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! 👋 A foggy morning will clear away to reveal the sun and high of... 69. (Niiiiiice.) Will that joke never stop being funny? To you maybe, but apparently not to me. Anyway, let's read some partially niiiiiiiice NEWS.  IN LOCAL NEWS: • A cannabis dispensary employee in North Portland has been charged with two counts of second-degree murder and two counts of unlawful use of a weapon after allegedly shooting and killing a pair of young men who police say were trying to rob the store. The La Mota dispensary has reportedly been robbed four times since 2022, and police are looking for a third suspect in the robbery that escaped. • Deschutes County sheriff candidate Kent Vander Kamp was desperately trying to hide his past police record from local media outlet OPB, but that plan blew up in his face after his own lawyers inadvertently released the records. (Whoopsie.) Turns out during his stint as a volunteer officer in La Mesa, California, Vander Kamp was accused of several acts of "serious misconduct," including using excessive force on a driver and perhaps "falsely arresting him," as well as providing false information. UPDATE: So, the lawyer who threatened to take OPB to court to prevent records from becoming public —- published those records as part of his court filing this afternoon. 🫡https://t.co/aZRODMTbXf — Ryan Haas (@ryanjhaas) October 10, 2024 • A woman in Kitsap County, Washington, called 911 to report that 50 to 100 raccoons descended upon her property, acting aggressively. The woman had apparently been feeding the local raccoon population, which had been fine until six weeks ago, when alllll the raccoons began showing up day and night, and even surrounding and scratching her car as she tried to exit, begging for food.  • If you're a fan of seeing the Northern Lights, you may be in luck tonight: A severe G4-class geomagnetic storm could be possible thanks to a solar flare hurtling toward earth, which could result in an exciting night sky light show between 8 pm and midnight. A new report assessing "inflation misery" reveals that Oregonians need to spend 13% more of their income a year - or almost $10,000 -just to maintain the same standard of living they had 5 years ago.https://t.co/G4Bhw32AkW — KATU News (@KATUNews) October 9, 2024 • What's happening in the music scene this week? Let resident expert Jenni Moore illuminate you with this week's HEAR IN PORTLAND: It's A Beat Happening’s final show for 2024, Fountaine has a hot new single, and Isabeau Waia'u Walker slips on the gloves for her new release Heavyweight. IN NATIONAL/WORLD NEWS: • The deadly Hurricane Milton has mostly passed through Florida—killing at least four, and knocking out the power for 3 million—as it moves into the Atlantic. Surprise tornados that preceded the storm yesterday are to blame for the deaths, which were so powerful they ripped the roofs off buildings and flipped tractor trailer trucks. The good news—if there was any—is that the powerful storm was a less damaging category 3 when it hit the state, falling to a category 1 as it passed through. That said, the total damage is scary, widespread, and still being assessed.  Sean 'Diddy' Combs to make first appearance before trial judge in sex trafficking case https://t.co/DGEtxqQWbE — The Associated Press (@AP) October 10, 2024 • More trouble for the Trump campaign as they're struggling to find enough money to keep up with Harris, following the plummet of small donor funding which has kept his political dreams afloat for far too long. Trump has raised only $98 million through June (a 40 percent drop) while the Harris campaign has thus far raised a whopping $285 million. (Of course, it doesn't matter how much you raise when the task is deprogramming cult members... but I'll take my good news where I can get it.) • So, like, are they asking to be defunded? Irvine police department spent $150,000 on a custom Cybertruck, which—I am not making this up—"will principally be driven by DARE officers to schools" https://t.co/s4eWyerU0f — Tim Murphy (@timothypmurphy) October 8, 2024 • One of my fave tennis players of all time, Rafael Nadal, has announced his retirement from the game at age 38. Known for his wicked brutal matches against the also great Roger Federer, Nadal was a master of the clay court and won an astounding 14 titles out of 17 tries at the French Open.  • And finally, to my haters? This is me... when you least expect it. @the_tygress I don’t play…. #cat #catsoftiktok #skateboard #fyp ♬ original sound - the_tygress