🌱 Car Thefts Surge + Workers Quitting + Ridwell In Trouble

Happy Wednesday, fellow Portlandites. What a day to be alive! Everyone is filled with the holiday spirit. Well, before I start shoving people out of the way for the last can of cranberry sauce, let me tell you about today.

First, today's weather:

It'll be cloudy today, but we might have ourselves a rain-free day. Add to that a high temp of a crisp 48 and we have a fine Wednesday.

Here are the top stories in Portland today:

1. Who needs to steal a catalytic converter when you can just steal the whole darn car? Perhaps that's what thieves are thinking as Portland deals with a surge of auto thefts. The crimes have exploded in recent months, as Portland Police data shows that for much of the last year, reported car thefts averaged fewer than 600 a month. Last month, there were more than a thousand. (KPTV.com)
2. The Oregon Health Authority reports that 103 people died over the past three days from COVID-19 related illnesses. That brings the total in the state who have died to 5,013. That's worrisome for the OHA, as we are just entering the holiday season. The number of cases continues to put tremendous strains on the state's hospitals. About 90 percent of all adult hospital beds in Oregon are currently occupied. (Portland Patch)
3. City Commissioner Dan Ryan has unveiled the planned location for a third city-sanctioned homeless village, or "Safe Rest Village," one of six that are expected to be up and running sometime next year. This third village will be located at 2730 SW Multnomah Blvd, on property shared with a defunct army reserve building. The city purchased the defunct SFC Jerome F. Sears Army Reserve Center from the federal government in 2011, and it's since served as a temporary homeless shelter, a location for Portland Fire & Rescue trainings, and a disaster preparedness center. Now, the building will share its property with up to 60 outdoor sleeping pods for unsheltered Portlanders. (The Portland Mercury)
4. The Great Resignation continues as Oregon workers quit their jobs at record rates. Economists tell us in September, about three percent of US workers quit their jobs. In Oregon, it was four percent, totaling more than 70,000 employees. A number of factors could be responsible for this trend, including concerns about the pandemic and rising household incomes. (KATU)
5. The company Ridwell seems like a perfect fit for Portland. It is a subscription service that collects hard-to-recycle items, including batteries, light bulbs, threads, plastic clamshell containers, and plastic film twice a month from homes’ doorsteps, and has expanded to Portland late last year. The state of Oregon, however, isn't so pleased. The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality in June toured the company’s North Portland warehouse, where Ridwell stores collected items. It told Ridwell the company needed to submit a material recovery facility permit application by Nov. 15. But instead of receiving an application, DEQ got a challenge on Nov.12 from Ridwell’s attorney, Ashley Wigod.(Willamette Week)

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Today in Portland:

• The two-piece Los Angeles alternative-rock band Cosmic Kitten will be giving a live, in-store performance at Music Millennium on East Burnside. It has been described as a time capsule to the era of 90’s grunge. Show up early, because Music Millennium is limiting the audience to 50 people. 6:00 PM.
• Portland-based skatepunk band Ninjas With Syringes will be at Dante's in downtown Portland tonight. Loaded to burst merry melodies across the land the boys can be seen on the road and in the Pacific Northwest throwing down bawdy hooks and moving around so much on stage that it gives dogs indigestion. Get your tickets online. Doors open at 8:00 PM.
• Haley Johnsen will be playing at Doug Fir on East Burnside tonight. She is a Portland, Oregon-born musician with a knack for genre-bending and a hard-earned career path that is uniquely her own. Tickets available online. Proof of vaccination required for entry. Doors open at 7:30 PM.
• Post-Punk/Goth band Bootblacks will be playing at the Star Theater in downtown Portland. Also performing will be Xibling and Murderbait. Tickets available online. Doors open at 8:00 PM.
• Before Peter Jackson brought moviegoers the 3 hour and 21 minute epic that is The Return of the King, there was Rankin and Bass. From the team who created the original version of THE HOBBIT comes this adaptation of the climactic conclusion to J.R.R. Tolkien’s classic LORD OF THE RINGS TRILOGY. Showing tonight at the Hollywood Theater in NE Portland, this is a must-see for any lovers of animation. And the run time is only slightly over one and half hours. Showtime is 7:30 PM.

Portland Patch Notebook

• Portland Trail Blazers: "@nba Western Conference Player of the Week: @damianlillard! ⌚️" (Instagram)
• Portland Trail Blazers: "@zendaya, you should watch this wholesome video!" (Instagram)
• Travel Portland: "@MyPeoplesMarket 8 - Holiday Edition is coming right up! Join us at @reddonsalmon from noon–6 p.m. on three Sundays in December (Dec. 5, 12 & 19) to connect with BIPOC entrepreneurs, makers, artists and food and drink crafters. You can ..." (Instagram)
• Portland Audubon: "Have you ever wondered about LGBTQIA+ presence in the animal kingdom? 🌈 Join us virtually on Dec. 9 from 6-7 pm to learn about the birds that exist outside of heteronormative human ideas and family structures. From gay swan foster parent ..." (Instagram)
• Portland Audubon: "Most of our Oregon woodpeckers are some variation of black, white, and red. The Lewis's Woodpecker goes against the grain, both in appearance and how it hunts. This pink, dark green, and grey bird acts more like a flycatcher than a woodp..." (Facebook)
• Portland Farmers Market: "Wednesday, November 24th join us at our downtown mid-week market location to shop your favorite vendors and browse specialty items that weren't available during the regular season. Shemanski Park Harvest Market Wednesday November 24th 10..." (Facebook)
• If you want to do some online shopping this Black Friday, why not make it interesting and participate in Oregon State Treasury's Online Auction of Unclaimed Property? The auction will feature 89 lots of unclaimed property, items once cherished but now unclaimed or forgotten. Included in the auction is a five-piece silver coin set featuring members of the Portland Trail Blazers' 1990-91 team. There are also gold watches, silver bars, collectable stamps and graded baseball cards. Pre-bidding has already begun and will continue until 11:00 AM, Nov. 26th. (KGW)
• The saga of mysterious Mount Tabor statuary continues. This time in the form of a large crow, who is giving onlookers the middle finger. The pedestal was first the base for a statue of Harvey Scott, an editor of The Oregonian for 40 years who was a conservative who opposed his sister, Abigail Scott Duniway, on women’s suffrage. That had been torn down and was later replaced with a bust of York, the only Black person on the Lewis and Clark expedition, an enslaved man who was one of the explorers who made their way West. That was removed after it had been damaged by vandals. Now, this crow has appeared, with a title plaque that says, “Baszd meg Portland, 2021.” Boy, do I love Portland! (The Oregonian)

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There's a Wednesday for you! Regardless of what your holiday preparations are, I hope the day brings you joy. If you have the time tomorrow, please join me back here and we'll talk all about Portland. But I will understand if you can't. If you're loving these newsletters, consider bringing some friends and neighbors along for the ride. You can send them this link to subscribe.

— Dominic Anaya

About me: Doctor, educator and now a writer/artist, I'm just chillin' in Portland, OR with my wife, our ferrets, our chickens and our goats.

Have a news tip or suggestion for an upcoming Portland Daily? Reach out anytime to portland@patch.com.