in the world and each other. A romantic comedy that does not go according to plan.

Presenter: Eclipse Productions Company
Contact: Shayna Survil
Written By: Patrick Marber
Directed By: Kate Weber
Cast: Patricia Francis, Konnor Graber, Jeremy Weber, Shayna Survil
Ticket Web Link: www.eclipseproductionscompany.com…
More info: www.eclipseproductionscompany.com

Juniper Art Gallery
615 W. Kirkwood Ave
Bloomington, IN 47404
Wednesday, November 13, 2024, 4:30 – 6pm

Juniper Art Gallery is thrilled to welcome back multi-instrumentalist, and singer/songwriter Pat Otto to our Janiece Jaffe Legacy Stage for November's 2nd Wednesday Acoustic Afternoon on Nov 13th from 4:30-6:00pm. Pat will play both covers and originals on guitar and mandolin. His shows are always entertaining and enjoyable, and we have food & beverage available through our cafe. Come out for a wonderful afternoon of music and art, and some new arrivals in the shop!

Presenter: Juniper Art Gallery
Contact: art@juniperartgallery.com
Cost: free
More info: juniperartgallery.com…

Bloomington HS North Auditorium
Monday, November 11, 2024, 7 – 8:10pm

Conductor Stephen Pratt leads the 65-member Southern Wind Ensemble through its Fall Concert, "With Heart and Voice." The program includes a variety of challenging wind band pieces with a focus on both traditional favorites and recent additions to the repertoire.

Presenter: Southern Indiana Wind Ensemble
Cost: Free Admission - Donations Accepted
Communities: Bedford, Bloomington, Brown County, Columbus, Franklin, French Lick/West Baden, Greencastle, Greene County, Greensburg, Greenwood, Indianapolis, Kokomo, Martinsville, Seymour, Spencer, Statewide, Terre Haute

Ford-Crawford Hall, Simon Music Center
Monday, November 11, 2024, 5 – 6pm

More info: events.iu.edu…

Auer Hall, Simon Music Center
Sunday, November 10, 2024, 4 – 6pm

An Afternoon Salon

More info: events.iu.edu…

Recital Hall, Merrill Hall
Sunday, November 10, 2024, 3 – 4:30pm

More info: events.iu.edu…

Ford-Crawford Hall, Simon Music Center
Sunday, November 10, 2024, 3 – 4pm

More info: events.iu.edu…

Plus, Nils Frahm and More Event Updates for October 31 by EverOut Staff

It’s Halloween! Treat yourself to tickets to see Tyler, The Creator on his Chromakopia tour. Country pop princess Kelsea Ballerini has also announced a stop at Moda Center next spring. Plus, Berlin-based pianist, composer, and producer Nils Frahm will set up his elaborate vintage gear at the Schnitz. Read on for details on those and other newly announced events, plus some news you can use.

ON SALE FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 1

MUSIC

Amyl and The Sniffers: Cartoon Darkness Tour
Crystal Ballroom (Mar 25, 2025)

Ashe: The Trilogy Tour
Revolution Hall (June 17, 2025)

Daily Bread – Flash Flood Tour
Wonder Ballroom (Mar 22, 2025)

Worried? Try putting your head deep into this garbage gossip can for a few minutes. by Elinor Jones

Hello, and welcome back to the Trash Report! Like many people with mental illness, my home is a reflection of what is happening with the ol' brain—when depression is in the driver's seat, my house gets messy; when anxiety is calling the shots, the palace is pristine. And friends, being ONE DAY away from yet ANOTHER "most crucial presidential election of our time," I am literally out of things to organize! There is no more dust. I'm ironing? Your girl is not okay. I love this column for an excuse to look at something besides another very frightening poll, so let's get to the trash!

Make it Stop

As this election plummets to its final resting place, Kamala Harris has collected endorsements from such luminaries as Cardi B, Bad Bunny, Eminem, Jennifer Lopez, Harrison Ford, and most of the Avengers.

I do believe that, despite this, she will win https://t.co/cOU7ZeWAKa

— Chase Mitchell (@ChaseMit) November 3, 2024

The most recent celebrity to come out for Trump was none other than the the famously antisemitic Mel Gibson, who shared his support only after Trump's Nazi rally at Madison Square Garden, which goes to prove just how much of a Nazi rally that definitely was.  

Feud Reports

On a recent episode of his podcast, Ted Danson apologized to Kelsey Grammer for carrying a grudge since they worked together on Cheers. Grammer graciously accepted the apology. But I am not graciously receiving this "gossip." What happened?! What was the argument about? Why do this on a podcast without giving us the tea? This is the same kind of bullshit "this is not who we are" 2016-era dignity that no longer is the vibe. We're petty now! Tell us who was mean! Danson went on to say "I feel like I missed out on the last 30 years of Kelsey Grammer." What celebrity planet was Ted Danson living on because I feel like the rest of us have seen far too much Kelsey Grammer in the past 30 years. Streaming services were basically invented to avoid reruns of Frasier. 

In much more interesting feuds, Martha Stewart alluded to one between her and fellow kitchen and lifestyle guru Ina Garten. Garten had claimed in her recent memoir that the women drifted apart after one of them moved to Connecticut. Stewart agrees that the rift had to do with a move, but it was Stewart moving into a federal prison. I would imagine it could feel complicated to be a public figure being friends with a felon, but I can guarantee that if one of my friends went to jail for a non-violent crime I wouldn't stop talking to them! I'd probably talk way too much to them, in fact. I just have so many questions. If Martha Stewart and I had been friends who fell out and she later reflected on it, she would be like "Elinor was there for me when I was in jail, but she was too there for me, and wouldn't leave me alone, and I was sick of talking about prison toilet wine, so that's when our feud started."

Targeted Anecdotes

The long-awaited sequel to The Gladiator is coming out soon and I could not have less interest in going to see it! That is, until Pedro Pascal revealed that he and Paul Mescal kissed in one take of a fight scene, and that might be the take they used in the movie, and I guess I'm going to go see Gladiator 2 now. Have the Wicked PR folks considered floating a rumor that Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande kiss instead of hawking a green and pink version of every product on God's green earth? (And is there a pink earth? There probably will be soon!) 

At this point is there a category of merchandise that doesn’t have a Wicked tie-in? I’m half expecting my gynecologist to ask whether I want a pink or green speculum.

— Anika Chapin (@AnikaChapin) October 31, 2024

Love is Dead

Channing Tatum and Zoe Kravitz have allegedly called off their engagement after three years together, and just days after Tatum finally ended his years-long divorce saga with ex Jenna Dewan. This makes me think that Zoe Kravitz for sure never thought that Tatum's divorce would ever be finalized when she said yes to that ring. Tatum has been spotted around New York City smoking cigarettes, but holding them in a way that makes me think he hasn't smoked before; starting smoking at 44 is hilarious, but also very hot and chic!

In other rebound choices, Gisele Bunchen revealed that she is pregnant with her third child, which will be her first since getting divorced from Tom Brady, and the first with her boyfriend, who is also her longtime Jiu-Jitsu instructor. Tom Brady is reacting to it like any normal 30-year-old woman and posting Fleetwood Mac lyrics to his Instagram which is the most I've ever liked him. 

On Loss in the Modern Era

Helen Mirren recently waxed poetically about tragic losses of beloved icons, specifically Kurt Cobain, and specifically that Kurt Cobain's early demise in the 90s meant that he never got to experience the magic that is a GPS system. Iconic music producer Quincy Jones passed away just yesterday. He would have seen GPS. Does Helen Mirren not think this is as sad of a loss, because at least he died with the immense satisfaction of having watched a little dot that represented his car being driven towards a destination, thus making it a full and worthwhile life? Helen Mirren has yet to comment. 

Trash Pandas In the News

A Sam's Club in Maryland had to shut down last week due to a racoon breaking into their bakery. A statement from the store read "after attempts to locate the raccoon were unsuccessful, Sam's Club representatives were advised best practices to properly capture the animal." Which means that during the initial attempts to capture the animal, they had no idea what the best practices were, and it must have been so funny. Imagine that raccoon's surprise to learn that there is a way to eat croissants, pre-trash? Going back to garbage pastries after that has got to be a bummer. Anyway, as the kids say, "in da clerb we all fam," but the clerb is a Sam's Club. Sam's Clerb, as it were.

Okay, I just realized there's a bookshelf in my office that I haven't yet reorganized and if I don't do that right now it will make it so college-educated women in Michigan won't turn out in numbers, which makes a lot of sense when you think about it. I hope you get through the next few days okay. If you process stress by being around people, the Mercury is going to hold an election night party hosted by the more extroverted of us. Meanwhile, we indoor kids will be live-blogging as the night goes on, so check back here if that's something you can handle. Thank you for reading and for voting and for being cherished members of the dumpster pile. 

