It's Friday.

Situational awareness: The community of Bend is grieving after police say a 16-year-old gunman forced his way into Silver Rail Elementary School and killed three children — ages 5, 8 and 11 — as well as a teacher yesterday afternoon, per OPB.

• The assailant was shot and killed by a community member who followed the gunman into the school. Two others, a child and an adult, were taken to a hospital in critical condition.
• Hundreds of community members gathered at Drake Park last night for a candlelight vigil to mourn the tragedy.

🌤️ Today's weather: Mostly sunny. High 77, low 52.

Today’s newsletter is 1,089 words — a 4-minute read.

I grew up watching "Friends" reruns (sue me, I'm a millennial) thinking I'd spend a significant chunk of my adult life lingering on couches at coffee shops, gossiping and falling in love over comically large cappuccinos.

• Instead, it takes only about 15 minutes of me sitting on a hardwood bench in a minimalist cafe, sipping an $8 matcha, before my butt goes numb and I wonder whether I'm taking up too much space.

Why it matters: The cozy coffee shops of yore — er, the '90s and early aughts — seem to be going extinct in Portland, which embraced the beverage as part of its branding all those decades ago.

• Coffee shops have long served as the city's unofficial living rooms.
• But over the years, comfy furniture, overfilled bookshelves and all-day menus were replaced with industrial design aesthetics as carefully considered as the single-origin beans for sale.

The shift reflects changing tastes, according to design magazine Dwell.

• But it's also a result of the rise of the dynamic specialty coffee scene, social media marketing, and the harsh economic realities of running a small business.

Don't get me wrong: There are plenty of coffee shops I'd define as "cozy" in Portland that go beyond just having a soft place to sit down.

• Fehrenbacher Hof, Dragonfly Coffee House, Floyd's, Crema, The Stacks Coffeehouse, Rimsky-Korsakoffee House and Dear Sandy all curate an inviting atmosphere.
• They just don't make up the majority of new coffee shops opening these days.

Yes, but: There may be a practical reason the couch-filled, "java-style" coffeehouse is fading. Fellow food writer Ben Coleman has seen it, too.

• A customer nursing a $4 black coffee and taking over a table for six hours to write their screenplay isn't exactly a winning business model for an independent cafe facing rising rents, tariffs and labor costs, he told me.
• Instead, we're in an era when photogenic interiors are fawned over by influencers and double as free marketing on Instagram — attracting customers before they even try a latte.
• Therefore, a beautiful space may be more valuable than a comfortable one.

The bottom line: Central Perk is fictional, I know. And not every new, minimalist cafe is unwelcoming. I'm a regular at many.

• I just wish our city had more spaces to make memories than to take pictures.

☕ Am I just being nostalgic? Tell me what coffee shops you go to and why you love 'em.

As reporters, we get a lot of pitches from PR folks based on what's trending on social media or Google or wherever else things trend.

• We recently got ahold of Google's trending data for most-searched Halloween costumes in Portland, and we've got some thoughts.

Here's what Google says we all want to dress up as this year, in order of popularity:

• A mermaid, Winnie-the-Pooh, Coraline, mummy and Storm from the Marvel Universe.

💭 My thought bubble: Portland is a bastion of creativity and weirdness. Is some off-the-shelf mermaid costume really the best we can do?

Here's just a quick list of costume ideas that could really scare Portlanders:

• A 6-6 City Council vote.
• Tom Dundon.
• A latte made with dairy milk — or, if you want to be really scary, one from a national chain.

Honorable mentions: An umbrella, a California license plate, Preschool-for-Some, a warm and dry winter, a hiker who leaves a trace, an off-leash dog walker.

📤 Tell us: What costume would you pick if you wanted to scare the pants off a Portlander?

• Click here to let us know or hit reply on this email. The weirder, the better. We might use your response in a story.

Tell someone spooky

⚖️ The Department of Justice sued the city over its rules limiting when federal officers can wear masks. (KPTV)

♻️ The People's Depot, a bottle and can redemption site under the Morrison Bridge, was ordered by the city to close by Jan. 31 but the nonprofit's planned move indoors remains stalled by permitting delays. (The Oregonian)

🎨 PSU unveiled its new $90 million art building this week, backed by a multi-million dollar donation from developer and art collector Jordan Schnitzer, bringing the university's art and design programs under one roof. (Willamette Week)

Parking is going to get a little pricier on the Central Eastside, and could get a lot more expensive near the Moda Center during special events.

Zoom in: About 11% of parking spaces in the Central Eastside Industrial District will have new signs starting in November, the city announced this week.

• Check out a map of the changes here.
• PBOT is also proposing to raise street parking rates north of Moda from $5.50 to $8 per hour during events drawing at least 10,000 people to the Eliot neighborhood, per KGW.
• Some two-hour, permit and visitor parking spaces will become paid parking spaces.

Between the lines: Portland's transportation agency faces ongoing budget shortfalls and pressure to cut costs and find new revenue.

What's next: The Central Eastside changes will take effect in November and December.

• The proposed rate increase near Moda Center is expected to go before City Council in the coming weeks.

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If you want to stock up on autumnal splendor, pet some adorable rescue animals and support a worthwhile organization, the Oregon Donkey Sanctuary has you covered this weekend.

• The organization's annual fundraiser will feature a pumpkin patch, fall-themed wreaths, art, clothing and jewelry — as well as the special needs donkeys the sanctuary tends to all year round.

If you go: The fundraiser is Saturday and Sunday from 10:30am to 3pm at 15900 South Thayer Road in Oregon City.

• The event is free but tickets are required.

Tell an animal lover

🕯️ Kale and Meira are thinking of the families of the victims and the people of Bend after yesterday's tragic loss

This newsletter was edited by Geoff Ziezulewicz.