🐦‍⬛ Portland once tried to ban crows

Oregon Election Updates

Earlier this week, the U.S. Supreme Court allowed President Trump’s election-related executive order to move forward, directing the U.S. Postal Service to come up with a list of citizens eligible to receive ballots by mail. The justices said the states did not have standing to sue — but left open the possibility that Oregon and other states could sue later in the process. Oregon officials reacted to the decision by saying this year’s voting by mail would proceed as planned, just as it has in the state for decades. (Trump himself votes by mail.) [New York Times / Willamette Week]

• Multnomah County chair race’s endorsements: County Commissioner Julia Brim-Edwards has won some key labor union endorsements in recent weeks — from the Oregon Nurses Association, AFSCME Local 88 (the county’s largest employee union), and SEIU Local 503. The last of these unions also endorsed Commissioner Shannon Singleton but ranked her second, even as Singleton touted the endorsement in a recent press release. [Willamette Week]
• Portland City Council candidate gaffe: City Councilor Eli Arnold has a photo of Portland, Maine’s City Hall on his website, next to the words “A City Hall That Works for Businesses.” (Hat tip to listener Josh T. for the tip.) [City Cast Portland 🎧]
• Looking ahead: There’s a mysterious effort to attempt (again) to privatize liquor sales in Oregon. Bryan M. Vance, founder of the food-economy newsletter Stumptown Savings, talked about why that might cost us more. [City Cast Portland 🎧 / Stumptown Savings]

Portland Once Tried To Ban Crows

According to Portland State University professor Catherine McNeur, there was a “misguided effort” in 1929 to ban crows from Portland. Apparently it was to protect songbirds, but the effect might have poisoned birds, rather than helped them. Plus, there was a tangential connection to the KKK. [Instagram]

• Related: Check out the giant Portland crow sculptures around downtown. [Portland Mercury / Instagram]

City Council Will Take Up Fuel Storage on Willamette River

Neighbors and environmental advocates want the city to reduce the risks posed by storing fuel on seismically unstable ground next to the Willamette River. The City Council will be taking up the Critical Energy Infrastructure Hub issue over coming months. A Bureau of Planning and Sustainability proposal would require 11 companies to reduce their fuel storage by 20 percent over the next 10 years — which is satisfying no one. [Portland Mercury]

• Related: Portland’s impending environmental disaster. [City Cast Portland 🎧]

Waymo Gets Signoff for a Lobbying Effort

Here’s the latest indication that Waymo is still working to bring self-driving cars to Portland streets: This month, the company received guidance from the state ethics commission that it was likely allowed to invite state lawmakers and officials on an all-expenses-paid trip to Arizona to see the cars in action. Officials with Gov. Kotek’s office and the Oregon Department of Transportation said they were unaware of any invitation. [Oregonian]