Nervously,

by Courtney Vaughn

The Mercury provides news and fun every single day—but your help is essential. 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 and happy election day, Portland! Obviously, drop off that ballot if you haven't yet. If you need a replacement, the county elections office can help you. If you're not sure who to vote for, here's our handy dandy election guide, which even includes a cheat sheet for you to refer to when filling out your ballot. If you’re monitoring results, let us keep you company on our live election night blog, and if you need to commiserate with others, or share a joke and a drink to ease the stress, join us in person at Mississippi Studios tonight for our free election night party!

In Local News: 

• Speaking of the election, voter turnout so far in Multnomah County is a little low. The number of ballots returned by Monday hovered below 46 percent. In the last presidential election, more than 73 percent of Multnomah County ballots were returned the day before the election. Some have speculated that Portland’s new ranked choice voting system and the sheer number of City Council candidates is slowing voters down, or dissuading them from filling out their ballot. BUT, people were a lot less busy in 2020, and if RCV is the culprit, why is Clackamas County–which isn’t using ranked voting– also seeing just 50 percent turnout by Monday? Similarly, Washington County’s elections office reports only 47 percent of ballots were returned by Monday. Maybe voters procrastinated, or maybe they’re just waiting to drop off their ballots in broad daylight, when there’s less likelihood of a ballot box getting blown up by some nut job. 

Turnout in Multnomah County as of November 4, 1 days before the election.

Current: 46% of accepted ballots (50% with returned ballots)
2020: 73%
2004-2020 average: 65%
2004-2016 average: 63% pic.twitter.com/xVyPxKjebo

— John Horvick (@horvick) November 5, 2024

 

• In other local election news, a few buildings downtown have boarded up their windows in preparation for potential election night protests. Portland police have been hyping up the potential for election-related violence for months now, creating a bit of hysteria that’s got some major companies spooked. At least one online flier inviting anarchist protest has circulated, but it’s unrelated to any particular candidate or party and more directed at general disdain for the state of the country.

Both local and national law enforcement teams are on standby in Portland ahead of Election Day, but many businesses are taking matters into their own hands… boarding up their windows and doors. @fox12oregon pic.twitter.com/0kmbAWAIvb

— Mckenzie Richmond (@kenziestuvland) November 4, 2024

• Portland City Council seems primed to overturn the city’s agreement with Multnomah County on managing homelessness. As we reported a few weeks ago, City Commissioners Rene Gonzalez, Mingus Mapps and Dan Ryan have all signaled support for dissolving the intergovernmental agreement that lays out which functions each government agency handles, in an effort to collaborate and tag-team the region’s most critical issue. The three stooges allege Multnomah County hasn’t kept up its end of the bargain, and they’ve got professional shit stirrer and County Commissioner Sharon Meieran egging them on. This week, Portland City Council will vote on whether to end the agreement. Jessica Vega Pederson, chair of the county’s Board of Commissioners, has called out the plan to kill the agreement as short-sighted, misinformed, chickenshit, and harmful to unhoused Portlanders who need a bevy of resources and services.

Regional executive leaders are united supporting a collaborative approach to addressing homelessness, and pushing back on this political stunt that includes no plan.

“The three commissioners did not provide any alternative plan”https://t.co/KFIkThGrNo

— Jessica Vega Pederson (@jvegapederson) October 18, 2024

• Here’s a bright spot: Portland’s own Rose City Rollers took home a fifth world championship title over the weekend. The league’s all-star roller derby team, Wheels of Justice, overtook St. Louis’ Arch Rival Roller Derby in the final game of a three-day tournament at the Veterans Memorial Coliseum. Due to the international repercussions of the pandemic, this year’s Women’s Flat Track Derby Association Global Championships were the first since 2019. Keep your eyes peeled for more of our coverage. Rose City Rollers all-star team Wheels of Justice celebrates after a championship 
  win Sunday, Nov. 3.  courtney vaughn Gov. Tina Kotek (center) rallies the crowd Saturday, Nov. 2 at the 2024 Women's Flat
  Track Derby Association Global Championships. To the left, Kim "Rocket Mean" Stegeman (left) holds the championship Hydra trophy.   courtney vaughn

In National/World News:

• Attorneys for Elon Musk basically admitted that Musk’s election lottery scheme was more of a plot to boost the Republican party. When faced with charges of running an illegal election lottery, where he promised to pick a daily winner at random for a $1 million prize in an effort to get people registered to vote, attorneys said Musk never intended to use a lottery system to choose a winner. He instead planned to vet and select the right person to essentially be a cheerleader for Trump and the Republican party. Huh. Money can buy rocket ships and high-dollar attorneys, but it can’t buy intellect.

@lizzza

I’ll be with B

♬ original sound - Liza Koshy

• Quincy Jones, the musician and producer behind Michael Jackson’s Thriller who also worked with Frank Sinatra and was awarded 27 Grammys during his lifetime, died at 91. Jones died at home with family in Los Angeles. He was set to receive an honorary Academy Award later this month.

RIP to Quincy Jones. Do yourselves a solid and watch the documentary “Quincy” by his daughter, Rashida Jones. https://t.co/6nIE8VzPoz https://t.co/lOzgNCmFyZ

— GullahMuseumSC (@GullahSc) November 4, 2024

• Your black plastic spatula is slowly poisoning you. Recent reporting in The Atlantic reveals that many black plastic kitchen utensils are likely being made from recycled electronic waste, and leaching toxic chemicals into your food. The discovery was noted by a biochemist in 2018, who asserted that the high amount of flame retardants in black plastic products like spatulas signals the items were probably manufactured with recycled electronic parts used in computers and TVs. Because plastic is prone to leaching chemicals when it’s heated, researchers theorize it’s likely that black plastic cookware is releasing harmful compounds into cooking oil and hot foods. Might also be time to rethink all the plastic carryout containers used to store and reheat hot foods. ☣️????

• One last bit of election-related news, promise! ICYMI: Donald Trump pretended to blow a microphone during a campaign stop last week. Trump was pissed about the mic malfunctioning and his instinct was to mime a raunchy, suggestive movement with his hand and mouth. Keep this man away from children (and the White House). Hawk tuah!

@sbsnews_au

Donald Trump motions over an empty microphone stand after battling technical issues at a campaign rally.

♬ original sound - SBS News

Get your advice lickety-split with the latest edition of Savage Love quickies! by Dan Savage 1. This debate is raging again, Dan, and we need you to issue a ruling: Do straight women belong in gay bars? Some (straight women, gay bars), not all (straight women, gay bars). 2. Why do men keep ghosting me after sex? I’m a 25-year-old woman. No clue. You could’ve had a string of bad luck — and fucked a dozen (or more) shitty guys in a row — or it could be something you’re doing wrong. Even if you don’t think you’re doing anything wrong, once you’ve noticed a pattern of behavior and/or results that makes you unhappy, it’s a good idea to make some changes. Try meeting different kinds of guys in different kinds of ways, try slowing your roll/hole, etc., and take time along the way to engage in constructive introspection and make further changes/course corrections, as needed. 3. How do I stop people from falling in…

[ Read more ]

by Wm. Steven Humphrey

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 Reverend Horton Heat on February 27 at Crystal Ballroom!

Seeing REVEREND HORTON HEAT live is a transformative experience. Flames come off the guitars. Heat singes your skin. There’s nothing like the primal tribal rock & roll transfiguration of a Reverend Horton Heat show. Get your tickets now, or enter to win here!

Crystal Ballroom, 1332 W Burnside, Thurs Feb 27, 8 pm, $35-$50, all ages

• Enter to WIN FREE TICKETS to see Des Demonas on November 17 at Polaris Hall!

A favorite of Henry Rollins and Iggy Pop, Washington, DC’s DES DEMONAS blend post punk, funk, blues, psych rock, Afro beat, and more into their own unique sound — listen LIVE when they share new tunes from their highly-anticipated sophomore LP, APOCALYPTIC BOOM! BOOM! Get your tickets now or enter to win a free pair!

Polaris Hall, 635 N Killingsworth Ct, Sun Nov 17, 8 pm, $15, 21+

• Enter to WIN FREE TICKETS to see Karina Rykman on November 15 at Mississippi Studios!

She’s opened for Khruangbin, performed on America’s Got Talent, soundchecked with Phish at MSG, and much more — catch dynamic jam rock bassist Karina Rykman LIVE when she returns to Portland! Get your tickets now or enter to win a free pair!

Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi, Fri Nov 15, 9 pm, $20, 21+

• Enter to WIN FREE TICKETS to see Mason Jennings on November 16 at Mississippi Studios!

Hawai’i-born, Minneapolis-based folksinger Mason Jennings returns to Mississippi Studios with tunes from his latest record, Holy Dive, and beyond! Get your tickets now or enter to win a free pair!

Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi, Sat Nov 16, 8 pm, $30, 21+

• Enter to WIN FREE TICKETS to see The Bygones on November 17 at Aladdin Theater!

Luminous indie folk duo The Bygones share nostalgic songwriting from their debut, self-titled release! Get your tickets now or enter to win a free pair!

Aladdin Theater, 3017 SE Milwaukie, Sun Nov 17, 8 pm, $25, all ages

• Enter to WIN FREE TICKETS to see Sam Grisman Project on November 16 at Aladdin Theater!

A longtime Dawg Trio member with his father David Grisman, Bay Area bass player Sam Grisman upholds the legacy of Dawg music with his new musical project. Don’t miss their return to Portland! Get your tickets now or enter to win a free pair!

Aladdin Theater, 3017 SE Milwaukie, Sat Nov 16, 8 pm, $32.50, all ages

GOOD LUCK! Winners will be notified on Monday. Check back next week for more FREE TIX from the Mercury!

Plus, More Event Updates for November 7 by EverOut Staff

English pop-rock legend Sting has added a second Bend date on 3.0, his ongoing tour during which he’s playing in a trio. Post-hardcore band Chiodos is coming to Portland next year to celebrate 20 years of their debut album All’s Well That Ends Well. Plus, Billboard-charting hard rock outfit Catch Your Breath has dropped dates for their Broken Souls tour. Read on for details on those and other newly announced events, plus some news you can use.

ON SALE FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 8

MUSIC

Catch Your Breath - The Broken Souls Tour
Hawthorne Theatre (Feb 7, 2025)

Chiodos: 20 Years of All’s Well That Ends Well
Roseland Theater (Mar 29, 2025)

Railroad Earth
Revolution Hall (Jan 26, 2025)

Ahead of the hardcore band's sold out show at Revolution Hall, Johnny Whitney and Jordan Blilie tell us what the group's intense, abstract song lyrics really mean. by Suzette Smith

Like any fan of Seattle hardcore band the Blood Brothers, I have found myself at a show, pressed up against a wall of people, shouting the wrong lyrics to their songs. For instance, on their hit "USA NAILS" there's a hook where you think you're singing a cheer-style "one, one, and two!" but the lyrics are actually: "These pigs locked me up to see what color I'd rot into!"

The energetic screamo group was active from 1997-2007, during which time they released five critically-acclaimed albums, completed several European tours, and even played a set on Jimmy Kimmel Live, overcoming the reservations of the show's freaked-out producers. Perhaps the best indicator of their success is the fact that their US reunion tour—which hits Portland on November 12—is completely sold out.

Ever ones to cut the bullshit, Blood Brothers don't have a new record; they're playing the fucking hits. Still, the tour is timed with Epitaph's anniversary reissue of one of their biggest albums Crimes (2004) on vinyl.

When we sat down to talk to Johnny Whitney, who fronts the band with fellow singer/screamer/guttural whisperer Jordan Blilie, he noted that plenty of lyrics websites list incorrect verses for Blood Brothers songs. "It's hilarious how wrong some of them are," Whitney said. "The lyrics on Spotify are not even close to what I'm actually saying. Just buy the fucking CD, and look it up. Come on, people."

We spoke with Whitney and Blilie separately, over sprawling phone calls that we have organized into this piece. For clarity, we're listing their responses together, as we seek to get into the nitty gritty of this group's  danceable, screaming-nightmare material.

Blood Brothers in San Francisco, on the first night of their reunion tour. They were incredible. Photo by Suzette Smith Jordan Blilie (left) and Morgan Henderson (right) Suzette Smith

Foremost, Whitney and Blilie both began by gushing about the other three members of their band: frenetic drummer Mark Gajadhar, vigorous guitarist Cody Votolato, and ultra-versatile bassist Morgan Henderson, who is currently best known as a member of Fleet Foxes.

Related: Multi-instrumentalist/Ultramarathoner Morgan Henderson Is Busier Than You

"I cannot fucking believe that I got to work with these guys," Whitney says. "I just took all those things for granted at the time. Everybody was, and still is, coming from totally different places [musically], but there was always something really special about all of us together that was there from the moment that we started."

PORTLAND MERCURY: Johnny, I've always gotten the impression that you're the major force behind the lyrics.

JOHNNY WHITNEY: I came up with the majority of the lyrics, but it certainly was collaborative between Jordan and I. I would freewrite as much as I could, to have material to draw from, and going back to those notebooks kept things as free and fresh and not contrived as possible. The drawback of that approach is the lyrics are very abstract and hard to parse direct meaning from, but that's also kind of the point. I found myself writing about the absence of answers, or the absence of concrete truths that you can hold onto.

A lot of times, my process would center around coming up with a cool idea: a song name or some common refrain that we would want to work into a song, like "Burn Piano Island, Burn." Something that has a hook or conveys an image or feeling. Then we would reverse engineer the lyrics from that.

JORDAN BLILIE: I would absolutely say that I felt like Johnny was the driver, and for good reason. He's really good. When you see someone who is in a flow state, you do your best to accentuate and collaborate, to help mold and shape and add your pieces. It was always stuff that I was really excited to dig into. It was just that rich and that vibrant. The challenge for me was what can I add to it, you know? It always pushed me to try and come up with the most creatively-inspired stuff that I could.

You two have such an engaging stage style. People would call it sassy, but that has always felt like a description from people who have never been to a play and can't recognize theater. Do either of you have a background in theater arts?

WHITNEY: I wanted to be a child actor—I actually auditioned for that movie Blank Check (1994). Actually, a year after Jordan and I met, we were both in a Jr. High production of Alice in Wonderland. He was the Mad Hatter, and I was the Mock Turtle.

BLILIE: Why would you say that? [Laughs]

Jordan Blilie (left) and Johnny Whitney (right) Suzette Smith Jordan Blilie screams on the tour's first night in San Francisco. Suzette Smith

"USA NAILS" was such a hit, and it involved a phone number everyone could scream. How did that come to be?

WHITNEY: The name and the "1-900-USA-NAILS" comes from the chain nail salon, but we reverse-engineered it into a song about somebody using their one phone call from the county jail to call a phone sex line. It's the idea of loneliness, disaffection, and parasocial relationships with things that exist solely for their own profit or gain.

And yet it's also danceable. There are these moments live where you have an audience of people shaking their asses and shouting "to see what color I'd rot into!" Did you start with that idea and work backwards, or just jam it into that moment of the song?

WHITNEY: At that time, the band would all sit together in a room and have a kind of song tribunal about how each part should go. Then, at some point, we'd have a semi -finished version and [Jordan and I] would just try to fit lyrics to the songs. Especially on Burn, Piano Island, Burn. Some of those songs needed an editor so bad, right? I wouldn't change a thing about it, but looking back, there are parts where it sounds like everybody's playing a different song at the same time, but it kind of works, right? And for the lyrics, sometimes we just had to make it work.

That wasn't the first time Jordan whispered his lyrics in a guttural tone, but it's one of the more emblematic, right? How did that start?

BLILIE: By necessity—I don't have much of a range, you know? I have this weird baritone. Very early on we were drawing from crust punk, where you just have two voices screaming. And we didn't put a whole lot of thought into even what the other person was doing. But then, as we continued to develop, the stuff became more complex, and there was more room for different sorts of shadings of what we could do vocally. So it was just finding out: What is it I can do other than scream at the top of my lungs?

WHITNEY: Jordan's part at the end just works right? He was very inspired by Jarvis Cocker.

BLILIE: Yeah, you can trace that right back to Pulp. If you listen to any Pulp song, there's gonna be some whispery storytelling, with the compression cranked up so you can kind of hear every lick of the lips.

<a href="https://thebloodbrothersofficial.bandcamp.com/album/burn-piano-island-burn">Burn, Piano Island, Burn by The Blood Brothers</a>

BLILIE: Some of my favorite moments of writing with Johnny are the ones that we would where we would crack each other up.

Can you give an example?

BLILIE: Every lyric of "Guitarmy." We really got a kick out of the idea of opening our major label debut with the words, "do you remember us?" Because of the audacity, the absurdity of it.

So you guys all started this band when you were in your teens.

BLILIE: Yeah, we started when we were like, 15-16.

Are there any lyrics that have not aged well, in your opinion?

