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Good Morning, News: No School Till Late November, Police Oversight Gets a Bad Makeover, and SCOTUS Says No To Drag Show Bans

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! We’re in for some sun and no rain today on this gorgeous, 53-degree fall day, so drink it up and let’s get to the news!

In Local News:

  • Portland is losing another beloved music venue. Effective immediately, North Portland jazz club the 1905 has shut its doors. It’s a shock, but perhaps less of one for those who have been following the club’s recent, public ups and downs. For the Mercury, Robert Ham has the story.
  • A Kennewick, Washington woman who fired a gun at Portland International Airport earlier this week said she wanted to harm her pedophile family. Laura Marie Patterson was arrested and now faces attempted murder charges after firing a handgun in the air outside the D/E airport concourse late Tuesday night. No one was hurt, and Patterson said she only wanted to fire shots, not harm anyone. Oh boy. It gets weirder, though. As KATU reports, the 47-year-old woman said “she wanted her family dead because they are pedophiles and were aware of the sexual abuse but covered it up, and had thoughts of killing her family for at least two years.” Whooo.

    After her arrest, the suspect told police “she came to the airport to shoot her gun but not hurt anyone,” a probable cause document states.https://t.co/oRxBOUuTIf

    — KATU News (@KATUNews) November 17, 2023

  • There is still no contract agreement between Portland Public Schools and its teachers union. That means students won’t return to school until at least November 27, after the upcoming Thanksgiving week break. In an effort to break a teachers strike that has drawn on for more than two weeks and kept schools closed, the city of Portland has offered to fast-track Portland Clean Energy Fund dollars to the school district, to help upgrade many of its aging buildings. Classroom conditions in PPS buildings have been a key point in union negotiations. Taylor Griggs has the story.
  • Earlier this week, the Portland City Council reviewed city code changes for the new police oversight body that was overwhelmingly approved by voters in 2020 under Measure 26-217. Voters opted for a new system of investigating and disciplining police–one that doesn’t involve police. But despite appointing a 20-member volunteer group to come up with recommendations on how to implement the new oversight measure, the city then took those recommendations and made substantial changes to try to reincorporate police influence on the new oversight body. Those volunteers, who worked for two years to craft a framework for implementation, are pissed. Read more about what happened and what the implications are for the future of police accountability here.

In National/World News:

  • After several media outlets cast doubt on the Israel Defense Forces claim that Hamas was using the Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza as a stash house of sorts, the IDF has now produced what it says is evidence of a tunnel underneath the hospital that IDF bombed this week.
  • If you’ve ever shaken your ass to a P. Diddy, AKA Puff Daddy, AKA Sean “Puffy” Combs song in a club or held fond regard of P. Diddy, a producer and close friend of the late Notorious BIG, then I’ve got upsetting news. This week, Cassie, a musician who released albums under Combs’ Bad Boy Records label and dated the producer, accused Combs of rape, intimidation and abuse in a lawsuit filed in New York.  One of Cassie’s claims is that Combs blew up Kid Cudi’s car, because Cudi allegedly had romantic interest in her. Combs’ attorneys deny the allegations.

    Sean Combs Accused of Rape in Lawsuit Filed by Former Bad Boy Recording Artist Cassie https://t.co/RJH0Iy2pTs

    — Variety (@Variety) November 16, 2023

  • By now you’ve probably heard that Rep. George Santos, notorious for being a habitual liar, improperly used campaign funds to pay for everything from Botox to Sephora shopping sprees, to OnlyFans content (anyone betting on what his fetish is?) This was after we learned people who fundraised for his campaign allegedly committed identity theft of donors and used their credit cards to make fraudulent purchases. This fucking guy, amiright?! As a fellow Sephora splurger, I can’t fault the guy for wanting nice skin and cosmetics, but ISTG if this pitiful man doesn’t face repercussions for all his fraud-y fuck-ups, I will flip a table harder than Teresa Giudice in Real Housewives of New Jersey. Santos says he won’t run for reelection, which is the least he can do. Here’s a fun read on Santos’ rendezvous on OnlyFans from Rolling Stone.

    Now that we know George Santos spent campaign funds on OnlyFans, here’s George Santos claiming he didn’t know what it was.

    Fox News host: “You just can’t tell the truth.”pic.twitter.com/tmCYKWwFRT

    — No Lie with Brian Tyler Cohen (@NoLieWithBTC) November 16, 2023

  • Speaking of slimy politicians, this week, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected Ron DeSantis’s Florida law banning minors from attending drag queen performances. After lower courts in Florida blocked the law from going into effect, calling it unconstitutional, the state appealed to SCOTUS, only to have the high court deny the request. 💅

    Fuk around and find out@MountRainierWA @LakeSuperior pic.twitter.com/cqEfRK5kdb

    — Mt. St. Helens (@MtStHelensWA) November 14, 2023

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