Dec 31, 2024
by Suzette Smith This time of year, we're inundated by MONEY REQUESTS from people we like, groups we consider noble, asshats who don't remember they bullied us in grade school, and organizations where we're like... wait... what DO YOU DO?—maybe I even asked you for money. DO WHAT'S RIGHT FOR YOU, but if you appreciate the Mercury's interesting and useful news & culture reporting, consider making a small monthly contribution to support our editorial team. Happy New Year's Eve, Portland! It's gonna be a wet one—how very Portland of us. We're looking at rain all day and even more rain tonight. New Year's Day won't be exactly dry, but it will slow its torrent long enough to let the bandwidth catch up. Then it's rain until next week.  IN LOCAL NEWS:• Old year, same old drama. According to OPB, Portland City Commissioner Rene Gonzalez filed a tort claim earlier in the month, threatening to sue the city—which he co-governed for the last four years—because city police forces haven't found the people who allegedly did crimes at him. Said the entire city of Portland, upon hearing police have not made an arrest in the case, "hmm, first time?" At the beginning of 2024, Gonzalez reported that a car belonging to a family member, parked on the street outside his Eastmoreland house, had been set on fire. Back then, Portland police said the fire appeared to have been "intentionally set," and an anonymous website claimed the fire was the work of anarchists. • A Multnomah County judge pushed back leniency hearings for five people on Monday, saying it was simply a procedural delay to give incoming District Attorney Nathan Vasquez the appropriate amount of time to decide if the office under his leadership wishes to continue the applications. The petitions for reduced sentences were working within Senate Bill 819, "which allows a district attorney and someone convicted of a crime to jointly ask a judge to revisit a conviction or reduce a prison sentence," the Oregonian reports. In the days before he left office, outgoing DA Mike Schmidt had been trying to make sure eight additional cases had a chance for leniency. However a new nonprofit Oregon Criminal Justice Truth Project argued that victims hadn't been provided with a written copy of the resentencing petition in enough time, causing the delay. Readers may want to clock that the new Oregon Criminal Justice Truth Project and the Criminal Justice Reform Center at Lewis and Clark Law School (who were representing at least one of the petitioners) are not the same organization. • 2024 was a big year for pertussis (whooping cough) in Oregon. According to KOIN, the Oregon Health Authority has reported 1,105 cases this year, which is a new high for us, since 1950. Around that time was when whooping cough joined the super-group Tdap vaccine and immunization became more widespread—just an incredibly effective method of keeping children healthy. • Pip’s Original Donut Shop announced yesterday that it has closed its Beaverton location, which opened in 2023. "When we first opened the economic conditions were a lot different and they have radically deteriorated over the last couple of years," a representative from the business wrote. The post goes on to describe trying to cut costs and negotiate lower rent without success. "Sometimes you have to cut off the arm to save the body and that's really what it felt like here," the post continued, unintentionally saying something deeply powerful and true about Beaverton. Pip's NE Fremont location remains open, and the business said it's working out severance packages for its suddenly-out-of-work staff. • As part of our year-end round-ups, check out this eclectic list of the Mercury culture writing team's favorite cultural moments of 2024. One the list, Ladds 500, Wicked's "Defying Gravity," a costume screening of Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar at PAM CUT and much more! • If you're just getting around to making some New Year's Eve plans, the calendar team has an extensive list and our Hear in Portland music columnist made a few curated picks. IN NATIONAL / INTERNATIONAL NEWS:• US presidents don't die everyday, so we'll be considering the legacy of Jimmy Carter for some time. As far as Oregon and her flags are considered, Gov Kotek had flags lowered to half-staff yesterday and will keep them there until sunset on January 28, 2025. • The Biden administration announced Monday that they believe an intelligence agency in China hacked the US Treasury. The New York Times reports that it isn't yet clear "what the hackers were seeking. But senior officials with access to the intelligence on the breach said that it appeared to be entirely an espionage operation and not part of other Chinese efforts to insert malicious computer code into utility grids and water supply systems, giving them a capability to shut off critical American infrastructure."  • We say this all the time, but here goes again. Cars are making everyone miserable.   So many Americans struggle to imagine life that doesn't revolve around cars or consider the upsides. Reminds me of the David Foster Wallace line about a fish that passes other fish and says "hey, how's the water?," to which one replies, "what the hell is water?" www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024...[image or embed] — David Zipper (@davidzipper.bsky.social) December 29, 2024 at 2:45 PM • After eight years, Brangelina have finally reached a divorce settlement—legally becoming the two separate actors-celebrities, Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, once more. We can imagine that the next Trash Report will have a lot to say about this. • Now, if you missed this gem hidden in our Favorite Movies of 2024, take a chance to bask in this song about our regular film critic Dom Sinacola:  
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