BLILIE: I'm sure they're the ones that we're not playing. [Laughs.] This question reminds me of something one of my professors said. It was my first class at UCLA, Queer Lit from Walt Whitman to Stonewall. In class discussions my fellow classmates would critique writing from the 1800s for not satisfying certain criteria, and our professor would say: You cannot look at the text backwards. You have to look at it forwards. You can't apply current day criteria to something that was written when that criteria didn't even exist. You have to engage with it in the context of when it was written. I don't think anything we wrote is in a canon warranting that level of examination, but it's useful nonetheless. It's a way for me to remind myself that I was 20, and I had the tools of a 20-year-old. It helps me to not beat myself up too much about it.

WHITNEY: There's a story behind this. When we were doing the song "Camouflage, Camouflage" on Young Machetes, Jordan and I were going back and forth on the lyrics. He was like, "Yeah, I'm great with all this." But he put a line through one verse, where I say: "All the girls in Montreal are smashing skateboards in the street." And I was just like: Fuck you, dude. I'm gonna keep this in. But he was right, because it sounds stupid, and it's like, really horny and makes me want to light my skin on fire. So I'm changing it to something else, probably something different every night.

Johnny Whitney (left) holds a crowd member's hand for support. Suzette Smith The crowd supports Johnny Whitney while he sings. Suzette Smith 

I wonder about imagery in Blood Brothers' songs that seems to be responding to beauty standards at the time. Like, in "Ambulance, Ambulance" you've got this blistering segue to the chorus: "What is love? / What is scam? / What is sun? / What is tan?"

WHITNEY: That's a double meaning. Because it's like tan—like suntan—but also tan is a blah color, right? It's like the color of a dentist's office wall. If you think of the idea of love being something that could feel on-fire, passionate, the color of a dentist's office wall is the opposite. Although, tanning does come into play in a lot of our lyrics. I've noticed as well.

Or on "Beautiful Horses" the lyrics are "gallop into your romance novels / dance atop heavy pectorals."

BLILIE: I think we were seeing an increasingly vapid culture, and we were trying to dig into that—dig into: What does it do to someone when they're bombarded by these sorts of images and messages? There was a lot of that in that writing; I can't say specifically with "Beautiful Horses," but I think "Trash Flavored Trash," would probably fit under that umbrella.

<a href="https://thebloodbrothersofficial.bandcamp.com/album/crimes-bonus-track-version">Crimes (Bonus Track Version) by The Blood Brothers</a>

In "Rats and Rats and Rats for Candy" there's an ongoing narrative of rats living inside a woman. It's like a play. There are characters. And the rats eventually chew out of her and try to find a new body to live in. I wondered if that was also about beauty standards or body dysmorphia?

WHITNEY: That song, it's about that, but it's also about manipulation, right? Not to get too personal, but I grew up with somebody who weaponized being sick—faked being sick—for their entire life in order to manipulate people and extract something they needed out of them. The character in that song is kind of a victim, but like a siren at the same time. They're trying to lure somebody in.

Is that person the rats, or are they Candy?

WHITNEY: The rats are in Candy. I mean, it's both.

What about "The Shame?" Your group resonates so much with "everything is gonna be just awful / when we're around" that you're putting it on t-shirts 20 years later. What does it mean?

WHITNEY: The whole premise of that song is having to sell yourself—how to commoditize yourself. It's about how you function in a capitalist society. You sink or swim by your ability to market yourself, make yourself desirable—whether it be in relationships, job market, blah blah blah. I've always been repulsed by that and was especially at the time we wrote it, which was in Venice Beach, while we were recording Burn, Piano Island, Burn. It was the longest time I'd ever been in LA, and that's the epicenter of being a self-salesman. That line encapsulates the feeling of being sold something. And you're in a position where, in order to survive, you have to be your own salesman.

Salesmen show up in other songs, like "The Salesman, Denver Max." That's another one that almost feels like a short story.

WHITNEY: I initially cribbed the idea for that song's lyrics from the Joyce Carol Oates short story, "Where Are You Going? Where Have You Been?" It follows a narrative of a very dangerous, predatory man in the process of stalking and kidnapping somebody. “Denver Max” was a huge, uncomfortable gamble for me, because I wrote the entire song on my acoustic guitar, recorded it to a 4-track, and then played it for the guys—totally expecting them to hate it. It was really daunting to try to contribute as a songwriter; Cody, Morgan, and Mark are such talented musicians. I think they may have hated it; I don't really remember how we ended up recording it. It was nobody's favorite thing, but we just tracked it, and it sounded great and worked.

Have you read anything by playwright Caryl Churchill?

WHITNEY: Never heard of her.

"Live at the Apocalypse Cabaret" has a lyric in it that reminds me of her play Far Away, which has a scene of milliners making hats for people to wear at a public execution, so I always felt a symmetry there, because of the lyrics "the cross-eyed map of the afterlife is knitting tiny neck ties." 

WHITNEY: I'm going to be super honest, the songs that I'm the most familiar with the lyrics of, at this very moment, are songs that were going to be playing, because I've been rehearsing them. But I do remember, with that song, we were trying to be funny without being silly. Like, a cross-eyed map is a map that makes no sense, where you don't know where you're going. Knitting tiny neckties are noose ties. It's like dressing yourself up for death, right? It's trying to dress up something that's really heinous and horrible and incomprehensible, and also trying to navigate that, through a map that makes no sense.

At this moment you have cracked my understanding of a play you haven't even read. But I digress, I've read that "Celebrator" was a direct response to Toby Keith's "Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue."

BLILIE: That pumped up patriotism felt gross when taken in context with the images and much of the information that we were seeing come out of Iraq and Afghanistan.

Is that why there are so many mentions of amputated limbs on Crimes?

BLILIE: The bulk of Crimes was trying to engage with war so that's where you get a lot of that grizzly imagery.

Related: The Blood Brothers Set Expectations Ablaze at Last Night’s Surprise Black Lodge Show

Well, personally, it's so nice that you're touring right now. Blood Brothers are great for when you need to scream, but you can't. You can scream along to the Blood Brothers in your head, or out loud at a show.

BLILIE: I'm glad that we could be of service, in that regard. It's hard for me not to go into a really bleak mindset when I look at our current political landscape. I find myself equal parts enraged and terrified. And there are times when I have to just close all news down. I guess it is a good time to get up and scream.

The Blood Brothers play Revolution Hall, 1300 SE Stark, Tues Nov 12, 8 pm, SOLD OUT, all ages.

Portland will have the most racially diverse City Council the city has ever seen, with a progressive majority. by Courtney Vaughn

A fourth round of preliminary election results was released Friday, showing little to no changes in presumptive winners. That means Portlanders now have a clear idea of what the city's future leadership will be, come January.

Portland City Council is likely to have a progressive majority and for the first time, and a roughly 40 percent BIPOC Council.

Portland Mayor-elect Keith Wilson is slated to receive onboarding and training at City Hall starting next month, before the new City Council and mayor are sworn in in January.

City Council races

In District 1, Candace Avalos, who previously ran for a seat on Portland City Council and served on Portland's Charter Commission, is leading handily and is a presumptive winner. She will most likely serve alongside former Multnomah County Commissioner Loretta Smith and Jamie Dunphy, whose career has been spent helping to shape public policy while formerly working for US Sen. Jeff Merkley and the late Portland City Commissioner Nick Fish. Dunphy has recently led the charge to stop a Live Nation music venue from being developed in Southeast Portland. While Dunphy is leading for third place, he currently sits at just 23 percent, which is less than the 25 percent threshold for election. County officials say that can happen when ballots become "exhausted." Dunphy will likely still win election.

In District 2, Elana Pirtle-Guiney, Sameer Kanal, and current City Commissioner Dan Ryan are all but guaranteed Council seats. The latest results show Ryan and Pirtle-Guiney were neck-and-neck in first-round counts, with just 73 votes separating the two. Pirtle-Guiney is a labor organizer and member of former Gov. Kate Brown's executive team. She also led the charge for Oregon Measure 114, which sought to limit gun magazine capacity and add a required permit for gun ownership. The measure passed but is currently held up in a court battle. Kanal served as the project manager for Portland's Police Accountability Commission and also serves on the city's Parks & Recreation Board.

District 3 saw Steve Novick, a former city commissioner, pull off a first-round win, guaranteeing his return to City Hall. He will be joined by elementary school teacher Tiffany Koyama Lane and nonprofit policy advocate Angelita Morillo, who were nearly tied with 19 percent of the overall vote in round one counts. Both Koyama Lane and Morillo ran on a progressive agenda, with Koyama Lane picking up an endorsement from Portland's Democratic Socialists of America (DSA). Candidates in District 3 will be up for election again in two years.

