by Courtney Vaughn 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! It's Christmas Eve for those who celebrate, and today's forecast calls for mostly rain and clouds, with a potential brief visit from the sun. Today's high is 51. Not bad for December. We'll be taking a break tomorrow for the holiday. We don't know what Santa will bring this year, but for now, we bring you the news.           View this post on Instagram                       A post shared by Suze Bauer ║ 𝘕𝘑 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘺𝘭𝘦 & 𝘛𝘳𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘭 𝘉𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘨𝘦𝘳 (@suze.bauer)   In Local News: • Portland’s Clean Energy Fund, which was approved by voters and created in 2018, has been raking in way more cash than expected. The fund has doled out grant money to local nonprofit organizations doing climate work. It’s also giving millions to local school districts to help them upgrade their HVAC systems and make other climate-friendly site improvements. But the fund–which is controlled by a city bureau–has also been shelling out millions to the city’s own bureaus. The funding has raised questions about whether PCEF is being used to backfill budget gaps at the city. For instance, the city is using PCEF money to replace its fleet vehicles with zero or low-emissions models, and it’s also using the fund to help pay for infrastructure projects like sidewalks. Taylor Griggs has the deep dive. More than a third of the $300 million from the Clean Energy Fund's new program will go to the city's own bureaus, for projects with nonprofit partners. That's on top of $623 million in PCEF funds approved earlier this month for climate initiatives within city bureaus.[image or embed] — Portland Mercury (@portlandmercury.bsky.social) December 23, 2024 at 2:19 PM • ICYMI: PGE, the electric utility that keeps raising our rates, is proposing cutting more than 370 trees on five acres in Forest Park to install new transmission lines. PGE says chopping the trees is necessary in order to bolster its grid amid increased electricity demands. • Multnomah County announced Monday that county commissioners approved $4.1 million in Supportive Housing Services funds (which get passed to the county by Metro) to fund a new village-style shelter on SE 82nd Ave. The 38-pod Harrison Community Village will be developed on property the county purchased in 2022. It previously housed an RV dealership. County officials expect the new shelter to be completed in late 2025. The forthcoming shelter is in addition to 200 temporary overnight shelter beds the city of Portland and Multnomah County are collaborating to open this winter. • Just because the holidays are upon us doesn’t mean there’s nothing to do around Portland. From movies to go see, to festive restaurant offerings and live shows, Everout has compiled the best of the local event listings. Check it out here. Check out all the holly-jolly events to keep you busy this week, from The Jinkx & DeLa Holiday Show to The Annual Kachka Latke Party and the Christmas Day film premieres of Nosferatu and Babygirl. It's our top picks of the week![image or embed] — Portland Mercury (@portlandmercury.bsky.social) December 23, 2024 at 3:45 PM   @fraserandcompany #santa #merry #fyp ♬ Because I Got High - Afroman In National/World News: • Trump wants to buy Greenland. No, really. What's up with rich people thinking they can just buy a country? This ain't Schitt's Creek. The incoming president floated the idea during his first term in office, but it wasn’t taken seriously. Now, he’s at it again after recently insisting that the US needs to regain control of the Panama Canal. America ceded control of the canal to Panama back in 1999, but now, Trump says US-bound goods that get shipped through the canal are subjected to tariffs that are too high. Trump’s absurd offer to buy the country is likely part of a strategic move to gain control of shipping routes. According to the AP, Greenland’s head of government was clear: “Greenland is ours. We are not for sale and will never be for sale,” he said. Trump’s response (via Truth Social): “We’ll see about that!” 😑  • You know things are screwed when Sesame Street is in danger. The beloved children’s show that for decades, used a combination of puppets and people to teach kids how to count, read, and process emotions, was canned by HBO. Before streaming services transformed the way we watch TV, Sesame Street was broadcast exclusively on PBS, virtually guaranteeing public access to the show. In 2016, the show migrated to HBO to air new episodes. But HBO recently opted not to renew Sesame Street, and now the nonprofit company that produces the show is scrambling to find a new streaming service that can bring in enough revenue to keep the show going. • In recent years, bars and restaurants have leaned heavily on mock meat products like Beyond burgers to offer basic meatless options. Vegans and vegetarians have also turned to the faux chicken and beef products as a savory source of protein that closely resembles the real thing. Most mock meat products rely either on pea protein or soy as the main ingredient. Recently, a study from a team of nutrition researchers at the University of São Paulo and Imperial College London lumped these meatless products in with “ultra-processed” plant-based foods that lead to heart disease and early death. Several major media outlets parroted the study's conclusions. But Vox dug deeper about how the study was conducted and what foods were included. Turns out, the data was collected years before brands like Impossible or Beyond existed, and only a small fraction of study participants ate mock meat products over a two-day period. The study's lead researcher told Vox that no "meaningful conclusions" can be drawn from the study with specific regard to plant-based meat products. Despite that, the study was released with images of meatless sausages to illustrate ultra-processed vegan food's negative impact on health. What's more, the study also included foods like tofu and tempeh, which have been produced and consumed in Asian countries for centuries, as ultra-processed plant foods. In reality, while processed foods are generally considered unhealthy, what constitutes "ultra-processed food" for the purposes of determining nutritional value is broad and debatable, and often predicated on arbitrary data.  Finally, this dog is all of us.           View this post on Instagram                       A post shared by The Road Well Traveled (@the.roadwelltraveled)