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! 👋 Hellooooo, and happy tummy time! Why? Because TODAY kicks off one of the most delicious weeks of the year: It's the Mercury's WING WEEK, featuring $8 plates of delicious, savory wings cooked up by 70 (!) of the greatest restaurants in Portland! Don't deny your stomach what it's begging you for. And don't deny your brain this morning's roundup of delicious NEWS. IN LOCAL NEWS: • In 2020, Portland residents said "enough is enough" and voted to have a truly independent citizen-led police oversight board that wasn't constantly hobbled by overreaching influence by the cops. Now that this board will most likely kick off in earnest next year, city officials are doing everything they can to skirt past the wishes of voters, and shove biased cops into the mix. FRUSTRATING! And our Abe Asher has more. Meanwhile, the data our organization tracks at https://t.co/0VQVssQAdk shows killings by police are at currently at record levels nationwide. — Samuel Sinyangwe (@samswey) September 30, 2024 • DING-DONG, THE MORALLY CORRUPT "PEOPLE FOR PORTLAND" IS DEAD! Best known for their dark money-fueled, anti-Portland billboards that helped convince people in and outside of the city that Portland is a shit-hole hellscape (thereby giving wealthy more political capital), the organization known as "People of Portland" is shutting down (hopefully) forever. Organizers Dan Lavey and Kevin Looper (who was once sued by the city for not paying taxes) are claiming they've "done their job" by scaring voters into reversing progressive legislation and kicking out reform candidates—though it's far more likely that they're closing up shop due to a lack of money, as well as campaign finance law violations. Worse than that, during their three years of gross, cynical behavior, they helped tank Portland's tourism industry, fed the city a constant stream of disinformation, and their headquarters wasn't even in Portland. But don't fret, conservatives! Their work is still being carried on by other political action groups run by rich people, like the one that's side-stepping small donor limits by pumping a whopping $70,000 into the campaign for their fave fear-mongering mayoral candidate, Rene Gonzalez. But for today, we celebrate. Good riddance, "People for Portland," and please do let the door hit your ass on the way out. 🎉 (Our Courtney Vaughn has all the details.) • The hubby of Veep and presidential wanna-be Kamala Harris, Doug Emhoff (AKA the second gentleman), dropped by Portland yesterday to speak at a fundraiser hosted by Tinhouse editor Win McCormack and political consultant Carol Butler. Harris and Emhoff were on a West Coast swing to promote her campaign as well as other Dems down the ballot. He did not stop by to say hi to me. Maybe he was busy or something. 😞 • One of the founding members of the Portland Thorns, Christine Sinclair, announced on Friday that she will be retiring from playing professional soccer. After leaving the Canadian national team in 2023, Sinclair will be finishing her career with the Thorns as the world's top goal scorer, with her last game being on November 1. Get them tix, y'all! Calling all trivia detectives! 🕵🏻‍♀️ It's time for another POP QUIZ PDX! See if you can crack the clues and solve the case of the missing unicorn cat, the disappearing Vaux's swifts, and whatever happened to political ethics? 🤔 See how well YOU score!https://t.co/Av2B6Gvm0i — Portland Mercury 🗞 (@portlandmercury) September 29, 2024 IN NATIONAL/WORLD NEWS: • Hurricane Helene has killed nearly 100 people across the southeastern US, with North Carolina taking an unusually large brunt of the storm (accounted for a third of all deaths) thanks to massive flooding. Thousands remain without basic necessities as the search continues for those who are missing. Naturally, Trump stuck his foot in his mouth as usual, telling the folks in the Southeast on Twitter, “You’ll be okay... (Dozens of deaths have already been reported).” 😑 Nearly 100,000 Asheville residents may not have access to water for weeks, according to a press release shared by the city on Sunday afternoon.https://t.co/7fpSthfuRh — Blue Ridge Public Radio (@BlueRidgePublic) September 29, 2024 • This weekend, Israeli airstrikes wiped out much of Hezbollah's top command, including longtime leader Hassan Nasrallah and much of the residential neighborhood surrounding the militant members. Bombing has reportedly killed 1,000 people in Lebanon in the last two weeks, a quarter of whom were women and children. Israel is allegedly preparing to launch a ground offensive into southern Lebanon.  • Tomorrow night marks the vice presidential debate between Tim "Ballz to the" Walz and JD "Childless Cat Lady" Vance, which could be a banger (or make no difference whatsoever). Meanwhile in "Look what that idiot Trump said this time" news: "Trump says ‘1 rough hour’ of policing would end crime." Bowen Yang as Moo Deng channeling Chappell Roan on SNL. pic.twitter.com/EW7plCnbeY — Pop Crave (@PopCrave) September 29, 2024 • RIP to country singer, writer, activist, and actor Kris Kristofferson, who besides being a recording artist in his own right, wrote for Janis Joplin, Johnny Cash, and more. He has died at the age of 88. Also dead, actor John Ashton—best known for his cantankerous role in Beverly Hills Cop—who passed at age 76. • And finally, let's kick off the week with some of the most sage advice you will ever hear. LEARN IT. KNOW IT. LIVE IT! @bigtimemaca I DO THIS SO OFTEN #song #eating #food #emotions #personal #mentalhealth #house #edm #beats ♬ original sound - Max Castillo