In District 4, Olivia Clark, a communications professional who previously worked in Gov. John Kitzhaber's office, secured a first-round win Thursday. She'll be one of three city councilors representing the district that includes Southwest Portland, including downtown, and small portions of Southeast Portland like Sellwood. Along with Clark, energy economist Mitch Green is a presumptive winner. Green emerged as easily the most progressive front-runner candidate in District 4, securing an endorsement from the Portland DSA. The third-place winner is appears to be political insider Eric Zimmerman, though first-round results show him with less than a percentage point lead over Eli Arnold and the race is still close.  Both candidates secured 11 percent of the overall vote in round one counts. Zimmerman previously worked in Mayor Ted Wheeler's office and currently works for Multnomah County Commissioner Julia Brim Edwards. Arnold is a Portland police officer. District 4 seats will be up for election again in two years.

Congressional race

In a closely watched federal race for Oregon's 5th Congressional District, Democrat Janelle Bynum secured a win over Republican incumbent Lori Chavez DeRemer, flipping the US House seat from red to blue. Other winners include incumbent Suzanne Bonamici in the 1st District and Maxine Dexter in the 3rd Congressional District.

By Friday, the vast majority of ballots were received and counted, though the Multnomah County Elections Office says it still has about 45,000 ballots to count. Overall voter turnout in Multnomah County is now hovering around 71 percent.

Results won’t be finalized until Dec. 2.

by Wm. Steven Humphrey

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! ????

Who's had a busy weekend of actively IGNORING all the spectacularly bad takes following last week's election? Wow, these so-called Democrats are the only people I know who, instead of blaming the actual people involved, love kicking each other in the scrabble bag when they're disappointed. Even worse, a few of these bad actors are saying we should have capitulated to the white supremacists and the hateful half of the country that voted for Trump... as if that would have somehow changed the outcome? LOL! Make a note, friends... despite the fact that a sizable part of the nation is in thrall of a convicted felon/cult leader, we should NEVER water down our ethics or sense of justice to appease people who want the rest of us (and especially marginalized communities) to stop existing. If you absolutely must blame someone, try focusing your ire on those who refuse to properly educate themselves and have lost their moral compass. Our pathway is UP—the rest of 'em can either keep up or get the fuck out of the way. 

And that's your Monday Morning Mini-Rant™—now, let's look at some NEWS!

IN LOCAL NEWS:

• Local election update! Now that only a very few votes (4,000 as of Saturday) are left to be counted, I think it's safe to say "OH, HELLO THERE!" to our newest incoming mayor, Keith Wilson, and our new city council, which is as follows: District 1: Candace Avalos, Loretta Smith, and (probably) Jamie Dunphy (waiting for the final count to clarify that one); District 2: Elana Pirtle-Guiney, Sameer Kanal, and current City Commissioner Dan Ryan ????; District 3: Steve Novick, Tiffany Koyama Lane, and Angelita Morillo; and District 4: Olivia Clark, Mitch Green, and most likely Eric Zimmerman... or possibly cop Eli Arnold (neither are great). In any case, that right there is a majority progressive council, with a few Portland Business Alliance puppets thrown in—which in theory should make the ever-conniving big business/realtor community happy, but rest assured they'll be pulling some anti-democratic shenanigans before you know it. Keep an eye on 'em! ????

Portland: Our new mayor Keith Wilson shows encouraging signs on transportation, above all his obsession with observation and data. Good profile by Jonathan Maus at Bike Portland.

bikeportland.org/2024/11/07/p...

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— Jarrett Walker (@humantransit.bsky.social) November 10, 2024 at 12:56 PM

• In other good election news, in the hotly contested (and way too close) Oregon's 5th Congressional District race, Democrat Janelle Bynum scored a win over Republican incumbent Lori Chavez DeRemer, flipping the US House seat from red to blue! While there is currently a narrow path to victory for House Democrats, it's still very tight—so at this moment, every Democrat win counts. (And in case you missed it, in Washington state, Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez is the presumptive winner in the 3rd Congressional District, beating out dipshit MAGA candidate Joe Kent.)

• In the first baller move of his administration, mayor-elect Keith Wilson allegedly pressured current city commissioners Rene Gonzalez, Mingus Mapps, and Dan Ryan into dropping their theatrical stunt to end Portland's homelessness services agreement with Multnomah County. As our Courtney Vaughn reported, the three crybaby candidates were threatening to end the deal with the county, even though it would cost the city $40 million to do so. But according to Ryan—who is now furiously backpedaling on his bonehead decision—Wilson called the trio, and "made it clear that he would like us to take that off the table.... So out of respect for the new mayor, it just was good manners." HAAAAAAAAA! Right. Or maybe it was that Gonzalez and Mapps' run for mayor just blew up in their faces, and Ryan was left alone in the wilderness holding this particular bag of shit. In any case, an absolutely embarrassing way to end their obstructive, but mostly useless term—and I am here for it! ????

• The Portland Trail Blazers suffered an absolutely crushing defeat to the Memphis Grizzlies last night... 134-89? OUCH. Terrible shooting, poor defense, and a harsh 23 turnovers reportedly had the normally stoic coach Chauncey Billups reportedly issuing this post-game message to the players: “Anybody that sleeps well tonight, you’re a loser. It’s just that simple." Once again, with feeling: OUCH.

• Today in death: Pioneering climate scientist Warren Washington—who grew up in Portland—has died at the age of 88. Washington is credited with developing early models of global warming. Also, longtime Blazer radio announcer Brian "Wheels" Wheeler has died after an extensive illness; he was 62.

Ahead of the Blood Brothers' sold out show at Revolution Hall next week, we spoke with the band's two frontmen about the group's intense, abstract song lyrics. ⁠ We did not expect: Their shared theater history. The influence of Pulp's Jarvis Cocker.

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— Portland Mercury (@portlandmercury.bsky.social) November 8, 2024 at 12:26 PM

IN NATIONAL/WORLD NEWS:

• Despite exciting Democratic wins in Oregon and Washington, Republicans are getting closer to keeping control of the House, which after capturing the senate would mean that many of Trump's evil schemes could become a reality. Currently the GOP is four congresspeople away from securing the necessary 218 seats; the Dems are at 203. ????

• Trump has chosen former ICE director Tom Homan to serve as his “border czar,” as the incoming president ramps up his plan to launch "the largest deportation operation in the nation’s history" (without presenting a plan on how it can be done or the billions it will cost us now and in the future). The recently elected convicted felon has also picked longtime loyalist/minion Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York to become the next US ambassador to the United Nations. Stefanik is a staunch supporter of Israel and their genocide, and has pushed for ending relief to war-torn Palestinians. The only potential good news here: Taking Stefanik out of her current job could lead Republicans into losing the House.

This is not great

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— Molly Jong-Fast (@mollyjongfast.bsky.social) November 11, 2024 at 7:49 AM

• In escaped monkey news: Twenty-four out of 43 monkeys who escaped a South Carolina research lab last week have been recovered—and staff has eyes on another "sizable" group. Locals are being advised to avoid touching the monkeys, and instead call 911. (Take it from someone who briefly lived there, South Carolina hates it when you touch your monkey.)

Your body, my choice

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— Berit Glanz (@beritmiriam.bsky.social) November 11, 2024 at 2:23 AM

• Toymaker Mattel has apologized for accidentally including a porn website address on packaging for dolls from the upcoming movie Wicked. The company is advising parents to either throw away the packaging or obscure the web address before kids accidentally stumble on to any "Two Witches, One Cup" videos. (On a scale of one-to-ten, how mad are you at me right now? I'm at, like, a seven.)

• And finally... a visual representation of what will happen to the economy five minutes after Trump takes office:

@vehiculeracing -caniparkhere? #boat ♬ original sound  - VÉHICULE

by Elinor Jones

What's happening Trash Pandas? Welcome back to the Trash Report. I am Elinor Jones and I am not doing well! Lucky for us, things have been shitty often enough and recently enough that we can disassociate and do our silly little activities. How fortunate we are to live in times that challenge us! JK! I hate it!!

