🌱 Dangerous Algae Bloom On The Willamette + Hot Weather Is New Normal

Oh, the joys of Friday! The weather is cooling down, Wheeler attempts to get a handle on Portland violence and we've got parts of the southwest that are catching on fire. Pull up a chair and let me tell you about it.

First, today's weather:

It'll be a mostly cloudy day with a high of 85.

Here are the top five stories today in Portland:

1. Some patients who need life-saving routine procedures are still feeling the impacts of COVID-19 on the healthcare industry. One of those routine procedures is dialysis. Some patients have had trouble getting appointments or having to take shorter dialysis sessions, which can make them sick. Navy veteran and Portland resident David Ball suffers from kidney failure and recent staffing shortages at his dialysis clinic have had him fearing for his life at times. “Dialysis is bad enough for what you have to go through and your limitations,” said Ball. “But to have that kind of atmosphere is just horrible.” (Fox 12 Oregon)
2. If you're planning on being on the Willamette River, in the vicinity of Cathedral Park, be careful. The Oregon Health Authority is warning people of the presence of a cyanobacteria bloom and that cyanotoxin levels were above safe recreational use values for humans. OHA says people should avoid swimming and high-speed water activities like water skiing or power boating in the area where the bloom is present. The biggest concern is ingesting water. The toxins are not absorbed through the skin, however, they can cause puffy red rashes if you have skin sensitivities. (KATU)
3. If you had a tough time getting through that last few hot spells we've had here in Portland, I've got some bad news for you. This may be our new normal. A new interactive model predicts that the heat waves we've seen in the Pacific Northwest over the past several years are not going away — in fact, they're going to get progressively worse year after year. To help show us what's coming, a nonprofit created a tool called "Risk Factor." It allows people to get an educated guess on how heat, floods and fires will likely affect their homes within the next 30 years. (KGW)
4. Through August 10, 2021, police reported 61 homicides. The city saw at least 56 in the same period this year, according to police crime stats. More broadly, police reported 582 shootings in the first six months of 2021 compared to 673 this year. Desperate to reduce violence on Portland streets, Mayor Ted Wheeler declared a state of emergency and started his Safer Summer PDX plan. Wheeler said this plan, unlike prior investments, focuses directly on the people pulling the trigger today and cuts through red tape by putting Community Safety Transition Director Mike Myers in charge of coordinating a streamlined response to the crisis. (KATU)
5. Imagine your front yard spontaneously catching on fire. Some residents at a southwest Portland apartment complex don't have to imagine, they saw smoke coming out of the ground outside one of their buildings Wednesday evening. Shannon Campbell was in her apartment on Southwest Condor Avenue when her neighbor started yelling about smoke billowing out of the ground behind her apartment. Campbell ran over to investigate and saw something bizarre. “There was a round circle in the sawdust,” Campbell said. “It was smoking and it was black. It has a really strong smoke smell.” (KPTV)

Today in Portland:

• Who's up for a mall party? Comic book shop Floating World, printing press Dreem Street and record store Musique Plastique will celebrate their grand openings at Lloyd Center Mall with live DJs and an audiovisual performance from Portland arts collective Spoiler Room. So relive your middle school days and let's hang out at the mall! 5 - 7 p.m.
• Come to Mother Foucault's Bookshop for an all-strings songwriter evening. Two cellists, Ollella and Twin Bridges, and a violist, Mirabai Peart, will be performing. 7:30 - 10 p.m.
• Bridge City Improv returns to Milwaukie's Chapel Theatre for an evening of improvised comedy. This night features two fantastic groups— the first set will be THREE, a group comprised of three of the area's most hilarious veteran improvisers. They then close out the evening with a set from Broad Selection, an all-women improv cast that highlights some of the best improv comedians in the metro area. Doors open at 7 p.m.
• Join OMSI in celebrating Latin American culture and community. The Latin American Community Ciencias Night welcomes visitors of all ages for a night of museum exploring, science demos, lectures, and cultural entertainment. 6 - 10 p.m.
• I haven't mentioned this in a while, but Kickstand Comedy is still doing its shows in Laurelhurst Park. They're free, live shows featuring Portland’s best local and national comics! Showtime is 6:30 p.m.

From my notebook:

• Travel Portland: "We don't call it the Rose City for nothin'! Featuring more than 10,000 roses, the International Rose Test Garden is one of the most beautiful places to explore in the whole city. Learn more in the link in our bio! #ThisIsPortland 📷: @br..." (Travel Portland via Instagram)
• Nguyen, a Portland-area health care worker, has always loved food. When she moved up to Portland, that passion for food only grew, as she would hit up food carts and restaurants around the area. It was her two passions — food and calligraphy — that inspired her to start creating illustrated diaries of Portland restaurant meals. She posts her illustrated guides on her Instagram, @lineandwave, side-stepping the traditional Instagram influencer or food blogger track while sharing her perspectives on some of her favorite Portland chefs. (Eater PDX)
• Portland Parks & Recreation is trying something new. It's a membership program called Access Pass and it will be valid for Parks and Rec. community center and pool passes, drop-in admissions, registered activities, personal training, educational preschool, and afterschool programs beginning Oct. 3. Funded by the Parks Local Option Levy, Access Pass will allow reduced pricing up to 90% off on Portland Parks & Recreation programs and admissions offered by PP&R’s Recreation and Environmental Education departments. (KPTV)
• “101 Places to Party Before You Die” is a new series from the streaming platform truTV and it's decided one of those places is Portland. The show is inspired by the book, “101 Places to Get (a word we can’t use) Up Before You Die.” It features comic actors and friends Adam Pally and Jon Gabrus, traveling around to check out local attractions and activities, sampling what looks like an awe-inspiring amount of foods and beverages. The Portland episode aired Thursday, so check it out if you can. (The Oregonian)
• Are you interested in getting an OMSI Family Pass? Well, then maybe you and OMSI can come to a little arrangement. The Oregon Museum of Science and Industry is searching near and far, not for a new species or piece of technology, but for people to model in an upcoming photoshoot. “We’re looking for a broad group of participants who represent diverse intersecting identities, including children, teens, adults and seniors,” OMSI wrote in an Instagram post. (KOIN)
• This year's India Festival was held in Pioneer Courthouse Square last weekend. The annual festival coincides with India's celebration of its independence from British rule. If you didn't get a chance to go, YouTuber Gr8tful Ted made a video of the event. Enjoy! (YouTube)

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Have an awesome Friday, my friends. Thankfully the weather has calmed down and we can enjoy our Portland summer to the fullest. Have fun and come on back tomorrow, when I can chat you up about Saturday.

— 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? Contact me at portland@patch.com