🌱 Fighting Climate Change With Cement + No Relief At Gas Pump

I'm back from the long weekend and ready to tell you the Portland happenings for the day. Hey, guess what; summer's here! It must have snuck up on us. Anyway, about today ...

First, today's weather:

Partly to mostly cloudy today with a high of 75. Sounds good to me.

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Here are the top five stories today in Portland:

1. In the fight against climate change, we can use all the help we can get. The latest weapon in our armamentarium? Cement! Scientists estimate that up to 8% of global greenhouse gas emissions come from cement production. But lower-carbon cement mixes have now been developed. So, several departments at the city of Portland will start using it, including the water, transportation and environmental services bureaus. (Oregon Public Broadcasting)
2. Residents along SE Powell are afraid to leave their homes due to violent encounters with the homeless that have encamped there. "We live in a war zone basically and there’s nothing I can do," said Elias Giangos, who said he's lived in the neighborhood for the past seven years. He and his wife plan to move out at the end of the month. Giangos said he was assaulted multiple times by those living at the campsite. Scars from the time he was stabbed by someone living at the campsite disfigure his left arm. (KGW)
3. As the Federal Reserve implements its highest interest rate increase in over 40 years, Portland’s hot market could cool down. Three interest rate increases in 2022 have driven an average 30-year mortgage rate from 3.11% on December 30, 2021 to 5.78% on June 16, 2022, according to reports from Freddie Mac. Gerald Mildner, professor emeritus at Portland State University who used to direct the school’s Center for Housing, expects home values to increase, but not nearly to the tune of 12% annual increase seen in recent years. The cooling will come from the buyer’s side of the equation as interest rates will severely limit buying power. (KOIN.com)
4. Designers of a new commercial building in downtown Portland have built what's called a 'living building,' meaning everything about it is 100% sustainable. Located at the corner of Southwest 1st Avenue and Pine Street, the PAE Living Building is the "first developer-driven and largest commercial urban Living Building in the world," according to developers. The building is designed to last 500 years and survive a major earthquake. The PAE Living Building is five stories tall and may look like just another brick building, but this one will give back to the environment. Everything about the building serves a purpose. (KGW)
5. When it comes to inflation, Portlanders can't seem to catch a break. Despite the fact that the national average price of gas has fallen 4.2 cents per gallon in the last week, average gasoline prices in Portland rose 2.3 cents per gallon. The tech company GasBuddy surveyed 387 stations in Portland and found prices are 37.5 cents per gallon higher than they were a month ago and $2.10 per gallon higher than a year ago. As of Monday, the station with the cheapest gas in Portland had it priced at $5.19 per gallon while the most expensive gas was $6.09 per gallon. (KOIN.com)

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Today in Portland:

• TV Broken Third Eye Open will be playing at the Goodfoot in SE Portland. TV Broken 3rd Eye Open is an eclectic and versatile seven-piece band that fuses together a multitude of musical styles from across the world into a psychedelic explosion of sound. Joining them will be genre-blending jammers Lost Ox. Doors open at 8 p.m.
• Come see Re-Run Theater at the Hollywood Theater and relive 1991. The Soviet Union officially dissolved and alternative, edgy music took over MTV. Snarly growls from Seattle and ferocious power pop from Boston joined forces with formerly underground artists of the 80s. Hip hop became more political, experimental and controversial. The first Lolapalooza festival was thrown. See it all in two mighty hours of music videos. Tickets are available online. Showtime is 7:30 p.m.
• Portland's own Christopher Brown Quartet will be playing at the 1905 in North Portland. The Christopher Brown Quartet takes R&B sounds of the '80s and and filters them through jazz sensibilities. Advance tickets include two sets of music. There are no advance tickets for 8:30 p.m. set (walk in only, depending on availability). The early set is at 7 p.m.
• In partnership with Defenders of Wildlife and Whale and Dolphin Conservation, Patagonia Portland is stoked to announce the Oregon premiere of Coextinction. Watch the new award-winning documentary which will be followed by a Q&A with the filmmakers. There will be food and drinks and a chance to win some Patagonia gear. Online registration is required. Doors open at 6:15 p.m.
• Cosmic Monkey Comics is excited to have the creative team of The Airless Year, Adam P Knave and Valentine Barker, visiting and signing copies of their graphic novel. For Kacee, a queer Black girl in middle school, everything feels like a struggle. When she fails a class as a result of her stress and ends up in summer school, she starts to wonder why she even bothers trying — and ultimately begins to discover her own power to improve the things in her life she can control and try to let go of what she can't. 4 - 6 p.m.

From my notebook:

• When Oregon lawmakers mandated a series of minimum wage hikes back in 2016, they reached a compromise over just how high the new wages should be. The latest wage hike kicks in July 1, though most people won’t feel it directly. Just 5.1% of Oregon workers earn the minimum. The wage hike will be different for different parts of the state. See what the change will be in your area. (The Oregonian)
• Love'em or hate'em, the 4th of July means fireworks. Whether you can't wait to see them or you're doing your best to avoid them, here's a list of some of the places that will be having firework shows. (Travel Portland)
• If you look up the corner of Southeast 34th Avenue and Southeast Belmont Street in Portland on Google Street View, you’ll see a man sitting on a stoop outside the Belmont Market. He’s wearing khakis and a blue jacket with a white button up shirt underneath. His face is blurred out, but it seems like he’s just perked up, looking back at the car-mounted camera in front of him. That’s Leroy Sly Scott. For over 30 years, he and his wife Henrietta were members of Portland’s Sunnyside community. He was houseless, but you could often find him, right there, on that stoop. Scott died from cancer in 2020, but you can still find him on that block today. The Portland Street Art Alliance recently commissioned a mural there, honoring Scott and Portland’s houseless community. (OPB)
• Chamber Music Northwest Presents Influences & Intersections 2022 Summer Festival! Citywide for five weeks — June 25 through July 31— the 2022 Summer Festival will be overflowing with musical influences and intersections – programs that tell the stories of how new and traditional chamber music merge and emerge into new work. With 28 mainstage concerts, and loads of free community concerts across the Portland Metro-area, there’s more than 60 events featuring dozens of world-renowned musicians, and stunning young artists, who are playing a vast range of incredible chamber music. (PDX Pipeline)
• Join Portland based Act-On Software's fundraising to support suicide prevention in LGBQT+ Youth. The Trevor Project is an American nonprofit organization founded in 1998. It focuses on suicide prevention efforts among lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning (LGBTQ) youth. Through a toll-free telephone number, it operates The Trevor Lifeline, a confidential service that offers trained counselors. (The Trevor Project)
• Feeling hungry? If so, you're in luck. It's the Portland Mercury's Sandwich Week! Through Sunday, June 26, Portlanders will be feasting on delectable, original sandwiches built by 30 of the city's most creative sandwich makers. And if that's not enough, each of those sammies can be had for a mere $8! Are you dreaming? NO, YOU ARE NOT! (Portland Mercury)

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That's your Wednesday, Portland. There's lots going on, but with weather this nice, you may just want to walk around the city. Whatever you do with your day, I hope you enjoy it. I'll be back tomorrow to bring you another edition of the Portland Patch.

— 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