Elections Trash

Well my friends, I guess we didn't coconut hard enough, because Donald Trump is headed back to the White House. A lot of people will have a lot of thoughtful breakdowns in the coming weeks and months about what went wrong, but it seems pretty obvious to me that we live in a country that hates women—Black women especially—and they like Trump. It sucks, but usually the simplest explanation is the correct one. Ad buys in Pennsylvania or door knocking in Michigan wouldn't have changed the fact that people hate women and like Trump, and even if they didn't totally love Trump, they were at least more comfortable with him in power than with a woman. Democrats spent a billion dollars to try to educate voters on why Trump is bad, but it didn't work; people know he's bad, they just don't care, or they like that part about him. They like how Trump talks more than they like the way Democrats talk, especially Democrats who are women. This handwringing about like "oh, if only people understood the real issues" and like: no. We're past that. Issues don't matter. Not only do people not care, but it also makes Democrats even less likable when we're trying to scold them over to our side. During one of my spirals I realized how weird it is that there isn't even a phrase like "owning the libs" for chuds? Like, us bullying them into silence or an embarrassing hissy fit isn't even on the damn table. Why is that? What are we doing? In hindsight the best messaging of the entire campaign was when everybody laughed at J.D. Vance for fucking a couch; if we could have had more like that in play instead of Liz fucking Cheney reminding us that Kamala Harris is pro-military and celebrities who will never worry about money insisting that Biden's economy is good, actually, we probably could have could probably have gotten some people (who voted only off vibes) to like ours better, although probably not enough to convince people not to hate women. As you can tell, I am very, very angry! Most of it is directed at Joe Biden. He should have run in 2016, he should not have run in 2020, he shouldn't have attempted a reelection campaign this year, and then he should have dropped out faster when the writing was on the wall after the debate in June. End rant. (For now. There's still a lot of juice in this tank, and it's gonna be a loooong four years.)

Portland: Inspirational!

Trump promised RFK Jr a role overseeing health in his new administration, and the first order of business floated is removing fluoride from our nation's drinking water. This captured headlines for its absurdity. "Why in the world would we not take such an easy and impactful action to help everybody, but especially poor children, have healthier teeth? What anti-science freakshows would take issue with fluoride in the water?" "Wow, yeah, totally," said the city of Portland as we pulled our shirt collars up around our faces and sought an immediate exit from the conversation. Being part of a Venn diagram where one circle is RFK Jr. and the other circle is Portland and the middle part is "fluoride = bad" is not a good look for us.

In other news, fans allege that someone attending a recent Sabrina Carpenter concert squatted and peed in the middle of the pit before the show started. Knowing that Carpenter had just played in Portland, when I saw the headline about someone being gross at a show, I immediately assumed that it happened here. I was wrong—it was San Francisco—but that is the kind of national news I'd like our city to make and not "RFK Jr approves of Portland's municipal health initiatives." Let's go back to "Portland Sucks." Nationally, it's an easier place for us to be.

Wicked Merch

The thing that might divide my family this Thanksgiving is not politics—we are all aligned there, thank God—but whether we should first see Moana 2 or Wicked. We are leaning Moana 2, mostly because this Disney sequel is shockingly not the one unleashing inescapable product tie-ins everywhere I look. Speaking of which, the folks at Mattel did so by putting a link to a porn site on the packaging for some Glinda and Elphaba dolls and had to apologize and issue a recall. LOL. I can imagine the exhausted and overworked marketing associate who's trying to stave off sleep by occasionally watching some adult content and deliriously copy-pasting the wrong link. Look, you mass produce 10,000 different green and pink items, you're bound to screw up something.  

In other Wicked news, director Jon Chu missed the LA premiere because his wife went into labor and gave birth to a baby girl. The baby is the couple's fifth; a full three of those five children were born during the development and filming of Wicked. His wife may have told him she was proud of him, but her body was clearly saying "no sir, we are not doing that anymore." And she feels like five kids is plenty, but knows that Wicked 2 is only a year away and is debating whether a sixth baby could keep that press buzz out of their family life.

AOTY When?

Grammy nominations came out last week, and women came out on top. Imagine if Kamala Harris won the White House during the same week that Beyoncé became the most nominated artist in Grammy history? We could have been so happy, and so annoying. Etsy would have gotten absolutely filthy with throw pillow bearing feminist catchphrases. This column would have been damn near unreadable, even more so than usual. The gods took a look at us American women as our souls threatened to leave our bodies with how badly we (at least most of us) needed a win, and said "they simply cannot have both things" and went with Grammys instead of the presidency, which isn't the direction I would have gone, but I am not a god. Yet.

Fugitive Animals

A passenger got video of a raccoon falling out of the ceiling at La Guardia airport in New York City. La Guardia had just been named America's Best Airport, taking the coveted spot that PDX usually holds, and you know what? I agree. We simply need more raccoons. Trash Pandas: assemble.

Meanwhile down in South Carolina, 43 monkeys escaped a research facility and are currently on the loose. Authorities are advising residents to lock their windows, and I would definitely have a hard time doing that. I think they would like me. It's like how at Yellowstone they have to put up all the signs advising people not to approach bears. While I understand the reason for the signs, I also believe that I am a person who a bear would allow to pet it. I think monkeys would feel the same way. Any other indoor kids read Summer of the Monkeys? It's a book about a circus train that derailed and a bunch of monkeys got loose and they finally trusted one young man to return them to captivity. I think I could be that young man. Call me, South Carolina. 

I'm gonna be honest, Trash Pandas: I could keep writing this column all night. I didn't want to start working on it, but as I've been writing, and reflecting, and trying to put words to all the big things I feel, I have to admit that Doing Something does feel better than doing nothing, even though doing nothing is so tempting. We may not have fluoridated water, and we may not be pissing on the floors at arena concerts (yet), but we have each other, and I'm very grateful for that.

Togetherly,

See her Tuesday in Portland at Jack London Revue. by Dave Segal

Recording for Flying Lotus's Brainfeeder label, Salami Rose Joe Louis (Lindsay Olsen) has blazed a distinctive trail in that fertile sector of California's underground where electronic music and jazz converge. On early releases by this multi-instrumentalist and producer—such as 2019's Zdenka 2080—Olsen sings in a hushed, dulcet manner over sparse, melodious electronic music that wears its jazz inflections gracefully. Faint echoes of '90s and '00s introspective, minimalist IDM (intelligent dance music, if you don't know) acts such as Múm insinuate themselves, too. It's ultimately dream pop, but not in the cloying way manifested by the genre's try-hards.

With 2023's Akousmatikous and this year's collab with Flanafi, Sarah, SRJL's rhythms get jazzier and the instrumentation fuller, with help from Soccer96 and Miguel Atwood-Ferguson, among others. The songs are more kinetic while the vocals retain their breathy, Julee Cruise-like sweetness. The music's levitational feel and smooth propulsion belie lyrics about catastrophic ecological degradation and the dangers of propaganda/disinformation. Enchanting listeners through understatement and mutedly sparkling tones, Olsen offers the most pleasant dystopian sci-fi soundtracks extant. At Jack London Revue she'll be joined by guitarist Flanafi, bassist Tone Whitfield, and drummer Luke Titus—most of whom played on the exceptional new Salami Live at 2131 North Kacey Street EP.

<a href="https://salamirosejoelouismusic.bandcamp.com/album/salami-live-at-2131-north-kacey-street">Salami Live at 2131 North Kacey Street by Salami Rose Joe Louis featuring Flanafi, Tone Whitfield, Nazir Ebo</a>

Soul'd Out Presents Salami Rose Joe Louis at Jack London Revue, 529 SW 4th, Tues Nov 13, 8 pm, tables for 4-6 persons available from $140-$210, tickets here, 21+ w/ Omari Jazz

by Courtney Vaughn

The Mercury provides news and fun every single day—but your help is essential. 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! Take a deep breath. Hold for six seconds. Exhale. 

We might be treated to some fleeting morning sunshine, but for the most part, expect more rain with a high of 54 degrees and a low of 50. 

Let's catch up on what's happening in our city and around the world.

In Local News: 

• Important fox update! The young arctic white fox spotted in Portland a few weeks ago is now in the care of the Bird Alliance of Oregon. Last Friday, the Bird Alliance posted an update, noting the fox was likely illegally kept in captivity in Oregon. And while the fox sniffed out and found several mice hidden for her around her enclosure, it’s unlikely she’d survive in the wilderness. The organization reports the fox is in good health and they’re looking for a permanent home for her with a wildlife agency.

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• The body of a missing hiker was found in Mt. Hood National Forest last Friday. Police say 33-year-old James Robert MacDonald was found by search and rescue crews after his family reported he didn’t return from a hike Wednesday, Nov. 6. KATU reports MacDonald had four children, including 1-year-old twins, and was finishing a radiology residency at OHSU.

This is the second major search conducted for a missing hiker in Mt. Hood National Forest in less than two weeks. Last Tuesday, the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office found a missing mushroom hunter in densely forested terrain as he exited the Eagle Creek Trail. He was found “cold and wet” but otherwise in good health.

