OPB’s First Look: Todd Snider dead at 59

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Good morning, Northwest.

Portland-born singer-songwriter Todd Snider has died at the age of 59, according to his management team’s announcement today. OPB’s Ryan Haas has the story.

On the Oregon Coast, Rogue Ales & Spirits abruptly shut down its Newport operations and all of its restaurants yesterday after 37 years in business. Lincoln Chronicle’s Shayla Escudero has the details.

And in Washington state, the Skamania County Sheriff’s Office says it will stop using Flock cameras to read license plates of speeding vehicles, citing concerns that the data could be used for unreasonable searches and seizures. OPB’s Erik Neumann has more.

Plus, yesterday the Trump administration appealed a federal court ruling that barred it from deploying the National Guard to Portland.

Here’s your First Look at Saturday’s news.

— Winston Szeto

Portland-born songwriter Todd Snider dead at 59

Singer-songwriter Todd Snider has died at the age of 59, according to his record label. Snider’s management team shared news of his death today.

Snider was born in Portland and became well known in the roots music scene of the early 2000s, particularly for his album “East Nashville Skyline,” which helped shape the modern alternative country genre.

Snider’s cause of death was not immediately clear, but he had been dealing with various health complications since he sustained injuries in an apparent assault in Salt Lake City, Utah, while on tour in early November.

Snider’s team encouraged his fans to remember him by putting on one of his records and playing “it loud enough to wake up all of your neighbors or at least loud enough to always wake yourself up.” (Ryan Haas)

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3 things to know this morning

• Yesterday, President Donald Trump’s administration appealed a ruling from U.S. District Court Judge Karin Immergut in Oregon that barred it from deploying the National Guard to Portland. (Claire Rush) 
• Rogue Ales & Spirits, which has seen its beer sales drop and owes hundreds of thousands of dollars in rent and back taxes, abruptly shut its massive Newport operations and all of its restaurants yesterday. (Shayla Escudero) 
• Skamania County Sheriff Summer Scheyer announced this week that her office would discontinue using Flock Safety cameras over concerns that a recent Washington state court decision could make it easier to weaponize the data they collect. (Erik Neumann)

Headlines from around the Northwest

• ‘I’m not buying Starbucks and you should not either’: Seattle Mayor-elect Katie Wilson joins striking baristas (Casey Martin) 
• Eugene’s Urban Forestry Department plants street trees to reach city climate goals (Julia Boboc)
• 2 families with babies sickened by infantile botulism sue over recalled formula distributed out of Oregon (Jonel Aleccia) 
• Using the gift: The intuitive art of Rick Bartow (Eric Slade) 
• Seal escapes Puget Sound orca hunt by jumping onto photographer’s boat (Cedar Attanacio) 
• To meet growing energy demand, Oregon is ‘nuclear curious,’ mostly cautious (Alex Baumhardt) 
• Dante Moore throws for 2 touchdowns and No. 7 Oregon routs Minnesota 42-13 (Anne M. Peterson)

Portland Monthly unveils its list of 25 restaurants that made the city a culinary capital

It may be hard to believe, but 25 years ago, Portland was not a food city. So how did it become the culinary juggernaut it is today?

That was the question Portland Monthly set out to answer in their winter issue, which takes a deep dive into the 25 restaurants that shaped the last 25 years of Portland’s food scene.

Portland Monthly senior associate editor Matthew Trueherz oversaw the months-long project and spoke with OPB’s “All Things Considered” host Crystal Ligori. (Crystal Ligori)

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Subscribe to OPB’s First Look to receive Northwest news in your inbox six days a week.

Correction: This newsletter has been updated with the correct photo of Todd Snider. OPB regrets the error.