April 26, 2024
Headlines

Good Morning, News: Portland Homebuyers vs. Real Estate Investors, Office Security, and Seal Pup PSA – Blogtown

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seal dog on the beach

It’s seal season on the Oregon coast! But remember to watch the gravity from afar. Donald E. Hall / Getty Images

Good morning, Portland! Well, that’s enough foreplay – on the headlines!

In local news:

• It is getting more and more difficult to buy a home in Portland, and part of the reason is that real estate investors are snapping up homes at a higher rate every year. Investors bought 12.6 percent of homes sold in Portland during the fourth quarter of 2021 — that’s a 46.3 percent increase over the same period in 2020. First-time homebuyers often can’t compete with the finances of investors, who usually They are either flipping the house or renting it for a profit.

• Deja vu alert! Last week, People for Portland proposed a ballot measure that would redirect taxpayer dollars from building permanent housing to building temporary shelters via metro bonds that were approved by voters, but deleted for being unconstitutional. This week, People for Portland submitted – get this – a workable matching proposal. Confused? Tbh, me too, but Alex Zelensky breaks everything here.

• A union representing Multnomah County Library workers demands Change to library security system amid contract negotiation. As homelessness and behavioral health issues have worsened over the past few years, library staff say they face more violent attacks from patrons who have taken refuge in the library. “I have to get up every day and find out, is this the day someone gets stabbed, or shot?” One librarian said WW.

• The Portland-based Canary Room’s latest project has been taped to a park due to COVID-19 safety precautions, and is filled with sparsely arranged acoustic guitar punctuated by chirping birds and the sounds of a gentle breeze purring the trees. Check out Ben Salmon’s review and interview with artist Maddy Heide.

In national and international news:

• Grand Rapids Police released a video on Wednesday of the police shooting of Patrick Liuya in Michigan earlier this month, citing the need for transparency. Liuya, a black man, was shot in the back of the head by a white police officer after a traffic stop. The video shows Lyoya and the officer physically struggling on the ground while the officer shouts at Lyoya to “give up” the Taser bolt. The camera for the officer’s body was turned off during the fight before the shooting, which the police chief attributed to the accidental pressing of the camera’s record button due to body pressure.

• Ukrainian officials say they bombed a Russian military ship with missiles overnight, sinking the warship. Russian officials say the ship was badly damaged, but remains afloat. The ship carries 16 missiles and it would be a huge loss for Russian firepower if it was taken out of battle.

• Amazon is adding a 5 percent “fuel and inflation surcharge” to the fees it charges third-party sellers on the platform as of April 28. Some business experts expect third-party sellers to pass the additional fees on to consumers.

• Hundreds of small earthquakes were recorded this week near the Alaskan volcano that has been dormant for 800 years. Scientists say there is no current cause for concern because volcanoes already have “swarms of earthquakes” that do not trigger an eruption, but they are tracking the underwater volcano’s activity closely.

• Hello there, Stoners! The SPLIFF Film Festival – which features short, hilarious, 3D and thought-out films about cannabis and stonemason just like you – is coming to Revolution Hall for one night only on Saturday, April 16th! Get these tickets now! (And speaking of munchies, your favorite week of the year is just around the corner: it’s MercuryPIZZA WEEK is offering $3 specialty chips at 28 locations across the Portland area, starting Monday, April 18-24. All of them!)

• And finally, a very nice PSA ad.

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