• Dozens of Portlanders and local organizations have signed on to a letter urging the Portland City Council to postpone a vote on a contract that would funnel more money into the Portland Metro Chamber. This Wednesday, City Council is likely to approve the expansion of one of the city’s Enhanced Service Districts, Downtown Clean & Safe. The expansion also accompanies a $58 million contract renewal for Clean & Safe. Enhanced Service Districts are special districts where property owners pay a tax to fund extra security services and cleanups around the district. If it were any other organization or even any other ESD, few would bat an eye at the contract renewal, but Downtown Clean & Safe is essentially operated by the Portland Metro Chamber (formerly the Portland Business Alliance). The city funnels millions of district tax dollars into this no-bid contract, to give ESD ratepayers–most of which are downtown businesses–an added layer of private security, as well as trash and graffiti removal. While plenty of folks are supportive of the extra services, quite a few Portlanders, including condo owners in the district, say the contract arrangement is barely ethical, and serves primarily to funnel taxpayer money into the Metro Chamber, which is one of the most powerful lobbying groups in the city. There are few, if any, checks and balances on the contract. Aside from ethical concerns, condo owners in the Downtown Clean & Safe ESD say they are being charged for services they already pay for through their Homeowners Associations and city taxes. 

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A post shared by Tom Toro (@tbtoro)

• Oregon has repeatedly failed to protect or keep data about the kids in its foster care system who wind up being sex trafficked. If you have an Oregonian subscription, this heartbreaking story is worth a read. The series shines a light on a disjointed foster care system in Oregon that failed to protect more than two dozen foster care children from being sold for sex or "anything of value," including one woman, who's now 21 but ran away with men multiple times and was forced to perform sex acts when she was 16. Multiple teens in foster care are at risk of being sold into prostitution, but for years, the state has been slow to respond and/or failed to identify those at risk, despite federal requirements to keep data on the high-risk teens in state custody.

• It’s World Vegan Month, and Veganizer is partnering with local restaurants to offer fun menu items with a portion of the proceeds from those items going toward local nonprofits. Pssst…going vegan is a great excuse to skip Thanksgiving dinner with any family members you don’t like, or those you’re just not ready to stomach after the election.

• And if you need other things to distract yourself or just need a reason to get out of the house, check the Everout weekly rundown for the best in dining, live music, film, and miscellaneous outings. Looking for a show tonight? Consider watching Salami Rose Joe Louis deliver an experimental fusion of electro-jazz rock (if that's not a thing, it is now) at the Jack London Revue.

In National/World News:

• Yesterday was Veterans Day, and perhaps the most notable event of the day was the posthumous military rank awarded to Civil War-era activist and abolitionist Harriet Tubman. Tubman escaped slavery and went on to help rescue an estimated 70 other people from slavery via the Underground Railroad. Aside from her activism and liberation of others, she's also regarded as the first woman to lead an armed combat regimen for the Union during the Civil War. In 1863, Tubman led 150 African American Union soldiers in a raid that ultimately rescued an estimated 700 slaves. For her efforts, Tubman was named a one-star brigadier general in the Maryland National Guard.

•In a move that feels like the Trump agenda is already setting in, the Intercept lays out a bill scheduled to be voted on next week with bipartisan support that would essentially allow the government to revoke tax exemption from any nonprofit organizations it deems to have a connection to terrorism or support terrorism. HR 9495, the Stop Terror-Financing and Tax Penalties on American Hostages Act, would give the US Treasury secretary the power to notify any organization that its tax-exempt status will be revoked. The nonprofit will have 90 days to appeal. The ACLU is sounding the alarm, noting a bill of that magnitude would only serve to chill free speech and other activities of orgs that don’t align with Trump’s political allies or agenda. The fact that this bill was introduced is a likely indicator that members of Congress and US government officials already have a few nonprofits in mind. 

I want to be absolutely clear. Having reviewed the text of the law, it is, quite possibly, the most unconstitutional bill I have ever encountered during my time as a legal professional. It makes the Patriot Act look like an appropriations bill. It’s the modern equivalent of the Sedition Act of 1798.

— ????️‍⚧️ June Licinio ✡️ (@jwlicinio.bsky.social) November 11, 2024 at 2:15 PM

• With just over three months left in President Biden's term, chatter among Democratic senators suggests US Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor should step down so Biden can make a SCOTUS appointment before he leaves office. Sotomayor, 70, hasn't indicated her intention to retire from the court, but with a current Democratic majority in the Senate, some say the time is now for her to step aside and allow for another justice to be appointed by a Democrat president. At least one senator is pushing back on that suggestion. On a recent episode of Meet the Press, Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont told NBC's Kristen Welker he doesn't think it's a good idea. Dems are trying to avoid a repeat of what happened in 2020, when Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg ignored calls for her to step down, then died while still serving. Trump was president, and replaced Ginsberg—often revered as a feminist icon—with conservative Justice Amy Coney Barrett.

@postpuunkonline

 

• US transportation safety officials are investigating whether certain models of Hondas and Acuras are prone to engine failure. The AP reports the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is looking into rod bearing failures that can cause the engines on several makes and models to fail. Honda last year issued a recall to fix the engine problem, but the NHTSA says nearly 175 complaints from vehicle owners who experienced the same engine failure issues, but whose vehicles weren’t included in Honda’s 2023 recall. The issue covers the Honda Pilot and Acura MDX (2016-2020 model years); the Honda Odyssey and Acura TLX (2018 through 2020), and the Honda Ridgeline (2017-2019).

@livviathepig

the gift that keeps on giving

♬ original sound - liv

Advice for those who feel like democracy has abandoned them. by Dan Savage Dear Readers: Well, fuck. Reading a sex-advice column at a time like this — to say nothing of writing a sex-advice column at a time like this — might seem a little pointless. But I’ve lived long enough to know that seemingly pointless distractions, small comforts, and guilty pleasures have the power to sustain us in bad times. Taking a moment to read (or write or illustrate) a sex-advice column — or listen to or make some music or watch or make some porn — doesn’t mean you’re complacent or complicit. (Unless you voted for him, of course, in which case you can fuck the fuck off.) Because it’s the little things — the small pleasures — that keep us sane, keep us connected, and keep us going. Anyway, sitting down to write a column this week lifted my spirits a bit. I hope reading this week’s column lifts yours.…

[ Read more ]

Citing ethical issues and potential conflicts of interest, advocates want the city to halt a no-bid contract renewal that would funnel millions to the Portland Metro Chamber. by Courtney Vaughn

For years, Portland has collected fees from property owners in enhanced service districts to pay for added cleaning and security services in designated areas. The districts are typically concentrated around businesses, offering private security, extra policing, janitorial services, and more recently, removal of homeless camps. 

Some stakeholders say the city has yet to confront the unique and outsized role of Portland’s most powerful business lobbying group at one enhanced service district (ESD) in particular—Downtown Portland Clean & Safe.

This week, Portland City Council is scheduled to vote on a 116-acre expansion of the Downtown Portland Clean & Safe district, as well as a fee hike and a five-year management contract renewal for the district. 

Ahead of Wednesday’s vote, more than 100 Portlanders and over a dozen community groups are urging City Council to postpone the contract renewal that would funnel a hefty portion of a $58 million, no-bid contract to the Portland Metro Chamber.

An open letter to city commissioners outlines a number of transparency and ethics issues surrounding the Clean & Safe contract, asking the Council vote to be tabled until a new Council is sworn in this January.

Currently, the Downtown Portland Clean & Safe district is overseen by an organization of the same name, whose management has significant overlap with the executive leadership of the Portland Metro Chamber (formerly the Portland Business Alliance).

A large chunk of funding for the Metro Chamber’s leadership staff comes from a lucrative contract to oversee the Downtown Portland Clean & Safe ESD.

That means a private group that lobbies the city on behalf of private business interests is being paid millions in public money to oversee a service district that includes a large swath of its own dues-paying members. The downtown district also includes several government agencies and properties that pay into the ESD—including Portland City Hall. Moreover, community groups say the contract and service delivery model are convoluted at best, with next to no oversight from the city.

The letter’s signatories say the petition for district expansion, and the accompanying contract renewal “raises serious concerns related to affordability, efficient use of public resources, accountability, and transparency.”

“The City contracts with Clean & Safe, which subcontracts with other organizations to carry out cleaning and safety services. Yet the executive director of Clean & Safe is simultaneously an employee of the Portland Business Alliance, which is also a subcontractor of Clean & Safe,” the open letter to Council states. “Unclear lines of oversight make it difficult for ratepayers or the public to hold anyone accountable. Even more concerning, the contract allocates significant overhead to the Portland Business Alliance, the city’s most active lobbying organization.”

It's a contract that mystifies everyone from accountants, to ratepayers, and even auditors. 

