Greetings Portland! We're your go-to source for what's happening in town. Read on to get plugged in! ☕️️
In today's newsletter:
Also on today's calendar: Author Reading, To Be Here Is Immense, by Clare Simons and 9 more events.
Today's riddle: Where do math teachers go on vacation? 🤔 (Answer below!)
1. Vaux's swifts spotted swirling into church chimney in Portland (katu.com) — Vaux's swifts are currently swirling into a church chimney near Northeast Fremont Street and 72nd Avenue, giving Portland neighbors a dramatic nightly show. After abandoning Chapman Elementary in 2024, the birds have shifted to several smaller metro roosts, and Bird Alliance of Oregon urges residents to watch respectfully, avoid drones, and keep sidewalks and private property clear.
2. Summer boat-building camp for Portland teens builds teamwork and confidence (kgw.com) — Portland teens from McDaniel High School spent two weeks in a free, Multnomah County-funded summer camp building and then sailing an outrigger canoe, gaining teamwork, confidence, and cultural connection. Run through the SUN program with IRCO and Wind & Oar Boat School, the camp gave underserved students hands-on skills, a standout experience for college applications, and a rare chance to see their cultures represented.
3. New facility in Southeast Portland adds secure mental health treatment beds (kgw.com) — A new 10-bed secure mental health facility has just opened in Southeast Portland, adding badly needed residential treatment capacity for adults with serious mental illness. Run by Cascadia Health with state and county support, the Mountain View facility is part of Oregon's broader push to expand treatment beds and ease pressure on Oregon State Hospital by moving more patients into community-based care.
4. Happy 40th Birthday to Portland area's MAX (kxl.com) — MAX light rail is marking 40 years since its first line opened between downtown Portland and Gresham, a system many residents now rely on daily. TriMet notes the network has grown to 60 miles and five lines, carrying more than 950 million rides and becoming a defining feature of how Portlanders get to work, school, and games.
5. AI companies are destroying more books than you think, says bookseller (texarkanagazette.com) — Portland rare‑book dealer Scott Brown is sounding the alarm about AI companies buying and then destroying millions of books, including scarce titles, to train their models. He says bulk "destructive scanning" orders are putting pressure on independent booksellers, who risk ratings penalties if they refuse sales but hate seeing unique or signed volumes permanently lost.
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Ok Portland! So now you're in the loop about what's happening today. Thanks for reading, and see you in your inbox next time! Oh -- and if you like what you're reading, invite a friend to Patch AM!
-- The Patch AM Team
P.S. The answer to today's riddle: Times Square (Thank you Jean K. for sending it in!)
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