by Taylor Griggs 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! Your daily weather update, as usual for this time of year, contains a strong likelihood of rain. Overnight temperatures are nearing freezing. You are permitted to stay inside all day if you wish. (This is me admitting/realizing I stayed inside all day yesterday and trying to make myself feel better. It's actually better to go outside.) OK. Time for the news? Sure. Let's go. LOCAL NEWS: • The Oregon Department of Transportation, which will hence be known as ODOT in this blurb, announced it will break ground on its plan to expand I-5 through Portland's Rose Quarter this summer. This kind of planning is only possible because the Oregon Transportation Commission (OTC) voted to allocate $250 million to the Rose Quarter project last week. But ODOT's announcement was met with concern for several reasons, including... ODOT now has $850 million for the Rose Quarter project. Sounds like a lot, right? Well, yeah—but it only covers the cost of a fraction of the plan, which the agency estimates will cost somewhere between $1.5 and $1.9 billion (and others expect further price hikes). This means ODOT's current construction plan only includes a portion of the freeway expansion, some stormwater facilities near I-405, a bit of bridge work, and about a block's worth of caps over I-5. That last component is the most crucial. The freeway caps ODOT plans to build over I-5 in an effort to reconnect the historically Black Albina neighborhood, which was bisected by freeway construction in the 1960s, have been a key part of the Rose Quarter project in recent years. The caps are intended to bring restorative justice and revitalization to the Albina area, and ODOT hasn't shied away from promoting them to sell the project to skeptics. So, people are counting on them to build out the freeway caps as planned. ODOT leaders say they'll do that once they get more help from state legislators. But that may not be so easy, because... State legislators are dealing with a variety of interests from their constituents, some of whom are irritated that ODOT's money and attention seems to be so fixed on Portland-area freeway expansion projects. It's not a done deal that the Oregon Legislature will vote to fund the rest of the Rose Quarter plan in the upcoming legislative session. Also... The Rose Quarter project is still the subject of three open lawsuits, which allege the plan to expand I-5 is out of step with Portland's regional transportation and climate plans, and say the feds haven't done enough to analyze its environmental impact. No More Freeways, the organization leading the lawsuits, says they're not going anywhere. As climate change worsens, environmental advocates say it's ridiculous to expand road capacity for cars instead of investing in other transportation options. And as more and more people in Oregon are killed or seriously injured in traffic crashes, transportation safety advocates want to see more investment in making our streets safer.  Did I just summarize the Mercury's latest article on this matter for you? Yes, pretty much. Should you read it anyway? Duh! There's more to learn HERE.  • Street Roots staff, who announced their intent to unionize last week, hoped the nonprofit's board would voluntarily recognize their union—especially considering the organization's stated commitment to social justice issues. But the union announced yesterday that the board declined to do so, apparently citing the bargaining unit's scope, which included two people who Street Roots management argued shouldn't qualify for membership. The union also said the board failed to post notice of the upcoming NLRB election, which violates federal labor law. However, staff feel certain that with the strong support amongst members, they will win an election if the board continues this stance. But it's definitely not the outcome they were hoping for. Read our update here.  • Sue from Corporate, a beloved and bedazzled local drag queen, is leaving Portland. But not before giving the Mercury an exit interview! Check out the piece, by HR Smith, here.  Action items in this mandatory exit interview with Portland drag queen Sue from Corporate:• how many wigs it takes to move cross-country• Youtube as mother• and why nothing is scarier than corporate culture[image or embed] — Portland Mercury (@portlandmercury.bsky.social) December 10, 2024 at 11:17 AM • Another W for Lina Khan's Federal Trade Commission (as well as the people of Oregon): Judges in Oregon and Washington separately ruled against the Kroger-Albertsons merger yesterday. The two grocery chains said the $24.6 billion merger would be good for employees and the public, but the FTC and several states (including Oregon) disagreed, and sued to block it. Merger opponents say if the grocery store merger went through, it would constitute a monopoly, eliminating competition and resulting in price hikes for consumers. The judges—a federal judge in Oregon, and a King County judge in Washington—apparently agreed. While it's possible the companies can appeal the decision, the Seattle Times quoted antitrust expert Douglas Ross calling the consolidation all but dead. "This merger is over," Ross said. “Antitrust lawyers can quibble with details but the odds of getting reversals of both opinions is vanishingly small.”    The Geminids are some of the best meteors of the year, but seeing them in western Oregon in December can be tricky. www.oregonlive.com/weather/2024...[image or embed] — The Oregonian (@oregonian.bsky.social) December 10, 2024 at 6:42 PM   • Let's turn our attention down to Eugene, where people are being threatened with arrest for feeding homeless people in a park. Apparently, the faith-based group Neighbors Feeding Neighbors is operating without a permit, and has been involved in months of back-and-forth with the city. It seems likely the group has been the subject of complaints from people who like to complain about social services "attracting" homeless people, without thinking about the consequences of taking away those resources. A Neighbors Feeding Neighbors leader says she and her volunteers will continue feeding those in need, even if they get arrested for doing so.  NATIONAL/WORLD NEWS: • I understand the Mercury's Good Morning, News posts have heavily featured a certain Italian-American alleged criminal for three days in a row now...but you're just going to have to get used to it. Luigi Mangione, the 26-year-old accused of killing the UnitedHealthcare CEO last week, has gripped the nation's attention. Now, we're learning a bit more about Mangione and his (alleged) crime. Most notably, his real manifesto has now been published (some fraudulent ones went around earlier this week). It's a concise message of retribution condemning the US healthcare system, which Mangione says "has grown and grown," outpacing American life expectancy and avoiding consequences.  "I do apologize for any strife of traumas but it had to be done. Frankly, these parasites simply had it coming," Mangione wrote. "They continue to abuse our country for immense profit because the American public has allwed them to get away with it."  He also cited writer Elisabeth Rosenthal and filmmaker Michael Moore, both of whom have covered the depravity of our country's for-profit healthcare industry and are now probably flooded with mixed feelings about this whole situation.  Meanwhile, Mangione's lawyer has received letters from people offering to pay for his legal bills. This is a very strange situation, indeed.  Students at Pepperdine University were ordered to take refuge in several of the school’s fire-resistant buildings as a wildfire scorched through the area www.huffpost.com/entry/pepper...[image or embed] — Phil Lewis (@phillewis.bsky.social) December 10, 2024 at 6:10 PM • In other FTC news: Just yesterday, Trump announced Andrew Ferguson, a current FTC commissioner, is his pick to chair the agency under his new administration. Ferguson, a Republican, was actually appointed by President Biden, and has only served on the commission since April. He has strong ties to ultra-conservative Republican lawmakers and has apparently indicated support for "standing up to Big Tech censorship" against conservative voices. So...a downgrade, to be sure.    • A federal report on the state of the Arctic was released yesterday, and, surprise...it's a downer! One especially dismal finding: As the Arctic tundra thaws, it's becoming a source of greenhouse gases, released long-frozen carbon into the atmosphere and participating in a climate-warming feedback loop. Scientists expected this, but it's still alarming, and just another sign of our planet's increasing struggle to contend with all the planet-warming gases humans have emitted in the last century or so.   • NOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!! In all the horrible news I've heard today, this is among the worst. Breaking News: A judge said he would not approve the sale of Infowars to The Onion, prolonging the tug of war for ownership of the site founded by Alex Jones.[image or embed] — The New York Times (@nytimes.com) December 10, 2024 at 9:00 PM • Finally, cougar cubs...they're just like our cats. Awww. Happy Wednesday!              View this post on Instagram                       A post shared by Oregon Zoo (@oregonzoo)