(PORTLAND, Ore.) Hello Portlanders! It's Friday, Aug. 4 - Here's your daily round up of all the news happening in the City of Roses.
1. Advocates call for independent investigation into Multnomah County jails after inmate deaths
Following the deaths of eight inmates at Multnomah County jails within the past 12 months, advocates are calling for an independent investigation into jail operations. Five of the deaths have occurred in the past three months.
The number of deaths is unusually high and the sheriff’s office announced a plan Thursday that includes an independent assessment of the jails.
The latest inmate death occurred on Tuesday at the Multnomah County Detention Center. According to the sheriff’s office, 36-year-old Clemente Pineda was found unresponsive in his cell. Despite lifesaving efforts, he was pronounced dead. This is how many of the nine in-custody deaths since the beginning of 2022 have been described: found unresponsive in their cell and pronounced dead.
In 2020 and 2021, there were no in-custody deaths in Multnomah County jails. Sheriff Nicole Morrisey O’Donnell said last month that her office takes the care of inmates seriously, and added that the deaths are traumatic and distressing to everyone involved.
2. Hello Kitty mobile café coming to Bridgeport Village this weekend
Hello Kitty’s mobile café is coming to the Portland area this weekend, after the two trucks have already traveled to more than 100 U.S. cities. The pop-up is scheduled to stop by Tigard’s Bridgeport Village this Saturday.
The Hello Kitty café will offer sweet treats like macarons, cookies and madeleines. It will also sell apparel and other limited-edition merchandise like lunch boxes, canvas totes, plush toys, hoodies and t-shirts.
The truck will stop on 7455 Southwest Bridgeport Road, near the Regal Bridgeport Village Theater, on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
3. Newport sea lion docks return, so do rowdy residents
Nearly eight months after a storm wiped out the Newport sea lion docks, new advanced docks were put in place, but for awhile they remained empty, much to the dismay of visitors. Every July, the sea lions head to warmer waters in California to mate, but as of Thursday, the rowdy residents were back.
The docks have been a major attraction on the Bayfront in Newport for decades. The original docks were owned by the Port of Newport and created for reaction boaters in the mid-1990s. The docks didn’t gain popularity with boaters, but male sea lions claimed them for their own. Visitors later dubbed the docks “bachelor row” and it became a tourist destination.
Thanks for reading! See you next week with all the latest Portland news.
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