After Aron Christensen was found dead on a remote trail in Washington’s Cascade Mountains – next to his dead 4-month-old puppy – his grieving family say they were given confusing, conflicting information by law enforcement. (1/10) One detective said it was probably a heart attack, claiming that the Portland musician had a “widow-maker’s heart” despite the fact a forensic autopsy had not been completed. (2/10)

THREAD

While examining The Oregonian’s history of racism, we found several editorials that supported the World War II incarceration of people of Japanese descent and news coverage that denigrated those targeted. (1/11) In 1942, Ted Nakashima, a second-generation Japanese American, penned a searing view from inside the Puyallup Fairgrounds near Tacoma. (2/11)

Oregon was the last state in the country to allow a jury to convict someone of a felony other than murder by an 11-1 or 10-2 vote. 1/7 For decades, just two states – Oregon and Louisiana – allowed split jury convictions. The Oregonian helped lead the charge to give the state its discriminatory system. 2/7

From @oregonian editor @tbottomly:

“Reporter @robwdavis began his deep examination of the newspaper’s history more than a year ago. 1/6 @tbottomly @robwdavis He and editor @_Brad_Schmidt spent months reviewing the archives, assessing the evidence and talking to historians and Oregonians whose communities were affected by the coverage. 2/6

On the first day Henry Pittock printed The Morning Oregonian as a daily in 1861, the owner and publisher said he aimed for his newspaper to be “useful and acceptable to our people.” 1/5 Through what it covered and what it ignored, in landmark editorials and harmful stereotypes, the newspaper left no doubt in the decades that followed who Pittock’s “people” were: white men. 2/5

The southern Oregon dad who ended a Christmas Eve call with President Joe Biden by declaring “Let’s go Brandon” told Steve Bannon, former adviser to President Donald Trump, this week that he believes the verifiably false claim that “the election was 100 percent stolen.” 1/5 Despite telling @Oregonian on Saturday that he was not a “Trumper,” and the comment was in jest, Jared Schmeck said Monday he’s “proud” of taunting Biden during a live Christmas event for children. 2/5

Since Oregon’s first-of-its-kind experiment to decriminalize hard drugs went into effect in February, arrests for drug possession have plummeted across Oregon from a daily average of about 1,200 to 200. (1/14) This year’s arrests tend to be for dealer quantities, state officials said. (2/14)

Portland is expected to be as hot, probably hotter, this weekend than it has been since people began keeping track of temperatures in the city decades ago. (1/14) The hottest temperature ever recorded in Portland -- 107 degrees, most recently recorded at the Portland airport in August 1981 -- will likely be eclipsed Sunday, with a predicted high of 109. (2/14)

Man hurt in NE Portland police shooting trib.al/nyvpXZk UPDATE: A Portland police officer shot a man after he came at the officer with a screwdriver outside a Motel 6 near the Oregon Convention Center on Thursday evening, sources say. (1/?)

Just days before Rep. Mike Nearman helped armed protesters enter the closed Oregon Capitol building in December, endangering fellow lawmakers and Capitol employees, he coached constituents on the exact steps to get his help breaking in. (1/8) A video shows Nearman, a Republican from outside Independence, walking constituents through the process of where to stand, how to text him and what help he would provide that would allow them to break into the Capitol during the Dec. 21 special legislative session. (2/8)

Amid calls to ‘defund the police,’ a new poll found that many Portland-area residents want police presence maintained or increased trib.al/w5EvEpz A note about the poll: The poll was commissioned by @Oregonian, and conducted by @DHMresearch, a respected polling firm that selected a representative sample of 600 adults across the four-county metro area via phone and online. (1/3)

U.S. Department of Justice lawyers have asked Portland police to produce a plan on how they will properly report, analyze and investigate officers’ use of force, but the city has refused. (1/11) The city contends such a correction plan isn’t required under its 2014 court-approved settlement agreement on police reforms with the Justice Department. (2/11)

Portland has long stood in the popular imagination as a liberal utopia. In recent years, however, its image has been recast in many minds as a lawless town run by left-wing mobs. Arguably no one has played a larger role in that rewrite than Andy Ngo. (1/7) An attack against Ngo at a downtown demonstration in 2019 transformed the former graduate student with a side-hustle of documenting protesters behaving badly. He quickly became a high-profile figure sought after by national conservative politicians and media personalities. (2/7)

About 200 demonstrators gathered at Revolution Hall and are now marching in the streets of SE Portland for a #J20 protest. Protesters are tagging the Democratic Party of Oregon Headquarters and smashing windows.

(photo from slightly earlier)

Under ramped-up security and pandemic-era restrictions on gathering, President-elect Joe Biden is set to be sworn in Wednesday at the U.S. Capitol. trib.al/TMUHbiL Guests, including Vice President Mike Pence and several former presidents and first ladies, were ceremonially introduced as they walked onto the inauguration platform build onto the Capitol’s West Front.

In her weekly letter to readers, our editor @tbottomly discusses news, opinion and how the editorial board works: (1/13) @tbottomly One of the most persistent complaints I receive is that we are biased. (2/13)

Voting is easier in Oregon than any other state in the nation, according to the latest analysis by a team of political scientists tracking the issue. (1/7) “Oregon, which has one of the most progressive automatic voter registration processes and mail-in voting, maintains the first position as the easiest state in which to vote,” the researchers wrote in a summary of their findings. (2/7)

At least six men across Oregon have been accused of intentionally setting blazes during a disastrous wildfire season that has burned more than a million acres, killed at least nine people and annihilated homes, entire towns and beloved natural areas. (1/7) None of them have ties to left- or right-wing groups or appear to have been motivated by politics, according to police and court records reviewed by @Oregonian. (2/7)

After eight years of fighting wildfires, Solize Ortiz has learned to work with the challenges and dangers of her profession. The Oregon firefighter has been in smoke so thick it’s nearly impossible to breathe, and at times she’s unable to make out the faces of others. (1/14) “Sometimes you can only see silhouettes,” Ortiz said. “You start to recognize how people walk and their mannerisms. That’s usually the best way to identify people on your crew.” (2/14)

Henry Kirim had ducked out of his Southeast Portland apartment to search his car for a missing bank card when a strange man rushed into his ground-floor unit, closed the door and locked it. (1/13) Kirim’s 12-year-old son remained inside. (2/13)

Officials have yet to identify the cause of the 170,000-acre Holiday Farm fire that ripped down the McKenzie River valley starting Labor Day. (1/9) But residents told @Oregonian that the blaze was preceded by a power outage, a loud explosion and a shower of blue sparks from an electric line near milepost 47 on Oregon 126 – the exact location where state officials have pinpointed the start of the fire. (2/9)