A 2020 city audit of Portland's ESDs found "little oversight" of the privately funded public service districts and noted "complicated governance and management systems" that obfuscate public access to basic information such as budgets and subcontracts.

Not long after the city audit, a local business executive spoke out about the questionable business arrangement baked into the Clean & Safe contract. When she did, she was allegedly threatened with a lawsuit from the Portland Business Alliance.

Since then, other local government watchdogs have taken note, but gotten little traction with city leadership.

“I think this council has an ethical responsibility to answer all these questions for the voters, or wait,” Diane Goodwin, a member of local political advocacy group Portland For All, says.

Cleaning services praised; expenses questioned

It's unclear what Clean & Safe's latest budget includes. A 2021 budget calculated total expenses at around $5 million, including about $858,000 in salaries. Exactly what portion of staff is covered in those salary expenses is murky. Both the Metro Chamber and Downtown Clean & Safe share staff. In fact, the Chamber's CEO and president, Andrew Hoan, is also the CEO and president of Downtown Clean & Safe. The 2021 budget shows $243,000 in "shared administration" salary costs. 

Tax documents from 2022 show Hoan drew a $333,000 salary from the Chamber that year. The two organizations also share an executive assistant and an advocacy coordinator. Clean & Safe's operations director and executive director are also listed as part of the Chamber's staff. The Clean & Safe executive director drew a $154,000 salary from the Chamber that same year.

Businesses and commercial property owners in the district overwhelmingly support the expansion, saying the frequent cleaning and beefed up security have improved downtown Portland and made it safer for workers and visitors.

“We want our associates to feel safe coming into work,” Kelly Mullen, president of Portland’s Safeway and Albertsons division, told the Council on October 31 during its initial consideration of the contract and ESD expansion. Mullen said recently, the Safeway location at 10th and Jefferson has had to reduce store hours and close off an entrance, to improve safety at the grocery store.

“We want to be part of the solution and really make our community thrive,” Mullen said.

The council also heard from the principal of a private school advocating for the district expansion so her students and staff could receive extra security and clean-up around the campus.

One element of Downtown Clean & Safe that’s lauded by nearly every district member, even critics, is the Clean Start program, run by Central City Concern. The program offers janitorial jobs cleaning city streets to people transitioning out of homelessness. For many, it offers a fresh start and a path toward self-sufficiency. 

City staff and Clean & Safe reps say the expanded district and new proposed rate structures will offer more transparency, reasonable fee calculations, inflation adjustments, and a cap on rates for condo owners. Several residential ratepayers say the whole Clean & Safe arrangement leaves them with more questions than services received. 

John Pumphrey owns a condominium in the downtown district. He and other condo owners say the services they pay for are often duplicative of private security and janitorial services they already pay for through their homeowners association. They also say the services serve mainly to benefit businesses, not residents.

“I’m a condo owner in downtown Portland and our building pays $24,000 a year to Clean & Safe and for this, [we] receive next to nothing,” Pumphrey told the Council, asking them to vote against the contract renewal. “What’s really irritating to some of us about Clean & Safe is that 50 percent of what we contribute … is skimmed off the top by the Portland Metro Chamber.”

Pumphrey isn’t the only one critical of the unusually high compensation provided to Portland Metro Chamber staff from the Downtown Clean & Safe contract.

The open letter to City Council also makes mention of the compensation arrangement, asserting the Clean & Safe contract “pays nearly 50 percent of Business Alliance executive salaries in addition to up to 30% in administrative overhead.”

“Many of these executives appear in City lobbying records and in state filings for PACs that advocate for private business interests, often directly in conflict with the will of the voting public,” the letter reads. “It is inappropriate to use public resources to offset the cost of business lobbying.”

Devin Reynolds, the city's ESD coordinator, said the arrangement between the Metro Chamber and Dowtown Clean & Safe isn't an anomaly.

“Having an ESD contract with a third party to fulfill some, or all their service areas is indeed common across business improvement districts, business improvement areas, and enhanced services districts,” Reynolds told the Mercury earlier this year.

Commonplace or not, some downtown ESD ratepayers say they’ve been cut off from any meaningful participation in their district’s oversight or decisions.

Anita Davidson, a condo owner in the downtown district, told the Mercury that for years, condo owners have had no representation in district leadership, and there is little to no transparency around operational decisions.

“As residential people, we don’t feel we belong there. We don't have a vote in who runs Clean & Safe,” she said. “We can’t even join Portland Metro Chamber, because it's for businesses. I’d like to see Clean & Safe become a public nonprofit. That would solve a lot of things. I still have to make a public records request [just] to see their budget.”

In an effort to appease homeowners, the new contract includes a fee cap on residential units. It’s a nice accommodation, but homeowners in the industry-dominated district say what they really want is a way to opt out.

There currently is no mechanism to do that, and the process for annexing additional property into an ESD doesn’t require a vote from affected property owners. It’s left up to City Council to approve. Current standards only require the city to notify affected property owners by mail and hold public hearings where they can chime in. 

“Unfortunately for ratepayers, the city has not yet, after 30 years, adopted standards for formation, renewal, or expansion of the ESDs,” Davidson told Council. “At some point, we hope and expect that this will happen, although listening tonight, it sounds like it's an all-in-one thing.”

Other district members say they disagree with their tax revenue being used to initiate homeless sweeps, and pay for increased police presence.

That’s especially true in the case of Sisters of the Road, a homeless services nonprofit and member of the Downtown Portland Clean & Safe district.

“From 2016-2020, unhoused residents accounted for over half of arrests made in Portland. Their charges were primarily nonviolent, survival crimes. That same data showed that people are 20 times more likely to experience criminalization in Downtown Clean & Safe versus other areas of the city,” Lauren Armony, program director at Sisters of the Road, told the city in written testimony earlier this year. “Hyper-surveillance has not made our neighborhood any healthier or safer, but further entrenched vulnerable individuals in the cycle of incarceration and poverty.”

Organizations like Sisters of the Road say they're irked that the ESD funnels its members’ taxes into the Metro Chamber, which has powerful influence over city politics and often advocates against the city’s vulnerable, unhoused residents–the same population Sisters of the Road is trying to help. 

The Clean & Safe contract and district expansion are currently scheduled for a second reading and vote by Portland City Council on Wednesday.

Tell Me More has regularly turned to Alfredo Corchado for insight on Mexico. He gives host Michel Martin one last look into his reporter's notebook.

Tell Me More has been dedicated to covering stories from Africa. Host Michel Martin speaks to NPR's Africa correspondent Ofeibea Quist-Arcton about reporting on the changing continent.

Six years after playing at Tell Me More's first anniversary, the the jazz group performs as the show closes.

Did ESPN's Stephen Smith need to apologize for saying women need to be aware of provocation? The Barbershop guys weigh in.

The host shares some final thoughts before the close of the show.

NPR's Scott Simon wishes we could text them back when politicians message us asking for campaign donations.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams, no stranger to controversy, has ignited another with a hat. NPR's Scott Simon explains.

Global pandemic treaty negotiators are hashing out cooperation plans this week and considering rushing the process out of fear that the Trump administration would pull the U.S. out of negotiations.

Trump has made some unconventional and surprising choices when it comes to his foreign policy and defense team, like his plan to nominate Fox News host Pete Hegseth to be secretary of defense.

Mattel is pulling its Wicked dolls from some store shelves because of a misprint directing shoppers to a pornographic site. Meanwhile, resellers are listing the products on eBay for up to $500.

The crypto industry was the largest corporate donor to this year's elections. Now it has a crypto-friendly president headed to the White House, while critics worry about the fallout for consumers.

Voters really don't like inflation. In fact, whenever there's a sustained jump in the cost of living, the party in power often pays a price.

In acknowledgment of Women’s History Month Basic Black presents a Women’s Roundtable. This special presentation will be a conversation on the issues and concerns of women of color coming out of the political landscape in this presidential election year. In addition to the wealth income gap and health care reform, we’ll dig deep on issues such as reproductive rights, women of color in political life, and setting the "women's agenda.'"

Our panel this week:

Callie Crossley, host and executive editor, The Callie Crossley Show
Anita Hill, Professor of Social Policy, Law and Women's Studies, Brandeis University
Lani Guinier, Bennett Boskey Professor of Law, Harvard Law School
Sen. Sonia Chang-Diaz (MA-2nd Suffolk)
Kim McLarin, Assistant Professor of Writing, Literature and Publishing, Emerson College

Monday March 19th, Professor Anita Hill co-hosts "Disrupting The Script: Raising To Legal Consciousness Sexual Assaults On Black Women." Click on the image to learn more.