🌱 Downtown Explosion Damages Food Carts + Illegal Street Takeovers

Happy Tuesday, everyone! We've got a crazy one today. A food cart pod exploded, Portland is getting hotter and there's Salsa Dancing tonight! Welcome to summer in Stumptown.

First, today's weather:

Hot. Yeah, again. We've got sun all day and a high of 98.

Here are the top five stories in Portland today:

1. An explosion rocked a downtown food cart pod early Sunday morning, destroying some carts and shattering windows on the surrounding buildings. Portland Police’s Explosive Disposal Unit is sweeping the area for explosives and will join Portland Fire & Rescue’s Arson Investigator in looking into the blast. No injuries have been reported. (KATU)
2. The heatwaves of the last two summers have many Portlanders wondering, "Are we getting hotter?" Chris McGinness and Larry O'Neill, Oregon's State Climatologist and an associate professor at Oregon State University weigh in on the matter and they say yes. Daily temperature records have been kept at Portland International Airport since 1941. The upward trend in the average number of days with 90-degree or hotter temperatures in Portland over the past 81 years is impossible to miss. (KGW)
3. Mayor Ted Wheeler has a new idea of how to address Portland's housing crisis. He wants empty offices downtown converted into apartments. His office is currently crafting a city ordinance that would incentivize owners and developers of vacant office space downtown to convert those buildings to modestly priced apartments. They want to waive development fees if developers promise to keep those apartments “workforce affordable housing”—meaning the occupants make 120% or less of the median family income—for a minimum of 15 years. (Willamette Week)
4. Illegal street racing continues to plague Portland! Drivers took over at least two different intersections on Sunday night. Video shows one such illegal street takeover outside the Lloyd Center at about 9 p.m. and KATU received reports of another street take over on Sandy Boulevard near Northeast 72nd Avenue. When the Portland Police Bureau was asked about the incident, a bureau spokesperson commented, "the [events] can be dangerous, hard to address with just a handful of officers and even just hard to get to due to the traffic congestion created.” (KATU)
5. Oh, no, not Artichoke! Artichoke Community Music has been in the Portland music scene for almost 50 years, but recently its been dealing with a string of smash and grab burglaries. “It started in June,” said Paul K. Ward, the executive director of Artichoke Community Music. "We’ve had four burglaries. Our front door has been crowbarred open and smashed open. We most recently had one of our big windows opened up. Every time we took measures to protect doors or windows they would move on to the next window.” (KPTV)

Today in Portland:

• "You need to play to win. But you also have to win to play"- Michael Scott. If you consider yourself a Dunder Mifflin intern, then join The 4th Wall for The Office Trivia Night! Test your knowledge of beet farming, paper industry regulations, and Jim's pranks. Trivia starts at 7 p.m. and it's free to play!
• It's The Music of Laurel Canyon: Legends & Luminaries at Mississippi Pizza! Tonight’s event is a fundraiser for the people of Ukraine. Local artists perform a variety of songs by the musicians and bands who created timeless music in the 60’s and 70’s in the Laurel Canyon neighborhood in Los Angeles. 7 - 10 p.m.
• Come to Stage 722 for their Tuesday Salsa and Bachata Social. It's Portland's biggest Mid-week Latin dance social! There will be an introductory dance lesson at 8:00 PM. Music by House DJ DJD'Mendez. Doors open at 7 p.m.
• Rinker Buck, author of "The Oregon Trail," will be speaking at Powell's City of Books. Now, with his latest book, "Life on the Mississippi," Buck returns to chronicle his latest incredible adventure: building a wooden flatboat from the bygone era of the early 1800s and journeying down the Mississippi River to New Orleans. The talk begins at 7 p.m.
• CymaSpace invites you to its Open House and facility tour to see the progress it has made building a Disability Arts Center. Did you know that CymaSpace is the only physical facility led and operated by the deaf and disabled community to support diverse and inclusive arts and culture in the entire state of Oregon? Come see what they're doing. 6 - 9 p.m.

From my notebook:

• Travel Portland: "If you haven't had the pleasure, meet @lineandwave! Recently @EaterPDX profiled this incredibly talented local artist and calligrapher’s Portland food diaries. We are obsessed! Follow her page and hit the link in our bio." (Travel Portland via Instagram)
• Portland Farmers Market: "Word on the street is berries won’t be around much longer! Come get 'em from Pheasants Eye Farm at Lents International while you can! 🍓🫐 Lents International Farmers Market Sundays, 9 a.m.–2 p.m. through November 20 at SE 91 and Foster" (Portland Farmers Market via Facebook)
• If you stay at the Aloft Hotel at Cascade Station, you should feel a lot safer. It has a robotic security force. Well, one robot working security. And it's adorable! “Robby” the robot is 5 feet 3 inches tall, weighs 350 pounds and can travel three to five mph. He also self-charges. (KATU)
• Have you signed the petition? The petition to change the I in OMSI from industry to innovation. Portlanders and museum lovers around the world unite! OMSI (the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry), one of the nation's leading science centers and a prominent Pacific Northwest attraction, suffers from a public relations crisis and needs our help. (Change)
• With three highly qualified and well-funded candidates seeking Oregon’s top office, the race for governor is shaping up to be the most competitive – and unpredictable – in recent history. The Oregonian asked the three leading candidates — Democratic nominee Tina Kotek, Republican nominee Christine Drazan and nonaffiliated candidate Betsy Johnson — to offer an op-ed on why Oregonians should choose them as their next governor. (The Oregonian)
• The 26th Annual Art in the Pearl Fine Arts & Crafts Festival will be happening this weekend. The Festival is free and requires no tickets for entry. Art In The Pearl has been named one of the top 10 Arts and Crafts Festivals in the country (source: Art Fair Source Book). This festival fills the Northwest Portland Park blocks with art, theater, music and hands-on activities for people of all ages. (Art in the Pearl)

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That's your Tuesday, my friends. I hope you're enjoying your summer. I'll be keeping to the shade today, but I'll be back tomorrow to give you more news of Portland.

— 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